Looming Tower - Book Report/Review Example

Looming Tower Events involving the War on Terror have been moving quickly this past week. The American war on Al Qaeda began more than ten years ago, but shifted dramatically last weekend when U.S. special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in a compound near the capital of Pakistan (Phillips). Bin Laden had been on the run since American forces attacked him in Afghanistan following the terrorist atrocities of September 11, 2001. For years, Bin Laden had taunted the West and plotted new attacks on Western targets. After a few years of quiet, terrorism and Al Qaeda are back in the news in a big way. A review of the Looming Tower provides a great deal of useful background on this important and still relevant subject. The history of Al Qaeda is one that everyone should be aware of. This group continues to have a big impact on our day to day lives. The rise of Islamist terror began in the post-war period, Wright explains in his book. Before the Second World War most Arab countries were backwater places with little economic or political order to speak of. With the discovery of oil, they began to generate revenue. Some were ruled by kings, others by military dictators. Both kinds of leaders were threatened by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Many Muslims were radicalized by the development of the state of Israel and the expulsion of many Palestinians. These Palestinians often lived lives of abject poverty in refugee camps and were vulnerable to radicalization. In the 1970s, many events occurred which shaped contemporary Islamic terror organizations. Among these were the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Both events galvanized the Arab world. The former led to a Holy War and the training of thousands of Muslims in military techniques. The United States, seeing an opportunity to hobble the Soviet Union, funded and gave arms to these warriors. The Soviet Union was eventually defeated and these holy warriors then turned their attention to the Americans, who had soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia as part of the first Gulf War. With the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda and Bin Laden, its founder, began to find a safe harbour from which to operate from. A number of terrorist attacks took place on American targets, including the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, the embassy bombings, and eventually the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The American public was shocked by these acts of violence. What followed after September 11, 2001 was a global hunt for Bin Laden and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Much bitter political controversy occurred, but the American homeland remained safe from attack, even as Al Qaeda carried out missions in Spain, the UK, and a number of Arab countries. There were many studies published during this time exploring the roots and causes of the rise of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Some pointed to the writings of Sayyed Qutb, an Islamic philosopher who railed against capitalism and the American way of life. There are strong suggestions that Qutb influence Al Qaeda (Wright). He himself was not a terrorist as in that he did not commit acts of terrorism, but he clearly supported such acts through his writing. Al Qaeda grew out of these many strands. But it also had an internal logic of violence that drove it forward. As one historian explains: The reality was that bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy. But there was no organization. These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance. He was not their commander. There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term "al-Qaeda" to refer to the name of a group until after September the 11th, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it (Curtis). Every American act was taken to be a declaration of war on all Arabs. While the U.S. has sometimes made mistakes in its foreign policy, Al Qaeda tried to distort everything in order to turn Muslims against the United States. In doing so, and encouraging violent acts, they fit the exact definition of terrorism. There are many definitions of terrorism available. Many academics and scholars have examined the subject. A cursory examination of the resources indicates that the old idea that one persons terrorism is another persons freedom fight is superficial. This idea is not a serious one. Only in the halls of overly relativistic postmodern thinkers is it bandied about. The truth is that terrorism involves the killing of civilians. This is not an acceptable practice under the laws of war. Few would argue with a freedom fighter who attacks military installations in a battle against an oppressive government. But such freedom fighters become terrorists once they begin to kill innocent men, women, and children. Indeed, while people like Bin Laden were very proud of the spectacular nature of their attacks on the U.S.--be it the collapse of the World Trade Center towers or the attack on the bombing of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya—the very nature of these attacks and the fact that so many innocent people died in them, tended to distract from Al Qaedas message. Few seriously looked to Al Qaedas efforts to justify their actions: all sensible people condemned the spilling of innocent blood. While these acts of terrorism gained Al Qaeda an enormous audience and frightened millions of people, it did not win over many converts. Instead of listening to Al Qaeda arguments, most people dismissed members of this group as bloodthirsty maniacs. They did severe damage to their cause by using terrorism as their method. Part of the success of Al Qaeda lies in the way in which it has managed to religiously be all things to many people. In a sense its leaders have been very canny in trying to have as wide an appeal as possible. As Abdel Bari Atwanhas written: While the leaderships own theological platform is essentially Salafi, the organizations umbrella is sufficiently wide to encompass various schools of thought and political leanings. Al-Qaeda counts among its members and supporters people associated with Wahhabism, Shafiism, Malikism, and Hanafism. There are even some whose beliefs and practices are directly at odds with Salafism, such as Yunis Khalis, one of the leaders of the Afghan mujahedin. He is a mystic who visits tombs of saints and seeks their blessings—practices inimical to bin Ladens Wahhabi-Salafi school of thought. The only exception to this pan-Islamic policy is Shiism. Al-Qaeda seems implacably opposed to it, as it holds Shiism to be heresy. In Iraq it has openly declared war on the Badr Brigades, who have fully cooperated with the US, and now considers even Shii civilians to be legitimate targets for acts of violence (Atwan, 233). The fact that it can be so hateful towards fellow Muslims who are Shia is a shocking fact. Part of the reason that popular opinion in the Arab world has turned against Al Qaeda in recent years is the way that the group had targeted fellow Muslims, killing many thousands of Shias who it considered to be heretics. This massive bloodshed, which largely occurred in Iraq, led many people to turn away from the message spouted by an increasingly remote and distant Bin Laden. They were sick and tired of the pain he caused. Over the years, the American strategy towards Al Qaeda has been working. The problem of terrorism is a very difficult one. The U.S. faces in army that does not wear uniforms and can blend into the population. They are fanatical and willing to kill themselves for their beliefs. They can cause enormous damage. Nevertheless, nearly one decade after September 11, it is clear that the terrorists have not won. America is still a strong and proud country. Bin Laden is dead, killed by expert American special forces, and buried at sea. Now all that remains is to kill his dream. Few can deny that the impact of Al Qaeda on world history has been extremely negative. Thousands of innocent people have been killed by terrorist suicide bombers and others who were trained and encouraged by Al Qaeda. Bin Laden himself has the blood of these innocent victims on his hands. Aside from the death and injury caused by this group, they have had a profoundly negative impact on the world economy. They have made travel more difficult and expensive. They have caused neighbours to be suspicious of one another. They have required the development of a massive security apparatus in the U.S. They have caused people to live in fear. All of these unfortunate consequences are a result of their activities. Now, with the death of Bin Laden, there is a real opportunity to turn the page and move onto the next chapter of world history. We can only hope that with Bin Laden gone, Al Qaeda is swept up into the dustbin of history. Work consulted Atwan, Abdel Bari. The Secret History of Al Qaeda. University of California Press, 2006. Curtis, Adam (director). The Power of Nightmares. BBC 2. 2004. Phillips, Macon. “Osama Bin Laden Dead.” White House Blog. May 2, 2011. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. Knopf, 2006. Read More