Terror and Poverty
Mikhail Gorbachev occasionally appears in the Western press to give his angle on presidential elections (“two terms is enough“) and the ruling tandem. Speculation is entertaining, but it’s much more satisfying to hear him saying something that really rings true.
This morning, police suggested that the man thought to be the Domodedovo suicide bomber could have been acting out of ‘revenge‘: it’s hard to see how this is newsworthy or revelatory, given that on some level this is thought to be the logic behind many terrorist attacks. The police were referring to a personal story of revenge relating to the killing of the bomber’s brother, but in an interview with Sky News today, Gorbachev draws attention to the wider spectrum of retribution and perpetuation that drives these horrible attacks, and explains why bloody rhetoric and retaliation won’t work:
“Poverty, humiliation, instability, these are factors, and I feel that those who think terrorism can be defeated with cannons and rifles are mistaken.”
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