Lieutenant Colonel-Promotable Ike Wilson delivers his keynote speech, "Rethinking American Power", to a crowded Macky Auditorium to open the Conference on World Affairs Monday. (CU Independent/Jeff Wagner)
For Boulder residents and students who attended the Conference on World Affairs panel, “My Terrorist, Your Freedom Fighter,” the line between terrorist and freedom fighter might not be simple.
John Tayer moderated Wednesday’s event, featuring journalist Robert Dreyfuss, Professor Eric Selbin of Southwestern University, Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis M. Simons and Lieutenant Colonel- Promotable Ike Wilson. Boulder residents, University of Colorado students and middle school students attended.
Simons spoke first. He gained experience reporting in Southeast Asia and wrote the books “The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam” and “Worth Dying For.”
“If a human being is supporting a war, the other person needs to be demonized,” Simons said. “We cannot look at them as our equal. We look back at history to realize that we ourselves are a nation of rebels, a nation of terrorists.”
He went on to use examples of how the Israeli freedom fighters, the Irgun, can be considered terrorists, when they were also freedom fighters for Israel. He also noted the similarities between the Islamic militants in Southeast Asia and the founders of the United States.
The next speaker, Dreyfuss, who is also the author of “Devil’s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam,” also spoke about how the difference between freedom fighters and terrorists is unclear.
“Terrorism is not just insurgency, it is not just fighters,” Dreyfuss said.
He also spoke about how the United States has supported people who are not considered terrorists by the government in the past. He mentioned how fighters against the Soviet Union were once considered freedom fighters. He said Israel founded Hamas and that it is not a terrorist organization.
“What is Hamas?” Dreyfuss said. “Is it a terrorism thing? Are they terrorists? Or are they freedom fighters? How do we deal with them?”
He said the Taliban is supported by Pakistan, our ally in the war on terror, and the war is messy and complicated.
“There is no big threat of terrorism for the United States,” Dreyfuss said. “I don’t know if Obama has wrapped his brain about what this is. He doesn’t talk about a global war on terrorism, so maybe we have made some progress.”
Selbin, the author of “Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story” spoke next.
Like the previous speakers, he talked about how the founding fathers could be considered terrorists, and how Israel’s founders committed acts of terrorism.
“Blowing up the King David Hotel was brilliant, but was considered terrorism,” Selbin said.
He talked about how the United States should be more concerned with human security around the world than a physical war.
“Bush and Obama warned about terrorist threats in Paraguay,” Selbin said. “Really? Work with me, here. It is how we look at the world, and we got to get out of it.”
Wilson, the author of “Thinking Beyond War: Civil-Military Relations and Why America Fails to Win the Peace,” spoke next and agreed with much of what the past speakers said.
Like the others, he spoke about how America’s founders were rebels against the British. Like Selbin, he spoke about focusing on human Security issues. He also said states could act like terrorists.
A student asked the first question for the panelists, about terrorism in the media.
“Straightforward reporting is based on sources, which can lead consumers astray and confuse the issue,” Simons said. “The job of a reader and of the citizen is to make up your own mind.”
Selbin criticized the media’s use of the word terrorist.
“I think the media has been complicit in labeling a number of things terrorism without asking the hard questions,” Selbin said.
Dreyfuss said he disagreed.
“The terrorism word has disappeared from the mainstream media,” Dreyfuss said. “Responsible newspapers will not use that term.”
Students offered feedback.
“How can you justify a war on terror when we are becoming the terrorists that we fear?” a student asked.
Dreyfuss said that military is an inappropriate tool to fight a concept. Wilson agreed with him and said there is no justifiable reason for the War on Terror and the audience broke out into applause.
Vera Salayma, a master’s candidate in journalism and an Arab Israeli citizen spoke next. Salayma said she had lost a family, who have been killed on both sides, and spoke about how Palestinians are not terrorists.
“We need to humanize these people to achieve peace,” Salayma said.
Oliver Yaney, a 19-year-old sophomore psychology major and a producer for the event, said he thought all the speakers did very well.
“It is an issue that can be so emotional,” Yaney said. “People forget how to solve a problem. We also got the kids excited.”
Caroline McKee, a 14-year-old Summit Middle School student, said she enjoyed the event and the speakers.
“It was really interesting and there were a lot of new perspectives,” McKee said. “The speakers were lively. I liked that they didn’t always agree.”
The last question, ending the panel, was whether there was a way to change human nature.
Ending the event, Selbin said, “Peace is not simply the absence of war.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sara Fruman at Sara.fruman@colorado.edu.
