What should we do to free our planet from terrorism?

Question

Human society, from origin until now, has always been at war within and between groups and has led to two World Wars. Presently, terrorism and low intensity warfare are affecting many parts if the world.

As the current global population of 6 billion increases to 8 billion by 2025, national and international conflicts will continue to be a source of concern for humanity. When evil minds combine, good minds have to work together and combat. In this context, what are the out-of-the-box solutions to free the planet earth from terrorism?
Your answers when processed and implemented can lead to a peaceful, happy and safe planet earth.

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Additional Details

Yahoo! Staff Notice: Since only one best answer is possible, Sugato Mitra’s answer is being picked as the best. Congratulations to Sugato.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

First, let me wish Your Excellency a very happy and prosperous new year. I am Sugato Mitra, a 41 year old man from Durgapur in West Bengal. As a very ordinary citizen of this great nation, I consider it an immense privillege of mine to be presented with an opportunity to answer a question which happens to cross the mind of someone who is not only the Honourable President of India but also happens to be one of the greatest intellectual minds of this country.

A look at the very elementary picture of terrorism reveals certain things:

1. A handful of immensely wealthy, influential and powerful people provide the leadership. In many instances they lead a justifiable movement. In an equal number of instances they have a personal axe to grind in the garb of mass movement. Some of them are prepared to come out and discuss their grievances. Others prefer to remain away from the public eye.

2. The foot soldiers are almost invariably youth of impressionable minds. It is also commonly seen that they come from ordinary or poor families.

The governments of different countries faced with the problem of terrorism has to do some serious and honest soul searching. The discussion below, tries to combine the aforesaid two aspects in an effort to find a solution to terrorism.

The question of origin of the terrorist movement has to be addressed first. Why did a terrorist movement arise? Was it because a certain section of the population justifiably demanded something, but was denied the same? In that case, how does the fulfillment of their demands fit into the overall national interest? If conceding to their justified demand does not affect national interests adversely, there is no harm in agreeing to them. But if those are contrary to the overall national interests then there is no question of conceding. But the issue should be considered objectively and impartially.

This seems to be particularly pertinent in the Kashmir problem. Here we see not only Kashmiris demanding their own independent homeland, but also a neighbouring country abetting the terrorist movement against India. Here Pakistan clearly has an axe to grind and in all probabilities ultimately want to annexe Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan and all Pakistan sponsored Kashmiri leaders should be firmly ignored in solving the problem.

The Government of India should address the people of Kashmir directly, especially the Kashmiri youth. The message should ring loud and clear: we want our Kashmiri brothers and sisters to be with us now and forever. India doesn't want to bribe Kashmiris with special concessions to be a part of this country. India wants every Kashmiri to be equal partners in the country's progress to prosperity. Every effort should be made to initiate progress in J&K through setting up of institutes of excellence and modern industries. The mind of the Kasmiri youth should be weaned away from the narrow confines of terrorism and divisiveness and exposed to modern liberal thinking through these institutes. When he or she is adequately trained, there should be adequate modern industries where he or she can put his hand on modern machines and applications. Hopefully, the Kashmiri youth will thereafter forsake the gun and terrorism and separatism as his or her aspirations in life, which are no different from any other normal youth, marches towards the path of fulfilment. Terrorism and its associated perils will be an unviable option compared to the peace and tranquility of a normal human life.

The same approach needs to be implemented in North East India as well. Development should be the dominant ingredient in the government's efforts to tame terrorism. Development for the masses, especially the youth and harsh repressive measures for the handful of masterminds can adequately tame terrorism.

Your Excellency, as you have rightly pointed out, the human population is growing and scarce natural resources are under pressure. If a system of equitable distribution could be worked out, it would leave greater number of people satisfied. But sadly this doesn't happen practically with the result that a lot of us feel deprived and aggrieved. This is particularly relevant to India and its exploding population. If the pressure of population on resources decreased, attrition would lessen consequently and quality of life of the average Indian improve considerably. That would also mean a drastic reduction in terrorist activities and chances thereof. Population control in India should not only be a slogan but a visible and effective national movement.

Adding to our woes, powerful nations want to corner a major share of the scarce natural resources. Terrorism originating from the Middle East has its roots in Western countries trying to control and corner the oil reserves located there. Kuwait was attacked by Iraq for its oil. The US started the Gulf War against Iraq to free Kuwait. And now Iraq is the latest hotbed of terrorism. Of course there is the Palestinian problem as a direct consequence of Israel's occupation. Israel can not be wished away, but it is Israel's responsibility to be the initiator of peace in the region with meaningful and acceptable efforts.

