The roots of terror
Catholics have been facing a moral dilemma since the terror attacks of September 11: how would the response by the United States and its allies be compatible with the Church’s teachings?
Pope John Paul’s spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, has outlined the Holy See’s position: either Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks, is handed over by his protectors, Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, or “the principle of self-defence applies with all its consequences.” Dr Navarro-Valls added the caveat that a limited armed response should be proportionate to the threat and that innocent people not be harmed in the process.
This is open to diverse shades of interpretation. It is clear, however, that the Holy See does not maintain a position of pacifism at all costs.
Early signs are that the United States has, to some extent, heeded the Holy See’s call. Having resisted the temptation to commence swift demonstrations of retaliation against supposed enemies following the September 11 attacks, US President George W Bush’s policy appears to focus on fighting the Taliban through a dual strategy of external force and internal pressure: bombs and humanitarian aid. Evidently, some care was taken to minimise harm to Afghan civilians during the first phase of the military action.
This is sound policy, falling in line with the view of Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the US bishops’ conference. The United States seems to have acknowledged the lessons of Iraq, where the US-led embargo continues to hurt innocent civilians, but has failed to depose its intended target, Saddam Hussein.
Yet even if the US does dislodge bin Laden and the Taliban, it will not have eliminated the root causes of jihad terrorism: chiefly the unresolved situations in Palestine and Iraq.
Peace in the Middle East has proved elusive, due in great part to the United States’ unconditional support for Israel, which has often undermined the prospects for a mutually equitable settlement. Likewise, the Western embargo against Iraq has caused immense misery among that country’s civilians–protests even by Christian leaders, including Pope John Paul, notwithstanding.
Both instances have served as pretexts for hostility and even terror against the United States. Addressing the root causes of terrorism, especially the Palestine question, must go hand in hand with eliminating the sponsors of terrorism.
Patriarch Michel Sabbah, prelate of the Church in the Middle East, has articulated the fundamental basis for peace most eloquently in terms all the protagonists–Muslims, Jews and Christians –will appreciate: “The Word of God starts in Jerusalem, war and peace also start from Jerusalem.”
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