Author: patdaniel

Terror in the name of God

Posted on by patdaniel

Book Review Terror in the Name of God; Why Religious Militants Kill, by Jessica Stern
by Judith Prueitt-Prentice

A divinity student turned me on to this book by Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God; Why Religious Militants Kill. It documents  her interviews with some of the world’s most violent terrorists. Through thoughtful questioning, she inquires into the minds of terrorists both foreign and domestic drawing clear lines of distinction around their decisions to choose the path of violence in their search for God.  She tells the reader, terrorism exists, and the beliefs and aspirations of terrorists around the world share commonalities.

Stern is the foremost U.S. expert on terrorism, is a lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a faculty affiliate of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs along with many other accolades she is a concise writer and researcher.

The opening page of the book gives the reader a clear understanding of the inner workings of the mind of a terrorist.  “It is about purifying the world.  The way forward is clear: kill or be killed.  Kill and be rewarded in heaven.  Kill and the Messiah will come.”  (Stern, 2003)

But we knew that about those Middle Eastern terrorists!  They are the bad guys aren’t they?  Stern proves that our own domestic terrorists share remarkably similar views, values, and religious perspectives on their paths to perdition.  It is a desire to rid the world of “those people” with thoughts and ideas through idealized or actual violence.  How can that happen?  Aren’t most people basically the same?  Yes, and that leads us to look at moral disengagement.

We can discuss Albert Bandura’s theory on moral disengagement here in a clinical way.  Moral disengagement is a process of rectifying one’s cognitive dissonance, or mutually opposing ideals that play out in winning the inner battle between one’s moral standards and ones’ actual behaviors.  This allows people to behave immorally or tolerate immorality by others, even when these behaviors violate their own moral standards (Malley-Morrison, Young Oh, & Zaveri, 2009, p. 152).  More simply put they objectify their perceived enemy and in the case of terrorism.  In the mind of a terrorist, it’s okay to hurt them, God wants you to hurt them, it’s a good thing.

Stern goes on to point out that a homegrown bible thumping militia extremists like David Koresh of the Waco Texas compound and conspiracy aficionados like Timothy McVey who blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  Both, were just as driven by moral disengagement as Abu Musab Al  Zarqawi, suspected of being the number two man in Al Qaida the terrorist organization blamed for the 9/11 attacks on New York’s, World Trade Center.

Although, the book wavers from clinical observation to sometimes sounding like a travel log with more than a bit of interesting back-story about Al Qadia and other militant terrorist organizations in the Middle East and worldwide.  It is her interviews with our own homegrown hate mongers that shocked me the most.  Domestic terrorists like Neal Horsley who’s website promotes surveillance, violence and murder against anyone who opposes his view on right to life.  (Horsley).

Looking at his website today. It seems Horsley has taken down the Unwanted page or  “Kill list” described by Jessica Stern as a webpage. A list that publicly displays the names, family members, phone numbers, and addresses along with other private information of abortionists, crossing off the doctors who have been assassinated for their crimes of murder via providing abortions.  It was through one of these unwanted posters featuring an obstetrician and abortionist, Dr. John Britton, including his photo, home address, and details about his vehicle used by Horsley acquaintance Paul Hill to carry out Britton’s assassination (SPLC, 2002).

He is still asking his followers to donate money to support the cause and to continue to provide personal information on doctors, nurses, police officers who may have protected women entering abortion clinics along with judges and other lawmakers or supporters of a woman’s right to have a legal abortion.   He encourages his followers to act as lone wolf avengers, a term used by terror experts for vigilantes who commit acts of vandalism and terror on their own without connection to a larger organization.

Stern’s opening paragraph sums up the nature of terrorism up in a few simple words.  “It is about finding a clear purpose in a confusing world with too many choices.  (Stern, 2003)” It is a remarkable book for students of psychology, divinity, and history.  I personally recommend it to any book club or individual as just good summer reading.

Double-duty death: War and environmental destruction

Posted on by patdaniel

Book review of Barry Sanders’ The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism
By Pat Daniel, Ph.D., managing editor of Engaging PeaceThe Green Zone: The environmental costs of militarism

We are all too familiar with war’s impact on people and politics, but how often do we consider its damage to the Earth? The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism provides a frightening glimpse of the ecological menace known as the U.S. armed forces.

