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In the age of information and the simultaneous absence of objective knowledge and critical analysis, human perception is dominated by the messages it constantly receives raw from the numerous media. At the same time, man enjoys categorizing all kinds of events and data while at the same time being attracted by impressive actions, often ignoring more significant changes that are not sufficiently highlighted and slip through his attention.

With these general observations, let us examine the events that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the broader sense of insecurity that dominates the majority of people, especially in Western countries. There is a widespread belief that since the day of the terrorist attacks in the USA a new historical period began with more insecurity, blood and instability. It may be with surprise (pleasant) to find that undeniable statistics prove that our world is safer and more peaceful in recent years despite the losses associated with the alleged fight against international terrorism.

A simple reading of history proves that terrorism is not a phenomenon of the 21st century. Undoubtedly, Cain tried to terrorize his brother Abel before committing his heinous act. Terrorism has always been a weapon of enforcement and a tool of politics. The recent Islamist terrorism had manifested itself in multiple actions even before September 11. Before the attacks on the twin towers, the security authorities were facing threats from Islamic extremists, but on the morning of September 11 they were rather surprised by the size and targets of the attacks (although there are unproven theories that question the extent of the surprise). The subsequent Western reaction with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq is considered to have been the fuel for international terrorism. The situation became even worse with the so-called “Arab Spring” and the spread of extremist ideologies and organizations in areas of the Muslim world. However, let us not forget that before the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban had established an oppressive regime based on extreme Islamic views and were instigating similar uprisings in various regions. So it was not only the truly inappropriate Western reaction that contributed to the increase in Islamist terrorism and instability in the Middle East and North Africa. The causes are complex and are lost over time as religious beliefs, political aspirations, racial differences, lack of development, everyday despair and undoubtedly wrong and opportunistic decisions and choices within and outside the region become entangled.

But despite the chaos of the Middle East and the daily threat of terrorism, the world is, paradoxically, safer and more peaceful. A simple reading of the tables of international conflicts and human losses is revealing. The number of conflicts, although showing a significant increase after 1945, has decreased significantly since the end of the Cold War. However, the number of human losses has followed a spectacular and almost linear decrease worldwide since 1945 despite the conflict situation in the Middle East. Despite the decrease in conflicts and losses, several conflicts rage without attracting our attention as they take place far from our areas of interest. It is also natural that the immediacy of images from the battlefields in Syria and Iraq have overshadowed the thousands of casualties in the long-running Iraq-Iran war (1981-1988) and the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). But neither have the 3.5 million dead in the massacres of the second civil war in the Congo (1998-2003) caught our attention. Even the ongoing genocides in various regions (e.g. Sudan) are not matters of high international interest. But the numbers are relentless, human losses, with small fluctuations, have been impressively downward since 1945 and the world is safer.

Regardless of the real significance of the events of September 11, this day marked a different perception of the Western world, mainly, on the concepts of security and threats. It certainly gave impetus to retaliatory actions and preemptive strikes with at least controversial and even poor results against the “new terrorists”. Unfortunately, however, terrorism existed before and was more deadly in the last three decades of the 20th century.

Terrorism is a political phenomenon and as such presents periods of ups and downs. Politics, violence and terrorism are closely linked concepts. Sometimes yesterday's terrorists are tomorrow's interlocutors, considered heroes by some and "bloodthirsty monsters" by others. Let us not be surprised (unpleasantly) if after years the "caliph of the Islamic State" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a co-candidate with President Basar al-Assad for the Nobel Peace Prize. As oxymoronic or even tragic as it may sound to millions of people, the awarding of Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin and Barak Obama was a disgrace to the institution and the victims of their policies.

The above considerations in no way justify acts of brutality and terrorist actions that are directed especially against civilians from wherever they come from, whatever goal they serve. In fact, our country, firmly integrated into international organizations and institutions, maintains obligations and commitments to join in the common effort to confront today's Islamist terrorism that seems to be the greatest threat to the "civilized world". Simply, an in-depth examination and cool-headed analysis of the facts is always valuable and constructive.