The Next 9/11

There is always an outpouring of heartfelt emotions on the anniversary of September 11th. Americans who were alive when the attacks occurred can acutely recall the who's, how's, when's, and where's of the days events. But America struggles to recall the why's. Why did 9/11 occur?

It's disturbing when Americans give specious answers to the all-important question of why, answers like, "They hate us because we are free" or, "Islam is a violent religion" or, "There is no point rationalizing with the Arab world, they just operate differently than we do." I came across the following quote by Jonathan Weinberg, a World Trade Center survivor, and it highlights America's poor ability to answer this fundamental question:

"As President Obama pointed out, the American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens."

I agree that the ordinary American citizens of 2001 did not directly choose this fight, nor are we directly responsible. However, I disagree that 9/11 "started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens". If anything the fight did not start on 9/11, and 9/11 was certainly not senseless; describing it as such is an abdication of pertinent Middle Eastern and Cold War history. It is silly to believe that on September 10th America was simply minding its own business, and then boom! the next day, completely out of nowhere, our country was senselessly attacked by Islamic extremists. The CIA term "blowback" comes to mind as I reflect on Weinberg's quote; anything can be senseless when you don't take into account the relevant historical context.

Without properly answering "Why did 9/11 occur," we will be unable better understand and peace with the Arab world, and less able to prevent the next 9/11.

In the following paragraphs I will discuss America's pre-9/11 foreign policy with respect to the Middle East, analyze how it has changed after 9/11, and conclude with why I believe the next 9/11 is inevitable barring a shift in our foreign policy.

Keep an objective and empathetic mind, leave any potential religious stereotypes and racism at the door, and try to put yourself in the shoes of an average Arab citizen. Hopefully, by the end of this post you will be able to make more sense of this tragic mess. If not, I won't plan on quitting my day job.

Pre-9/11 Foreign Policy

Weinberg incorrectly asserts that this fight started on September 11th. America's interest in the Arab region can be traced to the early 1920s when America and Britain signed the Red Line Agreement to start developing Middle Eastern oil. Fast forward past WWII and there are two superpowers left in the world--the USSR and America. As we all know, these two superpowers are engaged in an unconventional power struggle known as the Cold War. Not only are the Soviets and Americans racing to build the most amount of nukes, we are also battling for influence in key strategic regions like the Middle East.

I found this useful and well documented chronology of key U.S. interventions in the Middle East. I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but each detail written below is germane to the reasons why 9/11 occurred:

November 1947: The U.S. helps push through a UN resolution partitioning Palestine into a Zionist state and an Arab state, giving the Zionist authorities control of 54% of the land. At that time Jewish settlers were about 1/3 of the population.

May 14, 1948: War breaks out between newly proclaimed state of Israel, and Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria, who had moved troops into Palestine to oppose the partition of Palestine. Israeli attacks force some 800,000 Palestinians--2/3s of the population--to flee into exile in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank. Israel seizes 77% of historic Palestine. The U.S. quickly recognizes Israel.

1953: The CIA organizes a coup overthrowing the democratically elected Mossadeq government of Iran after Mossadeq nationalizes British holdings in Iran's huge oilfields. The Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, is put on the throne, ruling as an absolute monarch for the next 25 years--torturing, killing and imprisoning his political opponents.

1966: U.S. sells its first jet bombers to Israel, breaking with 1956 decision not to sell arms to the Zionist state.

June 1967: With U.S. weapons and support, Israeli military launches the so-called "Six Day War," seizing the remaining 23% of historic Palestine--the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem--along with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Syria's Golan Heights.

Hmm...looks pretty one-sided to me. Of course, this picture is worth a thousand words (or more).

September 17, 1970: With U.S. and Israeli backing, Jordanian troops attack Palestinian guerrilla camps, while Jordan's U.S.-supplied air force drops napalm from above. U.S. deploys the aircraft carrier Independence and six destroyers off the coast of Lebanon and readies troops in Turkey to support the assault. The U.S. threatens to use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union if it intervenes. 5,000 Palestinians are killed and 20,000 wounded. This massacre comes to be known as "Black September."

1973-1975: U.S. supports Kurdish rebels in Iraq in order to strengthen Iran and weaken the then pro-Soviet Iraqi regime. When Iran and Iraq cut a deal, the U.S. withdraws support, denies the Kurds refuge in Iran, and stands by while the Iraqi government kills many Kurdish people.

Summer 1979: U.S. begins arming and organizing Islamic fundamentalist "Mujahideen" in Afghanistan. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski writes, "This aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention," drawing the Soviets into an Afghan quagmire. Over the next decade the U.S. alone passed more than $3 billion in arms and aid to the Mujahideen, with another $3 billion provided by the U.S. ally Saudi Arabia. Osama 

November 4, 1979: Islamic militants, backed by the Khomeini regime, seize the U.S. embassy in Teheran and demand the U.S. return the Shah to Iran for trial. The Embassy and 52 U.S. personnel are held for 444 days; this international embarrassment prompts new U.S. actions against Iran--including an abortive rescue attempt. 

