I’ve been struck by the number of people on my social media who are upset that similar events in Bagdad, Beirut, etc… were not covered by main-stream media. While I do agree there is a disparity in media coverage, I think the world is all too aware that Paris is not a unique case. Were it a unique case, it wouldn’t be so terrifying and disheartening, but it isn’t unique, terrorism has become a universal pandemic affecting all cultures and people. We must realize that not all terrorists are Muslim or Arab, not all victims are American or European, and the problem isn’t going to solve itself if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing.

We have, for nearly two decades, attempted to stop terrorism with tanks, guns, invasions, drones, and more, but it obviously isn’t working. Killing the “leaders” of a “leaderless jihad” does little to stop the terror. We are not fighting people and organizations, we are fighting ideas, and not very well. Paris is a vicious and ugly reminder that terrorism is still a serious threat, and none of us are beyond its reach. However, we are not helpless!

First, I think we need to stop promulgating the idea that terrorist are irrational, deranged individuals beyond the reach of humanity – in the majority of cases, this is simply not true. They are rational and reachable, after all terrorist organizations are managing to reach these vulnerable peoples all over the world. We just need to be better at it, than they are. We must be better at meeting them where they are, recognizing that their discontent and even rage is often justified, and then working to provide a healthy way to express and address it.

Looking at Marc Sageman’s steps of radicalization can be very instructive. If these are indeed the steps of radicalization, we simply need to break the chain in any way possible. For example,

1) A sense of traumatic experience based on personal experience or the treatment of Muslims around the world – The hard truth is that we have got to be better at not providing these traumatic experiences to the Muslim world. I am not saying that we stop pursuing known terrorist, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, etc…, but we have got to be better at making the distinction between these groups and average, everyday Arabs/Muslims. Collateral damage is unacceptable. Killing innocent civilians with drones is as much terrorism as the killing of innocent civilians by suicide bomb, and we shouldn’t be surprised if they view it as such.

2) Interpreting that experience in terms of larger organizational (Al-Qaeda) beliefs, creating a sense of moral outrage: Organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS seem to be very good at aligning an individual’s discontent and rage to their larger organizational ideals. They create moral outrage for their cause. We must beat them at this game. Rather than dismissing the rage and discontent of these individuals, we must meet them where they are and help them express and address these things in a healthier manner. Ignoring their discontentment only drives them into the arms of those who would use them to do us harm.

3) Sharing such “moral outrage” with the group at large (chat rooms, internet, travel, etc..): We must use our resources to track and stop such online interactions, while simultaneously fostering healthier online connections. These individuals still need to share moral outrage with a group at large, but it could be with more productive, less violent groups.

4) Mobilization of group outrage in violent actions – As last resort, we must continue intensive security procedures and precautions, to stop those not yet dissuaded.

I do not deny that this is all easier said, than done. I admit it is much easier and more comfortable to just say these people are irrational, deranged individuals. It is easier to not try and make sense of the senseless. It is easier to say there is nothing we can do about it, except perhaps blow-up their inspiration. Unfortunately, if the last decades have taught us anything, it is that world terrorism is like the Hydra of Greek mythology, for every head we cut off several more arise. We must go for the heart of the beast, and not the head.

Sageman, Marc. 2009. Leaderless Jihad. 16.3. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.