TJP

Physical Conflicts: An Irrational Approach to Problem Solving

By Byron A. Ellis – December 29, 2009

If Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab was capable of transporting explosive material on an airplane destined to the United States, it is plausible that other individuals with the same insane propensities might have already smuggled explosive materials into the United States using the same technique, sewing the explosive material in their underwear.

It is, therefore, essential for U.S. authorities to thoroughly conduct an investigation of visitors from potentially terror areas that have already entered the United States in the past three months. Such a review would help identify if any forward terrorist cell have been planted in the U.S. prior to AbdulMutallab’s incident.

The ease of transporting explosives on the plane signals problems within the airport surveillance systems. Costa Rica has a novel surveillance system, it screens suitcases entering and leaving the country. It may be appropriate for the U.S. to implement, random and profile spot screening of visitors entering from abroad, as well as 100 percent screening of international suitcases entering and leaving the U.S.

In addition to physical and technological preventive measures, which in the long run are costly and unsustainable, the U.S. should also implement socio-economic and diplomatic processes that reduce tensions in high poverty world regions.

Poverty and lack meaningful opportunities appear to be associated with conflict regions. Military responses, more often than not, create collateral damages, leading to high levels of resentment in the targeted regions and elsewhere.

Both, preventive and tension reducing measures should be implemented simultaneously. Positive reciprocity is an important ingredient in developing good relationships, even among adversaries.

Reciprocity refers to responding to a positive action with another positive action, or conversely, to a negative action with another negative action. Negative reciprocity is often detrimental, particularly if there is no dominant actor; in this case it often leads escalating hostile actions.

Conflicts around the world are often due to escalations in negative reciprocal hostile actions. In a sense, negative reciprocal hostile actions are childlike behaviors that are costly in human lives and misallocate goods and services to non-productive endeavors: wars.

Smart twenty-first century human beings should be able to device processes to solve disputes. We are told, without ambiguity, in Luke 12:58 that we should settle with our opponent, before we get to the magistrate, because the magistrate’s rulings are unpredictable. Yet, too often conflicting parties ignore the truism of Luke’s Gospel and escalate conflicts to the point where the added cost exceeds the added benefit.

And, when the conflicting parties settle, they often establish trading and other relationships. Clearly, the post-conflict relationship could have been achieved before the conflict, indicating the inefficiency of physical conflicts.

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