The UN of late has unfortunately come out as a pretty ineffective forum to implement peace. It has to be made effective. India is aspiring for a permanent seat in the Security Council. If she succeeds, India should hopefully provide solutions to end attritions accross the world and end terrorism. But right now responsible nations must unite against terrorism. The group should not only be composed of nations facing this threat, but also those still out of its tentacles. Terrorism should be tackled globally and not individually. When the World Trade Center came crashing down, the whole world condemned. But sadly, such reactions of universal solidarity are seen when terrorism kills innocents in India.

Sanity and responsibility are still dominant in the world. The need of the hour is unity of sane and right thinking people cutting across national barrier and ideologies. When they unite, greedy and aggressive regimes will be forced to take a backseat. Let there be greater exchanges between the youth of all countries who want peace in their own country and also internationally. Let ideas flow freely. Voices should be raised when a powerful nation tries to bully a weak nation into submission and thereby open another front for terrorism. Such nations, however powerful, should be shunned by one and all. And let the condemnation be equally loud and clear when terrorism strikes and kills innocents.

A check on the population growth, quality education and living standards, development and employment opportunities for the youth and respect for humanity and universal human values will ultimately wipe out terrorism one day. This may appear Utopian right now. But I am optimistic of seeing this day arrive soon. And with this fervent hope, Your Excellency, I end my humble submssion.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Of the shortlist put together by the editorial team, I have selected 2 answers by Sugato Mitra and Karthik Durairajan as 1 and 2, in that order. In my opinion, to a certain extent possible solutions emerge from a combination of these two answers.

Answer 2

I’m Kiran Bedi belonging to the Indian Police Service. It is a privilege to be on Yahoo. I am here to offer my answer to the question raised by the President of India on Terrorism.

Having been a police officer of 33 years, I’ve arrested and interrogated many terrorists. I have also run a prison, where I had an opportunity to interact with them. I saw one common string. Before the terrorists fire weapons, terrorism is already in their minds. If we have to work for prevention we will need to address the minds first. Because violence first grows in the minds, just as peace does. But once the mind is fed on terrorism and gets hell-bent on causing destruction to achieve political or ideological goals, then weapons, media and money is all oxygen.

The answer to this is straight. Address the minds. Not when it is already formed, not when it is already closed, but when it is in the making. That’s where a teacher, a parent, a neighbor or a spiritual master, plays a role.
As I believe lets go to ‘right campaigns and not wrong wars’. I think what’s happening today is, getting into wrong wars with wrong campaigns. We need to reverse this.
Let me give you an example; all Singaporean Taxi Drivers are linked with crime prevention. To me this is a right campaign.
Let me relate you a story of a man who complained to God of having sent them into such a violent, abusive and greedy world, full of counterfeit policies, plans, budgets, currencies and counterfeit human beings. God said: don’t you understand, I sent you on to this earth to be a ‘better you’. But you became a part of the problem and not the solution.
A message which has stayed with me for long which I recall is, “EACH ONE OF YOU CAN MAKE A GREAT DEAL OF DIFFERENCE TO THE NATION—REPEAT THIS PLEDGE AFTER ME… That was a pledge to fight terrorism!
I cannot say terrorism will be eliminated. All I can say is, terrorism will be contained and the world will be more peaceful for generations to come. And it will be a peaceful world, only when it truly speaks the language of Gandhi.

Answer 3

The most extreme terrorism that faces us today is sadly in the form of people killing each other in the name of Religion. There is a misguided belief that you can become a Martyr even if you kill innocent people.

This dangerous ideology requires a change in perception. Education and spreading awareness among people is the key to bringing about such a necessary & pressing change in the mentality of people.

Religious Fanaticism is responsible for this in a big way. We must learn to be tolerant towards people of all religions, color, caste and creed.

We must learn to live in peace and stop judging people by the house the live in, the cars they drive or their economic conditions. We have to stop being such a judgmental society.

Spreading the message of peace and love through education is equally important to combat terrorism.

Each one of us needs to contribute to the process individually as each of us is like a drop in the ocean which can create a huge ripple. We should all join in this, to combat terrorism in our own little way and make a big difference.

