The brutal terrorist attacks in Europe and in the war-torn areas of the Middle East are a grim reminder that terrorism is a menace to humanity. The fact is that peace today has become a subject to be discussed in conferences and summits and all endeavours to achieve it have been futile as violence has made its way to establish its diabolic might.
The world seems to follow the magician who has mesmerised it with his magical spell and alas, blinded the entire human race perverting it form its true destiny. Civil wars, terrorism and ethnic cleansing are on the rise. Kingpins of terrorism were the potent weapons of powerful nations used to keep a hold on other nations, but little did they realise that snakes are not to be tamed.
Daesh is one of these deadly snakes and they continue to battle for supremacy in conflict areas, and more are being spawned to widen the area of conflict. They are mutating on a trans-national bases, using stealth and brutality to hold on to its territory.
Extremism is neither based on sound principles of religion, nor does it respect multicultural or pluralistic ethos of nations, and it is not confined to a particular country or continent.
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion. An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or an individual.
Even if you cut off their tentacles, they continue to fight, so conventional war tactics will not be sufficient enough to eliminate them. This is not guerrilla warfare, but a war of attrition.
— The reader is a South African based in Johannesburg
