As Americans prepare to once again mark the tragic events of 9/11/2001, I want to frankly look at the mindsets and decisions that have left us--nine years later--to avenge thousands of innocent people who died on America's watch.
Our founding fathers warned of entangling alliances with other nations. They welcomed free trade and dialogue, but favored NO alliances that would one day obligate us to financial or military aid. After all, their young country had seceded from an empire-building, colonizing bully that relied on oppressive taxes and youthful bloodshed to protect its world domination.
Nevertheless, our history reveals we took the same immoral path as the "Mother Country". Let's look at just what we've done in Afghanistan and Iraq to fuel anti-American resentment and retaliation:
In 1953, the CIA helped to oust the once-democratically elected leader of Iran, a man who had been featured as Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" just a year before, and replaced him with the corrupt and brutal Shah, a dictator who ushered in a period of torture, terror and mass inflation.
Twenty-six years later we saw the "blowback"--a term the CIA uses to describe the unintended reaction from American policy abroad--in the form of the Islamic Revolution. Iran fell under the grip of fundamentalists, but most of the nation would not rally against America for purely cultural reasons.
What united them was resentment toward the U.S. meddling in their country. Meanwhile, as part of the Cold War, the US began supporting agitators in Afghanistan so as to incite a Soviet invasion and bring about an overstretch of the Soviet military.
Although today most Americans think of US involvement in Afghanistan at the time as purely defensive against Soviet belligerence, President Carter's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski admitted this was far from the case in a 1998 interview:
"According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise. Indeed, it was July 3, 1979, that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention."
These US-allied Mujahideen in Afghanistan were championed as "freedom fighters," but many went on to form the basis of the Taliban and al Qaeda. The Taliban became one of the most brutal and backwards regimes on the planet, but as late as May of 2001, the US was sending tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban to finance its war on opium.
Throughout the 1980s, the fundamentalist Iranian regime, which had come about in reaction to the US-installed Shah, was seen as the greatest threat in the region. Thus did the United States throw its support behind Saddam Hussein, who, along with his Baathist party, had been a US--sponsored operative for decades in Iraq. An Iran-Iraq war ensued, wherein the U.S. sent weaponry, material support, money and intelligence to the Iraqi dictatorship. At the same time, the Reagan administration secretly sold weapons to Iran, as well.
In 1990, the US went to war with Iraq after Saddam invaded Kuwait, although a U.S. diplomat had indicated to him that the US would stay out of such a conflict. Propaganda about Kuwaiti babies being torn from their incubators, and an impending threat from Saddam to Saudi Arabia, got most of the American people on board. But it was a short war, and by 1992 the popular war was a faded memory as the recession and Perot took the presidential throne from the incumbent commander in chief.
At the end of the war, the US had troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and, after destroying much of Iraq's sanitation infrastructure, implemented sanctions to be enforced through the United Nations that cut off the Iraqi people from getting food and medicine from the outside world. Throughout the 1990s, the US perennially bombed Iraq to enforce "no-fly" zones in the name of protecting the Kurds.
In May of 1996, UN ambassador Madeline Albright, soon to be elevated to become Secretary of State, was asked on 60 Minutes about the trade sanctions on Iraq. This exchange echoed ominously throughout the Muslim world:
Our founding fathers warned of entangling alliances with other nations. They welcomed free trade and dialogue, but favored NO alliances that would one day obligate us to financial or military aid. After all, their young country had seceded from an empire-building, colonizing bully that relied on oppressive taxes and youthful bloodshed to protect its world domination.
Nevertheless, our history reveals we took the same immoral path as the "Mother Country". Let's look at just what we've done in Afghanistan and Iraq to fuel anti-American resentment and retaliation:
In 1953, the CIA helped to oust the once-democratically elected leader of Iran, a man who had been featured as Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" just a year before, and replaced him with the corrupt and brutal Shah, a dictator who ushered in a period of torture, terror and mass inflation.
