by Zach Bigalke

Created on: February 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

In asking oneself how terrorist attacks can be foiled before they take innocent lives, it is more important to investigate just why someone might be inclined to become a suicide terrorist. Contrary to popular American belief, terrorists are not born, they are created. Unprovoked, most human beings will continue to live their own lives, attempting to improve their environment and acquire a greater quality of life.

But, once provoked, any person has the potential to revert to terroristic means to ward off a perceived or real threat. Whether Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber, threatened by the ever-advancing technological age), Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma City bomber, cast aside by a government he had dutifully served as a soldier), or the legions of Iraqi citizens who turn to insurgency as they watch American troops continue to commit war crimes against civilian men, women and children, a terrorist must have something internally triggered to push them over the brink. Terrorism is a greusome travesty, one by which too many innocent lives are often punished for the actions of another. But the target (or the perception of the target by the terrorist) is rarely completely cleared of fault or provocation.

The most successful way to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur, then, would be to remove the triggers that cause humans to become terrorists. And, while some instances (such as Kaczynski) are unpreventable, caused by factors naturally occurring with human technological advancement. However, the other two examples are linked, and both are preventable. In McVeigh's instance, after four decorated years as a soldier during Operation Desert Storm, the disappearance of regimented military life and the inability of the military to help effectively place its decommissioned soldiers into relevant positions in the civilian sector caused him to become transient. Unfulfilled, McVeigh turned to amphetamines in an effort to find relevance and reality. Soldiers sent to hotbed regions feel inflated senses of worth as they are given broad rules of engagement. With a newly-formed bloodlust, these soldiers are then released back into popular society, where the rule of law is much more constrictive.

And, as the soldier's rules of engagement condition them to violent, restless tendencies, their actions while in war are the petri dish that causes insurgents to grow from the harsh desert soil. With each civilian rounded up, shot defenseless in their homes, a new insurgent is born into terrorist service. With a deeply-rooted family tradition, a new insurgent springs up every time one of their family members is senselessly slaughtered by the Stars and Stripes. As the soldiers thrive on this bloodletting, so does the insurgency.

So, forcing the military to uphold and follow stricter, internationally-recognized guidelines for the conduct of war, the impetus for both civilian-release apathy and insurgent-breeding homicide will be slashed. The best way to prevent future terrorist attacks is not to continue a futile search for al-Qaeda, a crusade against Hamas, or assistance to Israel to counter Hezbollah. Rather, it is more vital to change American attitudes and perceptions of the rest of the world; once Americans drop their sense of superiority, a more benevolent world with less pointed hatred will follow. And while there will always be mentally-disturbed individuals who perform acts of terror, the greater breeding ground for a culture of terrorism will dissipate.

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