Fifteen of the 19 9/11ers were Saudis, none were Iraqis. Prior to the US response to 9/11 there were a few Saudis aligned with Al Qaeda and a few Arabs from other nationalities. At that time there were very few, if any, Iraqis aligned with Al Qaeda.
The style of government favored by Al Qaeda is like that of Iran or of the former Taliban Afghani government. Iraq's government has always been secular and not influenced by religion. Where women are repressed, supposedly for religious reasons, in places like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Aftghanastan under the Taliban, women represented 60 percent of those who attended Iraqi universities. So there was a pre-war opportunity already in place for women in Iraq.
Iraq was never a threat to the US. It appears, from hindsight, that Saddam was embarked on a twofold path after the first Gulf War, which happened shortly after the end of the Iraq vs. Iran War. First, by giving an impression that he had weapons of mass destruction, Saddam remained a force of reckoning within the region--a powerhouse, if you will, especially with his military compared to other militaries in the region. Second, he probably felt like he commanded respect by not caving in the US--call this ego.
Hans Blix was in the process of inspecting the site where Saddam's son-in-law, Hussein Kamel, claimed the WMD was destroyed and buried shortly after the first Gulf War. Bush's invasion would never have worked had Blix been able to confirm in fact that the weapons had been buried at the site Kamel indicated. So the invasion took place before the inspection. Why'd this happen?
So long as Bush had slightly over 50 percent approval--which was manufactured with help from the media--and Blair still on his side, he could pull it off. And this is why we saw so many contradictory reasons for this war as many of the reasons existed only to win back public opinion which was wavering on the idea.
Anyway, by Bush's action, he's given young, unemployed Arabs a primetime cause by which to rise enmasse against a perceived enemy, the US and Israel--both of whom are now killing Arab people. Consider that when in struggle for a higher value, the struggle, no matter the desparity, or the accuracy, becomes worth it if a belief is achieved that one is doing honor to God, family and countrymen.
The fact is the US can't compete with a military as it'll only draw more hatred and an increase in terrorism. Have you seen this in Iraq yet? Of course you have. Much like Americans rushed to the recruiting offices in the major world wars, well that's what Arabs are doing today by signing on to Al Qaeda, or any organization willing to wage resistance in Iraq.
Yes, 9/11 was tragic and always will be. But with what's going on now, the potential exists for it to become far worse. Better to have fewer terrorists than more terrorists. And killing them won't work as for every one killed another will rise to take their place.
You see, Arabs see the math different. They see three Palestinians dying to every Israeli. And it wouldn't surprise me if the same kind of stat is now taking place in Iraq. They'll notice that also.
Lorne, you should begin admitting to yourself: Bush blew it--BigTime! He's now breeding more terrorists to go against us. Worst foreign policy president we've had in my lifetime. Please do give this due consideration. |
