{"id":48872,"date":"2014-10-20T13:09:56","date_gmt":"2014-10-20T12:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=48872"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:29:37","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:29:37","slug":"systemic-equivalences-between-ebola-alien-invasion-and-dissidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/10\/systemic-equivalences-between-ebola-alien-invasion-and-dissidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Systemic Equivalences between Ebola, Alien Invasion and Dissidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Strategic Implications of Seemingly Disparate Forms of Terrorism<\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Current preoccupation with the strategic measures required in the response to the threat of ebola bear a strange similarity to the manner in which the response to terrorism is framed — especially as exemplified in the case of ISIS. As with other diseases, the focus is on its “eradication” — well-illustrated by the case of polio, malaria, AIDS, and the like. The language of eradication has also been notably applied to ISIS — suggesting a more general understanding of current strategic options, as separately discussed (Eradication as the Strategic Final Solution of the 21st Century?<\/em><\/a> 2014).<\/p>\n

There is therefore a case for exploring the equivalences in the strategic responses to ebola as a form of terrorism — if only through the terror it evokes, especially in societies prone to psychosis. Ebola psychosis is said to be paralysing (Ebola virus: ‘Biological war’ in Liberia<\/em><\/a>, BBC News<\/em>, 11 September 2014; James Creedon, “Ebola psychosis”: is the media partly to blame?<\/em><\/a> MediaWatch<\/em>, 16 October 2014; Eric Boehler, The Media’s Ebola Coverage: the more you watch, the less you know?<\/em><\/a>, AlterNet<\/em>, 16 October 2014). The US has recently been explicit in relating ebola to issues of homeland security (How worried is the Pentagon about Ebola?<\/em><\/a> CNN<\/em>, 16 October 2014; Homeland Security Representative releases a statement about Ebola<\/em><\/a>, WREG.com<\/em>, 12 October 2014; Ebola in the Homeland<\/em><\/a>, Committee on Homeland Security, 10 October 2014).<\/p>\n

The exploration can however be usefully extended to include hypothetical invasion by extraterrestrials — a theme extensively explored in imaginative fiction and blockbuster movies, clearly nourishing the popular imagination and helping to reinforce a politics of fear (Promoting a Singular Global Threat — Terrorism: Strategy of choice for world governance<\/em><\/a>, 2002). The ebola virus — despite its miniature size — can be readily understood as an “alien” threat to global society, and a welcome simplification of political discourse. A related concern, triggering a pattern of similar responses, is that of invasive species<\/a> from other ecosystems — notably across national and state borders.<\/p>\n

Potentially more intriguing is how the argument could be extended to include dissidence as a deadly threat to cultures and societies — especially given the manner in which it can transform into terrorism or evoke wrath against “unbelievers” or “infidels<\/a>“. Unbelief is an explicit concern to various religions — most notably to Islam — and to Christianity in less currently evident forms. However unbelief is also perceived as a threat by those seeking dominance of the world by democratic capitalism or any other political ideology. Hence the problematic engagement with any form of “alternative” — variously framed as intolerable. Whilst ebola is indeed carried by a microscopic vehicle, any dissident belief is effectively invisible — if not to be recognized as using a very particular form of “stealth technology<\/a>“. A comparison could be made between the virus in genetic terms and unbelief as more fruitfully described in memetic terms<\/a> — a memetic threat rather than a genetic threat. Dissidence is readily defined by a dominant worldview as a disease — although such labellig may be made by one political ideology of that of any opponent.<\/p>\n

The purpose here is to derive insights from the pattern of protective measures considered appropriate to ebola — as they might be extended to other threats to human civilization. The question raised is whether other “threats” currently evoke a similar pattern of response, when the real danger may reside in the failure to question the mindset through which such standard responses are framed.<\/p>\n

Do such examples highlight the old strategic adage: if all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail<\/em><\/strong>? The more contemporary version might be: if all you have is a missile, then every problem elsewhere looks like a target<\/em><\/strong>. From what pool of options are strategic options drawn? Does that pool reflect the diversity considered appropriate in terms of the cybernetic Law of Requisite Variety<\/a>?<\/p>\n

PLEASE CONTINUE READING THE PAPER IN THE ORIGINAL \u2013 laetusinpraesens.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strategic Implications of Seemingly Disparate Forms of Terrorism – Current preoccupation with the strategic measures required in the response to the threat of ebola bear a strange similarity to the manner in which the response to terrorism is framed — especially as exemplified in the case of ISIS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}