Barry Sanders’ research met obstacles at every turn. Information is secret, not measured or recorded, not available to the public. Nevertheless, this Pulitzer Prize nominated author substantiates a sobering and terrifying conclusion: The U.S. military is not only the greatest polluter on the planet, but also is playing the lead role in speeding us toward a global warming catastrophe.

The Green Zone is a must-read for members of both the peace and environmental movements. The arts community, too, will be awakened by the stunning images contributed by students of Pacific Northwest College of Art. Here is just a sample of the horrors that Sanders exposes, primarily from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Radiation poisoning

We fight conventional wars—not nuclear—right? Wrong.

  • Most U.S. munitions are made with depleted uranium that leaves behind radioactive dust. Easily absorbed, the dust is responsible for alarming increases in deaths, cancers, birth defects and other medical problems among citizens in war-torn countries, as well as U.S. veterans. Indigenous wildlife endures similar impacts.
  • Because of the long half-life of radioactive residue, the ecological destruction will continue for decades or centuries to come.

Air, soil and water contamination

  • Fragile soils, agricultural lands and natural vegetation have been destroyed by the impact of heavy vehicles, or made unusable by firebombing, land mines and unexploded cluster bombs.
  • Toxic chemicals from weapons, vehicles and military targets such as fertilizer plants pollute the air, fresh water supplies, and ocean habitats.

Energy use and carbon pollution

Ironically, while the U.S. military devotes much of its efforts toward insuring the flow of oil supplies, the institution itself is the world’s largest consumer of fuels:

  • In military speak, fuel consumption is measured in “barrels per hour,” “gallons per minute,” and “gallons per mile.”
  • The M-1 Abrams tank gets 0.2 miles per gallon; the Apache helicopter, 0.5; the Humvee, 4.0. The F-16 Fighter Jet uses 28 gallons per minute; the B-52 Stratocruiser, an astonishing 500 gallons per minute.

As Sanders demonstrates, if every aspect of the non-military sector instantly stopped generating greenhouse gases, the military’s carbon footprint alone will propel the world toward catastrophe.

“Indeed, if scientists are correct in telling us that we must reduce the burning of fossil fuels by seventy percent…then surely they must see the obvious: We must put a stop to war.”

Pat Daniel, Ph.D., managing editor of Engaging Peace

Stories of engagement: Ralph DiGia

Posted on by patdaniel

Ralph DiGia[Editor’s Note:  Today’s story of engagement, by Ora Lora Spadafora, celebrates Ralph DiGia (1914-2008). Written as if in DiGia’s own voice, the tribute was presented in 2010 at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts during a ceremony remembering conscientious objectors buried on the Abbey’s “C.O. Hill.”]

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Ralph DiGia and I live and work for peace just as I have for many decades.

Thank you for inviting me here to tell my story. The first time I was in Massachusetts I came here to be in a protest rally for Sacco and Vanzetti. But I didn’t stay very long that time because I had to get back to the War Resisters League in New York, which offered me a great opportunity as a pacifist and worker for social justice. And believe me, there have been many opportunities.

Years later during the Vietnam War, I was sent to jail for three years because I was a Conscientious Objector for ethical reasons, but I guess those reasons weren’t good enough. Ah, but that was over forty years ago, and we still keep going to war.

Now it’s Iraq and Afghanistan, and soon it will be other countries yet to be named. We never do stop going to war, do we? And I’ve seen them all having lived almost through the entire twentieth century, including The War to End All Wars…and that was almost a hundred years ago now.

Can I tell you something, just between you and me? War doesn’t end war. Only peace ends wars. But if you’re here today, you already know that.

Sounds simple enough, but there are still many people who don’t believe that…I mean millions of people don’t believe peace ends war.

For the past twelve years that I’ve been resting here, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. I have to tell you I can still feel that same fire and passion I did years ago. What it comes down to is renewing our vision.

But since I can’t get around the way I used to, I’d like to ask you keep this vision of peace alive. Vision is not the ability to predict the future; it is a commitment to pursue possibility.

This is the time to ask “Why Not?” once again. Not for our own sake but for those who come after us. Our children, our loved ones and for all those we’ve never met, but who also hunger and thirst for peace in their lives.

I’ve devoted my life to Peace and will always work towards that no matter what the consequences are! So please join me. Thank you, and Peace.

Tribute to Ralph DiGia by Ora Lora Spadafora