Extreme Terrorism and its Paradoxical Psychological Lessons
Luciano Peirone, Psicoterapeuta
President International Association for Health Research and Psychological Culture Development, Italy

THE FALL
Horror has come. Extreme Terrorism (the international-planetary one, the catastrophic one, the suicidal one, the potentially no-limits one) has struck.

New York, Washington, United States of America, the World; the human beings, the towns, the nations, the planet: these are the victims. And the survivors mourn them; they express the proper solidarity.

But, after Death, Life continues. It must go on. For everybody: for civil society, and particularly for science, always called to be responsible for human action. And, even more particularly, for psychological science, called to give answers to what at a first glance seems not to have answers.

After the shock, after the trauma, scientist activates himself: to analyze, to know, above all to correct possible errors. In this case, more than ever, to modify the probable defects of a life system (the one that belongs to Western Civilization) that has revealed so many fragilities.

Beyond grief, work. The work made above all by humility, patience, self-criticism. The work and the strain that are up - paradoxically - to the victim (and not to the executioner). And Victim is - fundamentally - the Democratic Western World, cruelly struck by the Executioner called Extreme Terrorism.

It's up to this victim the hard and suffered work that each person struck by a serious illness (in this case uncompletely unforeseeable) has to front. It's up to this victim the disquieting and disturbing work of "critical self-reflection", to untie the paradox of having sustained terrible lessons from cruel and involuntary "masters", who have given them such lessons in an implicit way, and unconscious too.

The psychological reality in which we have been suddendly catapulted is freezing the blood and monstrous; we have been swept away and buried by it, exactly such as by steel, glass and cement rubble, exactly such as by tormented flesh and shed blood. Dreadful and monstrous reality. But, neverthless "reality": therefore, to be described, explained, comprehended; by the researcher's "ratio", and by the scientist's impartiality.

The overall lesson has been however given us. At this point, we have to become completely aware of it, and make it yielding. Psychology (behaviorism, psychoanalysis, systemic approach, psychodiagnostics, political psychology, polemology, etc.) can help us, also to specify the details of this monstrous teaching.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LESSONS

Lesson # 1: THE REVENGE OF THE HUMAN FACTOR
Human factor comes through the american tragedy successfully; unfortunately, not only in a positive way but also in a negative one. The human dimension gains importance more than the economical, political and technological factors. The human dimension is subjective, and therefore non-calculable and non-controllable as easily as money, power, machine. On the one hand, terrorism has shown what "human resources organisation" really means: particularly, it has maximized the low technological content resources (also to avoid the sophisticated electronical defences: human astuteness winning against artificial intelligence). On the other hand, the world of the assaulted has shown the weak side of the hypertechnological civilization: unfortunately, the "maximum technological power" tens - in indirect and subtile way - to produce a "reduced human intelligence-responsibility". In everyday modern life, the "force" moves towards the mechanical-informatical pole, without human perception, while human being passively relies on material device, delegating every function to it.

Lesson # 2: WHO IS THE ENEMY? WHO IS THE TERRORIST?
It's important to know who has concretely been (natural person, political militant, economical subject, etc.). But, a scientist has to consider that it's more important the "who is?" from the psychological point of view. Advanced Western Society (both the super-specialized expert and the street man) has demonstrated scarce knowledge about the personality of the individuals and the groups practicing terrorism. Particularly, it has ignored the "clear and cold desperation of those who have nothing to lose". It has not been able to imagine the "no-limits" terrorism, the one that feeds itself on fanaticism and is coupled with a theoretically infinite spirit of sacrifice.

Lesson # 3: SPIRITUALITY VS MATERIALITY
Unfortunately, fanaticism has not been really grasped in its deep and extreme psychological aspects: actually, it has to be seen as a complete devotion to the cause, with an effacing of the individual person to the advantage of the collective and heavenly ideal. At this point, for the fanatic, the "real" shows itself as a quite poor thing by comparison with the "ideal", the "earthly" shows itself as a quite poor thing by comparison with the "heavenly"; actually, death leads to immortality, therefore there is no suffering in seeking one's death. The man who identifies himself in the "boundless-infinite" terrorism has no respect for the victims, he has no respect for himself. It's not impossible, at this point, to understand how one can get to such apparently "strange" personalities: closed minds, hardened hearts, zeroed feelings. The total refusal of materiality leads to a wicked spirituality, to hate, to a blind violence. However, it's still a question of an ethical dimension: although negative and sometimes sick, it's in any case a really existing "moral" that cannot be ignored. For this reason too, it's important to consider that, beyond terrorists and fanatics, most of "mentally healthy" world people do have ethics that differ from the predominant one.

Lesson # 4: INTELLIGENCE CHILD OF POVERTY AND OF DESPERATION-EXASPERATION
Western Civilization has been in a state of crisis for a long time: but only a few want to recognize it, and only very few people know how to formulate the correct diagnosis of this disease. A fundamental symptom that Extreme Terrorism has pointed out is that in Occident there is too much material well-being to be able to grasp the "violence of poverty without hope". Need sharpens its wits, while full belly dulls the mind. Beyond ethical reasons, beyond who's right or wrong, the Enemy is always vigilant, while who optimistically only sees "Friends" around himself doesn't tendentially think. It's hard to admit, but it's true: Extreme Terrorist is more intelligent than his Victim.

