The authoritarian response to terrorism
Cal Thomas thinks the Mumbai attacks call for dramatic changes to immigration, equal protection and the first amendment:
At the very least, all non-Western immigrants to Britain and America should be told prior to their arrival that our intention is to westernize them.
They must learn English, study and embrace the history of their host nation and, if they are Muslim, they will be allowed to worship only in existing mosques.
No new ones should be built.
Existing mosques must be monitored to make sure that hate is not taught and aggressive behavior toward their host countries is not promoted.
If such behavior and speech are detected, the mosques should be closed and the imams arrested or deported.
Diplomacy should precede or follow war. Once war begins, victory is the only acceptable outcome.
The goal of the terrorists is victory. If Britain and America settle for less, they will get less, which is defeat.
I’ve avoided the whole “is Mumbai the Indian 9/11″ argument for numerous reasons, but now another question emerges: will every terrorist attack inspire 9/11-esque calls for authoritarian crackdowns? Think about what Cal is advocating here: state-mandated indoctrination, loyalty tests, official religious discrimination, spying (cough cough), an ominous inclination toward war — and those are just the intended consequences. It boggles the mind. America simply would not be America any more if we did all these things.
Cal and his fellow travelers should have a look at Avaaz.org’s response:
…If these attacks cause us to turn on each other in hatred and conflict, the terrorists will have won. They know that hatred and chaos feeds on division. They also know that as radical extremists, their only hope of disrupting society as a whole is turning the rest of us against each other.
Let’s deny them that victory. We’re launching a message to extremists on all sides, and our fellow citizens, one that will be published in newspapers across India and Pakistan and delivered to our political leaders within one week. The message is that these tactics have failed and we are more united than ever. And we are determined to work together to stop violent extremism, and call on our political and religous leaders to so the same. If hundreds of thousands of people sign it, our message will be unmistakable.
Visit their web site for more.