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A Few Myths in Need of Correction
The attack on the World Trade Center killed
more than twice as many people as were killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl
Harbor. That's true, but only about half the people killed in the Trade Center
were Americans, the rest were from all over the world, including Moslem nations.
This accounts for the enormous international support for America and the war on
terrorism. Note that the final numbers of the dead are not yet in, but it looks
like the Trade Center attack killed as many as two Pearl Harbors, one for the US
and one for the rest of the world. More of the dead were Americans. There
are about a billion Moslems on the planet, and most of their populations are
impoverished, poorly governed and unstable. Islam is the majority religion in 52
nations (Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azarbaizan, Bahrain,
Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote D'Ivore, Djibouti, Egypt,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan,
Kajakistan, Katar, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malayasia, Maldives,
Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara and Yemen.) Some other nations
have large Moslem minorities (Mozambique, Suriname, Guiena Bissau, Liberia and
India.) India is a special case, with some 178 million Moslems in a population
of a billion. This is one of the largest Islamic populations in the world, but
is much overawed by the majority Hindu population. There is ongoing tension
between the Moslems and Hindus of India, although Islamic fundamentalism is not
a major factor, yet. Nearly all of the Islamic nations are poor and led by
non-democratic (or weak democratic) governments. In most of these nations there
is tension between the Moslem and non-Moslem (usually Christian) populations.
This poverty and poor government is one of the major things Bin Laden preaches
against, and this is a major reason Bin Laden is so popular. Blaming wealthy
Christian nations for the problems in Moslem nations is also
popular. Jihad is not a violence concept. The world actually means "holy
struggle," or just "struggling" or "striving." Political and religious groups
have twisted the word to mean "holy war." The Koran defines the term as
"striving for the good of the community." In other words, self improvement. It
has long been used as a religious term, and a religious duty. But the Koranic
meaning stipulates that the striving be legal, diplomatic, economic and
political before force is employed. The use of peaceful means is considered
"major jihad," the use of force "minor jihad." A proper military jihad must be
declared by a widely recognized authority, backed up by equally worthy religious
scholars. Such a proper jihad has not been declared in centuries. The term
"jihad" has become an overused buzzword by terrorists, outlaws and corrupt
politicians. Poor airport security in the United States was not what
allowed the 19 suicide hijackers to pull off the September 11th attacks. Those
19 could still get through today's increased security. While box cutters may not
make it through today's security (although recent security tests have shown that
they can), there are non metallic knives that could be taped to the terrorists
legs. These weapons would pass right through the metal detectors. We now know
that the terrorists made several dry runs and knew current procedures, and how
flight crews went about their duties. So why have their not been additional
attacks? Simple, airlines now advise passengers to rush hijackers. In the past,
passengers were cautioned to calmly obey the orders of hijackers. Moreover, the
passengers have many defensive weapons to use against hijackers armed with
carbon fiber or ceramic knives. Aircraft seat cushions are designed to be easily
removable for use of "flotation devices." These cushions are thick and have
straps on them that you can pass your arm through to serve as a shield against
the knives. The buckles and part of the seatbelt strap can be removed, wrapped
around the hand and make useable brass knuckles. Women with high heels and long
nails also possess effective weapons, and anyone can deliver a disabling knee to
the groin. Eye gouging and bending hijackers fingers out of their sockets is
also effective, The restricted space in most airliners makes is easier to corner
hijackers and force them to the floor. Passengers flying today are aware of
their superior numbers, and often cheer when the pilot comes on and asks for
their help in the event of a hijacking. Airport security may not work, but
numbers and a sense of self preservation will. This is why you won't many
similar hijacking attempts in the future. For the September 11 attacks to work,
there was a need for surprise. The element of surprise is gone. The
Taliban were not created by the CIA or Pakistani intelligence. The Taliban had
their origins in religious schools set up by Saudi Arabians of the strict Wahabi
sect. The students were taught to memorize the Koran and to be strict followers
of Islam. The CIA left Afghanistan by 1990 (although millions of dollars in
American food and medical aid continued to flow into Afghan refugee camps.) The
Taliban sprang up in the early 1990s as a reaction to the ongoing civil war, and
civil disorder, in Afghanistan. When the Taliban formed military units and began
to pacify areas in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence saw a solution to
eliminating the unrest in Afghanistan (which was spilling over into Pakistan.)
