Al Qaeda And The Austrian Hostages

In this time the most serious war of all is not defined along national lines. Sure all the western world is in a war against terrorism but unlike anything that is known to us from the past this is not a war of one state against another. It doesn’t even help if you try to stay out of the conflict as the case of the kidnapped Austrian Hostages in Tunisia proves. What characterizes this new era of war that is not really war? well first of all I think it is the dismantling of the clear lines between time of war and times of peace there is no clear line that separates the two anymore. One can go on a tour in an Islamic state and end up as a hostage. The second thing is that there is no clear separation between civilians and soldiers. It is much harder for a state do respond on attacks or even initiate attacks if the attackers live in the midst of civilians and fight surrounded by the kind of populations that usually was not part of what we considered war in the past. What complicates things even further is that these civilians provide shelter and support for the aggressor still when attempts to act against this places is done it appears - only from outside - as if some big strong state is fighting poor helpless population of civilians. We all have to think differently as the terrorist certainly do, they’ll play the card of emotional blackmail everyday - hiding guns and munitions under the seat of a very pregnant woman or in the baby’s bed. Has anything in the past thought us to fight this kind of war? Don’t think so. Global terrorism can grow in strengh and momentum as they have nothing to loose, it take an understanding of all free nations that this is not just the war of Israel, USA or any other country it is a fight of two world views one that believes in live and let live and the other that wants something very different.