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by Lynn Ockersz

"We will lead the world to victory.....We have just seen the first war of the 21st century". The extracts are from a pronouncement US President George W. Bush made to journalists at the Oval Office on September 13 in the immediate aftermath of the devastating terror attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington, in which thousands are believed to have died.

The strident sentiments from the US President came close on the heels of pledges of support from major Western countries for Washington's profession of an all out war against global terrorism. "This country will not relent until we have saved ourselves and others from the terrible tragedy that came upon America," Bush was further described as saying during this rousing address.

Proof of the sense of urgency with which Washington is gearing for this all out war against terrorism came when a senior US administration official was quoted saying that the authorities were even readying for a "multi-year campaign if need be to defeat global terrorism". Earlier reports said that the US President had asked for Congressional sanction for a 20 billion dollar immediate "down payment" to fight terror.

To be sure, the clarion call by the US President to take on terror has not gone unheeded even in the Arab world where Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was reportedly discussing with senior Arab officials and the Palestinian Authority how they could join the US-inspired fight against terrorism. Earlier, favourable responses to the US initiative were made by Russia, France and Germany. NATO support for the US position meant that almost the totality of Western military might could be counted on in this unprecedented effort to take on terrorism.

That this massive marshalling of forces against terror was going to be at a considerable price was evident in reports that Arab minorities in some Western cities were already suffering harassment - verbal and otherwise. This development was apparently the result of efforts to pinpoint blame for the terror attacks in the US on Afghan-based Arab militant Osama Bin Laden. Earlier, initial investigations revealed that the aircraft involved in the attacks were hijacked by Arab militants.

These incipient racist sentiments and animosities point to the divisive impact - nationally and internationally - a military campaign to curb global terrorism could possibly have. The US leadership has been sufficiently discreet to emphasize that their fight is against terrorism not against any ethnic or religious community but ethnic polarities at the popular level could widen in the face of efforts to marshall military might against the forces of religious fundamentalism.

The US Secretary of State Collin Powell, on the other hand, has spoken of a multi-pronged strategy to contain terrorism and this recommends itself to us as the more advisable course of action in relation to terrorism in view of the negative emotions and ethnic antagonisms an overtly militaristic approach to curb terror may engender. Powell said that besides militarily, the US also intended to respond diplomatically and with police actions and intelligence - gathering to the task at hand.

Certainly, there needs to be a coming together of all democratic political forces in the face of global terror. The fact that sections of the Arab world have expressed solidarity with the victims of terror in the US is proof that the forces of political terrorism have already been marginalised internationally. Solidarity among democratic forces and global peace groups and organisations in the face of terror is the first crucial step in efforts to alienate the lunatic fringe wedded to political terrorism worldwide. It is our hope that this process would accelerate in the future.

The need is also great to engage the forces of political extremism in a process of constructive dialogue. Economic globalisation has benefitted a few countries of the world at the expense of the majority. This has led to large scale poverty and deprivation in parts of the Third World. Besides, the process of globalisation has had the effect of undermining minority cultures in even the First World. Cultural depersonalization or the sense that one's cultural identity is under threat from Western culture, which comes in the wake of global economic integration, has led to a sense of grievance and alienation among ethnic minorities in particular. The more desperate among the latter are led to militantly assert their cultural identity. The Sikh rebellion of the Eighties in India's Punjab state is a case in point.

All this, of course, doesn't justify the economically and culturally marginalised in taking to arms. However, we are reminded that militant ethnonationalisms are not simple phenomena. They are complex problems which require wise, insightful and patient handling. It is time the West in particular, engaged the militant nationalist forces in a constructive dialogue aimed at understanding their ideals, aspirations and motivations. This could lead to reduced tensions.

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