Should we forget 9/11?Should we forget September 11? Hello, my name is Shoaib Jillani. I was born and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan and am currently a sophomore at Brown University. My major is yet undecided; currently I’m inclined towards a double major in philosophy and math, but that could change in the future. Anyway, I took this course, because I’ve always felt that generally people oversimplify, overlook certain subtleties when it comes to the dynamics of actual international relations. There is always too much of a gap between academics and their subjects, between “us” and “them”. This divide is apparent whenever discussions on terrorism, extremism, fundamentalism, religious intolerance arise, especially in relation to countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. The oversimplified analysis of the people settled in the northern areas of those countries, the areas that gave birth to Islamic terrorism as we know it, is unfortunate. I took this course because I want to be exposed to different ideas concerning the driving forces of history, the driving forces of international relations. I want to know what people have to say about our world, about the interplay between different cultures, religions, ethnicities etc. and hopefully make some contribution to the debate. Coming to the question at hand, should the USA forget about September 11? Unfortunately, as we all know there are no easy answers to this question. I feel the answer is no, but it would be foolish of me not to realize the risks and possible drawbacks of maintaining such a fervent war on terror. The war on terror should not form the core of America’s foreign policy; there are other issues, other threats that need to be reckoned with, and which tend to be overlooked because of the aforementioned war. Still, in my opinion, September 11 should always be remembered not only to honor the lives lost, but also because it awoke the USA to a very real threat that had been lurking underneath the veneer of international relations. There was immense resentment building up against the USA in many Islamic countries due to their support of Israel, and their presence in the Middle East. In the northern areas of Pakistan, and in Afghanistan, the very extremist militants that the USA had trained and armed in order to battle the Soviet Union were becoming convinced that it was their duty to respond, and preserve the honor of the Islamic nation. So, yes, it was a very real threat that the USA was woken up to. The war on terror, however, is bound to exacerbate this resentment against America, and in fact has already done so. Does that make the very idea a mistake, though? Not at all. A war on terror was necessary, and in fact still is. And September 11 serves as a reminder to the United States why that is so. But in such a war, the USA cannot afford to be belligerent, arrogant and oblivious, as I believe it was in declaring war against Iraq. Iraq was not a threat as far as terrorism is concerned. The northern areas of my own country, sealed off by mountain ranges, and Afghanistan, however are. The USA by declaring war against Iraq, and not dealing with the more imminent threats lurking in those countries, only gave the terrorists there more fuel for fire. It cemented the prevailing view there that the USA is determined to repress the “Muslim Ummah” (Islamic Nation), use their oil, and eventually take over the world. The lack of education in the regions creating terrorists is the reason they are so easily swayed by such views as preached in madrasahs (or religious schools). The USA needs to realize that things are going to get far worse, before they get better in this war on terror. There are no easy solutions as far as extremism is concerned. One side attacks, so will the other, sooner or later. The best that America can do is to utilize its intelligence, act strategically, smartly, and remembering September 11, honor every innocent life, because an all out war is certainly not the answer in this situation. Terrorism, America tends to forget, is a mind-set, not a country, and it feeds off war and perceived injustice. In remembering September 11, the USA must not be as vengeful and reckless as it has proven to be so far. Needless to say, the war on terror is on slippery ice, and America needs to tread carefully
Posted by Shoaib Jillani on September 17, 2007 08:16 PM | Permalink |