Lesson # 5: ACTION CHILD OF MOTIVATION
Under the push of very concrete situations, under the action of very strong stimuli, the brain is not only more active, but even the behavior is livelier; it's livelier and more aimed: a real " specialized" behavior. Hence it follows a superior ability of reading reality, a superior creativeness, a superior activity-reactivity, a superior efficiency: all this because at the beginning the psyche is definitely motivated. Motivation is what begins a long and complex process: the terrorism, even the non extreme one, and the sub-culture from which it is born and develops, do have very deep motivational roots able to foment them in a massive and unusual way.

Lesson # 6: ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION
In all the fields and circumstances of life, to attain the pre-established aim, to "hit the target", there has to be an enormous attention and an enormous concentration, and also an extra-ordinary precision. In this catastrophic situation, the terrorists have shown really exceptional "endowments", acting in an attentive, concentrated and precise way, all qualities of exquisitely psychological nature. There has been a clash between superficiality and depth, between vagueness and specificity. Terrorism Without Limits has given an example of astuteness and craftiness: man vs machines, in other words - with typical expressions of cognitive pshychology - "divergent thought vs convergent thought", "creative intelligence vs repetitive intelligence".

Lesson # 7: DOES ALIEN ONLY LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD?
Evidently it doesn't; but how much did it take to begin really understanding that human beings are more different than similar? As a matter of fact the alien - that's to say the stranger (it doesn't matter if he's good or bad) - lives in the world, in the other people, in the other cultures, in the other ethnics, in our neighbours, in our relatives, and even in ourselves, in the obscure part of the individual, in the dark side of the psyche planet, in the unconscious. And sometimes, but not always, the alien is bad, if not absolutely very bad.

Lesson # 8: GLOBALIZATION: ECONOMIC FOR SURE, BUT THE REST?
Different thoughts, different emotions, different values. The world isn't completely "globalized". The non-Occident is very different from the Occident. And, even more so, the non-occidental terrorism belongs to an "other world", to an "other mentality". The ethnocentric mistake of the Occident (strong about its own economical excessive power) is now paid with a lot of blood. A global world, homogenised by the law of supply and demand, doesn't exist; many worlds do exist. And, beyond money, very many things are different. Especially the things that aren't "things": what isn't actually "objective", but rather "subjective". And "subjectivity" first of all means "plurality". The psychological globalization doesn't exist, or we are still very far from it.

Lesson # 9:THE KEY-ERROR IN THE PERCEPTION-EVALUATION OF THE SOCIAL HUMAN BEING
Extreme Terrorism has smashed the implicit prejudice "It's true we're different, but after all we always agree". The democratic system - if passively experienced - is paradoxically ingenuous. Theoretically one agrees to the idea of "multiracial-multiethnic-multicultural society", but after, in the deeds and in the actions, one behaves as if society was one and only one. In fact, the "melting pot of fusion" doesn't exist, whereas the "mosaic" does exist. Moreover, the tesserae of the mosaic are all different one from the other, and the only common element is the glue (the work and the economic trade, that however are only "means") which keeps the tesserae together, while the overall shape that the mosaic should describe (the leading ethical-cultural beliefs, which are "aims") probably appears confused and unreadable or it doesn't even exist.

Lesson # 10:THE WILL-POWER
Extreme Terrorists have demonstrated a "fierce", an icy determination in pursuing an aim (and what an aim! Even their own death...): to plan times and methods, to train men, to implement strategies and tactics, to articulate means and ends, to maintain the total secrecy, and finally to kill and to kill themselves. The Occidental Man doesn't have such psychological characteristics, not "external" characteristics but "internal" ones, paradoxically "human and inhuman" at the same time. To want something, to want it deeply, very deeply; never giving up from one's goals, to attain one's aim, at any cost ("No matter what it costs"); getting to the end, although it involves the making of emptiness all around oneself, and even in one's heart. This is the terrible, but monstrously efficient, will-power that has been rendered operating. And the "rich but lazy" part of mankind has not been able to foresee it...

Lesson # 11: THE ABILITY OF KEEPING SECRECY AND SELF-CONTROL
Extreme Terrorists have been able not to betray themselves, not to leak anything out: they have given a masterly lesson about intrapsychic self-control. In the mass communication civilization (ingenuously interpreted as "total communication"), the superficial and conceited person sooner or later betrays himself: without self-control, the secret collapses. The Extreme Attacker succeeds in hiding himself instead, he is absolutely able to lie. His actions, his thoughts, and above all his emotions, are subjected to a control which is inconceivable to the street man. It's necessary to have a cold, an icy direction of private life, of inner life. Even before the enormous destructive power of the "arms", the enormous power of psyche is required. It's an almost omnipotent psyche, even if it's wicked, even if it's probably sick. It's said that it's non-human, that it's diabolical, keeping death inside of oneself for months/years. As a matter of fact, only a diabolically conditioned psyche can have such a cold, icy determination. And the potential Victim, if he doesn't want to become so, has to learn how to recognize this Devil early...

