JF, OK, what is it exactly that you think they want? And why?
To see our influence in the Middle East diminish, and to see their brand of religious extremism flourish. Why? Because they have affixed in their minds the notion that the Western "crusaders" are responsible for all of their troubles. And the regimes who are supporting them are ultra-fundamentalist, so it's obvious they aren't looking towards European socialism as an acceptable alternative.
Its not the Western crusaders that trouble the Islamic fundamentalists. Their current anti western bias dates back to the intervention of Western Europe into their affairs from the latter part of the 19th century to the 1960s, and then the US from the 1970s to the present time.
You know the Balfour Declaration that was issued by the Brits in 1917. It called for a Jewish home and the beginning of the Zionist transformation of Palestine into Israel. Well, that Declaration was a payment made in full for the financial contributions of Lord Rothchild to the allied war machine during WW I and Dr. Weizman's discovery of a cheap way to make acetone for artillery shells. Both Rothchild and Weizman were ardent Zionists. The Brits never bothered to consult the Arabs/Palestinians when they made the Declaration.
Another example.......and there are tons.......the Brits told Hussein of Arabia if the Muslims revolted against the Ottoman Empire and help bring it down during WW I, they would help the Arabs establish a great Arab state stretching from Morrocco to Asia Minor.
However, during the last days of WW I, the Brits betrayed Hussein and secretly met with the French, Greeks and Russians. They came up with the Sykes-Picot Agreement which called for splitting up the ME among themselves. During the 20th century, time and time again, the Europeans wielded their greater power and screwed the Arabs in similar fashion.
When the Europeans were done playing and finally gave the Arabs their independence, we stepped in and started playing our own special kind of games.
Meanwhile, the Muslims are becoming better educated and more aware of all the screw jobs perpetrated by the West. In addition, there is growing move towards religious fundamentalism and a desire for Islamic states which, by the way, most ME gov'ts are very wary of.
In the past, most of the terrorists have come from the grinding poverty that is prevalent throughout the ME. Their main rebellion was against the corrupt regimes that are common in the region. They attacked Western interests only when it was thought the West was supporting their enemies, the corrupt tyrants.
Then, into the picture comes OBL. He is different. He is well educated and comes from the very upper classes responsible for all the corruption and mismanagement. He recruits his supporters from the same upper classes. Al Qaeda terrorists see themselves as our American colonists saw themselves.........fighting the good fight; fighting for freedom; fighting to be independent; a fight against evil oppressors.
Their rise in power corresponds with a rise in American involvement in the region. Since the latter part of the 20th century, the US has been seen as the power behind the corrupt thrones of their enemy. Our foreign policy rarely distinguished from the good and the bad.........it simply promoted our own self interest.
That's why we are under attack. That's why our involvement in Iraq is seen as a negative. For all our cultural propaganda, we and the West have never seemed very enlightened to the Middle Easterners. In fact, we have tended to side with the most oppressive of rulers and helped put the screws in the backs of the people.
Just as we don't trust elected officials who work with the mafia, they don't trust us. Our involvement in Iraq looks to be more of the same. They don't see Bush as a savior but simply a bigger American interloper yet.......bold and brazen in his desires. Hell, many Americans don't know what Bush is up to; why would you expect them to think he's doing a good thing.
To them, our current behavior is just more of the same from the past. We need to step out of the region as much as possible asap. We need to wean ourselves of our dependence on oil. We need to honor what good guys there are and condemn the bad guys. Saddam was a bad guy but so is King Faisal of SA; so is the president of Egypt; so is the prime minister of Pakistan.....the list goes on and on.
If you were Arab and you knew that Faisal was screwing you and that the US was allies with Faisal but then you hear the US making huge noises about Saddam and his evilness when Faisal can be just as evil, I suspect you would not trust us either. BTW, SA has beheadings, tortures, amputations and executions almost weekly.......maybe not in the same numbers as Saddam but frankly, more than one is way too many.
ted |
