Page 245 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

he 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon marked a turning point and the begin-
T ning of a new world order. Some experts predicted
that this attack would lead to greater conflict and violence,

while a majority of voices pointed out that America's re-
sponse and future policies must be measured and just.
In the aftermath of the attacks, America began a large-
scale offensive against terrorism. Most countries and inter-

national organizations supported this effort, which, in
essence, is a military operation directed against terrorism
and all organs that support it. At present, despite some par-
tial successes, this war has not met its objectives or achieved
a conclusive victory.

One of the primary reasons for this failure is that the
American strategy is based mainly on military operations to
the exclusion of any educational or cultural measures.
Military measures, such as removing regimes that support

terrorism, cannot defeat terrorism, for terrorism is a socio-
psychological and ideological problem. Such a military-
only strategy creates tragedies in which countless innocent
people lose their lives, as well as the radicalism that, in turn,
becomes yet another factor feeding terrorism. Only an in-

tellectual war can effectively diffuse the terrorists' propa-
ganda and eradicate terrorism. Military operations should
be used only when appropriate.