September 10, 2006

Five Years after 9/11, the Bush-Blair
"War on Terror" is a Colossal Failure
While Osama Bin Laden lives, over 100,000 have died
at the hands of terrorists and the Anglo-American war machine

TORONTO - Five years after Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the United States and killed thousands in New York, innocent Muslims around the world continue to pay the price for no other reason than sharing a common faith with Osama Bin Laden.

And while Bin Laden lives, nearly a hundred thousand of his co-religionists have died, and more die every day, and no end to the killing is in sight.

On the eve of the 5th anniversary of 9/11, 37 Muslims died in India in an attack on a mosque. In the month leading up to this date, 1,500 Iraqis have been killed in sectarian violence. In Gaza, while the world was distracted by the crisis in Lebanon, over 200 Palestinians died in attacks by Israel as a UN official reported that "living conditions for Palestinians have reached breaking point." From Yemen to Pakistan and Nigeria to Indonesia, the last five years have brought untold misery to Muslims everywhere.

Both Bush’s "war on terror" and Bin Laden’s terrorist campaign have inspired extremists and brought civilization to the brink of catastrophe. Muslims, whatever their nationality or political views, have paid a high price in this race towards Armageddon. As Tariq Ali has said, Muslims today are "trapped between the American hammer and the Islamist anvil."

After 9/11 George Bush, the sympathy of the world behind him, set out to destroy the "axis of evil" and capture Osama Bin Laden dead or alive. Today, with nearly 3,000 American soldiers killed, a trillion dollars spent, US armed forces stretched to the limit around the world, and Iraq and Afghanistan occupied, none of Bush’s goals have been accomplished.

Instead of weakening the extremists, Bush has strengthened them in places they had never dreamed of. Jamaat-e-Islami is a coalition partner in Bangladesh. Due to the humiliation of President Mahmoud Abbas, a neutered leader, Hamas captured the Palestinian legislature in a free election. In Pakistan, in Iran, in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Egypt, extremists have thrived on George Bush’s bungling foreign policy and his subservience to the American military-industrial complex.

George Bush is the best thing that has happened to the extremists, whether they are inspired by the theocracy of the Iranian ayatullahs, or the Saudi religious police—both countries enjoying coffers filled by revenues from high oil prices.

Terrorists, once confined to the foothillls of Tora Bora in Afghanistan, have now appeared on the doorsteps of Toronto. If this is "success", we shudder at the thought of failure.

On this fifth anniversary of 9/11, we call on the Canadian government to use its good offices with the White House. We need to convince them to reasses their "war on terrorism."

Treat the Muslim world with respect and dignity. Quit propping up dictators like General Mushaffar of Pakistan, and the kings of the Arab world. Abandon outdated ideas and prejudices. Let progressive and liberal Muslims tackle the extremists. American involvement in "fostering democracy" is the kiss of death to democratic forces in the Muslim world.

Extremism and terrorism are like malaria. To fight them we need to drain the swamp, not shoot down individual mosquitoes. Every time the US shoots down one mosquito, a hundred new ones are bred in the swamps of marginalization and victimhood.

Bush and Bin Laden are two sides of the same coin. Each depends on the other to sustain and increase his power. To fight the extremist death cult, we need to recognize that the US is making things worse, not better.

NDP leader Jack Layton has called for the immediate withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. The Muslim Canadian Congress regards this as reckless and opportunistic--playing politics with the lives of Afghan civilians and Canadian soldiers.

Mr. Layton is naïve about the situation in Afghanistan. If Canada succumbed to his policy of appeasement, we would be handing the war-torn country back to the Taliban and Al Qaida—on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, returning to where we were five years ago.

Mr. Layton had already suggested negotiations with the Taliban. The MCC is shocked that he would negotiate with those who murdered thousands and repressed millions during their medieval reign in Kabul. Instead of negotiating with the Taliban, the international community should be trying them for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The MCC is asking for a full reassessment of Canada’s role,. We should not piggyback on the Bush-Blair agenda. But we cannot make a hasty retreat, abandoning the people of Afghanistan—especially its women—to the clutches of the Taliban.