Answer 4

To free our planet from terrorism we have to really go into the root cause of terrorism
The first cause of terrorism I see is the tension and stress.
Stress and tension in the minds of men and women turn into violence and that violence then comes up in life as domestic violence, societal violence, then it becomes the violence between communities and countries.
So basically stress and tension in a person is to be managed.
The second cause of terrorism I see, is narrow ideology, narrow mindedness. Lack of sense of belongingness with the human race. Lack of sense of belongingness with the people of all different religions and cultures and racial backgrounds.
So we need to expand the vision of our young people. The young minds need to have a sense of belongingness with people of all different cultures and religions.
One way to achieve this is to educate a child in a multi cultural, multi religious discipline so that the child knows little bit about the wisdom in all various different cultures. This is what I would call as globalizing wisdom. Glosbalising widom would help and more and more interaction with people who are different than ourselves. Usually you know, there is a proverb that says Birds of the same feather flock together.
So we don’t need to be birds, we can be human beings; we can flock with people of different feathers, different colours and different beliefs and faith systems.
If you could achieve that then the world would be a better place to live.
A person identifies himself to belong to a particular religion. If his identity with the religion is above his identity of being a human being then, there is a problem.
First and foremost everyone’s identity should connect oneself with the fact that they are part of one divinity and one humanity.
And the third fourth fifth place of course, the other identities will stay on. They belong to this religion, this culture this language, this country, this nationality, they all should be there.
You can’t deny someone’s identity at all. Identities are good to have. They have their purpose but they should not super cede or overshadow the basic identity that we all have, that we are human beings.
If this basic identity that we are human beings is over shadowded then people are ready to give up their lives for identities sake. For being a Muslim or a Hindu or a Christian or a Jewish. People are giving the life for their identity!
So that shift has to happen. For that we need to globalize wisdom and a sense of belongingness with all the wisdom. All the religions of the world has to dawn in their minds.

Answer 5

I appreciate the implication of the question posed by the President of India before us all because as I understand it, the ‘out-of-box solutions’ suggest that the existing paradigm guiding the ‘War on Terror’ has been futile. In fact it has proved counter-productive and one might even add that this paradigm on the ‘War on Terror’ threatens solutions to terrorism.
Terrorism today is constructed as a kind of enemy that cannot be conceptualized in traditional terms. It is a phenomenon built over time, without territory in the traditional sense. The war on terror is therefore mostly a clash of culture, worldview, ideas, narrative, history, chosen glories and chosen traumas.
The War on Terror has been narcissistically obsessed with the ‘other’ and the more walls that we build around us, the more we will have to tear down, when we finally realize that we actually need each other. Hence the endeavor to find out of the box solutions to terrorism is not about who they are, it really is about we are and how we respond to issues of injustice. How we address injustice (of all forms) is decisive to whether we can build a world free of terrorism.
Therefore if we are to explore together the idea of out-of-box solutions to terrorism, then it is quite essential that we first put a human face to it. Naturally this suggestion contravenes the existing paradigm of War on Terror, because all that this War on Terror has done is to create the image of an enemy of the ‘other’ and pursues the idea that purports the efficacy of force, which has only bred more violence.
The lack of critical imagination and the arrogance of power have perpetuated the assumption that the hammer is the only means available to deal with people who disagree with you. The perpetual resort to force manifests a deepening belief in force as a method above all else which inevitably stands out as a monolithic structure.
To make this world free of terrorism, demands that we must make this world free of violence. It is of absolute necessity to address the question of violence with clarity and foresight, because violence is at the root of terrorism. By violence, I mean, state violence, structural violence and other forms of violence that prevents the fullness of a dignified humanity.
Without a doubt, good sense must prevail in recognizing that it is virtually quite impossible for the world to "eliminate" terrorism, or to eliminate the ‘other.’ If our response to terrorism is more violence, that in the final analysis, we would end up being no better, possible even worse.
We need evolve a new paradigm in which our response to issues of terrorism demands of us to find creative, imaginative and responsive ways to engage with injustices. Such a paradigm must find ways to end violence and its consequences. We must explore new ways to address conflicting interest in more creative, imaginative and peaceful ways, in which the use of force has no role.
I would like to envision (think) a few decades ahead from where we are, where humans would have already realized a shared humanity, and then from there work ourselves to the present and in the process try and identify what it would mean and it is demand of us to achieve a shared humanity.
Indeed our shared humanity is based on the idea that the security and well-being of any one community, nation or people is connected and interdependent with the well being of others, requiring mutual respect, understanding, cooperation, and investment in our mutual destiny.
In reality there is no road that leads to peace, Peace itself is the road; and it begins to emerge only when all forms of injustices that destroy human dignity are removed. It is a praxis which demands addressing all forms of injustices through fairness and righteous means and it necessitates the transformation of all unjust systems to ensure that the injustices are not committed again.
In the end, political courage is the living power of human perception that nurtures and expands a vision for the future by transcending the existing realities which is limited by present conditions of an impoverished mind. Today must be that day we decide to speak for ourselves and find our own solutions to the question terrorism and the challenges of a shared humanity.

