King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia donated earlier this month another
$100 million to the UN’s International Centre to Combat Terrorism. On its
surface, it is a sensible approach to find a global solution for a global problem,
but in reality global terrorism is a local issue. Three things Abdullah will
need to consider to secure a reasonable return on his investment; first,
looking inward to address causes leading to grievances amongst his population.
Second, reorienting the current security based reactionary approach to
terrorism to one that is proactively steeped in social justice. Third, moving
away from casting terrorists as religious hijackers by offering a parallel
narrative to a swayable population.
“The goal [of the International Center to Combat Terrorism]
is to exchange and pass information in an expedited fashion … to prevent events
before they hit” said Abdullah in a frustrated tone a couple of weeks back.
Exchanging intelligence is a surmountable challenge as we have realized from
the American experience on 9/11 when the intelligence community failed to
“connect the dots.” Sharing critical information in a timely fashion continues
to be problematic despite restructuring the U.S. intelligence system under the Department
of Homeland Security. What are the chances of a successful ongoing exchange of
relevant intelligence in real time on a global level? I dare say very limited,
at least not more effective than the current established channels of
communicating security/intelligence information.
This myopic obsession with countering a tactic, terrorism,
with security responses keeps the intelligence community consumed with figuring
out the next step on a chessboard of infinite pawns. This reactionary stance
fails the test of guaranteed prevention knowing that terrorist are one step
ahead. The manpower and budgetary attrition rates will only get worse for the
intelligence community and security forces particularly that terrorist can be
destructive on the cheap. Security can only be one spoke in the wheel that
moves a society away from such destruction.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set up a number of security,
media and social programs to combat terrorism. One of which is Intellectual
Security concerned with what is commonly referred to in Saudi as “deviant
thoughts” a euphemism for terrorist ideology. Another is the Commission for
Advise to “correct mistaken religious thoughts” according to their mission
statement and finally, the After Care Program which is a social and financial
program providing services and money to previously incarcerated terrorists.
These are smart programs, but none of them address any of the root causes
leading to terrorism. Social justice and political inclusion are effective ways
to prevent aggrieved citizens from resorting to terrorism to affect political
change.
Abdullah was quoted numerous times saying that “terrorist are
hijacking Islam.” Putting distance between terrorists and Islam is a matter of
religious interpretation. Islam is not being “hijacked” by mostly disheveled
Captain Hook lookalikes for religious reasons. Nor are terrorists attempting to
spread sharia laws by reviving the Caliphate. Rather Islam provides these
criminal leaders with an established narrative that took decades to develop
thanks to the rhetoric of Said Qutb and Hassan Al-Banna of the Muslim
Brotherhood of Egypt. Aggrieved Arabs embraced this narrative and ensuing
indoctrination across the region. Focusing on the narrative and offering
parallel accounts capturing the audiences’ imagination should be added to the
spectrum of tools utilized to complement the concrete action for social justice
and political inclusion. Religious based narrative is not what causes citizens
to become new foot solders for AlQaeda or Islamic State/ISIS; grievance is.
The latest report confirm that the Saudi security apparatus
is put on high alert after a number of AlQaeda sympathizers sprayed threatening
graffiti messages on the walls of a security barracks in Sharorah close to the
Saudi-Yemeni boarder two months after a terrorist attack killing a number of
Saudi security forces mere miles away. This is a troubling sign as emboldened
terrorist flank both northern and southern borders of the country. Banning the
Muslim Brotherhood and being vigilant are options exercised by the Saudi
government, but until the regime resolves to addressing root causes of freedoms
and rights for its people the old strategy of pacifying citizens with hollow
gestures will only lead to more discontent, deeper resentment, more grievances
and ultimately more terrorists.
