Why We Were Attacked on Sept. 11
Charlie Gibson of ABC news interviewed Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and asked her this question: "We talk on the anniversary of 9/11. Why do you think those hijackers attacked? Why did they want to hurt us?"
The Alaska Governor responded, "You know, there is a very small percentage of Islamic believers who are extreme and they are violent, and they do not believe American ideals, and they attacked us......they see that the only option for them is to become a suicide bomber, to get caught up in this evil, this terror....."
Although Gov. Palin correctly noted that the hijackers were suicidal Islamic terrorists, she failed to identify the particular motivation for attacking the United States, rather than other countries. Neither Gibson nor Palin addressed the specific targets: The World Trade Center and the Pentagon. (The hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania was probably intended for the US Capitol.)
Shortly after the attacks, President George W Bush opined that the terrorists hated our freedom. Maybe they did, but neither Bush nor Palin grasped the real motive for the crime.
From the perspective of Al Qaida Al-Jihad (The Base for Holy War), Islam is locked in an epic struggle against the forces of Christianity, Judaism and other non-Muslim ideologies. Al Qaida seeks the triumph of Islam over these forces through jihad. Although the ultimate goal is the victory of Islam in the entire world, jihadis are most determined to first rid the Arabian Peninsula of all non-Islamic power: Christian and Jewish. The idea of a sovereign Jewish state of any size whatsoever in the Gate of Islam (Dar-al-Islam), especially in Jerusalem (al-Quds), is particularly abhorrent.
Although the United States is barred by its Constitution from establishing a religion, the Islamic fanatics consider the US a Christian nation, and its soldiers are often characterized as Crusaders. The presence of these soldiers in Saudi Arabia (1) and Iraq, together with US support for Israel and non-Islamic Arab regimes in the Middle East are an affront to Islam. For these reasons, Sheik Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa (religious decree or psak) calling on all Muslims to attack Americans. After Bin Laden and his followers moved into Afghanistan in the 1990's, the US directed airstrikes at Al Qaida training camps in that country in co-ordination with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
Just as the Pentagon is the center of American military power, the World Trade Center was a symbol of American financial power. Located in New York, the office complex also served as an icon for Jewish financial power within the United States economy. Another group of jihadists tried to blow it up in 1993. It remained an inviting target in 2001.
No, the Al Qaida terrorists did not "give a fig" about American freedom or democracy; many countries are just as free (take Sweden, for example), but do nothing to thwart the establishment of Islamic hegemony in the Middle East, and are not targets of Islamic terror.
We cannot effectively resist Islamic terror until we first understand that it is directed against our power, not our freedom.
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(1) In 2001 there were US armed forces based in Saudi Arabia, but they were withdrawn in 2003 after Sadam Hussein was deposed.
The Alaska Governor responded, "You know, there is a very small percentage of Islamic believers who are extreme and they are violent, and they do not believe American ideals, and they attacked us......they see that the only option for them is to become a suicide bomber, to get caught up in this evil, this terror....."
Although Gov. Palin correctly noted that the hijackers were suicidal Islamic terrorists, she failed to identify the particular motivation for attacking the United States, rather than other countries. Neither Gibson nor Palin addressed the specific targets: The World Trade Center and the Pentagon. (The hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania was probably intended for the US Capitol.)
Shortly after the attacks, President George W Bush opined that the terrorists hated our freedom. Maybe they did, but neither Bush nor Palin grasped the real motive for the crime.
From the perspective of Al Qaida Al-Jihad (The Base for Holy War), Islam is locked in an epic struggle against the forces of Christianity, Judaism and other non-Muslim ideologies. Al Qaida seeks the triumph of Islam over these forces through jihad. Although the ultimate goal is the victory of Islam in the entire world, jihadis are most determined to first rid the Arabian Peninsula of all non-Islamic power: Christian and Jewish. The idea of a sovereign Jewish state of any size whatsoever in the Gate of Islam (Dar-al-Islam), especially in Jerusalem (al-Quds), is particularly abhorrent.
Although the United States is barred by its Constitution from establishing a religion, the Islamic fanatics consider the US a Christian nation, and its soldiers are often characterized as Crusaders. The presence of these soldiers in Saudi Arabia (1) and Iraq, together with US support for Israel and non-Islamic Arab regimes in the Middle East are an affront to Islam. For these reasons, Sheik Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa (religious decree or psak) calling on all Muslims to attack Americans. After Bin Laden and his followers moved into Afghanistan in the 1990's, the US directed airstrikes at Al Qaida training camps in that country in co-ordination with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
Just as the Pentagon is the center of American military power, the World Trade Center was a symbol of American financial power. Located in New York, the office complex also served as an icon for Jewish financial power within the United States economy. Another group of jihadists tried to blow it up in 1993. It remained an inviting target in 2001.
No, the Al Qaida terrorists did not "give a fig" about American freedom or democracy; many countries are just as free (take Sweden, for example), but do nothing to thwart the establishment of Islamic hegemony in the Middle East, and are not targets of Islamic terror.
We cannot effectively resist Islamic terror until we first understand that it is directed against our power, not our freedom.
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(1) In 2001 there were US armed forces based in Saudi Arabia, but they were withdrawn in 2003 after Sadam Hussein was deposed.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 10:43 AM
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