Answer 6

Hello President sir,

Let me first mention that it is an absolute honour getting to answer your question. Thank you for this timely put forward question of yours concerning one of the gravest issues mankind has ever faced i.e. terrorism.

Coming to your question, I think this is the question you have asked yourself many a times while the execution of the prime convict of the terrorist attack on our parliament rested on a single nod or “nay” of yours. I know the decision isn’t entirely yours but, as publicized by media—your stand in Afzal’s case does matter.

Before I put forward my answer, I would like to analyze, from whatever I have seen, read and pondered over; the root-cause(s) of terrorism.

Terrorism has different facets, different levels of severity and different circumstantial causes. But in my view, it has common roots which start growing with mistrust, grow to the limits of distrust and end up bringing the involved communities/ individuals into disrepute.

Two communities which have different interests (take any two fast developing countries for example) have a certain air of competition and mistrust between each other. A few occurrences of miscommunication, lack of communication or vile acts of a few people who do not belong anywhere spark the feelings of enmity and complete loss of trust. This is where the targets i.e. both the opposing parties are “softening up” themselves for the heinous crimes of terrorism.

When we directly or indirectly segregate ourselves from others, we plant a negative thought in their minds. And the thought reads- “indifference.” Yes, we start off as being “indifferent” to each others’ woes. Actually, as humans, we are somehow destined to connect and be affected by each other. “Indifference” is tougher to achieve than to mention.

In an attempt to remain indifferent to your neighbour’s woes, you actually end up hating his success(es) which I believe is the first step in the direction of inhumanity and terror.

There is another way terrorism can branch out of its roots. The other way is called “insecurity”. Difference of interests among two communities which are both even on all grounds is not as dangerous a situation as is the difference between those two communities among which one is dominant over the other. The smaller and weaker community is weak in totality but the same cannot be said about the members of the weaker community. A human is never born weak. When they sense that the bigger tree is sucking away all the nutrition from the earth, they feel insecure (ironically, a trait of the meek) and resort to terrorism.

Sometimes, it is just the human within us that gets the best of us. The “mob mentality” it is! Most of the times the wrong-doers are a few but they are the loudest and hence the most apparent. We form “generalizations” (here comes another of the roots of terrorism i.e. quick generalizations) based on those few loud members of a community which leads to misinformation and hence, miscommunication.

Now, that I have made clear what I think is the cause of terrorism as a whole; let me put forward my humble answer to you. I hope you like it.

I have never been a big fan of the capital punishment per se. As I have already suggested that the roots of terror are very deep rooted—so much so, that if you completely shift your perspective to match that of a member of the community which is said to be churning out terrorists, you can somewhat justify your means. This is the reason you have to kill the cause and not the people. The easiest method to do it, the way I see it, is by the help of communication. What starts off with miscommunication can possibly be uprooted by communication.

To bring it down to Layman’s terms: When an Indian chats with a German, a French, an Afghan, an Iraqi or a Pakistani; they do not sound like they are any different from him. We all love good music, we all love our family and we all follow the same fundamental philosophies of life. There might be differences of interest superficially but, as humans we all just bleed red. This fact needs to be spread and shared with everyone and the only way to do it is communication and media. Movies have been a bridge between India and other countries for decades.

Here are some fruits of my thought process-

1.Promote Secularism through textbooks.
I am thankful to all those chapters in the textbooks I had growing up which had pictures and stories of a Hindu and a Muslim celebrating each other’s festivals with joy and goodwill. A tender mind in childhood can be moulded in any desired way. Let us sculpt a transparent mind with room for respect towards every human culture and religion and no room for envy and hatred. Let’s make communalism a no issue.

2.Worldwide Television and Radio.
How about this—all the nations of the world join hands with UN (or create an organization of their own) to put to air a few satellite Television and Radio channels which cover features, news, music, cultural sketches and special stories from all over the globe(?) Every nation gets an equal opportunity to display all the good things it has to offer and share with rest of the world. This would promote mutual understanding and perpetual dissolution of hostility or lack of respect towards each other. The beauty pageants, a few TV channels are doing just that. But, I think we need to do it more often, on a grander scale and with better communicability.

