Jacob, in your work with drug users you must have come across psychopaths. Their character antedates their addiction.
Hussein is a psychopath. He doesn't respond to carrots like an ordinary person. Carrots are for him a sign of your weakness and to be taken advantage of.
Therapy model will not work with Hussein. He is not a pain wracked addict.
Mirroring model (which only usually mirrors the western diplomat) won't work if one is not mirroring back Hussein to himself. That is what the US forces surrounding Iraq are doing.
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C) Anyone who thinks they are morally superior to a 15-year-old prostitute who just gave birth to a twitching cocaine baby, is too arrogant to be any use as a counselor, and shouldn't be involved in planning or running any program. Communication shuts down (and any chance of changing behavior ends) as soon as a drug-user senses the contempt and condescension of non-drug-users. (This, BTW, is exactly the attitude Americans typically show toward Muslim Fundamentalists, with the exact same results).
The parallel of the incompetent counselor and the addict and of the ordinary American and the Muslim fundamentalist is not quite on. Most Muslim fundamentalists are no different than Christian ones - they get on with their lives, are not particularly political - they are unexceptional folk. There is a minority who are troublesome and even dangerous.
The al Qaeda type is far more likely to patronize the American. He is in the grip of a view which does not admit any other. He does not believe he is just privileged, he believes he is superior to the infidel - due to his beliefs - and believes it is his right to dispose of the American as he sees fit. Futhermore, the emotions driving and melding him to his beliefs are usually anger and hatred.
Until something happens to dissipate the anger and hatred what we see as dialogue will not bring results because there is no room for another view. Normally what dissipates those emotions is discouragement - he must be defeated. Defeat may happen in many ways - in battle, through lack of support, sudden view of baseness of leadership, ill health, etc - but defeat must come to him. Then there is room for another view and different behaviour.
There are parallels here to drug addiction but the manner in which the fanatic gets to his singular view is different.
Unfortunately, the "rush" is in feeling triumphant and this is usually attained through violence of some kind: being violent or seeing violence done in his name - see Taliban, 9/11, etc - or in controlling the lives and thoughts of others - see Taliban, Iranian theocracy, etc.
I over simplify but I do think I have the correct basic descriptions.
Some effective solutions don't sit well with us: terrorizing the terrorist can work.
Removing his support can work.
Utter defeat can work.
Doubt can work if doubt creating conditions are maintained long enough.
Removing the conditions allowing successful indoctrination can work. Replacing those conditons with ones impeding indoctrination and reindoctrination is best.
I agree "War on Terrorism" is a stupid formulation. Almost any other would be better.
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Please. Don't confuse Hussein with some defeated addict or with an islamist terrorist. The psychology is not the same. |
