POLITICS has corrupted our interpretation of history; the media too. But by forcing one view over the other, the two have succeeded in manipulating an historical event of earth-shattering magnitude, such as 9/11, so that their explanation of what happened on that ominous day seven years ago becomes the only reality; it then becomes dogma.
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, where thousands of innocent lives were lost, have justified the Bush administration’s so-called war on terror. It has been an open-ended crusade which so far has destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq, many believe beyond repair.
This is not to deny that the Taleban era was a dark and gruesome chapter in Afghanistan’s history, which the world was only too happy to see uprooted. That country has had more than its fair share of obnoxious rule, both at the hands of native and foreign leaders, for decades if not centuries. Today’s reality is not much better and, judging from the recent resurgence of the Taleban and NATO’s vicious response, the people of Afghanistan are bracing themselves for bleaker days to come.
The same can be said of Iraq; a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, never attacked America and was ruled by a regime which in the past had done business with Washington. Politics and media colluded to present that country as a present and immediate menace to world peace. Since its invasion by the United States and Britain, Iraq became a magnet for Al-Qaeda and is now heavily infiltrated by Tehran. Iraq today is in a mess and as the “game” unwinds, its future is as ambiguous as it was on the eve of its illegal invasion.
This lethal combination of politics and media has flummoxed our appreciation of what had really happened on 9/11 and why. Yes there are still dissenting voices, both in the United States and abroad, that refuse to accept the official account of what happened on that tragic day. Our understanding of Al-Qaeda remains subject to speculation, intrigue and is influenced by conspiracy theories.
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of 9/11, The New York Times reported that the majority view in the Arab world remains skeptical of Bush administration’s version of what really took place on that day which had changed the life of almost every human being on this planet.
Let us remember that because of the war on terror, which has become the single most unifying policy of all world governments, laws were introduced or altered, liberties curtailed, rights of individuals suspended, wars and covert operations sanctioned without legal permission and fundamental issues ignored or undermined. And on every anniversary of 9/11 the Bush administration reminded its citizens and the rest of the world that the war on terror is yet to achieve its goals, that we are not safe yet and that the end continues to justify the means.
Much of the world, the Arab region in particular, has been on the receiving end of the Bush campaign to punish the evil culprits behind 9/11. Few have dared question the long list of crimes and offenses committed almost daily against the innocent as America goes on to avenge the mass murders in New York and Washington.
Millions have perished in Afghanistan and Iraq and hundreds of thousands have either lost their lives, been maimed, detained, tortured and humiliated as a result of the war on terror. That war has become the biggest excuse in human history to break the law and carry out summary justice. It has been turned into the largest lynching party ever carried out by a posse of outlaws pretending to uphold the law.
Still we hear few dissenting voices because the war on terror has created an atmosphere of terror where nonconformists are hunted down, intimidated, accused and eventually silenced.
Seven years later, Osama Bin Laden and his lieutenants remain at large. Instead of pursuing him, scores of innocent villagers are bombed and destroyed almost every week in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. The war on terror has engulfed every thing around us, its fires are spreading out of control and in the process it is sending more recruits toward Al-Qaeda and its affiliations.
Seven years on, we are not safer today than we were on the eve of 9/11. And as the Bush era comes to a close we are not certain if the war on terror will take a respite, if its perpetrators will give it up, change their ways and alter their tactics. We may have passed the point of no return; been driven off the precipice and left on a dangerous cliffhanger with no help.
But no matter how politicians and media spinners have written history, there will always be those who will ask the same questions: What really happened on 9/11 and who was behind it? There will be those who will nag and ask again how the war in terror is connected to 9/11. And then there will always be that haunting question: What did all those millions of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere die for?
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist based in Jordan.
