The Response to 11.9 and the Lessons of History

Abstract

The attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon were abhorrent but the response may exacerbate terrorism rather than eliminate it. The lessons of history suggest that using military force against terrorists creates as many terrorists as it destroys, and that intervening in civil wars can result in foreign forces turning into the enemies of those they have come to save. Declaring a war to eliminate terrorism is self-defeating because complete elimination is unattainable and the use of massive military force might make it difficult even to reduce or contain it.