THE US Congress agreed to increase the military budget to $345 billion for the year 2001/2002 beginning in October — 11 percent more than the past year.
Such a huge budget suggests that the United States is aiming to remain the single superpower but the question is why such a military build up is needed? It is evident that the world, East or West, is lining up on the US’ side, including former enemies such as Russia. Few experts suggest that China is a potential threat and this is not true nor is it any longer a foe. China is gradually adopting the market policy and this is evident by the spread of McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Levis and other American brands.
Another question is whether military might protects America? The answer to this is the terrorist attacks of last September. It seems that 19 individuals succeeded in defeating the world by spending only $200,000 if we are to believe so-called knowledgeable sources.
Excessive power evidently does not necessarily mean increased security. Therefore, the US will have to think of better ways to fight the war against terrorism. Modern war will be light, fast and stunning, similar to the September attack on New York and Washington. In other words future wars will not use armies but small troop concentrations; there will be no need for tanks or artillery but a minimum of personnel in a matter of hours if not minutes. Future wars will be quantitative not qualitative, so the US will have to realize that massive military buildups, huge budgets and electronic intelligence systems will be of no use any longer.
It is interesting that the United Nations has spent 10 years trying to establish a definition of terrorism but has not come up with an acceptable one. The dictionary definition of terrorism is using illegal violence for political reasons but this definition itself needs explaining and elucidation.
First, who is empowered to determine whether violence is legal or illegal? Let’s take the Palestinian issue as an example where Ariel Sharon sees the Palestinian actions as terrorism but Israeli ones — demolition of houses and displacement of whole families — as right. The Palestinians justify their struggle as one in order to retrieve the land that was stolen from them while the Israelis claim the land is theirs for historical and religious reasons.
The Palestinian have been suffering for 50 years and the Israelis continue their atrocities, killings, assassinations and totally ignore the international community, the United Nations and refuse to admit that Israel commits terrorism. If terrorism is to be eliminated, the entire world community — not simply the US and Britain — will have to cooperate and produce an acceptable definition and then fight against what has been defined.
