Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Head of Israel’s IDC is a man who defines and attacks terrorism

HERZLIYA, Israel -- Walking the campus of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) with its president and founder, Professor Uriel Reichman, is an interesting experience. Observing classes in its several schools adds to the excitement. Schools of law, business, computer science and government, diplomacy and strategy are leaders in teaching good minds destined to become major decision makers. The center isn't funded by the government but has a strong social commitment.

What caught my eye was the published statement of Reichman that explains the center's goals. "In today's exploding New World of globalization and information technology, change is not an option -- it is a necessity." Reichman goes on to add, "We at IDC have developed an academic strategy that equips our students to be at the vanguard of this exciting revolution."

Among the activities here on campus is the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). Eventually the ground and air war in Iraq will end, but terrorism will continue to plague the world. That brutal and bloody disease, which began to be felt worldwide more than 30 years ago, has continued to spread and become more deadly.

The ICT is a think tank headed by Dr. Boaz Ganor, whose expertise is recognized around the world. Discussing terrorism with Ganor is much like talking tactics with a combat infantry lieutenant or strategic planning with the head of a large international business corporation. He has the knowledge and experience to shift the conversation from how to identify terrorism to methods of fighting and/ or preventing it. If you want a taste of his skills and knowledge, take a look at the institute's website, www.ict.org.il. It's an up-to-date view of terrorism as a global threat.

Ganor separates the violence created by guerilla warfare from that resulting from terrorism. A violent act against a military ship or base by a group seeking liberation can be seen as guerilla warfare. The same amount of violence brought down on civilians is easily defined as terrorism. Guerilla warfare is just that -- war -- and should be answered by military action. The act of violence against civilians is terrorism and must be considered an act against civilization. The act of terrorism must be answered by the world and not by just the army of some nation. Any overlap that might exist must be defined by the courts.

The nonsense used to justify blowing up a busload of children or a disco full of teenagers as an act to gain liberation of some kind is unacceptable. Last year Ganor in a policy paper wrote:

"Hiding behind the guise of national liberation does not release terrorists from responsibility for their actions. Not only is it untrue that 'One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter,' but it is also untrue that 'The end justifies the means.' "

Ganor goes on to add: "The end of national liberation may, in some cases, justify recourse to violence in an attempt to solve the problem that led to the emergence of a particular organization in the first place. Nevertheless, the organization must still act according to the rules of war, directing its activities toward the conquest of military and security targets; in short, it must confine itself to guerilla activities.

"When the organization breaks these rules and intentionally targets civilians, it becomes a terrorist organization, according to objective measures and not according to the subjective perception of the definer."

Ganor believes it's necessary to start with a clear definition before delving into subjects, including terrorist strategy, world Islamic Jihad, countries that support terrorism, hostage-taking, suicide terror attacks, non-conventional terrorism, terrorist activity worldwide, Israel's counter-terrorism strategy, how Western countries have coped with international terrorism, the role of intelligence in counter-terrorism and crisis simulation. He and his staff cover all of these subjects in special programs.

Ganor and his staff of experts attract some of the world's finest minds dedicated to meeting the challenges of terrorism. Time with Ganor probably has saved countless lives because of the knowledge he has passed on to fighters against terrorism.

archive