Trends in Counter Terrorist Attacks As Suggested By Caren Kaplan
Terrorism is an old phenomenon, a violent action used by groups or individuals to achieve a political goal. These groups or individuals carry out attacks towards humanity to serve extreme ideologies such as fascism, anarchism and communism. However, most of the terrorists are motivated by what they call a religious mission therefore introducing the highest level of danger. These religious fanatics leave no room for compromise and their objectives are only achieved by an act of all-out war. The phenomenon of terrorism has evolved with the 21st century experiencing more orchestrated dangerous and lethal attacks in America and European nation than the previous attacks. Although terrorism is a global challenge as it is experienced in almost every country in the world, world leaders will require different approaches to counter terror attacks in the future. In her article, “Sensing Distance: The Time and Space of Contemporary War,” Caren Kaplan suggests changing the society’s Asian and Arabs stereotype depicted by Hollywood as a method of countering terror attacks.
Kaplan describes the measures taken by the US Government and the Military to curb terror attacks in the future. She describes the surveillance posts, satellite systems with intrinsic imagery that can standardize topographical information and integrate it into the universal database- with abilities to sense war at a distance. A remarkable military creation she describes is a smart bomb that transmitted images of a missile strike as they happen. Nevertheless, Kaplan states that the government should look closely into the lives of its people as well, not just concentrate on securing the borders. For instance, gender violence, social inequality leading to violence are acts of war that should be countered before they escalate to a more dangerous violence.
Kaplan idea of closeness Vis, a Vis distance in countering war, is represented clearly in the movie, London Has Fallen. The plot of the movie opens with the death of London Prime Minister, all world leaders gather in London for the burial ceremony. Among them is the US President Benjamin Asher who is accompanied by the personal Secret Service Agent, Mike Banning. It was one of the top secured events in history. However a Middle East terrorist, Aamir Barkawi has orchestrated and coordinated attacks involving bombs, rocket launchers as experienced in several parts of London City. Additionally, some of the world leaders from Canada, France, Japan, and Italy are captured and killed in the most gruesome way. Though President Benjamin survives the attack, it is, without a doubt, the proximity of the terrorist was closer to home than the MI-6 agents thought.
Additionally, Total Siyappa describes the love life of two lovers Aman and Asha living in London. Aman is a musician from Pakistan while Asha is a Hindu journalist. Their origin becomes a hurdle in their love story, and while Aman finally decides to meet Asha’s family, they resent him as he is from their enemy country. In the morning of visiting Asha’s family, Aman was arrested by a cop on the street of London for, according to the cop, “wanting to bomb the city.” This stereotype is seen in the Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People describes the negative stereotypes towards Arabs and Asians in Hollywood movies. Additionally, Karma of Brown Folk is a definitive description of the South Asian in the American construction and their struggle for national identity.
As established in the above paragraphs, counter terror attacks in the future should not only be technologically geared but behavioral too. Negative stereotypes of Arabs and Asians lead to the increase of terror sympathizers who in the long run support the terrorist in implementing their heinous crimes. If this can be addressed, the government and the community at large might curb the world’s biggest challenge of all times.
