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Why they hate us – A Re-examination
by Marc Bumgarner
The Chicago Tribune’s
September 13, 2001 editorial asks, "Why do they hate us so much?" This is
perhaps the most crucial question the United States could now ask itself,
as in its answer lies the key to defeating terrorism.
Though heinous and barbaric,
terrorism is practiced to effect political change. Political change is
desired in response to a perceived injustice; hate is also born out of
this sense of injustice. The greater the injustice, the greater is the
determination to effect political change.
The inevitable and forthcoming
United States military response may decimate Osama bin Laden’s terrorist
organization, but it won’t alter the sense of injustice and hate that gave
rise to his organization.
In an effort to comprehend the
existing hate, the Tribune puts forward several examples why "they" (Arabs
and Muslims) hate the United States, but then goes on to make the
astounding statement, "That does not begin to suggest that such hatred is
rational or logical." The Tribune offers no clues as to how it reached
this stunning conclusion. Do the examples put forward not constitute an
injustice, or is the United States neither responsible for nor
contributing to the injustice? Is hatred itself an irrational emotion, or
is the hatred generated by these specific examples illogical? Are "they,"
by definition, irrational and illogical?
The examples put forward by
the Tribune require a reexamination in an effort to answer these
questions.
Israel and Palestine –
The Palestinians are a legitimate nation with a legitimate national claim
to the land of Palestine. This is an undisputed, internationally
recognized fact, as contained in UN Security Resolutions 242 and 338,
which call for Israel’s territorial withdrawal from the West Bank and
Gaza. But, as the Tribune writes, "Israel is a thriving and formidable
nation and the state of Palestine is still just a gleam in Yasser Arafat’s
eye."
For 34 years, Israel has
denied the Palestinians the rights to self-determination, life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is providing $3 billion a
year in financial aid and nearly unconditional political support to the
government that continues to deny the Palestinians these unalienable
rights; in this sense, the United States has contributed greatly to the
ongoing injustice suffered by all Palestinians.
As the Tribune writes, "The
Palestinians have grievances." In 1776, the U.S. went to war with the
world’s most powerful nation to right such grievances.
Iraq -
In the 1991 Gulf war, Iraq’s electrical generating plants and sewage
treatment networks were wiped out. Iraq’s infrastructure – bridges,
highways, roads, canals, and communication centers – were systematically
destroyed. In 1991, UN inspectors concluded that the bombing had reduced
Iraq to a "pre-industrial age." Today, the United States and Britain are
still dropping bombs on Iraq.
For 11 years now, the United
States has been the driving force behind UN sanctions against Saddam
Hussein and the 22 million Iraqi people. Estimates vary, but World Health
Organization and UNICEF studies certify that sanctions are responsible for
the death of over 1 million Iraqi civilians, including approximately
670,000 children. Using like percentages, this is comparable to killing
12.8 million Americans, including 8.6 million children.
Genocide is taking place right
now, every day, in Iraq, perpetrated by the very power that claims to set
the standard for democracy, freedom, and justice.
Afghanistan –
In Afghanistan, the U.S. cruise missile attacks launched by then President
Clinton failed to kill Osama bin Laden. Instead, the missiles killed a
reported 24 civilians, including 3 children, and injured several other
civilians. The United States may describe these events employing the
morally repugnant term "collateral damage," but the people killed or
injured would probably describe it as an injustice.
Sudan –
In 1998, United States cruise missile strikes in Sudan destroyed a
pharmaceutical plant. At the time of the attack, the United States claimed
that the plant was producing chemical weapons, and that it had a
"financial link" to Osama bin Laden. No evidence has ever been brought
forth proving these claims. In fact, Sandy Berger, National Security
advisor in 1998, has since declared "it is not necessarily the case" that
chemical weapons were being produced at the pharmaceutical plant. He now
says, "I think it is certainly true that the plant was ‘associated’ with
chemical weapons and that bin Laden had made a ‘financial contribution’ to
the ‘military industrial corporation’."
