the.world.is.flat-第94部分

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outrageous　act　of　terrorism　or　aggression　from　Pakistan；　India　would　do　whatever　it　
takes　to　defend　itself；　and　they　would　be　the　first　to　support　that…the　Dell　Theory　
be　damned。　Sometimes　war　is　unavoidable。　It　is　imposed　on　you　by　the　reckless　behavior　
of　others；　and　you　have　to　just　pay　the　price。　But　the　more　India　and；　one　hopes；　
soon　Pakistan　get　enmeshed　in　global　service　supply　chains；　the　greater　disin

centive　they　have　to　fight　anything　but　a　border　skirmish　or　a　war　of　words。　
The　example　of　the　2002　India…Pakistan　nuclear　crisis　at　least　gives　us　some　hope。　
That　cease…fire　was　brought　to　us　not　by　General　Powell　but　by　General　Electric。　
We　bring　good　things　to　life。　
Infosys　Versus　al…Qaeda　
Unfortunately；　even　GE　can　do　only　so　much。　Because；　alas；　a　new　source　for　
geopolitical　instability　has　emerged　only　in　recent　years；　for　which　even　the　updated　
Dell　Theory　can　provide　no　restraint。　It　is　the　emergence　of　mutant　global　supply　
chains　…that　is；　nonstate　actors；　be　they　criminals　or　terrorists；　who　learn　to　use　
all　the　elements　of　the　flat　world　to　advance　a　highly　destabilizing；　even　nihilistic　
agenda。　I　first　started　thinking　about　this　when　Nandan　Nilekani；　the　Infosys　CEO；　
was　giving　me　that　tour　I　referred　to　in　Chapter　1　of　his　company's　global　
videoconferencing　center　at　its　Bangalore　headquarters。　As　Nandan　explained　to　me　
how　Infosys　could　getits　global　supply　chain　together　atonce　for　a　virtual　conference　
in　that　room；　a　thought　popped　into　my　head：　Who　else　uses　open…sourcing　and　
supply…chaining　so　imaginatively？　The　answer；　of　course；　is　al…Qaeda。　
Al…Qaeda　has　learned　to　use　many　of　the　same　instruments　for　global　collaboration　
that　Infosys　uses；　but　instead　of　producing　products　and　profits　with　them；　it　has　
produced　mayhem　and　murder。　This　is　a　particularly　difficult　problem。　In　fact；　it　
may　be　the　most　vexing　geopolitical　problem　for　flat…world　countries　that　want　to　
focus　on　the　future。　The　flat　world…unfortunately…is　a　friend　of　both　Infosys　and　
al…Qaeda。　The　Dell　Theory　will　not　work　at　all　against　these　informal　Islamo…Leninist　
terror　networks；　because　they　are　not　a　state　with　a　population　that　will　hold　its　


