Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, we've heard the incessant refrain that Islamist terrorists like al-Qaeda hate us because they either despise our way of life, or that they're jealous of it. Unfortunately, this simple-minded rhetoric wasn't even a good enough explanation for the Marxist-Leninist terrorism of the 1960's - 1980's, which was based in the belief that mankind could only be saved from itself by the forcible adoption of Soviet-style Communism.
The driving forces behind Islamist terrorism is also not as simple as the President and his cronies would have us believe. Of course, they also dismiss any attempt to understanding the source of Islamist action against the United States is a form of appeasement a la Chamberlain of the 1930's. This is merely an attempt to obfuscate the issue.
There are three core issues driving al-Qaeda and similar groups. The first two issues are old news for most Middle East observers: the United States' mindless support for Israel and the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia. The third core issue is much more recent; the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The biggest failure of U.S. diplomacy is in not finding a way to smooth over these issues with Islamist militants. Of course, this might require changes to American foreign policy and be seen as giving in to terrorists.
That doesn't mean that some of these issues shouldn't be revisited, though. In the first case, American policy toward Israel needs to be rationalized. The emotional pleas that it is an American duty to support Israel as a Jewish homeland after the Holocaust must be seen for what they are: emotions that prevent us from adopting an objective policy to find a solution that both ensures the existence of Israel as a Jewish state and provides a similar Palestinian homeland that is also a sovereign state. What inflames the anger of Islamists (and other Arabs) is the one sided approach that the United States has adopted for the past fifty years.
Similarly, the justification for maintaining American troops in Saudi Arabia near Muslim holy sites should be examined using cost-benefits analysis. If the cause of al-Qaeda action against U.S. interests around the world is the presence of our troops in the Kingdom, we need to evaluate whether the cost of those attacks is justified by the force projection capabilities we get from stationing forces in Saudi Arabia. If an objective anlysis says that it is critical to our national security to maintain those forces, we must accept that we will be the target of al-Qaeda attacks and respond accordingly.
The third core source of Islamist anger ar the United States is undoubtedly the invasion of Iraq and our occupation, particularly given that the reasons given (i.e. Saddam's ties to al-Qaeda or the presence of WMDs). Further problems arise from our treatment of prisoners, disbanding of the Iraqi Army, and civilian deaths from air strikes or during protests. The place is a mess. We need to fix it and get out.
Posted by Chris at June 21, 2004 11:47 AM