This attack destroyed a
legitimate pharmaceutical plant, killed one civilian, violated
international law, and constituted an act of war.
In each of these 4 examples
put forward by the Tribune, the United States is at best contributing to
or at worst responsible for an enormous injustice. Therefore, it is
perfectly reasonable "to suggest that such hatred is rational and
logical," contrary to the Tribune’s conclusion.
However, it is mind-boggling
why the Tribune failed to include Saudi Arabia as an explanation for the
existing hatred - Osama bin Laden himself has publicly stated that U.S.
policy in Saudi Arabia is the reason for his fatwah declaration
against the United States. Specifically, Bin Laden believes "…There is no
more important duty than pushing Americans out of the holy land [Saudi
Arabia]…They have attacked Islam and its most significant, sacrosanct
symbols…The country of the Two Holy Places has in our religion a
peculiarity of its own…." The United States maintains approximately 4000
troops on Saudi soil, home to two of Islam’s most revered religious sites,
Mecca and Medina, and the birthplace of Muhammad. The continued U.S.
military presence in one of Islam’s holiest of places is "religiously
unacceptable to Saudis," says Said K. Aburish, a Palestinian born
journalist and author of Coming Fall of the House of Saud.
Bin Laden’s second reason
behind his fatwah declaration is "…America’s meddling in Saudi
affairs and its politics, and supporting the oppressive, corrupt and
tyrannical Saudi regime…." Though it is the world’s largest oil producer,
Saudi Arabia is financially broke and heavily in debt. Aburish says, "The
Saudi government is not terribly different than Saddam Hussein’s regime.
People have no voice in the running of the government. People disappear in
the middle of the night, and people are imprisoned without being charged.
And the government has squandered the country’s wealth."
In effect, bin Laden has
declared to the United States, "Get out of Saudi Arabia, and leave us
alone." These are his demands, and this is the political change he wishes
to bring about through the use of terrorism.
By now, most Americans are
familiar with the explanations proffered by the politicians, pundits, and
the media for the existing hatred: "…Their terrorism is not aimed at
reversing any specific U.S. policy – it is driven by pure hatred for the
values cherished in the West…Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,
our way of life, is a mortal threat to everything the terrorists hold
dear…It is not what we’ve done, but what we stand for, who we are…."
These explanations are only
partial truths, and dangerously ignore the major culprit - U.S foreign
policy. Neither Osama bin Laden nor any other terrorist has ever committed
any terrorist act because "the United States cherishes life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness."
"Why do they hate us so much?"
The hatred exists because U.S. foreign policy is either responsible for or
contributing to gross injustices perpetrated against Muslims around the
world. The United States may see itself as a good and civilizing force in
the world, but the millions of Muslim civilians killed or suffering under
U.S. policy do not agree.
Osama bin Laden is a product
of circumstances - the corrupt rule of the Saudi royal family, and hostile
U.S. foreign policy. Therefore, the United States must view bin Laden and
his organization as a phenomenon, not as a group of terrorists to be
killed. Kill bin Laden, and 10 others like him will spring forward. The
United States cannot simply bomb hatred off the face of the planet and
live happily ever after. The deep and lasting hatred felt by millions of
Muslims requires an acceptance that these are forces United States foreign
policy has helped set loose. In some respects, "we have met the enemy, and
the enemy is us."
The war on terrorism will
never be won until the United States first asks the question, "Why do they
hate us so much?" But it is not enough to simply ask the question. The
United States must be willing to objectively analyze the answers, applying
a mature understanding of and sensitivity to other cultures and peoples.
Only then can the United States develop a foreign policy anchored in the
belief that "liberty and justice for all" applies to all world citizens,
and that reflects, as Henry Kissinger called it, "America’s generosity of
spirit." Until that time, the war on terrorism cannot be won.
Source:
by courtesy & © 2001 Marc Bumgarner
by the same author:
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