Some Reflections and Web Links on the September 11 Tragedy

We are in a time of great tragedy and great danger. No international force has ever caused such casualties on U.S. soil as those that occurred September 11. We must respond in an appropriate and determined way to the deadly terrorist attacks that occurred on that day. We must also thoughtfully ask, what is an appropriate way? It must be a way that decreases rather than increases the risk of terrorism in the future, and a way that is consistent with our moral and ethical principles as a nation. My personal belief is that our goals as we respond should be to bring to justice those still living who are behind the terrible acts of September 11, and, as much as possible, to incapacitate their organization(s) from being able to commit further terrorism in the future. The goals should be justice and incapacitation, not revenge. A broader goal of revenge might make us feel better, but it is likely to increase, not decrease, the risk of future terrorism.

Ideally, our goal should be to capture Bin Laden and others we believe responsible, and bring them to the United States for trial. Since the crimes were committed in and against the United States, it is perfectly appropriate to try them in a U.S. court rather than an international court, as some have suggested. Of course, capture of those responsible will likely be impossible in some cases, and in those cases, special-forces military strikes against the perpetrators will be needed, and are appropriate if capture is not a feasible objective. In the end, we must do our best to take out as much as possible of the terrorist network behind the September 11 attacks.

As we do this, however, there are great risks that we could inadvertently act in ways that create greater risks of future terrorism. There are both practical and moral/ethical reasons for responding in a firm yet measured and just way. Specifically, this includes the principle that we must act in ways that prevent or absolutely minimize civilian casualties. The greater the extent to which we act in ways that cause civilian casualties, the more we will increase the kinds of resentments and desires for revenge that give rise to more terrorism. Anyone who doubts this need only look at northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, central Africa, or the Balkans. The endless cycle of terror and revenge is there to see in all those places. In addition, it is also true that the greater the extent to which we act in ways that cause civilian casualties, the more we lower ourselves to the same level as the terrorists.

It is clear that much we Americans have done in the past has contributed to great resentment against the United States in the Arab and Muslim worlds. (The two are not the same, as is explained in some of the materials linked below.) These actions have helped to put us where we are now. Among these actions are the following:

1. Sanctions against Iraq, which have done nothing to incapacitate Saddam Hussein but have caused great suffering among the Iraqi civilian population.

2. An unbalanced policy in the Israeli-Arab dispute, including virtually unlimited supplies of arms to Israel and a failure to speak out against Israeli acts of terrorism (like the bombing of refugee camps in Lebanon) with any where near the vigor with which we have spoken against Palestinian terrorism. It is not lost on Palestinians and their allies that the weapons being fired against them are American-made.

3. Missile attacks on targets in the Sudan and Afghanistan that failed to harm terrorists hiding there but did cause civilian casualties and heightened resentment.

Of course none of this justifies the terrible attacks on civilians September 11, and resentment is by no means the same thing as terrorism: Most Arabs and Muslims are appalled by September 11, despite their resentment of many of America’s actions. But it is true that the more resentment we create, the easier it is for Bin Laden to recruit new terrorists. History also tells us, again and again, that attacks that take civilian lives only stiffen the resistance of those attacked. Look at how Americans have unified since the WTC bombings. And look at history: London and Dresden during World War II, Hanoi in the Vietnam war: The more bombs that were dropped, the more resolved and determined became those on whom they were dropped.

We must be aware of a second concern: who we recruit as allies, build up, and arm. In part, the enemy we now face is our own creation. Bin Laden and his allies in the Afghan Mujadaheen of the 1980s were armed and trained by the United States because they were fighting our enemy, the Soviet Union, which had invaded Afghanistan. The adage “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is an old one but a dangerous one. What we did not consider is that the Afghan Mujadaheen, which fought the Soviets but became the roots of today’s Taliban, saw in the Soviet Union much the same as what it would inevitably see in us: a big, godless (from their point of view), bully of a country seeking to dominate countries around the world and to oppose their fundamentalist world view. The elder George Bush, then president, was in fact warned by then-Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto that, by arming and supporting Bin Laden and his allies, “You are creating Frankenstein.” Sadly, truer words were never spoken.

History warns us against attacking the faceless masses and against recruiting anyone willing to fight our enemy. We must find ways to eliminate Bin Laden and incapacitate his terrorist organization, but we must also do so in ways that do not repeat the mistakes of the past and make things worse rather than better.

One final thought: A humanitarian tragedy of unspeakable dimensions is now unfolding in Afghanistan, due to a combination of the brutality and ineptness of the Taliban and a mass refugee problem being created by fears of an attack by the United States. We could win many hearts and minds by undertaking a massive effort to provide food, medicine, and shelter to those being displaced. Nearly 4 million refugees have left Afghanistan in the past due to endless civil war and the Taliban’s brutality. Millions more are trying to flee now because they fear being killed in a U.S. attack. President Bush has said, correctly, that the Afghan people are not the enemy, only the Taliban. How powerfully we could prove this by coming to the rescue of those very people! And at the same time, we could strengthen our relationships with the countries surrounding Afghanistan by helping them deal with the flood of refugees already in their countries.

Below are some links to sources that I have found informative. While I do not agree with everything that is said in every one of the linked articles, I do think that reading them will be helpful in becoming more informed about today’s very difficult situation. Here are the links:

Facts and Valuable Web Links on Islam. This page was posted by Professor Julie Belz at Penn State and is very informative. Thanks to Professor Belinda Carstens-Wickham of SIUE for making me aware of it.

Some material forwarded by a colleague that explains why many in the Arab world feel anger and resentment toward the United States. Thanks to SIUE Professor Linda Markowitz for this material.

Fight the Roots of Terrorism, by Steve Niva, Professor of International Politics, Evergreen State College. This article has suggestions on how to deal with Bin Laden's terrorist network and suggestions on why the attack is better treated as a crime than as a war.

Afghan People are Victims, Too, by Laura Bracken. Some backgroud on the Taliban and its treatment of its own citizens.

Thanks to Michael Flota and the Flota Progressive Newsletter for the two above articles.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch September 28 article on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

This page last modified September 28, 2001.