Two years ago today, life changed. The destruction of New York’s Twin Towers and the attack on the Pentagon were crimes condemned by the whole world. The wicked acts brought Americans face to face with a level of horror and violence that had largely bypassed them and their shores. When President George W. Bush declared his global war on terrorism, backing came from governments around the world. However, with that backing came warnings that the US-led campaign against Al-Qaeda and its satraps must be a joint effort. The white heat of American fury at the outrages perpetrated within their borders should have been tempered by the advice of many friendly countries which had long endured the barbarity of terrorist attack. The fear among America’s friends was that the anti-terror campaign would inflict even greater casualties than the outrage that caused Washington to launch it.
And so tragically it has proved. Though significant successes have been won against Al-Qaeda and its network, we have seen a continuation of deadly bombings. The invasion of Afghanistan rooted out Al-Qaeda training camps and overthrew the supportive Taleban regime, but it has not brought peace to that tragic land. Indeed with every passing day, it seems that surviving Taleban and Al-Qaeda elements are growing stronger, especially in the remote mountainous country along the border with Pakistan. Whatever battles may have been won, this part of the war against terrorism has yet to be decided.
Then there is Iraq. President Bush chose to make Iraq an anti-terror target when much of the world community told him it should not be. The irony is that by ousting Saddam the Americans have unleashed the very waves of terror that their invasion was supposed to end. Terror relies upon acts of ruthless brutality, planned in secret and launched at times and targets of the terrorists’ choosing. Because the failure of the US mission is the goal of Iraqi terrorists, the murder of ordinary Iraqis, the disruption of their lives and slaughter of UN officials sent to help the country recover are also legitimate goals for the killers.
It is hard to share Washington’s optimism about its ability to stabilize Iraq. It is even hard to believe that Americans now believe this themselves. Maybe now it is finally dawning on the Bush administration that there is more to fighting terrorism than invasion and retribution. The injustices which the killers use to justify their crimes and extract support cannot be left unaddressed. The greatest of these injustices is the crime that has been perpetrated for decades by the Israeli Zionists against the Palestinians. As long as America supports brutal Zionist repression with one hand, it will be pumping air into the lungs of terrorism even while with the other Washington is trying to strangle it.
