By Felan Parker
Years after September 11th, 2001, questions about the appropriate response to terrorism are still being asked. These questions form the backbone of Carleton University professor Simon Dalby’s current research project.
Dalby is working on a series of articles discussing the military aspects of government policy towards terrorism. He hopes to point out that what is commonly referred to as the Bush Doctrine – the US government’s approach to terrorism – is not the shadowy conspiracy that many people feel it is. As Dalby puts it, the Bush administration “believed its own propaganda,” and was not concealing any hidden agendas.
Dalby is interested in the military policies adopted by the US government since September 11th and the consequences they continue to have around the world. The decision to counteract terrorism with war, rather than with more police-like action, has had lasting effects on all countries, and Dalby has visited Australia, Singapore, India and Great Britain exploring these effect. For Canadians in particular, with the death toll in the Middle East rising each week, Dalby’s research is very significant.
The fact that the Bush administration genuinely believed it was pursuing the correct path “is even more frightening” than a conspiracy, says Dalby, and he hopes his research with yield valuable insight into the state of our world today.