Half a decade after 9/11, US policies have only made matters

[spindrifter]

worse

Daily Star Lebanon
Monday, September 11, 2006

Exactly five years ago today, the world watched in stunned horror the televised images of Al-Qaeda carrying out the worst act of terrorism ever committed on American soil. Few could have predicted back then that just half a decade later, the United States, having interpreted the attacks as a justification for a dramatic shift in foreign policy, would be either directly engaged in or actively supporting bloody wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.

Just days after September 11, 2001, US President Bush declared war on terrorism and started making preparations for the invasion of Afghanistan, where Al-Qaeda leaders had been given shelter. But since then, America has shifted its focus away from Al-Qaeda, whose top leaders still remain at large, and toward a new and ever-growing list of "terrorist threats" - including Sunni insurgents in Iraq, elected leaders in Iran and Palestine, Shiite militants in Iraq and the resistance movement in Lebanon. Bush says that this vast array of diverse groups constitutes a single threat, which he refers to as "Islamofascism," and which he has likened to the menaces of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. But any honest assessment must acknowledge that these diverse groups do not form a unified front, nor does the tiny gang of criminals responsible for the September 11 attacks pose the same kind of threat to civilization as did Hitler or Stalin.

Al-Qaeda could have likely been easily defeated had US leaders channelled all of America's resources into pursuing this threat. But instead of isolating and wiping out Al-Qaeda, Bush has created a long list of new foes in his ever-broadening war on terror. In doing so, he has bolstered the popular impression that the US is waging a crusade against Islam - an impression which Al-Qaeda skillfully exploits in order to gain more support.

After five years of bloodshed, and with no end in sight, it is time for Americans to re-evaluate US policies in the war on terror. A good start would be to draw a distinction between terrorists such as Al-Qaeda and legitimate resistance groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas, whose aims are largely political and nationalist. Unlike Al-Qaeda, resistance groups have a territorial base and legitimate political grievances that can be resolved. Addressing these grievances through an even-handed peace process would go a long way toward making America safer.

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http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&article_id=75363&categ_id=17

[whistle]

1. Actually, the events since 9-11 are right on target with PNAC

http://www.crisispapers.org/essays6w/twentythings.htm

Twenty Things We Now Know
Five Years After 9/11

By Bernard Weiner, Co-Editor
The Crisis Papers
August 29, 2006

The imminent fifth anniversary of 9/11 provides the proper moment for a good, ol'-fashioned sum-up of the past half-decade under CheneyBush, especially because so much has happened in the past 12-months:

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