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How language aggravates conflict

Improved communication systems and globalisation have given rise to increased concerns over new conflict dimensions such as transnational terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction. Developing countries like Kenya are the most vulnerable and ill equipped to deal with eventualities like bomb attacks and the attendant death and destruction. The media plays a central role in the expression, development and resolution of conflicts. As Wolfsfeld (1997, p.3) observes, 'the news media have become the central arena for political conflicts today'. This article adopts the definition by the US Department of State that describes terrorism as a 'premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience' (Essner 2003, p.6). The intended influence on the audience is achieved when the media collate and disseminate the news promptly and publish the feedback, including the disgust of the innocent victims as well as the threats of retaliation and counter-attacks by the antagonists. In the Kenyan case, the news reports have sustained the blame game, targeting both the terrorists and Kenya's ally, the US. Kenya, hitherto a relatively peaceful nation, has suffered terrorist attacks twice in a space of only four years. First was the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, which killed 224 people and wounded over 5,000 others. Secondly, in November 2002, Paradise hotel near Mombasa was bombed, killing 20 and leaving the hotel shattered. On this occasion, there was also an unsuccessful missile attack on an Israeli airliner on take-off from Mombasa airport with several Israeli tourists on board. After the two attacks, Kenya's intelligence strategies, disaster preparedness, foreign policy, communication efficiency and both internal and cross-border security systems and operations faced serious challenges.