MUSCAT, 13 September 2004 — Saturday was the third anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks that targeted the biggest cities in the US. Every thing was well organized, and the use of civilian planes to reach the targets surprised the Americans and the rest of the world.
The world’s only superpower was stunned into silence because before Sept. 11 it was all geared up for an enemy from the outer space, not from planet Earth.
The US had already won the Cold War, defeated the Soviet Union ideologically and economically and turned the world into one bloc, arrogating to itself all the powers. The Sept. 11 attacks dealt a severe blow to the US pride and exposed its failure in intelligence gathering. Despite a network of agents spread across the hot spots of the world, and in spite of help from their allies in the Israeli Mossad, US intelligence agencies were clueless about the attacks.
Was the Sept. 11 attack that shocked the world just another event, like the scores of events that take place in this big world? Have the consequences of Sept. 11 been confined to the collapse of the twin towers in New York City?
What happened on that day has been manipulated by the US administration to frame a policy, which is being implemented under the banner “war on terrorism”. This new banner has resulted in a new alliance of nations that have agreed to join this so-called “war on terrorism”, with the others — dubbed the “Axis of Evil” — staying outside the fold.
Under the new policy, the US assumed the right to fight what it called terrorism wherever and whenever it is, and unleashed its military might within and outside its borders so that, we are told, attacks similar to Sept. 11 would not be repeated.
The US is still executing the new policy helping its allies under the cover of UN legitimacy. It has toppled the Saddam regime and is reluctant to leave the land of the Euphrates. Earlier it toppled the Taleban government in Afghanistan and installed a new regime on the same pretext.
Not confining itself to the show of military might, the US has come up with new concepts for restructuring the Arab world and seeking to form regimes that comply with the new policy. With this in mind, the US has begun inciting organizations engaged in civil work to exercise pressure on Arab governments to implement “reforms” to fulfill its dream of a “Greater Middle East” that would enjoy “freedom and democracy” in accordance with the American vision!
Moreover, the US administration has included the Palestinian cause into the Sept. 11 policy and presented a concept (“road map for peace”) aimed at a Middle East settlement satisfying all parties. We should not forget that the road map for peace is an American idea, with Russian and European approval and under international sponsorship.
But has the US succeeded in defeating terrorism or in restructuring the world in line with its vision? The answer is crystal-clear.
President George W. Bush has admitted that America has not been able to defeat terrorism though later he denied this statement. He also admitted “miscalculations” following the collapse of the previous Iraqi regime, a view shared by his chief ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Whether Bush remains in office, or whether his Democratic competitor John Kerry wins the US presidential election, the Sept. 11 strategy will continue unchanged indicating that what happened three years ago was not just an event but a policy that will remain with us and affect our daily lives for years to come.
— Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali is editor in chief of The Times of Oman.