September 22, 1980: Iraq invades Iran with tacit U.S. support, starting a bloody eight-year war. The U.S. supports both sides in the war providing arms to Iran and money, intelligence and political support to Iraq in order to prolong the war and weaken both sides, while trying to draw both countries into the U.S. orbit.  

1982: After receiving a "green light" from the U.S., Israel invades Lebanon to crush Palestinian and other anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli forces. Over 20,000 Lebanese and Palestinians are killed, and Israel seizes southern Lebanon, holding it until 2000.

September 14, 1982: Lebanon's pro-U.S. President-elect, Bashir al-Jumayyil, is assassinated. The following day, Israeli forces occupy West Beirut, and from September 16-18, the Phalangist militia, with the support of Israel's military under now-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, move into the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and barbarically massacre over 1,000 unarmed Palestinian men, women, and children.

1987: The U.S. Navy is dispatched to the Persian Gulf to prevent Iran from cutting off Iraq's oil shipments. During these patrols, a U.S. ship shoots down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing all 290 onboard.

1988: The Iraqi regime launches mass poison-gas attacks on Kurds, killing thousands and bulldozing many villages. The U.S. responds by increasing its support for the Iraqi regime.

July 1988: A cease-fire ends the Iran-Iraq war with neither side victorious. Over 1 million Iranians and Iraqis are killed during the 8-year war.

1989: The last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan. The war, fueled by U.S.-Soviet rivalry, has torn Afghanistan apart, killing more than one million Afghans and forcing one-third of the population to flee into refugee camps. 

August 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait. The U.S. seizes the moment to assert its hegemony in the post-Soviet world and strengthen its grip on the Persian Gulf: the U.S. condemns Iraq, rejects a diplomatic settlement, imposes sanctions, and prepares for an all-out military assault on Iraq.

January 16, 1991: After a 6-month military buildup, the U.S.-led coalition launches "Operation Desert Storm." For the next 42 days, U.S. and allied planes pound Iraq, dropping 88,000 tons of bombs, systematically targeting and largely destroying its electrical and water systems. On February 22, 1991, the U.S. coalition begins its 100-hour ground war. Heavily armed U.S. units drive deep into southern Iraq. Overall, 100,000 to 200,000 Iraqis are killed during the war.

1991-present: U.S. military deployments continue after the war, with 17,000 to 24,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region at any given time. (CSM)

1993: U.S. brokers a "peace" agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization at Oslo, Norway. The agreement strengthens Israel and U.S. domination, while leaving Palestinians a small part of their historic homeland, broken up into isolated pieces surrounded by Israel. No provisions are made for the return of the four million Palestinian refugees living outside of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

1995: The U.S. imposes oil and trade sanctions against Iran, reinforcing sanctions in effect since 1979, for alleged sponsorship of 'terrorism', seeking to acquire nuclear arms and hostility to the Middle East process. (BBC, CSM).

August 1998: Claiming retaliation for attacks on U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, President Clinton sends 75 cruise missiles pounding into rural Afghanistan --supposedly targeting Osama Bin Laden. The U.S. also destroys a factory producing half of Sudan's pharmaceutical supply, claiming the factory is involved in chemical warfare. The U.S. later acknowledges there is no evidence for the chemical warfare charge.

January 2001: Tenth anniversary of the U.S. war on Iraq: sanctions are still in place and the UN estimates that 4,500 children are dying per month from disease and malnutrition as a result. The U.S. planes, which have flown over 280,000 sorties in Iraq over the past decade, continue to attack from the air. In the past two years, over 300 Iraqis have been killed in these bombings.

October 2001: U.S. begins bombing Afghanistan, as the first act of war in "Operation Enduring Freedom"--the U.S. "war against global terrorism."

Let's stop there so I can add a few important details.

Osama bin Laden was a part of the Islamic fundamentalist "Mujahideen"  we began supporting during the summer of 1979 to fight the Soviets. After the war ends and the Soviets pull out of Afghanistan in 1988, bin Laden is stripped of his Saudi citizenship, and subsequently disowned thereby losing his annual $7 million filial stipend. He flees to Sudan in 1993 (when the article below is published). In 1996 and 1998, bin Laden authors two fatwas calling for the withdrawal of American military forces from the Arab world and an end to supporting Israel.

Published in 1993 by London based newspaper The Independent

What caused bin Laden, a charismatic Muslim fundamentalist, albeit psychopathic ticking time bomb, to "turn" against America? More importantly why did other Muslims join Al-Qaeda and commit suicide attacks against the U.S. on 9/11? In short, it didn't take much to turn bin Laden or motivate Muslims to despise the U.S. and USSR. Since the beginnings of the Cold War many Arab governments were used as pawns by the U.S. and USSR, and if anything negative happened to the Arab people it was brushed off as collateral damage.

War is terrible and unfortunately there will always be collateral damage, but it's easy for us to say that as we sip on our lattes at the corner coffee shop. Think about how many innocent Muslims died as a result of our foreign policy. When we hear leaders mention American values, we usually think of pleasant things like freedom, equality, strong rule of law, etc. The Arab people associate the word "America" with a much darker image, one that evokes anger, sadness, and great loss.

