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September 20,
2001
If Bush Were Serious
About Wiping Out Terrorism
By Derek Bishop
If we want to root out terrorism, then
we have to display a leadership that extends beyond our narrow
economic and military interests.
We funneled billions in military
aid to both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden when it suited
US policy to do so. The stark truth of the matter is that these
two men are creatures of US policy.
During the waning years of
the Cold War we supported Hussein in an effort to contain a Soviet-backed
Iran. Reflecting shifting US policy, in the more recent Gulf
War we encouraged Iraqi citizens to rise up against Hussein.
But as soon as Saddam's army surrendered, and the westward flow
of oil from Kuwait was no longer threatened, the war ended.
We stood by idly as Hussein slaughtered 1000s of pro-democracy
Iraqis. If it was important enough for us to wage war against
Iraq, it should have been just as important to install a peace-keeping
force to ensure that its nascent democracy took hold. The result
is that Hussein, who is a supporter of bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist
network, is gaining power by the day.
A related issue is the US's shameful medical embargo against
Iraq, which has done nothing to hinder Hussein's rule of the
area, and has killed 1000s of innocent civilians. Far more have
died from our purposeful destruction of the Iraqi water supply,
an act violating the Geneva Convention. The UN estimates that
500,00 Iraqi children have perished as a result of US actions
and sanctions, with an additional 5,000 dying each month.
Osama bin Laden, another Cold
War creation, was supported and trained by the US to repel the
Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Billions of US dollars
went to the Afghan Mujahiddeen, a group of Islamic fundamentalist
holy warriors. When the Soviets withdrew, the US did nothing
to assist the more moderate and tolerant faction within Afghanistan.
The result was that the repressive Taliban regime took over.
It was not until 1998 that Unocal, under pressure following
the US embassy bombings in Africa, pulled out of its Afghan oil
pipeline scheme. Earlier this year the US sent $45 million to
the Taliban to help fight its production of opium which
was a poor decision, given that opium is the Taliban's greatest
export, second only to terrorism.
The greatest act of terrorism in modern Middle Eastern history
occurred nineteen years ago, in a three-day orgy of rape and
murder, when Israel and its Phalangist militia allies killed
1700 Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
This followed an Israeli invasion of Lebanon that killed nearly
18,000 Lebanese and Palestinians almost all of whom were
innocent civilians. The US, of course, backed this act, and
provided Israel with the Apache helicopters and Boeing air to
ground missiles to get the job done. Israel continues to use
US weapons on Palestinian civilians. Israel and US policy are
in violation of UN resolutions calling for Israel's withdrawal
from Gaza and the West Bank. The US and Britain are the only
countries supporting Israel's state sponsored terrorism against
the Palestinians.
In my view, there are only
two options for the US to pursue. Option 1 is to mount an all-out
war on terrorism. This, however, is doomed to failure. Witness
Russian military advisers who tell the US that a battle in Afghanistan
will make Vietnam look like a picnic. More war will further
radicalize an already desperate people, and destablize an already
precarious region. More war will not redress, let alone acknowledge,
the many wrongs in the Mid East for which the US is responsible.
Afghanistan is already laid low. A more wretched country you'll
be hard pressed to find.
Option 2 is a non-military
option. It involves seeking justice through the International
Court, collaboration with international financial institutions
to freeze the flow of money that funds terrorism, and a redress,
for starters, of Palestinian grievances. The US's blatantly
biased support of Israel's war against the Palestinian and Lebanese
people has created the fever pitch of anger we now find in radical
Islam. After considerable study in this area, I feel that the
silver bullet to the resolution of our Mid East problems would
be forcing Israel to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders: A complete
withdrawal from Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This
would be in accord with international consensus, via the UN,
that Israel is illegally occupying these lands. If this can
be accomplished, much of the basis for the anger that drives
terrorism will be removed.
The result of a non-military
approach could be miraculous. Let us see what some honesty and
a turning of the other cheek might accomplish.
And, if it doesn't work
if it doesn't curb terrorism -- then the US could always fall
back on its military might, re-installing an Israeli state 1000
miles across if we chose to do so.
Mario Cuomo, New York's governor,
has spoken eloquently regarding the horrible events of September
11 as NOT being a Pearl Harbor. It was an act of terrorism,
NOT an act of war.
If the US succumbs to its fears,
gives up its cherished civil liberties, becomes a more closed
society, and refuses to acknowledge that the vast majority of
Islam (and there are many denominations of Islam) does NOT support
terrorism, the world OUR world will become a yet
more sorrowful and fearful place.
Make no mistake about it: The
terrorism of September 11 was a horrible, despicable, unconscionable
act. But more bloodshed through a US war effort is neither morally
nor politically right. CP
Derek Bishop lives in Hawaii.
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