By better communicability I mean that the material should either be dubbed or be staged in local languages (with some added local flavour). I guess, there can be better ways to share cultures. This was the best I could think of. I’ll wait for the time when we will have more performers of “worldwide” fame and a better and bigger audience of every form of art. Terrorism will die screaming under all this.

3- A Fearless Stand.
As people, I think it is our responsibility to get our views registered. Getting noticed is not in our hands but raising voices is. When you think something wrong is going on, you have to do something about it. As a journalist, you have to let is be known to people; as a blogger, you have to blog about it, as a Newspaper reader, you have to e-mail the editor about it… some way or the other, we all have to stand firm and express our viewpoint. You have to learn this from the enemy. They are always fewer than us, but they get their violent thoughts known to the world. Why can’t we fight back with the same weapon?

Answer 7

We need an international effort to help educate the world on a social level. Much of the fighting is based on fears that are unwarranted and could be resolved if both sides understood each other. Humanity instinctively fears what it does not know. Eliminate the ignorance, and you eliminate much of the intolerance. We need to present our cultures on a human level, instead of a generalization. It wouldn't be a cure all, and would probably be a large expense. But even saving one life from a death by ignorance would be priceless.

Answer 8

Sir,

I really believe that the real evil is not the terrorism. It is the media and everything they do to undermine efforts to combat terrorism, in the name of free speech.

Until we make the media accountable for their false reportings and reportings that undermine efforts, then terrorism will feed on the information given.

I believe in freedom of speech, I also believe that with that freedom comes great responsibility to report the truth or nothing at all if it inhibits any government from operating special operations. So with great freedom comes responsibility and accountability.

Answer 9

people living in poverty tend to turn to extrimist groups as they promise them better lives. try to work harder with actual and not just on-the-surface cooperation with all wealthy countries to abolish poverty and not give those people the choice of turning to such ways of life.

Answer 10

War is mankind's most ignoble, wasteful pursuit. It waste physical and emotional resources and worst of all time itself. Until we learn to fully appreciate and tolerate one another as individuals and equals no matter what our race, religion, philosophy or socioeconomic status the tender fabric of human lives will be rent asunder by the violence of war. The first step is to ameliorate physical suffering and fear for security that are endemic to many populations, then educate them about the rest of the world, convince everyone to stop brain washing young children and make certain that all humans have their needs met and at least some of their desires fulfilled. The irony is that if the resources spent on wars were not wasted then this could possibly even be accomplished. To completely fulfill this many privileged would need to recognize that they must share more and not be arrogant and adamant. I can only wish that this would happen so that there could be peace; perhaps one day some great person will devise a means to bring this about.

Answer 11

Well sir, this is a complicated question with endless answers. There is no right answer and, with that said, there is absolute wrong answer. Every culture, ethnicity, nation and organization is going to have different approaches with varying motives. With that fact present, the only answer is for everyone to listen and be tolerant. If the world plays the "me vs. you" attitude like it has for centuries, terrorism will only fuel itself, rather than extinguish itself. Only a fool would think that bombing a country, and destroying an infrastructure will magically eliminate a system of beliefs deep within the roots of people's minds.

Answer 12

the most important thing that needs to happen is that we need to stop hyping up every action that terrorists do, we are only terrorizing ourselves

Answer 13

I am honoured.

To free our world from terrorism is not a simple task. We need to find the source, the seed from which the desire of some to perform harmful actions on others to make their points known or to reach some goal, and help them seek their desires through peaceful means. A motivated group of persons will not be dissuaded through violence, merely set back. Dialogue and diplomacy and nations listening to the needs of the downtrodden before violence becomes an viable option in their minds, are the only ways to stop the killing and maiming of those who truly are innocent.

Answer 14

Dear Mr. President,

I have never forgotten the saying that to have peace you must be prepared for war. I think of WWII. Had the allies taken Hitler seriously in the beginning and stopped him on his first foray into territory which did not belong to him, I believe the tremendous deaths, tragedies, tortures, attempts at "culling out" those considered not 'Aryan' enough, and holocause against the Jews would not have happened. I think that our free countries lack the courage to act with swift decision to stop the enemy as he tries to move.

I believe the 'dance' of the nations and the 'terrorists' constitute a moral problem.

Good minds alone cannot solve these problems. Children are brought up to terror--to see a rock in the hand of a five year old or a gun in the hand of a ten year old--this is to know that child is being trained to hate and to carry on terror into the next generation.