leaders　accountable　or　with　a　domestic　business　lobby　that　might　restrain　them。　These　
mutant　global　supply　chains　are　formed　for　the　purpose　of　destruction；　not　profit。　
They　don't　need　investors；　only　recruits；　
430　
donors；　and　victims。　Yet　these　mobile；　self…financing　mutant　supply　chains　use　all　
the　tools　of　collaboration　offered　by　the　flat　world…open…sourcing　to　raise　money；　
to　recruit　followers；　and　to　stimulate　and　disseminate　ideas；　outsourcing　to　train　
recruits；　and　supply…chaining　to　distribute　the　tools　and　the　suicide　bombers　to　
undertake　operations。　The　U。S。　Central　Command　has　a　name　for　this　whole　underground　
network：　the　Virtual　Caliphate。　And　its　leaders　and　innovators　understand　the　flat　
world　almost　as　well　as　Wal…Mart；　Dell；　and　Infosys　do。　
In　the　previous　chapter；　I　tried　to　explain　that　you　cannot　understand　the　rise　of　
al…Qaeda　emotionally　and　politically　without　reference　to　the　flattening　of　the　world。　
What　I　am　arguing　here　is　that　you　cannot　understand　the　rise　of　al…Qaeda　technically　
without　reference　to　the　flattening　of　the　world；　either。　Globalization　in　general　
has　been　al…Qaeda's　friend　in　that　it　has　helped　to　solidify　a　revival　of　Muslim　
identity　and　solidarity；　with　Muslims　in　one　country　much　better　able　to　see　and　
sympathize　with　the　struggles　of　their　brethren　in　another　country…thanks　to　the　
Internet　and　satellite　television。　At　the　same　time；　as　pointed　out　in　the　previous　
chapter；　this　flattening　process　has　intensified　the　feelings　of　humiliation　in　some　
quarters　of　the　Muslim　world　over　the　fact　that　civilizations　to　which　the　Muslim　
world　once　felt　superior…Hindus；　Jews；　Christians；　Chinese　…are　now　all　doing　better　
than　many　Muslim　countries；　and　everyone　can　see　it。　The　flattening　of　the　world　has　
also　led　to　more　urbanization　and　large…scale　immigration　to　the　West　of　many　of　these　
young；　unemployed；　frustrated　Arab…Muslim　males；　while　simultaneously　making　it　much　
easier　for　informal　open…source　networks　of　these　young　men　to　form；　operate；　and　
interconnect。　This　certainly　has　been　a　boon　for　underground　extremist　Muslim　
political　groups。　There　has　been　a　proliferation　of　these　informal　mutual　supply　
chains　throughout　the　Arab…Muslim　world　today…small　networks　of　people　who　move　money　
through　hawalas　（hand…to…hand　financing　networks）；　who　recruit　through　alternative　
education　systems　like　the　madrassas；　and　who　communicate　through　the　Internet　and　
other　tools　of　the　global　information　revolution。　Think　about　it：　A　century　ago；　
anarchists　were　limited　in　their　ability　to　communicate　and　collaborate　with　one　
another；　to　find　sympathizers；　and　to　band　together　for　an　
431　
operation。　Today；　with　the　Internet；　that　is　not　a　problem。　Today　even　the　Unabomber　
could　find　friends　to　join　a　consortium　where　his　〃strengths〃　could　be　magnified　and　
reinforced　by　others　who　had　just　as　warped　a　worldview　as　he　did。　
What　we　have　witnessed　in　Iraq　is　an　even　more　perverse　mutation　of　this　mutant　supply　
chain…the　suicide　supply　chain。　Since　the　start　of　the　U。S。　invasion　in　March　2002；　
more　than　two　hundred　suicide　bombers　have　been　recruited　from　within　Iraq　and　from　
across　the　Muslim　world；　brought　to　the　Iraqi　front　by　some　underground　railroad；　
connected　with　the　bomb　makers　there；　and　then　dispatched　against　U。S。　and　Iraqi　
targets　according　to　whatever　suits　the　daily　tactical　needs　of　the　insurgent　Islamist　


forces　in　Iraq。　I　can　understand；　but　not　accept；　the　notion　that　more　than　
thirty…seven　years　of　Israeli　occupation　of　the　West　Bank　might　have　driven　some　
Palestinians　into　a　suicidal　rage。　But　the　American　occupation　of　Iraq　was　only　a　
few　months　old　before　it　started　to　get　hit　by　this　suicide　supply　chain。　How　do　you　
recruit　so　many　young　men　〃off　the　shelf〃　who　are　ready　to　commit　suicide　in　the　cause　
of　jihad；　many　of　them　apparently　not　even　Iraqis？　And　they　don't　even　identify　
themselves　by　name　or　want　to　get　credit…at　least　in　this　world。　The　fact　is　that　
Western　intelligence　agencies　have　no　clue　how　this　underground　suicide　supply　chain；　
which　seems　to　have　an　infinite　pool　of　recruits　to　draw　on；　works；　and　yet　it　has　
basically　stymied　the　U。S。　armed　forces　in　Iraq。　From　what　we　do　know；　though；　this　
Virtual　Caliphate　works　just　like　the　supply　chains　I　described　earlier。　Just　as　you　
take　an　item　off　the　shelf　in　a　discount　store　in　Birmingham　and　another　one　is　
immediately　made　in　Beijing；　so　the　retailers　of　suicide　deploy　a　human　bomber　in　
Baghdad　and　another　one　is　immediately　recruited　and　indoctrinated　in　Beirut。　To　the　
extent　that　this　tactic　spreads；　it　will　require　a　major　rethinking　of　U。S。　military　
doctrine。　
The　flat　world　has　also　been　such　a　huge　boon　for　al…Qaeda　and　its　ilk　because　of　
the　way　it　enables　the　small　to　act　big；　and　the　way　it　enables　small　acts…the　killing　
of　just　a　few　people…to　have　big　effects。　The　horrific　video　of　the　beheading　of　Wall　
Street　Journal　reporter　Danny　Pearl　by　Islamist　militants　in　Pakistan　was　transmitted　
by　the　Internet　all　over　the　world。　There　is　not　a　journalist　anywhere　who　saw　or　
even　just　read　