When the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996, they said they would rule the country
for two years and then step back. The Taliban, seen by most Afghans as a bunch
of Pushtuns from Kandahar, have refused to relinquish power. The Taliban are
tolerated in Afghanistan because they brought peace. But it's telling that most
of the Taliban's fighting troops are foreigners (religious Moslems, mostly
Arabs, from Bin Laden's terror camps and many Moslem nations.) The
population of Afghanistan is not, as often reported, 25 million. This is an
extrapolation of the 12 million counted in the last census 25 years ago. But 22
years of war and disorder have killed nearly two million and disrupted the
family lives of many of the remainder. There are probably only about 15 million
people in Afghanistan, with another four million still living in Iranian and
Pakistani refugee camps.
A number of annoying (to most people) or perplexing ideas have arisen since
September 11th. One is that the September 11th attacks were actually America’s
fault. Revenge, so to speak, for all the horrors America has committed against
Islamic nations. The truth is rather different. It was America that, for the
past century, have consistently pushed for the independence of Islamic nations
from colonial or imperial rule. America, more than any other nation, has given
tens of billions of dollars to help these countries, and invested much more in
their economies. These investments are often called exploitation, but for the
Moslems working in American owned or controlled factories, it’s usually the
highest paid jobs they’ve ever had. Many of the gifts and investments don't get
through to the people who need it, and America is often blamed for this as well.
But the local leaders are, well, locals and asking America to remove them is a
very messy business that the American public has little stomach
for. Moslems complain about America backing Israel against the
Palestinians, but it’s always been the other way around. While may Moslems
believe that Israel is a puppet of America (or the other way around), something
that is very far from the truth. The Israeli media has long been full of
complaints about American pressure on Israel to make peace with the
Palestinians. It’s another case of no good deed going unpunished. Another
grievance in Moslem eyes is how America has treated Iraq. America never armed
Iraq (Russia, China and France did) and came to the aid of the Gulf States when
Iraq invaded Kuwait. The ten years of sanctions against Iraq are seen as a
“crime against humanity,” but none of Iraq’s neighbors ever demanded that
American troops leave the area and stop enforcing the sanctions. Most Moslems
like to ignore the fact that any harm done to the Iraqi people is done by the
Sunni minority (led by Saddam Hussein) against the Kurds and the Shia
majority. It’s also become fashionable to say we “abandoned Afghanistan”
in 1989 when the Russians left Afghanistan. But let’s take a look back at the
situation in 1989. When the Russians left, there was still a pro-Russian
government controlling much of the country. Opposing this crowd were half a
dozen major factions, and many smaller ones. The factions fought each other, and
the government, until the government fell in 1992. The factions then went after
each other full time until they were driven out by a larger faction, the
Taliban, in 1996. Several of those factions, operating as the Northern Alliance,
continue to fight the Taliban (and several smaller factions still exist in
Western Afghanistan.) Would the American public have approved our getting
involved in the Afghan civil war in 1989. That’s very doubtful, if only because
that’s how the Russians got involved in 1979. And America did not abandon the
Afghan’s, as we continued to supply most of the food for the millions of Afghan
refugees in Pakistan. One of Osama bin Laden’s favorite myths is that
American’s won’t fight. He bases this on the American reluctance to take
casualties, particularly in Somalia in 1993 and the Balkans in the late 1990s.
What bin Laden misunderstood was the American attitude towards casualties is
largely confined to American politicians and media. A survey done in the late
1990s by Duke University showed this very clearly. Politicians and the general
public were asked how many American causalities they would tolerate in different
situation. In all cases, the general public were willing to accept a lot more
dead American troops than the politicians. The US media also plays a large role
in all this. In Somalia, when 18 American troops were killed fighting Somalis
(and killing over 500 of them), the Somalis initially felt they had suffered a
major defeat (which they had.) The US troops were eager to go back in and finish
the job. But the American media decided it was a US defeat, and American
politicians agreed. The troops were rather dismayed at all this, but their
opinions were not solicited. It was a similar situation in the Balkans late in
the 1990s. The troops, and the American public, were willing to take losses and
get the job done. But the politicians and the media preferred to futz around and
insist that "the people won't stand for casualties" even when the surveys show
quite the opposite. What's amazing about this is that this has happened before.
In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippines intending to kill so
many U.S. troops that the American population would lose any enthusiasm about
going to war. Same thing when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Some people never
learn.
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