Comparing the Threat of Communism to that of Terrorism

The difference between the two threats of communism and terrorism is largely a matter of perception. Communism appeared to the untrained eye to be a monstrous, evil, tyrannical machine capable of annihilating its opposition. Terrorism on the other hand is to the objective viewer a mere anathema, as already noted, a nuisance.

While it is impossible to know exactly what outcomes other strategies might have produced against the Soviet Union, the elevation of the level of interest the communist threat posed to the United States to that of Survival seems to have been a perfectly reasonable counteraction. Communism has largely been relegated to the trash heap of history although Socialism has replaced it and seems to be proving even deadlier than communism ever was. The communist threat was an overt, outside, bellicose enemy which was in-your-face and easily identifiable, and nearly as easily contested. The socialist threat seems to be more an invisible parasite which undermines free states from the inside out with promises of utopia.

Terrorism, as merely a “nuisance”, has the power to operate within, even benefit from free societies. It is not an overt bellicose enemy which is easily identified. Terrorism lurks in the shadows and behind closed doors, protected by the very ideals it seeks to destroy. The threat is well known but vaporous, and easily forgotten after lengthy periods of inactivity. The terrorist would be pleased to utterly destroy the United States and subjugate everyone therein, as would the communist before him. The communist regime in the Soviet Union would debate, negotiate, communicate, and deal with the United States. The Soviet Union had form and function. Terrorism however is an indefinable, elusive enigma, with no form or coherent function. Every terrorist entity operates differently, with different command and control structures, different ideologies, and different means to the ultimate end. They are as varied as the people within them.

Depending on the person’s world view, each individual would answer this question differently. However, communism was never in open war against the United States, something the common terrorist boasts about. If not so, he could hardly be called a terrorist. Terrorism is in open war with free societies around the world. The threat posed by terrorism is a definite one. To the United States, terrorism may be merely a vital level interest, but to Pakistan or Indonesia, terrorism is clearly an interest of survival. The threat of terrorism is real and the war terrorists wage against the United States is undeniable. Eventually, if not effectively countered, terrorism will overrun and destroy the United States. The threat is indeed dynamic, for this reason it is imperative that the United States combat terrorism on every viable front, in order to prevent its progression from a vital interest to a survival interest.