Martin Ehrenhauser

The debate over terrorism is driven by dangerous hysteria. 1200 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2000. Eight years later the death toll was 16,000. 44 percent of them were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In comparison, annually 2.1 million people die of HIV/AIDS and 600.000 in traffic accidents. Still young panty bombers or “Sauerland boys” (Sauerlandbuben) drive the West to hysteria. Approximately 400,000 soldiers fight in Afghanistan. According to Joseph Stiglitz the cost of the war in Iraq (hyperlink) amounts to 3 trillion US dollars.

There is no proportionality in the legislation, the media attention, the costs and the reaction to this phenomenon any more. As a reaction to terrorist attacks people get tortured and civil right are being violated. This spiral is rotating from just one side. Jiménez-Becerril Barrio Teresa, a conservative MEP from Spain held a speech against this in the plenary session on Wednesday. When it comes to terrorism “we should not wait for facts, we must act preventively but we do not do this.” For this very reason body scanner in the airports are to her a “responsibility that we cannot shirk”.

The current methods of combating terrorism have failed. The cost-intensive methods of fighting terrorism led solely to the increase in the number of terrorism victims. With the same money one could have successfully fought against diseases and could have thus saved the lives of countless people. Terrorism as a danger should be reassessed and the fight against it should be redefined. The unease between cultures should be calmed down and not fuelled. Otherwise where can this hysteria lead to?