about　that　who　was　not　terrified。　But　those　same　beheading　videos　are　also　used　as　
tools　of　recruitment。　The　flat　world　makes　it　much　easier　for　terrorists　to　transmit　
their　terror。　With　the　Internet　they　don't　even　have　to　go　through　Western　or　Arab　
news　organizations　but　can　broadcast　right　into　your　computer。　It　takes　much　less　
dynamite　to　transmit　so　much　more　anxiety。　Just　as　the　U。S。　Army　had　embedded　
journalists；　so　the　suicide　supply　chain　has　embedded　terrorists；　in　their　own　way；　
to　tell　us　their　side　of　the　story。　How　many　times　have　I　gotten　up　in　the　morning；　
fired　up　the　Internet；　and　been　confronted　by　the　video　image　of　some　masked　gunman　
threatening　to　behead　an　American…all　brought　to　me　courtesy　of　AOL's　home　page？　The　
Internet　is　an　enormously　useful　tool　for　the　dissemination　of　propaganda；　conspiracy　
theories；　and　plain　old　untruths；　because　it　combines　a　huge　reach　with　a　patina　of　
technology　that　makes　anything　onthe　Internet　somehow　more　believable。　How　many　times　
have　you　heard　someone　say；　〃But　I　read　it　on　the　Internet；〃　as　if　that　should　end　
the　argument？　In　fact；　the　Internet　can　make　things　worse。　It　often　leads　to　more　
people　being　exposed　to　crazy　conspiracy　theories。　
〃The　new　system　of　diffusion…the　Internet…is　more　likely　to　transmit　irrationality　
than　rationality；〃　said　political　theorist　Yaron　Ezrahi；　who　specializes　in　the　
interaction　between　media　and　politics。　〃Because　irrationality　is　more　emotionally　
loaded；　it　requires　less　knowledge；　it　explains　more　to　more　people；　it　goes　down　
easier。〃　That　is　why　conspiracy　theories　are　so　rife　in　the　Arab…Muslim　world　
today…and　unfortunately　are　becoming　so　in　many　quarters　of　the　Western　world；　for　


that　matter。　Conspiracy　theories　are　like　a　drug　that　goes　right　into　your　bloodstream；　
enabling　you　to　see　〃the　Light。〃　And　the　Internet　is　the　needle。　Young　people　used　
to　have　to　take　LSD　to　escape。　Now　they　just　go　online。　Now　you　don't　shoot　up；　you　
download。　You　download　the　precise　point　of　view　that　speaks　to　all　your　own　biases。　
And　the　flat　world　makes　it　all　so　much　easier。　
Gabriel　Weimann；　a　professor　of　communication　at　Haifa　University；　Israel；　did　an　
incisive　study　of　terrorists'　use　of　the　Internet　and　of　what　I　call　the　flat　world；　
which　was　published　in　March　2004by　the　United　States　Institute　of　Peace　and　excerpted　
on　YaleGlobal　Online　on　April　26；　2004。　He　made　the　following　points：　
433　
While　the　danger　that　cyber…terrorism　poses　to　the　Internet　is　frequently　debated；　
surprisingly　little　is　known　about　the　threat　posed　by　terrorists'　use　of　the　Internet。　
A　recent　six…year…long　study　shows　that　terrorist　organizations　and　their　supporters　
have　been　using　all　of　the　tools　that　the　Internet　offers　to　recruit　supporters；　raise　
funds；　and　launch　a　worl