It’s true- but it’s also more complicated- and here’s the real rub…
So, terrorism can be a complex thing- this group and that group share the same people or people move around. Groups splinter, groups collaborate… at both the level of politicians or officials themselves and a government level you can have culpable parties. Much is the same with international organized crime- and it turns out that these similar groups can all be tangled up in various ways and various extents in mutually beneficial or collaborative actions- or people in one sector overlap into one or more other ones. But that rub I spoke of..?
It turns out businesses and business people are often tangled up with all three, or some combination or chain of involvement in governments and terrorist organizations and international organized crime.
So to go to war against JUST one terrorist banner ties your hands- you can’t go after just the guys involved in an incident- the funny thing about suicide bombers is if they have any career success there tends to be no direct perpetrators to go after once the crime is done, and it is nigh impossible most of the time to untangle all the people who performed “mission critical” tasks of planning and support and intelligence or were somehow involved in giving approval etc. and good luck separating the ones who were ignorant they were helping from the ones with intent. Did the suppliers of chemicals or flight training or so many things know or suspect a part in the plan? Unless you have dead nuts proof like them saying they knew… prove it.
Then there are the “soft supporters.” Enablers. Many things are “open secrets” especially within certain groups. No one in Hollywood knew about Harvey Weinstein..? We know that isn’t true. People let him do it and largely kept quiet- either they saw it as “the ways things are” or they didn’t want to endanger their own well being from retaliation for standing up or because they relied on the man for their meal ticket. That’s politics. So of course many organizations that are criminal or adversarial to foreign powers or such problematic behaviors get some leeway or even a blind eye or support around the globe- America included- especially when they don’t “shit in their own back yard” and cause problems elsewhere but pose benefit to your organization or self. It happens.
So to be able to go after the broad range of people involved with some knowledge in terrorism means painting with a wide brush- but it usually stops before you cut off your arm to spite your hand. In other words- you think there weren’t very rich and powerful people who have been indirectly involved in horrible things? Who at the least have allowed them to happened or helped intentionally create conditions where a foreseeable outcome to a reasonable person would be potentially bad things- weighed them as insignificant risks to success in goals and profits, or even banked on those outcomes as the results were predicted to act in their favor?
One of the oldest most well known examples of American corruption of scale like this is United fruit and South America- the intentional and lingering destabilization of an entire continent to secure favorable fruit prices for a private company- using the US military as a mercenary army for a private company. It is often decades or centuries before we uncover the full truth the the mass public, or some fraction of. What people think of you a century later doesn’t usually affect you and it doesn’t detract from your profits in life. More over, history has traditionally taken a roast view of bad men that did big things, you can rape and slave and steal and cheat and murder and be caught after death and still have statues and buildings named after you and be a legend who is held up and taught as a hero- perhaps with a footnote that you’re problematic to modern standards. Boo hoo.
So there is often little consequence and history shows us that heroes become villains and vice versa and sometimes either over the course of time as views change and memories fade or fuzz. American military bases and schools and government buildings are named after Generals and soldiers of Military other than the US government, who engaged in active and unlawful war and treason and people fight to keep it that way. Men who tried and often succeeded in saving lives or resisting inhuman governments have been killed or exiled as war criminals because the zeitgeist demanded it or someone needed to be accountable. History turns and so there is often little point in worrying about how you’ll be perceived in a hundred years as long as you are remembered in a hundred years. That is the lesson we teach.
So when the time comes to fight terrorists or some such broad group- the raids and torture and bombing and killing and trials usually stop short when the trail starts to lead back to people who prove some net benefit to the organization or individuals controlling the dogs of the hunt. So they can’t say exactly who they are going after or they might miss some “bad guys” and they might be forced to take down some “bad guys” who they’d rather keep around. Best to leave it vague so they can point the gun at where it is most convenient.
So, terrorism can be a complex thing- this group and that group share the same people or people move around. Groups splinter, groups collaborate… at both the level of politicians or officials themselves and a government level you can have culpable parties. Much is the same with international organized crime- and it turns out that these similar groups can all be tangled up in various ways and various extents in mutually beneficial or collaborative actions- or people in one sector overlap into one or more other ones. But that rub I spoke of..?
It turns out businesses and business people are often tangled up with all three, or some combination or chain of involvement in governments and terrorist organizations and international organized crime.