the.world.is.flat-第104节

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point　that　this　was　very　bad　for　Indian　business。　It　was　very　bad　for　the　Indian　
economy　。　。　。　＇Many　people＇　didn't　realize　till　then　how　suddenly　we　had　become　
integrated　into　the　rest　of　the　world。　We　are　now　partners　in　a　twenty…four　by　seven　
by　three…sixty…five　supply　chain。〃　
Vivek　Kulkami；　then　information　technology　secretary　for　Bangalore's　regional　
government；　told　me　back　in　2002；　〃We　don't　get　involved　in　politics；　but　we　did　bring　
to　the　government's　attention　the　problems　the　Indian　IT　industry　might　face　if　there　
were　a　war。〃　And　this　was　an　altogether　new　factor　for　New　Delhi　to　take　into　
consideration。　〃Ten　years　ago；　＇a　lobby　of　IT　ministers　from　different　Indian　states＇　
never　existed；〃　said　Kulkarni。　Now　it　is　one　of　the　most　important　business　lobbies　
in　India　and　a　coalition　that　no　Indian　government　can　ignore。　
〃With　all　due　respect；　the　McDonald's　＇shutting＇　down　doesn't　hurt　anything；〃　said　
Vivek　Paul；　〃but　if　Wipro　had　to　shut　down　we　would　af…　
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feet　the　day…to…day　operations　of　many；　many　companies。〃　No　one　would　answer　the　
phones　in　call　centers。　Many　e…commerce　sites　that　are　supported　from　Bangalore　would　
shut　down。　Many　major　companies　that　rely　on　India　to　maintain　their　key　computer　
applications　or　handle　their　human　resources　departments　or　billings　would　seize　up。　
And　these　companies　did　not　want　to　find　alternatives；　said　Paul。　Switching　is　very　
difficult；　because　taking　over　mission…critical　day…to…day　backroom　operations　of　
a　global　company　takes　a　great　deal　of　training　and　experience。　It's　not　like　opening　
a　fast…food　restaurant。　That　was　why；　said　Paul；　Wipro's　clients　were　telling　him；　
〃'I　have　made　an　investment　in　you。　I　need　you　to　be　very　responsible　with　the　trust　
I　have　reposed　in　you。'　And　I　think　that　created　an　enormous　amount　of　back　pressure　


on　us　that　said　we　have　to　act　in　a　responsible　fashion　。。。　All　of　a　sudden　it　became　
even　clearer　that　there's　more　to　gain　by　economic　gains　than　by　geopolitical　gains。　
＇We　had　more　to　gain　from　building＇　a　vibrant；　richer　middle　class　able　to　create　
an　export　industry　than　we　possibly　could　by　having　an　ego…satisfying　war　with　
Pakistan。〃　The　Indian　government　also　looked　around　and　realized　that　the　vast　
majority　of　India's　billion　people　were　saying；　〃I　want　a　better　future；　not　more　
territory。〃　Over　and　over　again；　when　I　asked　young　Indians　working　at　call　centers　
how　they　felt　about　Kashmir　or　a　war　with　Pakistan；　they　waved　me　off　with　the　same　
answer：　〃We　have　better　things　to　do。〃　And　they　do。　America　needs　to　keep　this　in　
mind　as　it　weighs　its　overall　approach　to　outsourcing。　I　would　never　advocate　shipping　
some　American's　job　overseas　just　so　it　will　keep　Indians　and　Pakistanis　at　peace　
with　each　other。　But　I　would　say　that　to　the　extent　that　this　process　happens；　driven　
by　its　own　internal　economic　logic；　it　will　have　a　net　positive　geopolitical　effect。　
It　will　absolutely　make　the　world　safer　for　American　kids。　
Each　of　the　Indian　business　leaders　I　interviewed　noted　that　in　the　event　of　some　
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；　
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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　appa