War and Peace
The following is an excerpt from chapter 5 in Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity: Total Information Awareness (3rd ed. 2024 Edition)
War as State-Sponsored Terrorism
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
While a terrorist act causes innocent people pain, suffering, and even death, war is legitimized state-sponsored terrorism in a grand scale.
In World War II, 15 million soldiers died in battles while 45 million civilians perished under war-related circumstances. Between five and six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Over 27% of the civilian population in Hiroshima and 24% of the residents in Nagasaki were wiped out by atomic bombs.
In war-torn countries, people live in constant fear.
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy?wrote in his 1869 novel War and Peace, “Война не любезность, а самое гадкое дело в жизни, и надо понимать это и не играть в войну. (War is not a courtesy but the most horrible thing in life; and we ought to understand that, and not play at war.)”
At the Battle of Fredericksburg?on December 13, 1862, U.S. Confederate General Robert E. Lee?said to his men, “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
Notwithstanding the horrors of war, desensitization to violence has perpetuated armed conflicts around the world, and the public has become inured to all but the most catastrophic or apocalyptic events.
Albert Einstein said in his speech to the New History Society on December 14, 1930 that
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on December 11, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.
Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert.”
International Humanitarian Law
In an armed conflict, the International Humanitarian Law protects “those who do not take part in the fighting, such as civilians and medical and religious military personnel.” A major part of the law is contained in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and nearly every country in the world has agreed to be bound by them. With that in mind, the United Nations fact-finding mission headed by Judge Richard Goldstone published a 574-page report in September 2009 accusing both Hamas and Israel of deliberately targeting civilians.
Complacency in War
Politicians and the military-industrial complex have grown to be complacent about war. Violence has become the first course of action and the first choice of reaction in dealing with international conflicts, even at the expense of innocent civilians. In fact, according to American and Israeli officials, the November 2012 Gaza-Israel conflict?was considered “a practice run for any future armed confrontation with Iran, featuring improved rockets that can reach Jerusalem?and new antimissile systems to counter them.”
A practice run escalated into an all-out war in October 2023 after Hamas-led terrorist groups launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood—a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, massacring civilians in Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz?as well as at the Nova music festival?attended by thousands of young people. The terrorist attacks resulted in 1,139 deaths including 36 innocent children, and approximately 250 Israeli hostages taken to the Gaza Strip. Israel retaliated by declaring war on the Hamas and launching a large-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip—named Operation Swords of Iron—with the goals of eliminating and destroying Hamas. As of April 21, 2024, the Israel-Hamas war?has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians including 13,000 children.
Existential Risk and the Doomsday Clock
The biggest existential risk to humanity is humanity itself, unless human beings learn to coexist peacefully and help one another willingly.
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said in a CNN interview in 2008, “It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next 100 years, let alone next thousand, or million. ... I see great dangers for the human race. There have been a number of times in the past when its survival has been a question of touch and go. The Cuban missile crisis in 1963 was one of these. The frequency of such occasions is likely to increase in the future. We shall need great care and judgment to negotiate them all successfully.”
Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists from the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey existential threats to humanity.
On January 23, 2024, John Mecklin?from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board wrote, “Ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe. The war in Ukraine?and the widespread and growing reliance on nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear escalation. China, Russia, and the United States?are all spending huge sums to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals, adding to the ever-present danger of nuclear war through mistake or miscalculation. … The members of the Science and Security Board have been deeply worried about the deteriorating state of the world. … Today, we once again set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight because humanity continues to face an unprecedented level of danger. Our decision should not be taken as a sign that the international security situation has eased. Instead,
leaders and citizens around the world should take this statement as a stark warning and respond urgently, as if today were the most dangerous moment in modern history.
Because it may well be. But the world can be made safer. The Clock can move away from midnight. As we wrote last year, ‘In this time of unprecedented global danger, concerted action is required, and every second counts.’ That is just as true today.”
Artificial Intelligence
On April 3, 2024, +972 Magazine?and Local Call?revealed “Lavender”—an artificial intelligence?(AI) targeting system used by the Israel Defence Forces?(IDF) in the Israel-Hamas war. Known to have a 10% error rate, Lavender might have wrongly targeted the World Central Kitchen?(WCK) convoy, resulting in the death of seven aid workers delivering food and medicine to the needy people in Gaza?on April 1, 2024.
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Artificial intelligence is neither to be blamed nor to be feared. It is human decision-makers’ overreliance on AI without proper vetting and meticulous data collection that can result in catastrophic consequences.
“Garbage in, garbage out” in computer science?describes the danger of incorrect or poor-quality input that will always produce faulty output, including the loss of human lives on a battlefield.
Civilians Wanting Peace
In the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Professor James Moriarty?postulates, “You see, hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict. So you’re not fighting me so much as you are the human condition. All I want is to supply the bullets and the bandages. War on an industrial scale is inevitable.”
Perhaps Professor Moriarty strikes a chord with the military-industrial complex and their investors, but civilians want peace more than anyone else does. Afghan Peace Volunteer Raz Mohammad?told Jesuit priest John Dear, “We should not accept these drone attacks?if we are human beings.
They are killing innocent human beings. Humanity should not allow this to happen. No one I know wants the war to continue. Ordinary people everywhere are sick and tired of war.”
We all want peace, but words without actions are not enough to bring peace to the world. “A winning strategy sometimes necessitates sacrifice,” Sherlock Holmes replies to Professor James Moriarty. “A war has been averted.”
About the Book
Graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy in 2021, Prof. Newton Lee offers a broad survey of counterterrorism and cybersecurity history, strategies, and technologies in the 3rd edition of his riveting book that examines the role of the intelligence community, cures for terrorism, war and peace, cyber warfare, and quantum computing security.
This book is indispensable for anyone who is contemplating a career at the FBI, think tanks, or law enforcement agencies worldwide. It is also a must-read for every executive to safeguard their organization against cyberattacks that have caused more than $10 billion in damages.
In the spirit of President John F. Kennedy, one may proclaim: “Ask not what counterterrorism and cybersecurity can do for you, ask what you can do for counterterrorism and cybersecurity.”
Reviews and Praise
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- Eleanor Clift, Newsweek and The Daily Beast
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"The book demystifies the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. Lee's Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity is a must-read page turner infused with knowledge and wisdom that challenges our beliefs and opens our mind to a more peaceful high-tech world."
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Professional Website Developer with 7+ Years of Experience
5 个月Newton, thanks for sharing!