There is not one definitive answer to the why question, rather a bunch of sensible answers that center more on America's belligerent track record and imperial-like military presence, and less on "they hate freedom" or "Islam is a violent religion" explanations. The average U.S. citizen may be ignorant of post-1953 Middle East history, but the Arab world is very aware, and this history frames their point of reference.

America kept kicking the hornet's nest and eventually, on September 11th, we were stung. And there was nothing senseless about it.

Post-9/11 Foreign Policy

Rather than privately admit that our pre-9/11 foreign policy was flawed and changing course, our elected leaders arrogantly continued down the same path with increased intensity. The Bush administration engineered an unconstitutional invasion and occupation of Iraq--a country that had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks. And instead of focusing on a quick campaign against The Taliban, who actually did harbor Al-Qaeda, we committed to an unjustifiable and unsustainable occupation of Afghanistan. Since our invasions it is estimated that over 1,000,000 Iraqi and Afghan civilians have died.

In addition to two unpopular and immoral wars, the Bush administration ordered the CIA to create a covert torture operation to squeeze information out of suspected terrorists. Not only does this constitute a war crime, it flied in the face of the international Nuremberg principles, which were pioneered by America in response to the Nazi holocaust in order to determine what constitutes a war crime. Thankfully President Obama has ended Bush's torture ring, but rather than prosecuting those involved in torture, he has shielded the war criminals--which is a war crime in itself and also a direct violation of established international laws and treaties. Both Messrs. Bush and Obama have not only set a poor precedent, but more importantly have undermined America's reputation in the world. Their actions have dimmed "the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the world".

Some established politicos, especially those in the GOP, will make asinine arguments that water boarding is not torture. I dare them to try it and see for themselves whether repeatedly inducing the sensation of drowning is torture or not. Others may defend Bush's torture ring as a necessary evil to obtain the information we need to save lives. So war crimes are okay if the end result is productive? I don't believe the end justifies the means. These are ridiculous and morally bankrupt arguments.

In addition to shielding war criminals, Mr. Obama has dramatically expanded our illegal drone campaign, which is a direct violation of Pakistan's and Yemen's fragile sovereignty. Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign slogan of "change" did not apply to his foreign policy. As one MSNBC guest put it, Obama has "out Cheney'ed Cheney."

Fresh after two weeks of political conventions, many Americans seem to not care that our great country has devolved from "land of the free, home of the brave," into, "land of the foolish, home of the hypocrites." But as The Economist notes in a recent article, the people of Yemen care. The Yemenis can't even walk outside, or gather in public places for a wedding, without fearing they will be assassinated by a drone. In the eyes of the Yemenis, America is the true terrorist. Where do we get the right to do this?

This leads to the underlying attitude I find so troubling among many Americans--we act like America can do whatever we want because 9/11 made us the victims. Never mind the fact that America has directly and indirectly killed more innocent Muslims around the world than vice-versa. According to UN estimates, our sanctions on Iraq during the 1990s alone led to the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, a price the Clinton administration thought was "worth it."

We act act as if America is exceptional because we can do whatever we want to do, no matter how many established laws and international legal precedents we break. Our politicians and history books claim we are this great bastion of freedom, morality and a protector of human rights, but our actions do not support this rhetoric.

The more war crimes we commit, the more illegal drone strikes we launch, and the more we fight this fruitless war on terror, the more we give "propagandists in Al Qaeda or the Taliban an endless supply of material" to not only accurately portray America as hypocrites, but also recruit more terrorists and undermine what should be our primary goal--lasting peace. I don't understand how our counter-productive foreign policy could not be motivating future terrorists to commit the next 9/11.

The Next 9/11

In President Obama's most recent 9/11 anniversary speech, he said, "the attacks have brought out the best in the American people." I disagree. 9/11 brought out the worst in our foreign policy. And since we live in a democratic republic, our actions abroad are a direct reflection on the American people. In effect, 9/11 brought out the worst in all of us. 

Unless we alter our foreign policy by focusing more on defending our actual borders, and reducing our unsustainable and unnecessary global military presence, I fear America could suffer another 9/11.

Many Islamic extremists reside in countries with weak political institutions and/or corrupt governments. When these extremists, their sympathizers, or the average Arab citizen want to obtain closure from their indignation, they have few options, most of which are extreme. So they strap a bomb to their car, or fly airplanes into buildings, or commit some other seemingly senseless atrocity. This reality leads to the negative feedback loop we find ourselves stuck in today:

Time to say "Enough!"

I fear Americas future will be filled with more terrorism, domestic or abroad, if we don't elect leaders who understand the history behind this loop, understand why this loop exists, and have the political will to break this loop. Unfortunately, the two horses in the 2012 presidential race do not foot the bill (especially the Romney/Ryan ticket). So the ultimate question that remains is: will we have the courage to break away from the mainstream political brands and elect someone who fits the bill? I doubt it, but I remain hopeful.