понедельник, 30 сентября 2019 г.
“Lifting the Veil: Understanding the Roots of Islamic Militancy†by Henry Munson Essay
The article discussed the reasons behind Muslim hostility towards the United States. The article first appeared in Harvard International Review, Winter 2004, pp. 20-23.            Author Henry Munson focused on the reasons why Islamic militancy, led by Osama bin Laden, continues to take its toll despite United States’ efforts through its foreign policy to eradicate such violence. Munson stated that US might want to look at and reflect on their foreign policies, which causes much more hostility instead of diluting the rage that fuels Islamic militancy. Moreover, he noted that Muslim extremists also need to look at and reflect on the existence and perpetuation of hatred in their society that causes them to support militant and violent efforts leading to more chaos or war.            Muslims’ hostility towards the United States is caused by the latter’s foreign policies. Zogby International’s February and March 2003 survey of 2,620 men and women from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia revealed that their â€Å"unfavorable attitude†towards the US is primarily fueled by its foreign policy and has nothing to do with their own cultural or religious values. Another Zogby International survey in summer 2001 held that more than 80 percent of respondents from Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia viewed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the three important issues that affects them. A survey of Muslim â€Å"opinion leaders†done by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in December 2001 found that US position in this conflict is the main reason for Muslim hostility towards the US. Another report from Pew released on June 3, 2003, titled Views of Changing World June 2003, found that Muslim hostility towards the US has increased from 2002 to 2003. This report, done shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein, proved that the Bush administration’s war on terror has caused a significant rise in why Muslims feel more hostile towards the US. Another Zogby International poll in 2003 found that most Arabs believed the reason behind US attack on Iraq is because of Iraqi oil reserves and US plan of helping Israel. This belief exacerbated fear from 70 percent of Israelis, Pakistanis, and Turks. According to a 2003 Pew report, they are worried or somewhat worried of a possible US attack to their countries. This finding is linked to another 2003 Pew report that revealed that over half of respondents in Indonesia, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority and almost half of respondents in Morocco and Pakistan named Osama bin Laden as one of the three world figures to whom they had confidence in â€Å"doing the right thing.†Understanding the roots of Islamic militancy is understanding Osama bin Laden’s roots. His hostility began when infidels occupied a Muslim land. This worsened when US deployed troops in Saudi Arabia, leading him to bomb two US embassies in Africa in 1998, and then directly attacking the US in 9/11. Despite this, 95 percent of educated Saudis supported him, as referenced by a New York Times article on January 27, 2002. With all these facts and figures, Munson stressed the need for both the US and the Islamic militants to examine their stands and beliefs because instead of easing the situation, it just keeps on getting worse. I agree with Munson’s contention that both sides need to look at and reflect on their own stands, beliefs, and plans, instead of looking at each other’s mistakes and blaming one another for having a different culture. However, do we see this happening anytime soon or in the near future perhaps? I do not think so because it seems impossible for each side to regard the other’s side as well as the side of the innocent ones that have been shattered and will be shattered because of war. It is easy to point out what needs to be done, however it is so difficult to realize this especially if each side is consumed and dedicated to pursuing its personal end. I do not want to sound pessimistic but probably no God or Allah will prevent future wars because as long as humans remain dissatisfied and selfish, wars are here to stay. Summary of â€Å"Blowback Revisited: Today’s Insurgents in Iraq are Tomorrow’s Terrorists†by Peter Bergen and Alec Reynolds            The article contended that the foreign volunteers fighting against United States’ troops in Iraq will find new targets around the world after the war ceases, just like how international mujahideen, who were drawn in the Afghan conflict, found new attacks that culminated in the 9/11 blowback. The article first appeared in Foreign Affairs, Vol. 84, No. 6, November/December 2005, pp. 2-6. Authors Bergen and Reynolds bolstered their argument by enumerating several examples of where blowbacks were felt, which rooted in the Soviet-Afghan conflict.            Foreign volunteers in Afghanistan regarded the Soviet defeat as Muslim victory that gave them legitimacy and prestige, as well as opportunity to declare jihad or holy war to Muslim countries they think needed their assistance. For instance, Armed Islamic Group (GIA) murdered thousands of Algerians in the 1990s in its attempt to overthrow the government and replace it with an Islamist command.            Moreover, in Egypt, after the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat, hundreds of extremists left the country to train in the Afghan war. When they came back, they led a terror campaign between 1990 and 1997 that killed thousands of people. Egyptian Cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who was said to have inspired Sadat’s assassins, supported the Afghan jihad and encouraged his two sons to fight the war. He even provided spiritual direction to terrorist group Jamaat al-Islamiyya. Furthermore, he encouraged attacks on New York City landmarks and was sentenced to life imprisonment for bombing the World Trade Center in 1993. However, Jamaat al-Islamiyya’s 1997 attack at an archaeological site in Luxor, Egypt forced his release.            But the most famous alumnus of the Afghan jihad happens to be Osama bin Laden, who carried jihad beyond the Middle East into the United States, Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. US presence in Saudi Arabia caused his Al-Qaeda’s grievance, leading him to attack two embassies in Africa in 1998, nearly sinking U.S.S. Cole in Yemen in 2000, and finally attacking the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001.            The Afghan experience enabled these militants to be trained in warfare and tactics, meet other like-minded militants, and therefore create and inspire a myriad of extremist organizations all over the world. This is what Bergen and Reynolds predict to take event with the foreign fighters in Iraq war; only this time it will be more dangerous. This is because foreign fighters have been battle-hardened, have undergone more rigorous training, and have more knowledge on effective tactics and techniques.            Bergen and Reynolds also stressed the possibility that foreign involvement in the Iraqi war will encourage Iraqi nationals to become international terrorists. Since they are culturally closer to the foreigners in Iraq, they may think of continuing jihad once US troops move out. With US efforts, only a finite number of terrorists can be lured into one place and killed. Moreover, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld already stressed that US lacks metrics to know if they are winning or losing the war and the Bush administration has not actually dwell on the problem of what the foreign fighters can do after the war. With all these, a blowback against US and its allies in Europe and Middle East is rightly expected. If blowback happened after the Afghan conflict, much of the blame should be placed on the US government and the Arab money for funding the war. Now if blowback will happen again, who is to be blamed but the ones who funded the war. It is frustrating that because of all these terrorism and attacks, a lot of innocent lives are destroyed. But it is not only they, the ones torn by the bombings and gunshots, who are victims to these senseless battles. Muslims all over the world are torn by the judgment, name calling, and paranoia of some cultures that fear the own snake they have unleashed. The United States will never know if it has won or lost in the Iraqi war and in the future wars it will be involved in, because the fact is, in a war nobody wins. Everybody is a loser.
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