Twenty-six years later we saw the "blowback"--a term the CIA uses to describe the unintended reaction from American policy abroad--in the form of the Islamic Revolution. Iran fell under the grip of fundamentalists, but most of the nation would not rally against America for purely cultural reasons.
What united them was resentment toward the U.S. meddling in their country. Meanwhile, as part of the Cold War, the US began supporting agitators in Afghanistan so as to incite a Soviet invasion and bring about an overstretch of the Soviet military.
Although today most Americans think of US involvement in Afghanistan at the time as purely defensive against Soviet belligerence, President Carter's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski admitted this was far from the case in a 1998 interview:
"According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise. Indeed, it was July 3, 1979, that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention."
These US-allied Mujahideen in Afghanistan were championed as "freedom fighters," but many went on to form the basis of the Taliban and al Qaeda. The Taliban became one of the most brutal and backwards regimes on the planet, but as late as May of 2001, the US was sending tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban to finance its war on opium.
Throughout the 1980s, the fundamentalist Iranian regime, which had come about in reaction to the US-installed Shah, was seen as the greatest threat in the region. Thus did the United States throw its support behind Saddam Hussein, who, along with his Baathist party, had been a US--sponsored operative for decades in Iraq. An Iran-Iraq war ensued, wherein the U.S. sent weaponry, material support, money and intelligence to the Iraqi dictatorship. At the same time, the Reagan administration secretly sold weapons to Iran, as well.
In 1990, the US went to war with Iraq after Saddam invaded Kuwait, although a U.S. diplomat had indicated to him that the US would stay out of such a conflict. Propaganda about Kuwaiti babies being torn from their incubators, and an impending threat from Saddam to Saudi Arabia, got most of the American people on board. But it was a short war, and by 1992 the popular war was a faded memory as the recession and Perot took the presidential throne from the incumbent commander in chief.
At the end of the war, the US had troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and, after destroying much of Iraq's sanitation infrastructure, implemented sanctions to be enforced through the United Nations that cut off the Iraqi people from getting food and medicine from the outside world. Throughout the 1990s, the US perennially bombed Iraq to enforce "no-fly" zones in the name of protecting the Kurds.
In May of 1996, UN ambassador Madeline Albright, soon to be elevated to become Secretary of State, was asked on 60 Minutes about the trade sanctions on Iraq. This exchange echoed ominously throughout the Muslim world:
Lesley Stahl: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?
Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it.
Most Americans don't know about this exchange, or other grievances foreigners have against the US empire, but the nonchalant way in which Albright weighed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children against the US goal of undermining Saddam's government resonated far and wide. This dismissive attitude toward the foreigners affected by US foreign policy still permeates American policy through and through.
(Anthony Gregory's "The Causes, Aftermath and Lessons of 9/11" )
The horrific attack on 9/11 was not motivated by envy, but revenge. We meddled in the sovereign affairs of other nations and manipulated people and events to our advantage on the world stage.
Such high-handed actions produce deadly boomerangs. When they come around, our leaders duck and callously order American children to take the hit.
I do not believe the United States is to police the world and shed the blood of our soldier-sons for forced democracy.
Democracy itself is not a cure all nor is it synonymous with freedom. For example, Hamas was democratically elected. For years, Israel tolerated and--in some cases--encouraged Hamas as a counterweight to the secular nationalists of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its dominant faction, Yasser Arafat's Fatah.
Israel's presumptuous interference came back with a bite, and they have no one to blame but themselves. Neither do we.
Please understand, I DO believe America should defend itself when attacked by another NATION...provided Congress constitutionally declares war. We can strike quickly, precisely (measured military and government targets) and then come home.
We don't engage in nation building...not after we've shamelessly killed, maimed, sickened and starved thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Iraq to give them this wonderful thing called 'democracy'.
(And we're puzzled as to why the masses aren't rushing to lay down centuries of tribal identity to embrace our gift.)
