Tunisia attack: the evil that terrorists – and governments – do
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Version 0 of 1. David Cameron said he could only imagine the “pain, and anguish and agony” of families caught up in the terrible events in Tunisia (Report, 29 June). He added that the entirely innocent people attacked had only been trying to enjoy their holiday. But imagine instead you had been enjoying a wedding, in, say, Yemen or Afghanistan, and out of the blue a huge explosion devastates all around you. The atrocity in Tunisia came on the day the Guardian reported potential British communications intelligence (GCHQ) involvement in US drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan (UK faces calls for intelligence-sharing guidance over drone attacks, 26 June), which are not recognised war zones, killing many innocent civilians as collateral damage. A government spokesperson made this disingenuous comment: “We expect all states concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting any form of military or counter-terrorist operations.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism provides the following recent figures for civilians killed by US drone attacks in Afghanistan and Yemen: Yemen 2002–15: total killed: 460-681; civilians killed: 65-97; children killed: 8-9; injured: 88-221. Afghanistan: total killed: 124-166; civilians killed: 14-39; children killed: 0-18; injured: 9. We ought to apply the same humanitarian standards to all people. Unfortunately, western governments, ours included, apply double standards. And while they do, such atrocities as Sousse will happen.Dr David LowryStoneleigh, Surrey • Jonathan Freedland ends his article on the recent acts of terrorism in Tunisia, France and Kuwait (Opinion, 27 June) by saying that we must not be afraid to name them for what they are: “evil”. Well, OK. But what we need to know is how to diminish the likelihood of these hideous events in future, and the word evil doesn’t help us to think usefully – for that, we need to understand causes. “Those to whom evil is done/ Do evil in return”, wrote the poet WH Auden. It follows that to respond to small crimes by committing greater ones, as the west did in responding to 9/11 by destroying civil society in Iraq, or as Israel did by responding to small-scale Hamas shelling by killing the inhabitants of Gaza in vastly greater numbers, is almost infallibly to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The west used torture and chemical weapons in the invasion of Iraq. I completely sympathise with Freedland in his outrage when ghastly things are done by Muslim terrorists, but emotion should only be the starting point for serious thought and memory. Humans are humans: let’s not pretend their actions are incomprehensible.David BlackLondon • The minute you start describing people or causes as evil, you let governments and politicians off the hook. However, whether it be Genghis Khan, or the Nazis, or Isis, the slaughter of the innocents has the desired effect, in this last case drones, disengagement and retrenchment. Until the west starts to address the root causes of the problems in the Middle East – among them the actions of Israel and Saudi Arabia – nothing will change. The west must also cease portraying all those who fight in Syria as radicalised simpletons, and recognise that many are principled individuals who feel they must do something if their governments fail to act. Change will take a long time, but will eventually convince the Islamic world that the west is even-handed in its approach and will remove the support for those who perpetrate these acts.Jeremy MarshPurley • I heartily agree with Giles Fraser (Loose canon, 27 June) that it’s neither religion nor scriptures that have led the Muslim youth to join Isis. Most of these youngsters know nothing of the Qu’ran or the history or tenets of Islam – their outlook is moulded by the west. Even in a country like India, where there are youngsters who have joined Isis, one needs to look at the political and social fabric and question why Muslim youths are disgruntled; their issues should be addressed in order to disembed and displace the Isis ideology.Professor Sami RafiqAligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India • Thank God (literally or metaphorically) for Freedland and Fraser. Each, from his differing perspective, has given us by far the most insightful analysis to date of the current round of atrocities in the Middle East and elsewhere, providing a timely reminder that evil, however we perceive it, is an endemic aspect of the human condition. Secular or religious, we have to address it in ourselves before we can either understand or condemn it in others.Jeremy MuldowneyYork • It is concerning how casually Matthew d’Ancona (Opinion, 29 June) argues that “busy use” of Facebook by the Isis gunman in Tunisia justifies increased surveillance powers. What is the evidence that access to this individual’s communications on Facebook would have prevented the murders? More important is to ask why Seifeddine Rezgui could apparently avoid scrutiny under existing security arrangements. Did “they” know enough about him and his behaviour to deem it necessary to monitor his communications, if that were possible? Or is d’Ancona calling for all users of social media to be subject to surveillance? Dr Alex MayManchester • These terrorists represent themselves only and do not represent Muslims or Islam, which prohibits such acts. Let’s not forget that most of their victims are Muslims. They are a threat to us all and we should not allow them to divide us. Foreign policy and interventions which strengthened the extremists and weakened the moderates should be changed. We should salute the brave Muslims who turned themselves into human shields to protect western tourists.Mohammed SamaanaBelfast • When the IRA bombed London, Americans stayed away, nearly bankrupting London theatres. The terrorist attack in Tunisia is likely to have a similar effect on their economy and indeed other North African resorts. Yet the greatest risk for tourists is the journey to the UK airport. We accept M25 risks and should similarly refuse to change our behaviour. Enjoy the north African sun and defeat the terrorists!Jon ChoppinForum, Dorset • Saturday was Armed Forces Day, a successful public relations exercise introduced by the Tony Blair government to deflect attention from the Afghan campaign, where our emasculated forces attempted to fulfil the remit set by their political masters. How ironic then that our newspaper headlines were dominated by terrorist atrocities, a consequence of the failed Blair/Bush foreign policy interventions that were meant to improve our safety.Jon NealCrawley, West Sussex |