The First Mistake
Today something happened. A shift of some kind, I can feel it inside me. Something.s different. The change began this morning, not long after I woke and began my morning routine. I got out of bed, walked into the living room, and turned on the news as I always do. From there I walked to my alcove kitchen and grabbed my usual breakfast treat, shredded wheat. Breakfast in hand, I walked back to my couch and sat down in front of the TV, one quarter asleep, one half hungry, and one quarter paying attention to the headlines as they stream by.
Then it happened.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The Party Popular loses the election. New Prime Minister vows to pull troops from Iraq, all 1300 of them. And while the number of troops being removed poses no real logistical problem for the allies, the potential implications such an event could have on our current global situation are mind numbing. Visions of a present day Chamberlain and the Munich Accord sear into my brain. How on earth did this come to be?
Al Qaeda has been given its boost, it has won its first real battle. Sept. 11th was not a victory for Al Qaeda, it was a devastating defeat. Terrorism is a political weapon used to weaken an enemies resolve as well as faith in their governing establishment, and possibly, even change their enemies populous view of the world. Accomplishing these things allow terrorists to destroy an enemy from within, without ever engaging them in an actual defined conflict in which they could be defeated. Given this, one could say that our best weapon against terrorism is an unwavering belief in victory, a fearlessness that cannot be rivaled, and most importantly, the strength to view the reality behind terrorist attacks: These are not retaliatory strikes, they are acts of aggression that will not cease until the shift of power falls to the side of those who perpetrate them.
But the people of Spain didn.t think so. The people of Spain saw their choice as clear. The truths they saw, while they will claim an infinite depth to them, hardly scratched the surface of realism. They saw hundreds of their brethren die in the streets of Madrid, over a thousand wounded, and from this vision sprung a line of thinking that was planned. In the U.S. that plan had failed, but in Spain it would take root and do its work, producing results in the end that brought a smile to the face of extremists everywhere.
The people of Spain began to look to Iraq. They began to look to their support of the U.S. in recent past. They thought about the arrests of Al Qaeda members and supporters throughout Spain over the past two years. And then a realization hit them, something they had known before but not really known: They were targets, real targets. It was at that juncture that I had become interested, really truly interested, in how this situation would turn out. I was interested because the world is about perceptions, perceptions of strength, intelligence, wealth, etc. And the people of Spain were about to make a decision that went infinitely beyond who would be their next Prime Minister. They were about to announce their will to fight, or the day of their surrender. They were either going to testify to their belief in their culture, in their peers, in their leaders, or, they were going to display their doubt, their fear, their lack of confidence.
We know which they chose.
There was a reason the Spanish were chosen as a target for such an organized attack. In terms of doubt, they were the leader amongst the allied countries. Some polls showed the public at large in Spain at 90% opposed to the action in Iraq. The United States has been much more 50/50, which would make them a much less appealing target. But it is not only the fact that the ideological fight in the U.S. is a close one that makes them a less likely choice for an attack. It is also the response they had to the first attack that makes terrorists wonder, for the moment, if attacking the U.S. truly is advantageous too them. Spain however, now there was a place in which reaction could almost accurately be predicted.
So the terrorists thought, and how right they were. I, on the other hand, was quite shocked by the results of the voting. I felt sure that the Spanish would realize the precipice upon which they stood. Behind them, terrorist forces bent on influencing every aspect of their lives, including even the government which defines them all. Ahead of them lay the abyss, a swirling retch of pacification hell from which no country has ever returned unscathed. I thought for sure they would turn and fight, thought I could see the fire in the eyes of the few I had seen on video montages strewn across the news. I was wrong though, I was very wrong. And so here we sit, the U.S. and Britain, with the world watching. Other countries support us, they are not non-existent, but the three that led the way are now the two. And now my eyes turn too Britain, for her trial by fire may soon come.
The enemy knows the United States reaction to terrorism. It knows it cannot defeat the U.S. What it did not know was the reaction of U.S. allies to terrorism. It now knows one and will seek out others, it will seek to undermine all faith in our world order, our establishment. Combat this with courage, with strength, with a belief in yourself and your ideals. Do not let fear rule your decisions, this is key when facing down a terrorist threat because it is upon your fear that your enemy relies. Spain is afraid, and so they should be, they have just invited terrorism permanently into their homeland.
And so the first great mistake of the 21st century is made, one with the potential to change the future of our world. Thank you Spain, and may history have mercy on your souls.
