Compiled by Gus diZerega
Dept. of Politics
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362
If we had been born where they had been born,
if we had been taught what they had been
taught,
we would believe what they believe
- Abraham Lincoln
As a political scientist with a wide variety of
sources and contacts, I have benefited from a richer than usual diet of
information about the terrorist attack on our country. The following are some of the most insightful
articles and insights I have encountered.
They were written at different times and do not always agree with one
another. What they share is a deeper
understanding of the context in which the attacks took place and the context in
which our response must take place than we get from television or most of the
press.
I also suggest taking a look at a newspaper
which I have found to have unusually perceptive articles: The Manchester
Guardian,
. See in particular “Don’t Inflate the Size of
the Enemy to Fit the Crime,” “There is a Legal Way Out of This”, “A Word in the
Taliban’s Ear”, “Where are you. Mr. Bush?” and subsequent pieces, a few of
which are reproduced here.
A Wake-Up Call For The Media Oligarchy? By Arianna Huffington
As shocking as the four-pronged attack was, it
shouldn't have been quite so surprising. Only seven months ago, a
congressionally mandated federal commission released a prophetic report
predicting this kind of terrorist assault on U.S. soil, concluding that the
question was not if a terrorist attack on America could happen but when.
FORGETTING FOREIGN AFFAIRS by by Nina Burleigh
The foreign news blackout means that the rest
of the world knows far more about America than we know about ourselves, let
alone what we know about them. And this triumph of ignorance means that
Americans can't even comprehend what motivates those who hate us.
The World of Terrorists and their Neighbors by
Stephen Schwartz
The first thing to do when trying to understand
‘Islamic suicide bombers’ is to forget the clichés about the Muslim taste for
martyrdom.
Getting used to the idea of double standards by Tariq Ali
In Pakistan itself, Islamism derived its
strength from state patronage rather than popular support. The ascendancy of
religious fundamentalism is the legacy of a previous military dictator, General
Zia-ul-Haq, who received backing from Washington and London during his 11 years
as dictator.
TERRORISM, THEIRS AND OURS transcribed from a talk by Eqbal Ahmad
These are the chickens of the Afghanistan war
coming home to roost. This is why I said to stop covert operations. There is a
price attached to those that the American people cannot calculate and Kissinger
type of people do not know, don’t have the history to know.
Who Is Osama Bin Laden? by
Michel Chossudovsky
Saudi born Osama bin Laden was recruited during
the Soviet-Afghan war "ironically under the auspices of the CIA, to fight Soviet invaders." (This article is a thoroughly documented
history of the CIA role in creating the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.)
OUR WAR WITH "THE OTHER" from Sharif Abdullah
The United States, directly and indirectly,
supports violence throughout the world.
Denying it won't make this truth go away. We seem unable to understand the anger of someone who had their
village leveled by American cruise missiles, or whose family was killed by a
US-backed government. Believe me, they
are angry and they feel powerless.
Anger and powerlessness is the root of violence.
TERROR AND LIBERALISM by Paul Berman
Antiliberal movements of the left and the right
saw in one another the worst of enemies (except when they saw one another as
allies and brothers, which did happen). Yet each of the movements, in their
lush variety, entertained a set of ideas that pointed in the same direction.
The shared ideas were these: There exists a people of good who in a just world
ought to enjoy a sound and healthy society. But society's health has been
undermined by a hideous infestation from within, something diabolical, which is
aided by external agents from elsewhere in the world.
Most enthusiasts for the free market, including
the international financial institutions, assumed that the benefits would
trickle down to the working poor. Instead, small entrepreneurs outside the West
have experienced mainly economic suffering, tumbling incomes and high anxiety.
Those who favor the market had forgotten that the only way capitalism can help
the poor prosper is by bringing them into the capitalist system. But that has
not happened.
THIS IS A RELIGIOUS WAR by Andrew Sullivan
In that sense, this surely is a religious war
-- but not of Islam versus Christianity annd Judaism. Rather, it is a war of
fundamentalism against faiths of all kinds that are at peace with freedom and
modernity.
Commentary from Afghanistani Living in San Francisco by Tamim Ansary
I am from Afghanistan,
and even though I've lived here for 35 years
I've never lost track of what's been going on over there. So I want to share a
few thoughts with anyone who will listen. I speak as one who hates the Taliban
and Osama Bin Laden.
Hama Rules by Thomas Friedman (NY Times)
We can't go around leveling cities. We need to
be much more focused, selective and smart in uprooting the terrorists.
Muslim societies need to deal with their own failure by Martin Woollacott
There is a recurring delusion that most
problems in the world could be solved quite easily if the west would look
beyond its narrow interests, try harder, and make up for the mistakes and
crimes of the past.
“ARABS” and EUROPEANS by Dale D Cosper
I feel the gaze of the "arab" and see
he has taken out a little silver tin, removed the top and is
"dipping." Then he
smiles. I pick up my cognac and Copenhagen
and cross to the other side. . . . Outside I hear a bomb explode in the
direction of Place de la Republique.
