People all over the world are expressing their condemnation of the Oslo and Mumbai terrorist attacks and offering their condolences to the families of the innocent victims.
The reoccurrence of these attacks in different parts of the world and terrible tragedy inflicted on innocent people should make us think and act beyond "condemnation, condolences and candlelight vigil." The cost and efforts to ensure that these attacks don't happen is prohibitively expensive and practically not feasible since some of these terrorists have jihadi mentality. It is posing serious threats to our civil liberties and peaceful existence. It is with this background that we need to act beyond condemnation and condolences and not in the battle ground and war zones but in our civil set-up where it will hurt most and work best, if we do it right.
First, we need to devise ways and means to do something about the "currency of terrorism." We have pockets in the world that gives value to the currency of terrorism. How can the international community make those who have the currency of terrorism to directly or indirectly pay for having such currency so that the support infrastructure and base gets debilitated and the terrorists have disincentive to engage in such acts?
Second, how we respond immediately and subsequently after the terrible terrorist inflicted tragedies happen is important. Our immediate response to the victims should be out of the internationally-developed standard operating procedure and preparedness. Subsequently, how we look after the victims' families and victims themselves should have the minimum standards of care and support.
Thirdly, we must swiftly and boldly punish the terrorists and not allow them to hide behind the inefficiencies and inordinate delays of the legal system of the different parts of the world or make the taxpayers incur heavy cost of delivering justice to the terrorists and their support network.
The international community should develop the structure of a court for terrorism-related crime that should allow prosecution on a model like we do for crimes against humanity through the international court of justice. Such a court for the terrorism related crime should be established (like a franchise) all around the world with same laws and similar operating procedure and specifically trained justices to man such courts. Crimes by terrorist in any parts of the world should be punishable anywhere and enforceable all around the world.
Finally, the international community needs to create the disincentives for the wannabe terrorists through debilitating financial and social incentives. Their families around the world and organizations they belong to will be made to pay for the damage and hurt they inflict through their terrorist acts. Private and philanthropic resources and efforts should be used to work against the social causes and beliefs that breeds terrorists.
The international community and diaspora organizations around the world should think of starting a discussion for action beyond just the condemnation, condolences and candlelight vigil. The scourge of terrorism is an issue that should be dealt with beyond the boundaries of the nations as this problem belongs to the international community since the tentacles of terrorism knows no boundaries.