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THE POPULIST|Responsible Terrorism Episode
A. Scott PirainoThere is a simple, and logical explanation for Islamic terrorism. In an interview broadcast after the September 11th attacks Osama Bin Laden asked a question: "Why should fear, killing, destruction, displacement, orphaning and widowing continue to be our lot, while security, stability and happiness be your lot?" He answered this question by saying, "This is unfair."Then he claimed that we "bear hate and grudge against Islam". He continued by saying, "The US government has committed acts that are extremely unjust, hideous and criminal". Well, what hideous and criminal acts did we commit against Islam? The Gulf War in 1990 was the first war the United States waged against an Islamic nation before September 11th 2001. We fought that war to liberate Kuwait, and we fought with a coalition that included Islamic troops. And remember, Bin Laden said these things before George Bush the Second's second invasion of Iraq. By contrast, Britain occupied many Islamic nations for over a century, and created the modern map of the Middle East. Britain carved Persia into Iraq and Iran, and it was Britain that gave the Israelis control of Palestine. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, killing tens of thousands of Muslims, and today the Russians are fighting a war in Chechnya. Serbia has ethnically cleansed hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo. And let's not forget Saddam Hussein. Before he invaded Kuwait he had launched an unprovoked war against Iran that left 400,000 soldiers dead on both sides. If Al Qaeda's real purpose is to strike at those who "bear hate" against Islam, they would be attacking the Serbs, the Russians, or maybe the British. Hell, they would have gone after Saddam Hussein. Osama Bin Laden is a psychotic murderer and we should never have had anything to do with him. But the fact is, we supported him when he was fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. After we helped him drive the Russians out, he formed Al-Qaeda and declared a holy war against "Jews and Crusaders".Bin Laden's reasoning makes no sense, but that is not because he's irrational. He is lying. The truth is Osama bin laden has only made one statement that provides the real motivation for his attacks against us. Here it is:"Our terrorism is a good accepted terrorism because it is against America, it is for the purpose of defeating oppression so America would stop supporting Israel, who is killing our children." When Israel was recognized by the United Nations in 1948, Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, attempted to drive them into the sea. The Israelis held their ground, then drove the Arab armies from their territory. In 1949 a UN brokered armistice brought an end to outright war, but no end to guerrilla attacks from Arab territories. Then in 1956, Egypt's President Nasser nationalized the Suez canal and denied passage to Israeli shipping. He also signed a tripartite agreement with Syria and Jordan placing Nasser in command of all three Arab armies. Israel retaliated by launching an air and ground assault that captured the entire Sinai peninsula, and forced Egypt to settle the canal dispute.Over the next decade the Arab alliance received massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union, and by 1967, another war was inevitable. Faced with an imminent invasion, Israel launched an air campaign that destroyed the Arab air forces. With total air superiority, the Israeli army routed the Arabs and captured the West Bank, Gaza strip, and Jerusalem in only six days.In 1973 Egypt and Syria made a final attempt to destroy Israel by launching an invasion on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The Israelis were taken by surprise and were on the verge of being over run. Only superior generalship allowed the Israelis to regroup, and counter-attack into Egypt and Syria. With a population of only five million citizens, Israel has repeatedly defeated the Arab armies of the Middle East. The Israelis have also occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967, and forced Palestinians to live under an Israeli government. These humiliations at the hands of Israel are the real motivation behind Islamic terrorism. When Egypt's President Nasser led the Arab Alliance in wars against Israel he declared his intentions were, "the eradication of Israel". He said, "we aim at the destruction of the state of Israel". "We will not accept any...coexistence with Israel...The war with Israel is in effect since 1948". "There will be no peace on Israel's border because we demand vengeance, and vengeance is Israel's death". On May 18th, 1967, two weeks before the Six Day war began, the Voice of Arabs radio station broadcast this proclamation: "We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence."These statements sound similar to the rhetoric of today's Islamic terrorists. But when President Nasser and the Voice of Arabs spoke, they still believed they could destroy Israel. After 1973 no Arab army could openly challenge Israel on the battlefield. So they began waging war by other means, with guerrilla attacks, hijackings, and terrorism. The PLO began as an umbrella group for various Palestinian factions fighting Israel. The PLO was guided by the Palestinian National Covenant, a document with the clearly stated goal of "the elimination of Zionism in Palestine". In the name of eliminating Zionism, The PLO adopted a radical, and despicable strategy: They have the right to kill civilians of any nationality, anywhere, because they