I teach the children of Somalian refugees. The children tell me things most Americans have never come close to having to deal with. I teach the children of the Hispanic peoples and I hear stories not on the scale of war, but of the same type on a family scale that break my heart. Some of the children I teach come from supportive homes and these children give me hope for the future. But I am convinced that until the two commandments laid out by the Lord Jesus Christ as the greatest of commandments become the law of all our hearts, then we will each do what we can, however small, or however great a part God gives us to do, or we will go on destroying each other and our planet.

The two laws are the law of love to God which bring about moral obedience to his laws--which are good only with no darkness or sorrow in them--and the law of love to treat the concerns of our our neighbors as we treat our own--with justice and compassion.

God bless you sir, for wanting, as I, and so many of us want, peace for this world. I believe that time will come, but not because of the works of man, but because of the loving mercy of God to his creation.

I know India is full of gods, and one might ask which one. But I also know that in the beginning of India's history there was just one, and his morality was as the God of the Old Testament. To His lovingkindness and longsuffering I and work for our our salvation as Jesus Christ I trust to hope for the future of our World.

Sincerely,

Maggie LeMasters

Answer 15

Education.
The best and most certain way to change behavior or belief of any kind is not force or threat, but education.
If you can logically explain to someone why something is wrong, counter-productive, ill advised or makes them look stupid, they will cease the behavior.
If you simply tell them that their actions/beliefs will cause them discomfort, cause anger from others or is wrong according to your beliefs, they will probably continue to follow their inner guidance, undetered by you.
The only consistantly effective way to change their inner guidance is through education.

Answer 16

Try to understand why people hate each other in the first place. Has there ever been a time in history were man has not hated or betrayed his fellow man? I believe the only possible way to accomplish what your asking, is the death of every human on earth at the same time, that way we will receive the greatest honor of all, we would all die as equals.

Apart from that, find a way to make every single person on the planet accept each other, but I am not quite sure who said it but "it is pointless to argue with an ignorant man".

And believe me, if there is one thing that humankind is full of today, is ignorance, the killer of our species.

Answer 17

A serious answer for a serious gentleman.

The answer is at once so simple and so much work to achieve.

Almost all of societies ills have a UNIVERSAL CURE.

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY!


I'll cite a simple but profound example: CYPRUS. All my life Cyprus was an island with unsolvable problems. Given the chance for EU membership, and the economic advantages to everyone that would deliver, all of a sudden the unsolvable became solved.

The old adage it seems is indeed true. Living well IS the best revenge!

Answer 18

1.) Surrender our freedoms and beliefs to their demands and live in a manner exactly as dictated by the now former terrorists...or

2.) Find them and put them in jail or eliminate them through military action.

If we assume that terrorists are sane, rational, and reasonable people, and employ discussion and compromise as a means for ending terrorism, we will achieve nothing.

Answer 19

One big step the United States could do to reduce Islamic terrorism is to become energy independent. Then the U.S. would not have to wage war in the Middle East to install friendly governments that would sell us cheap oil. This would lessen one of the factors that promotes terrorism (American military presence in the Middle East).

Answer 20

We can thwart terrorism by work on building a world that provides justice for those who suffer injustice, by building societies where everyone has the freedom and right to express themselves, and by emphasizing cooperation among ourselves.

We also need to build a world that takes care of everyone economically. We need to work together to end poverty, starvation, and disease.

We need to embrace our heritage as guardians of the environment and nature.

We must realize we all share this planet, and we must learn to live in harmony with it and each other.

Lastly, we must work together to teach each other that killing doesn't solve problems.

Terrorism is the last resort of a minority of desperate people.

We can do better, and we must do better. The time for hope and change is now.

Peace.

Answer 21

Dear Mr President, it is a pleasure to see your question and your concerns for the safety of our citizens planet earth.
It has taken an exceptionally long time for Mankind to reach a level of understanding where we are only now just becoming acquainted with the fact that we are "One Race", "The Human Race".

This is the first level, the next level is the realization that as One Race in One World, we need to understrand and act on the fact that we must take care of each other whatever our religious and racial differences, where-ever we come from in the World, whatever our origins. Whatever affects one will eventually affect all. We are connected.

Terrorism is in my opinion committed when groups feel that they do not have a voice that is heard, and resort to very extreme levels of action to make themselves heard. The problem with this is that there is then the reaction of the Populace and the aportion of blame and counterblame, such as we are now seeing following 2001/911.

The real out of the box solutions are the continued expansion of Globalism & increased understanding as well as the strengthened linking of the new trading blocks of the world with each other in harmony, access to the wealth of the world by each and everyone of us thus eliminating the feelings of being excluded which is really at the root of the problem.