Is a country of 24 million people really
worth so little?
Transcript of
interview with Zbgniew Brzezinski on why we enticed Russia into
Afghanistan and supported the Taliban and Osama bin Laden
Bush's Faustian Deal With The Taliban by Robert Scheer (LA Times)
Our long sad history of signing up dictators in
the war on drugs demonstrates the futility of building a foreign policy on a
domestic obsession.
ASKING "WHY" by Michael Klare
President Roosevelt concluded an extraordinary
bargain with ibn Saud: in return for unlimited and perpetual U.S. access to
Saudi oil, the United States would protect the Saudi Royal family against its
enemies, both external and internal. . . . Only when Saudi citizens are allowed
to express their grievances in a lawful, peaceful manner will it be possible to
eliminate the threat of anti-American jihad.
Thought you'd like to hear this (Note from Margaret Tutwiler, Reagan Admin, to friends)
So when we are looking for examples of Arab
people and Arab governments that are standing with the US in this great time of
pain and tension you all would have been as I was so personally and
professionally moved by what took place here tonight in this Arab capitol
(Morocco).
WHY SO MANY IN THE MIDDLE EAST DISLIKE US by Francisco Gil-White
Patriotism, for you, and for me, and for all of
us, means not allowing the truth to be the first casualty of war.
NEWS ANALYSIS: The Roots of Resentment (Businessweek)
Varied voices, indeed. But they mirror an
unpleasant truth: Beneath the surface of public promises of solidarity with the
U.S. in this time of crisis lurks a deep and growing resentment of America and
its policies.
Listen to the damned by
Orhan Pamuk
It is neither Islam nor even poverty itself
directly that succours terrorists whose ferocity and creativity are
unprecedented in human history, but the crushing humiliation that has infected
third world countries like cancer.
TERROR IN AMERICA
Prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, Sheikh Yussef
Al-Qaradhawi:
'Islamic religious law dictates that we join
the Taliban's Jihad, not the US coalition; It is forbidden to attack American
citizens, but permitted to attack the American military'
Televangelist, Fundamentalists believe their strict
morality is the only
answer by Don Lattin, San
Francisco Chronicle Religion Writer
Televangelist Pat Robertson, a Christian, and
convicted bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, a Muslim, agree on a few things, including
why God let thousands of innocent people die in the collapse of the World Trade
Center.
APPROPRIATE POLICIES by
Mark Gerzon
On a scale never before imaginable, we must
know our enemy, not forgive them; not excuse them; and not appease them, but
KNOW them. We must know them in our hearts and respond to them with a wisdom
that passeth all understanding.
OF HUMAN MISSILES by
William Safire
Political leaders are weighing the wisdom of
invading Afghanistan or plastering other havens of terrorist cells. It may be
that a not-so-holy alliance of democracies determined to end this scourge and
autocracies afraid of internal terrorist takeover will unite in uncomfortable
military collaboration and rampant realpolitik.
RAWA statement on the
terrorist attacks in the US (Revolutionary Association
of the Women of Afghanistan)
RAWA stands with the rest of the world in
expressing our sorrow and condemnation for this barbaric act of violence and
terror.
NOW COMES THE REAL DANGER by
Thomas Homer-Dixon
First, the problem of international terrorism
isn't going to go away, in fact it's almost certain to get worse; second,
although a decisive, forceful response is
necessary, force isn't enough by itself -- we must also act to address the
roots of this madness; and, third, the worst thing we can do is overreact.
Tragedy: The
Next Steps by Charles Johnston
What kind of response will best serve us in the
only way that ultimately matters, by making the world a safer place? Wise leadership will require a breadth
and maturity of perspective we are only
learning how to muster.
BLACK TUESDAY: THE VIEW FROM ISLAMABAD by Pervez Hoodbhoy
Therefore, the simple logic of survival says that the chances of survival are best if one goes to the roots of terror. Only a fool can believe that the services of a suicidal terrorist can be purchased, or that they can be bred at will anywhere. Instead, their breeding grounds are in refugee camps and in other rubbish dumps of humanity, abandoned by civilization and left to rot.
The Challenge of Terror: A Traveling Essay by John Paul
Lederach
To face the reality of well organized,
decentralized, self-perpetuating sources of terror, we need to think
differently about the challenges. . . . The key is to think about how a small
virus in a system affects the whole and how to improve the immunity of the
system.
A Muslim View: We Are All One from IslamiCity Bulletin
The events in America on 11th September 2001
cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives and ponder deeply upon
the larger questions of life. There are two possible responses to what has
occurred. The first comes from
compassion, the second from fear.
WHERE WAS GOD? by Stephanie Salter
If God seems to be missing in action this week,
it’s because we always look for God in the wrong place:
REST IN PEACE
(author unknown)
I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall
in the clear blue sky,
feeling a violent blow in my side, and
I am a towering inferno of pain and suffering
imploding upon myself and
collapsing to the ground.
May I rest in peace.