An Alternative To War
We do not need to go to war just yet, even though Bush has 95% of the US population cheering him along this dangerous path. Although we claim to be building a coalition of support among both Western and Muslim nations, the support from the Muslim world is questionable at best. We have done nothing more than bribe and threaten our "friendly" Arab neighbors into cooperation with us. As soon as the world starts seeing images of little Afghani children with their clothes on fire and Muslim women carrying dead babies, world opinion will galvanize against us very quickly, especially in the Islamic world. Our war against terrorism could quickly become World War Three, fought ineffectively on our side by the world's mightiest military, and on "their side" by Islamic terrorists against our civilian populations. This is not a smart approach strategically on our part, not to mention that it is morally wrong.
Our "friends" in the Arab world, while they voice outrage at the
attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, have a much deeper
understanding than we do – perhaps even sympathy – for the reasons
behind the attacks. The attacks were not, as Bush simplistically states, a result
of "evil" people who "hate democracy and freedom." It is
something much larger, having to do with an enormous groundswell of resentment
and anger at an America very few of us get to see. In our comfortable cars and
luxurious homes we are complacent with a self-image of America as beneficent
and kind. We have not seen nor experienced the devastation of our economic and
military policies in the Arab world during the second half of the 20th century.
In the eyes of many in the Middle East we are selfish tyrants, not friends.
And now we are about to prove it by exacting "justice" by acts of
war against people and whole nations whom we "suspect" of being behind
the terrorist attacks on America. Where is the rule of law when we need it the
most? Where is the concept of "innocent until proven guilty"? Where
is "due process"? These democratic ideals have all flown out the window
in our rush to inflict maximum harm against an unknown enemy.
But there is an alternative. Egypt's President Mubarak has suggested an International Conference on Terrorism. This is a brilliant idea. In such a conference we could explore the root causes of terrorism and begin a campaign not only to find and punish the actual perpetrators, but to address the many economic, political and cultural issues that have given rise to the fringe element of terrorism in the Islamic world (and elsewhere.) This way we would gain the willing support and good will of our Arab friends. But if we deal only with the symptoms (the actual terrorist acts themselves) rather than the underlying causes, we will only help perpetrate more terrorism into the future and alienate the few friends we have. In order to protect ourselves in such a world we will end up sacrificing everything we value for the cause of national security. Freedom, education, health, the arts, culture and all the other rights, endeavors and priorities that make America great will take a back seat to military spending and enhanced security.
The Viet Nam war will look like child's play compared to what we are about to do. Let us, therefore, not write off Mubarak's suggestion in our rush to exact vengeance. We have time. The terrorists planned their actions for years in advance. Let us take the time to move slowly and carefully in bringing the culprits to justice. And let us take the time to learn about and address the root causes of terrorism so that we can truly "pull it out by the roots."
But we have very little time to change the current course of events. Bush is on his own "holy war." He feels that God has given him this mission in life: his Presidency will be defined by waging war against "evil. (Does this sound any different from what the media characterizes as the "irrational raving of Islamic fundamentalists?") Only one Congressperson, Barbara Lee, a Democrat from Oakland, CA, voted against the allocation of war funding that Bush requested. We need to show her our support and thanks for her voice of courage and reason. And we must try to get the media to pay some attention. We cannot give up. We must speak louder than ever before.
Peter Alexander
Portland, OR
Copyright © 2001 by Peter Alexander. All rights reserved.