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Are we really at war?  
(cont..) of Sharia law represented an attempt to avoid the greater evils of a regime dominated by public officials, and their arbitrary discretions.  Faced with the abuse of power and widespread official corruption, the seemingly harsh Sharia doctrines were at least clear and capable of consistent and fair enforcement.  Consistency, continuity and justice were valued highly, and fundamentalism should be seen in that context. 

Extremism was quite different, he argued.  Within the 120 traditions of Islam, extremism was a minor exception, and certainly not the rule.  It was from that extremist sector, Wood contended, that the Osama Bin Laden factions arose.  “These factions are very sophisticated indeed – these are not backward-looking “Luddites”: they deploy the most modern methods, in communication and in warfare.  They are characterised by a long tradition of international networking, now greatly strengthened by the Internet and mobile phone networks.  And they continue the tradition of networking with dissident groups of quite a different character, such as ETA and the IRA. 

Understanding the Issues  “We face a huge challenge in understanding the nature of the underlying conflict, the cultural rejection of Western values and anger at the injustice of the global misdistribution of wealth.  This is compounded by a growing generation gap –The young are increasingly rejecting their elders and their own elites, who are seen as complicit with Western with Western elites.  In the UK, we sometimes take pride to the English education of many third-world leaders – but that may no longer be an advantage, in the eyes of the rising generations. 

(cont..) "In the United States", Alan Wood suggested, "the political challenge is compounded by a lack of information about and popular understanding of the wider world, and perceptions of “Americans” throughout that world.  The US public can seem profoundly ill-informed about the wider world.” 

UK political implications  For the UK, the need was genuine ethical consistency in policy.  Budget dispositions should also reflect the changing character of these conflicts.  We should take a more assertive position on human rights, globally.  And improve communciations with our own wider communities.

Recognise US Success  A different emphasis was suggested by Professor John France, Swansea Fabian and Professor of History at University College, Swansea.  “The real challenge is for us to come to terms with the Americans’ undoubted success, reflected in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism.  Most of the world, including China, wants to embrace the “capitalism” which America has espoused, which gives America a remarkable position of influence and power.  And in practice, we have no option but to go along with the dominance of the United States. Nor should we underestimate the threat to our own security of disruption in oil supplies from the Middle East.  Nor should we ignore the possibility that some form of “global policeman” may be necessary.  The US public certainly has limited perceptions of world politics, lacking the background of European countries.  But that should not confuse us: Americans have, in my view an adequate perception of the world, for the purposes of their “policing” role. The current situation has certainly revived intellectual interest in the operation of the British Empire, with which there are obvious parallels.”

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