Eye for an Eye. The True Story of the Colina Group

Can one fight a cannibal by devouring the cannibal, or an arsonist by burning down his house? The civilized answer will opt for a calm "no." But if fear enters the picture, the tendency will be different. The poor human condition reacts differently when fear breathes on the back of one's neck or disturbs one's sleep. Faced with a criminal threat — a savage terrorist attack — the terrified masses will demand (and justify) the devastation of the villainous aggressor. This is the effect of fear: it shuts down discernment. That dread is most lethal when it reaches a ruler, because the ruler has the power to make decisions. An entire system has been designed to combat terrorism. Its architects call it low-intensity warfare or clandestine war. More directly, its victims know it as "dirty war." It is based on an age-old principle that counsels applying the law of retaliation in response to harm — that principle known from the Bible: "But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." (Excerpt from the introduction).