When groups feel excluded, that is the breeding ground for extreme thoughts and acts. It is not necessarily an indication of an evil Mind, when under extreme stress the mind can conjure up the most evil of thoughts and that goes for all of us.

Answer 22

WE ALL NEED TO CARE!!
C-communication, to create understanding between people
A-appreciation of each others cultural differences
R-respect of each other no matter religion, race or colour
E-education for all to abolish negative thought and ignorance.

Answer 23

the greatest thing about the human race is our vast differences. unfortunately, there will always be a small percentage of people, who are insensitive to those differences, and because of that, we will never really put an end to terrorism. its a shame that it took an event like 9/11 to make us in america realize that, and then our response in afghanistan and iraq (well, honestly i dont know how they felt before, or even feel now because im not there) to make the rest of the world notice that terrorism. i wish that i could give a simple one or two word answer to end terrorism, but i really dont see it. the only way that we could end terrorism, would be to end our differences, because its those differences that make us unique and special, but its also the differences that cause people to act as they do, including terrorism. if we could somehow genetically engineer humans to not have hatred, then we would also lose the uniqueness that creates the magic of humanity. however, i wish that there was a easier way to get rid of terrorism, but truthfully, i dont see it

Answer 24

love your neibhor as your self, if someone is hungry, feed him, if he is naked, clothe him, if he is hurt, help him. Do not judge what you do not understand, read, be informed, be respectful and be tolerant of people's choices, even if to you it is wrong, or even by what God says is wrong, let them be wrong, it is their responsibility. Love other people and defend them as if they were children. Do not allow evil (understood by all as evil, such as genocide, rape and murder) to prosper. Stand up when it is hard to do so, be courageous, and always treat others with dignity. Ask yourself what your motivations are for why you want others to change, is it to better the world, or does it simply not conform to your idea of how it should be. real change can only come, when evil is recognized and stood against, and compassion rules the heart and mind. Standing against something is not an excuse to harm, and should never be used as such. War should only occur when evil refuses to stop commiting evil. A person is not evil becasue they are different, a person is evil if their actions tear down in some way the human soul and rob it of dignity and joy. different sects, religions and countries could get along if they stopped trying to change each other, and instead sought to understand each other, and stood together against evil. Righteousness and evil are opposite entities, i belive terrorists confuse the two. Being right does not make you righteous, being different does not make you evil. hatred forms in a place where understanding and communication has not taken place or has failed. We dont have to conform to one another to get along, but we do have to get along to stop terrorism. If a terrorist does not have an audience and support, what good do it do him to commit it. be responsible in the global community, if either directly or indirectly you support terrorism, stop. without a voice and eager ears to hear, a terrorist is left alone with himself, and cannot bear that for long. silence is a powerful motivator for change. I hope this helps, if not, thank you for understanding and allowing me to express it. Peace be with you.

Answer 25

Dr. Kalam,

This is indeed a thought-provoking question. Let us examine the motive behind terrorism first in order to assess what can be done to minimize it, if not eliminate it altogether.

From early childhood, when a child's mind is free from external influences, un-initiated and not under the influence of any doctrine, the feeling to covet something is very much there. A red toy owned by a friend, a nice sweater worn by a classmate, a shiny car that drops off a classmate, and a book full of illustrations owned by another classmate .. all these are examples of what a child, in all his innocence might covet. A child from an educated family might be expected to handle these feelings differently than a child who has little backing from his family and whose thoughts are not molded by his parents. Therein lies the first difference, in my opinion - education. Children who are taught right from wrong turn out to be law-abiding and better citizens in general.

Secondly, the amount of corruption in any society plays a big role in the mental makeup of any person. If others succeed unlawfully and treading the right path is challenging, people tend to take the path of least resistance. Educated parents might still be in a position to influence this thinking and correct the behavior. Left alone, the tendency to take the easy way out can corrupt one's psyche.

Thirdly, affluent nations, where one does not have to strive hard just to be able to survive, present a different paradigm. In such countries, people strive for higher things in life - art, music, literature - rather than having to deal with the more mundane ones.

Fourth, as long as we continue to remain divided by religion, interpret religion differently and consider others to have nefarious minds and ulterior motives, we are not benefitting from religion. The elite of the society, the well-educated often are less involved in religious ceremony. This, to me, means that religion is not a badge to wear, nor something to get into arguments over or fight for. How many incidents have we had around the world over religion? How does an educated person differ in his/her view from a less educated/uneducated person over this topic?

