Dangerous Reactions: the Aftermath of an Attack.

• Author: Ayres, Ed
• Position: Note from a Worldwatcher

Many people have said that the obliteration of the World Trade Center marks a turning point--a day after which the world will never be the same. But in the comments of political and military leaders during the hours when the rubble was still smoking, there was little sign of anything but the same kind of reflexive response to horrific acts that we've seen since the beginning of history. There was the same impulse to seek vengeance, to "hunt down" the perpetrators and "smoke them out of their holes"--never mind what that effort might cost to those bewildered farmers and herders among whom the perpetrators may now be hiding. Didn't we learn something about this problem in Vietnam?

As I begin to write this, it is just 24 hours since the World Trade Center and Pentagon were so amazingly and audaciously struck. But already I see signs that we are about to embark on some very dangerous responses:

1. Focusing on revenge. I see a critical difference between delivering justice and wreaking vengeance. In the aftermath of the attack, that distinction seemed to be swept away. The first public reaction of Mr. Bush, to "hunt down and punish," put out the message that the U.S. will not be bullied. But that's not likely to have any deterrent effect on committed terrorists, any more than capital punishment has a deterrent effect on ordinary murderers (numerous studies confirm that it doesn't). And if the desire for retribution results in U.S. attacks that kill civilians whose deaths can be officially dismissed as "collateral damage," it will more likely enflame terrorist passions--and gain them new sympathizers--than subdue them. It will leave more people around the world believing (as the terrorists may well intend) that it's the United States that's the bully.

2. Impulsively pouring more resources into the military. One of the key lessons here is that threats to human security, even if we're speaking only of the kinds of threats posed by human aggression, now include forces for which military defenses were never designed. Money poured into military defense may be wasted, if ingenious and determined adversaries can find ways to attack without military weapons--relying, rather, on unexpected uses of the routine products of civilian life. The nation that wields the world's most advanced super-weapons was brought to grief by a few men armed with knives. The Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh, used firm chemicals and a rental truck. The longer we remain fixated on...