Lesson # 12:THE MYTH OF THE INVIOLABILITY OF THE NATIONAL TERRITORY
This myth has been shattered by the attack to the World Trade Center and to the Pentagon: the commercial heart of the United States and of the advanced world, and the most powerful armed hand of the planet, have found themselves ingenuously defenceless against an Enemy who - having only been imagined "external" up to that time - has revealed himself to be "internal". As well as it happens in psychopathology, the "out" has unexpectedly broken in and has come "in" nullifying the frontiers. Against any (daily, but not reasonable) expectation, one's own land has been violated, one's own nation has been raped; there has been the violation of identity, the (personal and collective) Self has been attacked and slaughtered.

Lesson # 13: THE MYTH OF THE MINIMUM VULNERABILITY OF THE CIVILIANS
This myth has dissolved with the collapse of the Twin Towers: a non-warriors hecatomb has decreed the end of the implicit dream "They will never hurt us, and never so many!". Now, destruction has trampled on the bodies and the minds of those who maybe, superficially, have never seriously wondered "How dangerous can Man really be?", "To what extent can the Evil we all potentially keep inside of us get?".

Lesson # 14:THE MYTH OF THE PERFECT SAFETY
This time the Giant was asleep, lulled by the dreams about his own safety. His sleep has been brusquely interrupted by an Enemy who was on the contrary quite awake, and who was getting ready for a long time in the shade. As history shows, the paradoxical story about David and Goliath has repeated itself once again. The conceit sin (the conceit about one's own power/omnipotence) is now hard paid. Trusting in the undeniable technical superiority, one has relaxed too much, losing sight of the danger. The excess of inner safety about one's own practical security is deadly: the Victim who is asleep is a too easy target for the Aggressor who keeps awake. The fact is that there's nothing perfect, except the acknowledgement of human imperfection. The right dose of psychological unsafety is essential for rendering the material security less deceptive.

Lesson # 15: WESTERN CIVILIZATION: POWERFUL AND INGENUOUS
Third Millennium has opened with a terrible example of undervaluation about the enemy, of undervaluation about "terrorism problem", of undervaluation about what isn't occidental. It's not defeatism recognizing it: it's realism. That's how the western civilization, not so psychologically evolved as it technically is, has proved itself: not to be little babyish, not to be little immature. But one can get out of this contradiction. If even the extreme mental deseases (schizophrenia, paranoia, autism, psychotic depression, etc.) and the extreme sociopaties (drug addiction, perversions, etc.) are in some way "curable", why couldn't it be possible to do anything towards extreme terrorism too? Knowing the "mental distance" of it from the every day life of the normal human being, can help everyone (from the housewife to the policeman, from the entrepreneur to the statesman, etc.) to perceive it less extraneous, and therefore to make it more controllable. Knowing and understanding terrorism, then: to treat it, to prevent it.

Lesson # 16: THE BIGGEST MISTAKE: NOT WANTING TO SEE, NOT WANTING TO UNDERSTAND
Up to September 11th Occident - out of laziness, carelessness, and above all badly run fear - had not become quite aware of new terrorism. The really "civilized" world and human being don't have the fear to be afraid of terrorism. Denying, trying not to see, hiding one's head in the sand, deceiving oneself about non-danger: all this - in order not to suffer - plays the game of terrorism; and, however, after it's worse. Against terrorism (even more so for the extreme one), Light is necessary; even though throwing light on horror hurts and scares. But, only with the right dose of sound fear, we can activate the right defences, we can generate the antibodies for this strange disease. Now the moment to wake the Sleeping Giant up has come.

THE RE-ASCENT
Terrible, cruel, horrible, tragic: yes, it is. Inconceivable, absurd, impossible, improbable, unforeseeable: no, it isn't.

There's no justice in what has happened, but there's a "logic"; there's no mercy, but there's a "sense"; there's no humanity, but there's a "truth"; there's no moral, but there's a "teaching".

Let's learn how to use the Absurd: we'll learn how to manage the Monster.

We are in the presence of an epoch-making event: the Epiphany of Terrorism has come. The "highest display" is before our eyes. Now, that the blind violence of Pure Terror has reached its height, Terrorism reveals itself to the end. At last, we can know it.

After the attack, after the surprise, after the astonishment, after the grief, there's the time for reflection. The scientific reflection, the scientific-psychological reflection.

After the violence that other people have inflicted us, let's make an effort on us, against us. Strange and paradoxical, this proposal... but let's put it into action for our good, for that of our children, to make sure that those who have died haven't died in vain. As in psychotherapy is, let's try "to go through suffering" without denying it, let's try "to work through the mourning", let's try to accept that part of Evil inside of us which - suitably taken to pieces and analyzed - can give us back the Good. Let's try to be responsible even for those who have never been so.

Through psychology, through science, through democracy (in a word, through the main instruments of the open society capable of self-correction), we'll certainly change ourselves, and - if we succeed to change that part of the human being from which Extreme Evil has come - maybe we might change the whole world too.