Also, with fourteen permanent bases in Iraq and an embassy bigger than the Vatican, America will ALWAYS maintain a military presence in Iraq. You can count on it!
Although no longer referred to as "combat" troops, American armed forces will remain in an historically volatile region that is guided more by tribal pride and religious factionalism, rather than geo-politics.
Let's make it clear: on 9/11, we were NOT attacked formally by another nation or religion, but by rogue, ideological cells within nations and within a religion.
I believe the proper response following the attacks should have been for Congress to issue letters of Marque and Reprisal, allowing private individuals to immediately go after the guilty individuals. The US used these letters quite successfully in the past against pirates.
This option could have prevented many boots on the ground and continual bloodshed. Now, it's too late. We missed our opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.
Notwithstanding, there is something we, the people can do. Something significant, honorable and fitting:
We can hold the US government responsible for its reprehensible, global hypocrisy. (What I've mentioned in this article is just a slither of damning history that includes both Republican and Democratic administrations.)
Who will the "WE" be...5,000 compatriots or a mere 500?
Will history record 5 folks or just me? But that's the point. History will record something, and I want my grandchildren to know I took a stand for the sanity and soul of my country.
As a Christian, I am mindful of the story in Genesis where Cain murdered his brother, Abel. God makes this statement: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries unto me from the ground." (Genesis 4:10)
I am not alone in my belief that the shedding of innocent blood on God's earth carries a resonating cry---not only for justice, but grief for the generations lost through these horrible acts.
The blood on the ground still cries...at home AND abroad!
Not only did we fail to do the right thing at the right time militarily in 2001, but we are failing NOW to bring true justice for the victims of 9/11 due to a force more powerful than soldiers' bullets or terrorists' bombs:
Did you know fifteen of the nineteen hi-jackers came from Saudi Arabia?
However, power brokers in the US have so much American money tied up with Saudi royals (including Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News) that we walk on egg shells around them...
...despite Saudi Arabia being the leading theocracy that fundamentally upholds Shariah as the undisputed law of their land--replete with the beatings of women, amputations, and summary stonings.
Many experts believe bin Laden, if he is still alive, has been and is being protected by the royal family.
Nevertheless, we invade and bomb neighboring countries and consider the innocent (500,000 dead children in our first round of sanctions against Iraq) as "collateral damage".
The Saudis know that money can both talk to and silence us at the same time!
America, we don't fight to protect our freedoms. We send our children to fight for a greedy, elite group of global power brokers...including Muslim extremists. It's about dirty money!
By all means, let's honor the fallen...but passive memorial services year after year are not enough.
Living in denial about our government's culpability and reckless mishandling of 9/11 is the greater injustice!
And certainly, nothing is accomplished by rousing suspicions against Islam in general and profiling all Muslims in our country as terrorists. That's exactly what the government wants us to do: find scapegoats--ANYBODY but them!
I believe the best way to avenge the 9/11 victims (which included Muslims), is to challenge the REAL enemy--the enemy within.
Dare to look at the hypocrisy, dishonesty, and lack of conscience in our government, its representatives, and even the citizens who choose to remain silent in the face of damning evidence.
As long as they have their pretentious way, our country is in danger of more terrorist attacks. Big government didn't prevent the first attack--an even bigger, post-9/11 state will not prevent further ones!
Yes, the spilled blood of the 9/11 victims still cries out from the ground for justice. May it come on earth. If not, God will balance the scales at the end of human history.
Today, these men and women confidently justify their actions, thinking-- like Pilate--a "washing" of the truth is all it takes to clean them of responsibility.
And what about us as a Union? Will we, after years of living in denial of the immensity and depravity of the problem, one day wring our hands and cry, "Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!" to no avail?
If you want a fair and fitting tribute to the victims of 9/11, then please...this year, fill it with the truth.
Demand that justice be done; and let it begin--not in another nation or in a particular religion--but with the government of the united States at the hand of its trustees--we, the people.
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