It was an echo of conversations Id had after 9/11, from Pakistan to Gaza, Iraq to Yemen, in which local people told me that it was American Jews or the C.I.A. that had organized the attacks on the twin towers. Amid mass delusion and a miasma of bigotry and conspiracy theories, they took up arms or bombs to defend Islam from infidels.
Those young Saudis, Afghans and others who backed violence in some cases arent so different from those who were manipulated by Trump and his allies into attacking the Capitol. One thing we should have learned from that epoch is the need not only to confront terrorists individually but also to clear out the ecosystem that produces them. So here are five lessons from that war on terror to inform todays:
Invoke moral clarity.We instinctively reach for the military toolbox when were attacked, but its also important to fight a war of ideas and delegitimize certain behaviors and speech. To me, thats why its crucial that impeachment be a teachable moment.
Pursuit of moral clarity always leads to flurries of whataboutism and bothsidesism, and there are usually elements of truth to such objections. But we can accept that the world is nuanced and inconsistent without giving up a moral compass to navigate it.
In the 1960s, some on the left believed that violent revolution was necessary to fight an entrenched system, but such violence led to a healthy revulsion. There are still some on the left sympathetic to violence, but for now the biggest challenge is to mobilize public opinion to stigmatize violence by white nationalists on the right.
Beware the educated leaders. People often believe that its poverty and illiteracy that drive terrorism, but thats too simplistic. The 9/11 plot was orchestrated by university-educated elites. Last weeks Capitol rampage was obviously entirely different and not comparable, but it was galvanized by a trio with Ivy League degrees. And yes, Im talking about Donald Trump, Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. They all know better, and they should be held responsible.read more
Impeachment Is a Call for ‘Moral Clarity’
