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Conflicts between the Middle East and the US
U.S. involvement with the Middle East
U.S. involvement with the Middle East
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Give Peace a Chance
Since the horrible tragedy that occurred on September 11th, Americans are brainstorming for ideas on how to fight terrorism. Minds are collaborating on what can be done to reconcile the West in the minds of Islamic nations. Many strategies for attaining peace have been introduced, and steps are being made toward the appeasement of differences. The ideas for peacemaking that have already been set in motion will be discussed in Section 1, and new suggestions for reconciliation will be introduced in Section 2.
SECTION 1:
Both political and private associations in the United States have introduced wonderful ideas that have begun the process of reconciliation between Islam and the West.
In the political faction, Bush visited a mosque after the terrorist attacks to show support for American Muslims. He declared that terrorism "is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace-they represent evil and war." (http://www.beliefnet.com/). This act gained Bush the support of American Muslims who had been persecuted since the attacks. It also served as a testimony for other Muslim countries that this war was not a religious matter. Unfortunately, since Bush's demonstration, Osama bin Laden has misled Muslims into believing this is indeed a jihad. In a speech he gave on November 3rd, he declares, "It is a question of faith, not a war against terrorism, as Bush and Blair try to depict it" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/).
One of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants explained, "The root of terrorism is in the conflict in Palestine." It is believed that if war stops in the Middle East, more than half the battle of ending terrorism is won. Previously, the United States has sided with the Israelites over the Palestinians. Secretary of State Colin Powell made a speech indicating that Bush is taking a more diplomatic stance in bringing peace to the Middle East. Instead of being exceedingly pro-Israel, the speech was directed at both sides and created an emotional appeal each could relate to (New York Times Nov. 15th). This new position will allow each side to feel comfortable in the negotiation process and will hopefully get a step closer to peace.
When the United Stated defeated the Taliban, it gained the respect of Afghanis. Although there were a few mis-hits in the bombings, Afghanis realize that all the targets were directed at military sites.
September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...
In this book, Friedman presents a coherent picture of forces in the Middle East that have led to the Israeli- Palestinian confrontation and to bin Laden and his group of terrorists. Friedman’s articles describe meetings, discussions, and arguments he had with people at all levels of society through out the Middle East. From his extensive travels and through dynamic interactions with the people he derived intense insights into how 9/11 came about, why, and what should be done about it.
In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the protagonist, Gene Forrester “battled” within himself to find “a separate peace” and in this process directed his emotions at Phineas, his roommate. Forrester and Phineas formed the illusion of a great companionship, but there was a “silent rivalry” between them in Forrester’s mind. Self deceptions in Forrester led him to believe that Phineas was “out to get him” (Forrester). Subconsciously Forrester jounced the limb of the tree and forced Phineas to fall and break his leg. Phineas found out the truth of his “accident” with the help of Leper Lepellier and Brinker Hadley, who were friends that attended Devon High School. Gene Forrester’s conflict between his resentment of and loyalty toward Phineas’ personality and athletic abilities was resolved by the death of Phineas.
Likewise, Goodwin illustrates how the use of categorical terrorism can be seem being used by Al-Qaida during the attacks of 9/11. Nonetheless, it is evident that Al-Qaida is unusual in terms of using terrorism to influence the rise of unity rather than trying to overthrow a standing state. For the purpose of instigating a pan-Islamic revolutionary movement, Al-Qaida tries to unite all Islamic people under one state to develop umma, or Muslim community. The logic of Al-Qaida remained that if their “revolutionaries” could illicit a reaction from the powerful US state, resulting in oppression of the middle-eastern region, that Al-Qaida could, as a result, unite all Muslims to counter this suggested oppression. Although the end goal of Al-Qaida clear failed, it does suggest the organization’s attempt at implementing categorical terrorism.
In today’s society the word “terrorism” has gone global. We see this term on television, in magazines and even from other people speaking of it. In their essay “Controlling Irrational Fears After 9/11”, published in 2002, Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris argue that the reaction of the American officials, people and the media after the attacks of 9/11 was completely irrational due to the simple fact of fear. Chapman and Harris jump right into dismembering the irrational argument, often experienced with relationships and our personal analysis. They express how this argument came about from the terrorist being able to succeed in “achieving one major goal, which was spreading fear” among the American people (Chapman & Harris, para.1). The supporters of the irrational reaction argument state that because “Americans unwittingly cooperated with the terrorist in achieving the major goal”, the result was a widespread of disrupted lives of the Americans and if this reaction had been more rational then there would have been “less disruption in the lives of our citizens” (Chapman & Harris, para. 1).
For the past fifty years or so, Americans have had the great fortune of living safely in a relatively peaceful world. That perspective changed the moment a commercial airplane slammed into the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th. Terrorists killed over 6,000 American citizens within a few hours. Suddenly, life as America knew it changed. Many stood in disbelief when they saw the joyous reactions of people cheering on the streets of Palestine. Our nation came to realize that we were truly hated, and that terrorist regimes rejoiced in our pain. The leader of one such a regime, Osama bin Laden, became America's clearly defined worst enemy. A war has begun between bin Laden and his terrorist followers, and all people who believe in freedom. Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists were unjustified in attacking America, and cannot rationally legitimize their actions. Evidence of this, as well as a better understanding of their reasoning, can be found through examination of President Bush's speech to the nation given on September 20th, and through examining additional information on Osama and his terrorist followers.