The place and circumstances around one's birthplace play a strong role in one's mental make-up. Being born in Beirut and Kashmir is quite different from being born in Toronto and Stockholm. But there is nothing that can be done to mitigate this fact of life - on two sides of a fence - real or imaginary, children are taught to hate the other side - this is a case of education sowing the early seeds of discord. We need to stop this.

Until we have a way to take a stock of the situation, and launch a multi-pronged attack proactively to weed out terrorism, it would continue to haunt us. Education - the right kind - plays a key role in setting up the stage for a world free of terror.

Thank you once again for asking the question.

Answer 26

Terrorism is really just another name for random violence. What can we do to reduce it? Well, practice what we preach. Promote diplomacy instead of hasty wars and open ended troop involvements. Work out the problems face to face and not over the barrels of automatic weapons. Find what the people who are causing the terror are dealing with in their lives that drives them to such extremes, and solve it at the root, instead of giving others more motives to do the same as them.

Answer 27

Spread the word of "Tolerance" and spread freedom globally for everyone and anyone as long as that freedom does not hinder the freedom of others.

Source(s):

Just a soldier in Iraq, but if I leave here where 1 person changes and believes in tolerance, I'll feel better.

Answer 28

Terrorism is perpretrated by those who feel powerless. They are waging war on a society, not a nation. This is not necessarily a condition caused by overpopulation. However, it may be exacerbated by it. We must work toward a global society wherein opportunity is accessable by all, and young people feel empowered.

Answer 29

What is the cause of terrorism is the question we need to answer first to answer the question "What can we do to have a terrorism free Earth?"

1 People fighting over territories
2 People rebelling against a government.
3 Economic conditions leading to act of terror.
4 Difference between people belonging to different religion.

TERRORISM FREE EARTH
1 LOVE HUMANS.The fight against terrorism starts from the mind of a child. The education that is provided to the children should teach them, there is nothing more important than Humanity.
good education will turn children into good and responsible citizens and human beings.

2 LAW AND ORDER should be followed at all level and they should be followed strictly. People should be afraid to break the law. We should set examples for coming generations that breaking the law can lead to very serious consequences. A human being does not take to terrorism in a day. What starts with violence and crime at small level leads to terrorism. We need to keep a check on crime from the basic level. There are cases where the criminals are not brought to justice because the Law takes soo long to give a verdict that people don't even remember the crime. Bring them to justice ASAP.

3 GET PROPER LIVING CONDITIONS. There can be cases where people people may take to terrorism, where the pure heart and mind can be corrupted and someone may take to terrorism. In such cases society and the government has to see to it that it get rids of the situations that lead to making of these terrorists.

4 If someone decides to take on to terrorism to seek answers to their problems and do not realize that the value of human life is more than anything, EXECUTE THEM and set example for others.

The above mentioned things will definitely put a check on terrorism even if they do not get rid if this evil soon. But eventually someday the coming generations will breathe on a Earth that is free from Terrorism.

Thanks
Anant Raman

Answer 30

1) Love
2) Tolerance
3) Acceptance
4) Forgiveness
5) Care for the poor

Until all the extremism of HATE and SELF-CENTEREDNESS is eliminated from our minds, then we are simply destined to keep killing each other through terror; whether from individuals or entire nations.

Answer 31

First, we must wear them down. Then we must maintain a level of stability. Just as we have "Interpol" as a membership of countries to track criminals, "NATO" for threats from aggressive countries and the UN for humanitarian efforts, we must have a membership of nations to deal exclusively with terrorism only. Just as terrrorists are organized, anti-terrorists must be organized too. As we know, there are many factors that lead to a young person becoming a follower as well as a leader. I therefore propose that we have a newly formed group of nations who's job it is to deal exclusively with terrorism (herein referred to as "The Alliance").
The Alliance can work with other groups like the UN where it sees that education and/or trade sanctions for a country might be helpful. Example: In Afganistan educational aid would be useful whereas another country that supports extremism may need sanctions levied against it.
The Alliance can advise Interpol of its trackings of sleeper cells as well as active ones so that countries that are particularly lacking in funds for investigating terror activity in their jurisdication, can move in more quickly thereby preventing bombings in their own country. It assists them in maintaining stability.
Where countries need greater assistance in warding off highly organized terror groups, The Alliance can work with NATO and other military alliances to ensure that help is near when needed.
Therefore, it has been proven time and over again where "policing" efforts have been organized (but still respectful to basic human rights), countries crime levels have dropped significantly. The cold war was won by NATO members "sticking together". The war against terror can be won in the same manner too. Let's make it a Global Alliance!