Honoring Our Troops By Pursuing A More Just and Stable International System
The killing of Osama bin Laden has brought quiet satisfaction to many Americans including myself. He was responsible for the deliberate killing of many innocent civilians at home and abroad in pursuit of the dream of an empire founded on theocracy and driven by religious fanaticism. I feel no hesitancy in saying that he met the fate he deserved and that the men and women who hunted him down and killed him deserve praise for their work. "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men [and women] stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”
It would be wrong, however, for Americans to celebrate and praise our troops and then go back to the business of their everyday lives, oblivious to the world outside our borders and the conditions that give rise to terrorism.
Bin Laden and his followers were unquestionably fanatical in their beliefs and ambitions, yet there are many in the Muslim world who sympathize with some of their causes. Al Qaeda's violent and absolutist response to perceived injustices may be rejected by most Muslims but resentment toward U.S. foreign policy on several key issues is widespread. This should give Americans cause to think more critically about the future of U.S. relations with the Muslim world.
Perhaps the best way we can honor our troops is to minimize the likelihood of them being sent into harm's way in the first place by understanding the motivations behind Al Qaeda's violence. Counter-terrorism experts such as Michael Scheuer and Bruce Lawrence have written extensively on this subject and have provided translations of the writings of bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders. This literature is essential reading for anyone interested in addressing the policy issues that led to the rise of Al Qaeda.
It quickly becomes apparent to anyone who has spent any time seeking to understand our enemies' grievances- particularly those shared throughout much of the moderate Muslim world -that U.S. support for Israel and for corrupt and oppressive Arab-Muslim governments such as Saudi Arabia formed the basis of Al Qaeda's hostility toward the U.S.
U.S. support of Israel, despite its repressive treatment of the Palestinians and inflammatory settlement expansions, has been effectively unconditional under the Bush and Obama administrations. Over time this problem has festered and led to increasing radicalization and will continue to do so if Americans allow AIPAC to hold sway over our government. Al Qaeda affiliates are in fact currently seeking to exploit Palestinian frustrations for their own benefit.
Likewise, U.S. support for corrupt and oppressive governments such as Saudi Arabia has not endeared our government to many in the Muslim world. This is beginning to change as the Obama administration has publicly sided with the people in the midst of the revolutions sweeping the Arab world but U.S. criticism of Saudi Arabia has been muted because of its vital role in providing a stable supply of oil to keep the global economy running. No government wants to risk rocking the boat in Saudi Arabia, least of all the U.S. There is always the risk that too much criticism would create political divisions within the monarchy and lead the Saudis to align themselves with China as a strategic rival of the U.S.
U.S. civil society's influence over the Saudi government is highly limited but Americans can press our government officials to continue to push for political and economic reforms with their Saudi counterparts and over the long term, reduce our dependence on oil through smart policy and investments in electric vehicles and the renewable energy infrastructure to run them. This will take several decades to accomplish but has never been more important than now, when the expanding economies of China and India are placing increasing strain on global oil supply capacity and Western governments are as a result finding it more and more complicated to reconcile their principles with the reality of their nations' resource demands. China in particular- with its growing economy and corresponding expansion of foreign policy interests -is less concerned with promoting good governance abroad than with maintaining cordial relations with the foreign officials who are ultimately the gatekeepers to the resources they wish to acquire.
In short, these dynamics will likely result in the Middle East becoming an increasingly complicated place if active steps are not taken to pursue a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and to reduce our overall dependence on the region's energy resources . Americans have a responsibility to hold their elected officials accountable to stand up to AIPAC and to put an end to the era of oblivious energy consumption.