The September 11th attacks made us united as one powerful person who can stand up from the ruins of thousands pounds of metal and fight so that we wont have to be in ruins again. In the recent videos Osama bin Laden and his colleagues are talking about the power of Islam and the attacks on Twin Towers. It seems like Osama bin Laden and other radicals are ready for “Jihad” and they are ready to win. They say that Allah is on their side and people around the world want to learn more about Islam since the September 11th attacks. A good example was John Walker, an American who was with Taliban army man when he was captured. He was studying Muslim traditions in Pakistan where he joined Taliban. The other day I was watching “Dennis Miller Live” where I heard Dennis Miller talk about John Walker, he said that his parents should give him more then just spanking. This showed me that even today almost five months of 9/11 people still talk about it.
Goodstein, Laurie. "Across Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition." The New York Times 7 August 2010: 1. Web. 17 November 2013. .
The continuing successful and attempted terrorist attacks in the USA and the endless wars and conflicts in which we are involved are a manifestation of political, economical and imperialistic failures in Arab lands. This was supported by Western society with the United States as the largest of powers. Instability, oppression, poverty and political alienation that the citizens of many Islamic-Arab nations experienced within the last hundred years have led to major hatred of the United States by the people of many Arab nations. These sources of hatred can be viewed as remote causes of the endless terror attacks and conflicts around the globe. Through the analysis of these causes, it is possible to find ways to avoid such incidents of terror by solving the problem at the source.
Christianity has been in America since the Colonial Era (1600’s - 1700’s), and for over three centuries has dominated and deeply engrained itself into American Society . Islam, however, has only been introduced recently, and this has caused Islamic Believers (or Muslims) residing in America to be misinterpreted. After the September 11 bombings in 2001, there was a huge hatred for Muslims as they were interpreted as a religion that promotes destruction in the name of ‘Jihad’, or as it is often mistranslated as ‘Holy war’ . Although, the meaning of ‘Jihad’ is much wider than just ‘Holy war’, it is an internal struggle, within each Muslim, “…to be a good Muslim as well as advance the cause of Islam.” The Western understanding of ‘jihad’ however has been twisted to become related to terrorism. Whereas, Christians claim to promote the qualities of hard-work, honesty and moderation, and are therefore highly thought of in American Society, not only because of their supposed all encompassing teachings, but also because of their dominance as a religion in the Western World.
On September 11, 2001, the most disastrous terrorist attack in U.S. history left a countless number of innocent Americans both dead and missing. The Taliban’s assault on the Pentagon and annihilation of New York’s World Trade Center caused the entire country to wonder what was going on in the rest of the world to cause so much animosity toward our great nation. Little did many American citizens know that this shocking catastrophe was the result of years of unrest and chaos in the Middle East. The tragic events of September 11th occurred as a result of the recent, political history of Afghanistan, the development of the radical Islamic group, the Taliban, and the monetary and military support that the Taliban has received.
Confusion seemed to ensue for the American public over who and what we were fighting in the War on Terror. The only face I remember seeing was Osama bin Laden’s. I remember being 9 years old and picturing our enigmatic enemy as a Middle Eastern man with brown skin, a big black beard and a Turban. This broad category was presented as an image of fear. This stereotype was perpetuated by the media with repeated images on television and in newspapers with men of this description committing violent acts. These were the dominant depictions of Muslim men. Men and women i...
Many non-muslims after 9/11 have judged and criticized Muslims for their ethnic, religion, and the Islamic terrorist groups in America. (4) Surprisingly, most Muslim Americans in our population are completely against Isis. Together as a country, we must create more unity and peace within Muslim communities in the United States. Building Mosques for Muslims is a great way to bring communities together! A Mosque is a Muslim place of worship like a church. (1) The first Mosque structure built in America, was in North Dakota, 1929.”The number of Mosques built in the United States has risen up to seventy-four percent since 2000 and there are over two-thousand Mosques built today. (1) “Mosques help Muslims integrate in U.S. society, and in fact have a very productive role in bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States.” Mosques encourage social and political speech. (5) “Many American Muslim leaders and non-Muslim organizations have spoke out against terrorism and extremist violence.” Working together to prevent terrorism plays an important factor in uniting Muslims and non-Muslims. American will continue to help increase unity with Muslims and non-Muslims across our
Over the span of recorded history, humankind has inflicted horrors upon itself. Attempts at ending these brutal conflicts usually involved a great deal of violence; problem solving entailed an “off with his head” approach. We would like to think that we are better than that today, but look no further than newspaper headlines to see that human behavior has not come very far since the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, there has been a positive development in modern day problem solving that Pruitt and Kim (2004) call “reconciliation” (p. 218). Simply put, this is the process of relationship repair. The importance of this theory cannot be understated. Reconciliation of divided people and societies is vital to preventing the reoccurrence of violence and building long-term, sustainable peace (Sustainable reconciliation, 2013). If people do not reconcile, conflicts will continue to arise time after time after time.
Due to violent acts by radical Islamic terrorist groups, the Western world has grappled with defining the Quranic term Jihad. The World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 have only exacerbated their confusion. It is important to understand what the word “Jihad” means before one can analyze how it being interpreted or misrepresented by the west. In Islam, Jihad refers to a duty that muslims must fulfill, or a religious duty. It could also mean the fight against someone’s negative emotions as referred to in the Oxford Islamic Studies or it could mean the struggle against nonbelievers. For example,converting non believers for the improvement of Islamic society is something that embodies the word Jihad. In some books containing Islamic law and the Quran it could mean the armed struggle against the disbelievers. It also means submission to peace and total submission to god as referred to in the Oxford Islamic Studies.