Commentary: Trump's travel ban a latent bane for global anti-terror fight

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to shut off America's external security threats by issuing a travel ban, yet such a short-cut approach would be to little avail, and a latent bane for the global fight against terrorism.

The Trump team on Tuesday scrambled to defend in a U.S. court of appeals the legitimacy and effectiveness of the entry ban against people from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees.

The executive order now faces strong opposition inside the country and widespread controversies worldwide, and was halted by a U.S. federal judge last week. The legal battle has already triggered a political crisis at home, and may well further fracture the country on many fronts, including race and religion.

Washington may have its reasons to issue such an order, yet the ban entails serious logic and ethical flaws.

Since 9/11 attacks in 2001, most of the fatal terrorist strikes that happened on U.S. soil have been carried out by non-Muslims.

Among all seven countries on the ban's list, five of them have never seen their nationals conduct terror acts inside the United States. To better improve its security, Washington needs to deal with its long-standing gun violence problem first.

Meanwhile, radical elements around the world could use the ban to further justify their ruthless causes, and to gain more recruits. That is a grave threat not only to the safety and security of the United States, but that of others worldwide.

Moreover, Trump's order shows that his administration has no correct recognition of the responsibility it needs to shoulder in a global fight against terrorism.

Such countries banned on the list as Iraq, Libya and Syria are those that have been victimized by terrorism because previous U.S. governments and other Western powers deliberately intervened for self-interests.

As a result, millions of Syrians as well as peoples of other countries in the region have been made both homeless and hopeless.

With the ban, the United States has shut its door to the refugees it ought to take in. What's worse, it may set a misleading precedent for other countries that also have a share in accepting these tragic immigrants.

No safety net could be expansive and impenetrable enough to guarantee absolute security if the root causes that cultivate terrorism and other extremist thoughts are not eradicated.

The Trump administration needs to work with others around the world in this tough fight, not just mending its own fences. Endi