are at war with Israel.Among the infamous attacks conducted by the PLO are the mid-air explosion of a Swissair jetliner that killed 47, the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, and the coordinated shoot-outs at the Rome and Vienna Airports. Hezbollah was founded in 1985 as a Shia militant organization committed to destroying the "Zionist entity". Hamas was formed in the late 1980s by Palestinians in the occupied territories. The Charter forming the group clearly states that, "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it". In September of 2000, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups employed a new and terrible weapon in their war against Israel. Suicide bombers succeeded in detonating 112 of their grisly bombs, killing 450 Israelis. The Palestinians know who the bombers are, they are publicly paraded and feted before going on their suicide missions. Nevertheless, Palestinian authorities have adamantly refused to take responsibility for the suicide bombers, or restrain them. They do complain loudly when Israel uses security checks and fences to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel, however. Most recently, Hezbollah launched a diversionary rocket and mortar attack while carrying out one of their endless raids into Israel from Lebanon. They managed to kill eight Israeli soldiers and capture two more. Israel decided to fight, and launched an invasion of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's response was to hide among civilians, while raining down nearly 4000 rockets into Israeli cities. During the recent hostilities in Lebanon, the "General Secretary" of Hizballah, Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah, described his fighters and the loyal population as, "a people of nobility, dignity, and pride, not a people of servility, submissiveness, and surrender".Of course for the Lebanese and Palestinians "servility and surrender" to Israel would mean living in modern houses, getting an education, earning decent pay, and having access to the internet. In short life in a modern, free society. Nasrallah continued his address by offering his listeners a choice: "...Either we submit completely to its conditions, which means taking Lebanon into an Israeli age under Israeli domination -- or we stand steadfast. That is the other choice: that we persevere, that we persevere and confront." This latest war has killed over 2000 people, and displaced nearly one million Lebanese, and half a million Israelis. Nevertheless, the Arab world is celebrating a great victory. Because although Southern Lebanon is destroyed, they made Israel suffer. When Islamic fascism was brought home to the United states on September 11th, 2001, Americans were shocked to see Palestinians celebrating by dancing in the streets. Most of us didn't see a connection between the 9/11 attacks, Al-Qaeda, and Israel. But to the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world, the connection was obvious. They were elated, they were celebrating because we were finally made to pay for our support of the Jewish state. The Arab world loathes the State of Israel. They are Islam's true enemy, not the Russians, the Serbs, or even Saddam Hussein. The Arab powers have tried every means to annihilate the Jewish state. If they had succeeded there would be no Hamas, Hezbollah, or Al-Qaeda. But Israel has survived, and grown into a prosperous, modern democracy. For the Islamic world, this is the worst humiliation of all. While Israel has prospered, the Arab nations have stagnated. Islamic governments have squandered their oil wealth on their own opulent regimes, or purchased weapons to make war on each other. In many Arab countries, per-capita incomes, educational levels, and living standards have declined over the last twenty years. A report commissioned by the United nations in 2002 illustrates how far Islamic civilization has fallen behind the modern world. The gross domestic product for all Arab countries is less than the GDP of Spain. Arab unemployment, at 15 percent, is the highest in the developing world. This dismal economic performance is despite over three trillion dollars in oil revenue investment over the past 20 years. The UN report also cites a more ominous statistic: 51 percent of older adolescents expressed a desire to emigrate, citing lack of education, freedom, and job opportunities. The cities of the Islamic world are seething with underemployed Muslim men. These radicalized, frustrated young men have become the standard bearers of Islamic terrorism. Islam is not at war with us because they hate freedom or oppose democracy. Arab voters have made Hamas the ruling party in the occupied territories. Hezbollah delegates sit on the Parliament of Lebanon. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the newly elected president of Iran has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map". Nor is Islam attacking us in the name of Allah, Mohammed, Fatwa or Jihad. They claim to be attacking us in the name of religion, but this is just another excuse. Islam is using religion in this conflict like they use diatribes of lies and propaganda, to justify their attacks.Modern Muslims are faced with a choice: Accept their part in their military, economic, and cultural failures... Or blame someone else. These are sick people. People who desperately want to believe that they are the victims of a conspiracy by "Jews and Crusaders". That Israel and the United States are the source of all their troubles. Otherwise they would be responsible....
[ Thu, 31 Aug 2006 19:40:00 GMT ]
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