Anti-terror Virtues

Kennet Silber argues that a successful campaign against terrorism requires Americans to cultivate three "anti-terror" virtues: courage, patience, and rationality. Some key illustrations of his points:

On Courage: "Before September 11, Al Qaeda leaders calculated, mistakenly, that fear would hobble the U.S. response to the attack. The terrorists have been slow to grasp their error. Early this year, a letter evidently from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's man in Iraq, described Americans as 'the biggest cowards that God has created,' and yet noted, with grim puzzlement, that 'America … has no intention of leaving, no matter how many wounded nor how bloody it becomes.'"

On Patience: "The quintessential American desire to cut through the nonsense and fix things quickly is beneficial in many aspects of life. Yet, the War on Terror requires not just bold strokes but also slow, painstaking work. Terrorist groups must be infiltrated. Sleeper cells must be monitored. The indoctrination conducted in radical madrassahs and the propaganda spewing from Al Jazeera must be countered by steady, persistent education and information."

On Rationality: "Placing a high value on rational thought contributes to the moral outrage one feels against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. For instance, the doctrine that suicidal murderers are rewarded with 72 virgins in paradise is offensive not only because it is heartlessly brutal and strangely lascivious but also because it is astonishingly stupid. Such mindlessness in the ideologies of terror provides the terrorists with certain tactical benefits, such as a supply of human cannon fodder. But a poor grasp of reality is no advantage in a long war. Their irrationality will contribute to the terrorists' undoing."

I hadn't thought of rationality so much as a virtue as a frame of mind or goal in reasoning. Whatever it is, clear thinking will be needed as we press ahead with our efforts to preserve our liberties. To fail to do so would be irrational indeed.