The Exploding Guest

Ghassan Charbel     Al-Hayat     2004/04/25

The world is scared. We could even say it is frightened. The current dangers do not resemble previous ones. Deterrence measurements are not enough. Protection procedures do not guarantee the non-occurrence of attacks. In various places, there is an increasing feeling that a bomb is about to explode. That a truck filled with explosives is reattempting to reach its target. That a man wearing a belt of explosives around his body, is about to push the button. A scared and depressed world. Official declarations formulated in the dialect of threat and menace. Cells with unknown residence, promising the world additional corpses and destruction.

Newspaper front-pages resembling facades of burial institutes. You have to leave some space in the front page, since the explosion will take place before you send the newspaper to print. If it does not take place here, it will take place there. There is no problem in finding an exciting and painful picture for tomorrow's issue. The wounds are open in more than one place, and you have to choose according to the toll of the day. If the picture does not come from Fallujah, it will come from Basra or another city. If the Iraqi toll is modest, there is always Sharon who is committed to daily deliver to the world a number of Palestinian corpses. Al Qaeda is not stingy with the reader. It lurks here in order to appear there. The world is scared. The American congressmen did not forget that the fourth airplane of 9/11 was heading towards Congress, if it was not for the resistance of the passengers who made it crash in Pennsylvania. This is why congressmen gathered, and agreed on the plan of a law that allows having special and fast elections, in case a hundred or more Congress members are killed in an attack.

The British House of Commons is also worried about the safety of its members. British intelligence warned of a chemical or biological attack that Al Qaeda plans to undertake against it. Thus, deputies voted to dedicate £1.3 million in order to build a permanent glass fence between the assembly and the hall of visitors. Intelligence services did not hide their worry of the possibility of the assembly "receiving" an explosive visitor one day, who holds gifts in the form of Anthrax sticks.

The world is scared and angry. Americans did not forget 9/11. Because of that day, George W. Bush is still capable of receiving caskets coming from Iraq, without being obliged to discuss the issue of withdrawal. Europeans did not forget the scene of a Madrid drowning in its own blood. The peace proposal they received from Osama bin Laden had more impact on them than the "trains disaster."

The terrorism epidemic has hit the world. The American campaign, with its Iraqi stop, vows to deliver new generations of desperate individuals. The world needs more efficient treatments. It is irrational for cities to endlessly hold their breath, in fear of the exploding visitor.

<h1>The Exploding Guest</h1><h4>Ghassan Charbel     Al-Hayat     2004/04/25</h4><p><p>The world is scared. We could even say it is frightened. The current dangers do not resemble previous ones. Deterrence measurements are not enough. Protection procedures do not guarantee the non-occurrence of attacks. In various places, there is an increasing feeling that a bomb is about to explode. That a truck filled with explosives is reattempting to reach its target. That a man wearing a belt of explosives around his body, is about to push the button. A scared and depressed world. Official declarations formulated in the dialect of threat and menace. Cells with unknown residence, promising the world additional corpses and destruction.</p><p>Newspaper front-pages resembling facades of burial institutes. You have to leave some space in the front page, since the explosion will take place before you send the newspaper to print. If it does not take place here, it will take place there. There is no problem in finding an exciting and painful picture for tomorrow's issue. The wounds are open in more than one place, and you have to choose according to the toll of the day. If the picture does not come from Fallujah, it will come from Basra or another city. If the Iraqi toll is modest, there is always Sharon who is committed to daily deliver to the world a number of Palestinian corpses. Al Qaeda is not stingy with the reader. It lurks here in order to appear there. The world is scared. The American congressmen did not forget that the fourth airplane of 9/11 was heading towards Congress, if it was not for the resistance of the passengers who made it crash in Pennsylvania. This is why congressmen gathered, and agreed on the plan of a law that allows having special and fast elections, in case a hundred or more Congress members are killed in an attack.</p><p>The British House of Commons is also worried about the safety of its members. British intelligence warned of a chemical or biological attack that Al Qaeda plans to undertake against it. Thus, deputies voted to dedicate £1.3 million in order to build a permanent glass fence between the assembly and the hall of visitors. Intelligence services did not hide their worry of the possibility of the assembly "receiving" an explosive visitor one day, who holds gifts in the form of Anthrax sticks.</p><p>The world is scared and angry. Americans did not forget 9/11. Because of that day, George W. Bush is still capable of receiving caskets coming from Iraq, without being obliged to discuss the issue of withdrawal. Europeans did not forget the scene of a Madrid drowning in its own blood. The peace proposal they received from Osama bin Laden had more impact on them than the "trains disaster."</p><p>The terrorism epidemic has hit the world. The American campaign, with its Iraqi stop, vows to deliver new generations of desperate individuals. The world needs more efficient treatments. It is irrational for cities to endlessly hold their breath, in fear of the exploding visitor.</p></p>