The 10th anniversary of the horrendous terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which killed 3,000 innocent people, should serve as a day of reflection for the victims of those terrible atrocities, as well as how the war on terror has progressed since then.
Pressing for a Palestinian state is the next logical step- Anthony Manduca
Since the September 11 attacks there have been no al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on American soil – 42 attempted attacks were foiled – and credit for this must go to former President George Bush and President Barack Obama.
So while al-Qaeda’s operational capabilities have been severely curtailed, the terrorist organisation still remains a threat, and only last week US counterterrorism officials were chasing a “credible but unconfirmed” al-Qaida threat of car bomb attacks on bridges or tunnels in New York City or Washington to coincide with today’s 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Although the US has managed to prevent terrorist attacks on its territory over the past decade, other countries have not been so lucky, and al-Qaeda has been responsible for attacks in Spain, Turkey, Indonesia, Britain, Yemen, Morocco, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Iraq, Niger and Algeria. Al-Qaeda’s foothold in Iraq, Pakistan, and Yemen is particularly worrying.
There is no doubt, however, that America’s (and the world’s) fight against al-Qaeda has been considerably successful. Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in May, many senior al-Qaeda operatives have also been killed, and, in a clear rejection of al-Qaeda’s poisoned ideology, the Arab Spring has created hopes for democracy in the Arab world.
The then Bush administration’s response to the attacks on September 11 was to launch the “war on terror” and two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The war in Afghanistan largely had the support of the international community, was sanctioned by the UN Security Council, and succeeded in ousting the Taleban from power and curtailing al-Qaeda’s terrorist network there.
The war in Iraq, on the other hand, did not have UN Security Council, it divided Europe and Nato and it was carried out on the pretext that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein no such weapons were found and Iraq entered a spiral of sectarian violence and became a haven for al-Qaeda terrorism.
The cost to US taxpayers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is now estimated to be in the region of $2,000 billion, and 6,000 US troops have been killed in these wars, besides 137,000 civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Osama bin laden always wanted America to be drawn into “bleeding wars” and sadly he succeeded.
America’s decision to invade Iraq was probably the most controversial feature of the war on terror. The removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime was the positive aspect of this war, but the lack of nation-building before the invasion, the wrong decisions taken after as well no weapons of mass destruction being found overshadowed this.
The invasion of Iraq poisoned America’s standing in the Arab and Muslim world, almost led to the country becoming a failed state and created a jihadist insurgency and an al-Qaeda base there. Of course, outside powers, particularly Iran and Syria, greatly supported the insurgency and were therefore responsible for it to a considerable extent. Today Iraq is still plagued by al-Qaeda terrorist attacks, its “democracy” is extremely fragile and Iran’s influence over the country has grown considerably. So its future is uncertain.
US relations with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also been under the spotlight in the last decade. Fifteen of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis and questions arose about Saudi Arabia’s education system which some believe promotes intolerance towards non-Muslims, as well as a network of support for al-Qaeda in the Kingdom.
Pakistan, on the other hand, a nuclear armed country of 190 million Muslims, has suffered tremendously at the hands of al-Qaeda and its own Taleban, and 35,000 Pakistanis are said to have been killed through terrorist attacks. Sadly, there have been links between elements of the Pakistani intelligence services and al-Qaeda and the Taleban, and support for Osama bin Laden’s ideology has been strong in certain areas of Pakistan. It came as no surprise that bin Laden was tracked down by US special forces in a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, last May. One thing is for certain: The US cannot fully win the war on terror without the full support and cooperation of both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The US also needs to win over the support of the Arab and Muslim masses if it wants full co-operation in its fight against al-Qaeda.
Although Barack Obama has said all the right things about improving relations with the Muslim world – and America’s esteem was boosted by his famous Cairo speech two years ago – a survey by the Arab American Institute last summer conducted in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE showed that favourable attitudes towards the US were lower than at the end of the Bush presidency.
The poll makes it clear that the continuing occupation of Palestinian land is seen by most Arabs as “the most important issue for the US to address in order to improve its ties with the Arab World”. Tackling the Palestinian question would erode support for al-Qaeda tremendously. I believe the West’s support for the Arab Spring, especially in Libya, has done a lot to lesson al-Qaeda’s appeal among the Muslim masses. Pressing for a Palestinian state is the next logical step.