In the news Tuesday it was reported that the Qatar-based Arabic language network, al-Jazeera aired an audio tape, which allegedly contains another recently recorded message from Osama bin Laden. In the tape, he urged Muslims all over the world to fight against a U.S. attack on Iraq and he urged \good Muslims"" to aid in the overthrow of any ""leaderships that work as a slave to America."" Spouting out threats to both the United States and Israel, the tape came out at the perfect time, with the security levels upping from yellow to orange last weekend, to inspire fresh fear in the hearts of all Americans against a threat of ""evil,"" which our government has sold us as being rooted in the Middle East.
I am posing no conspiracy theories that the tape was a fabrication by some undercover governmental publicity machine. However, I do argue that it is evident that facts and information about the Middle Eastern situation are being either overemphasized or completely unpublicized, depending on their service to the current administration's efforts. In short, news seems only to be news if it promotes an attack on Iraq.
Osama bin Laden is a terrorist whose strength lies in a power that he can rally against the United States, capitalizing on suffering and anger throughout the world. Because of our prejudiced involvement in Middle Eastern affairs and our unwillingness to get involved in the blatant violations of human rights against Palestinians, much of the world views us not as a promoter of freedom, but only of our own self interests. Bin Laden is not the problem; he is only a product of the problem, as are all of his followers. He is the face of evil to Americans who seem to think that there is such thing as pure evil. His recent appearance can only cause many Americans to mistake the illusions, which have been built by uninformed fear, for reality.
So few people ask themselves why Sept. 11 happened, they only ask who did it and how we can punish them. When we went into Afghanistan, we did not punish the guilty, and considering yesterday's appearance, we were unable to destroy the ringleader. However, in our search-and-destroy mission we have shown little concern for the thousands of Afghan civilians who have been killed or forced out of their homes.
It is our inability to act justly in the Middle East that draws so much contempt for the United States. We have shown little, if any concern for human rights there, and have yet to have successfully democratized any country which we have gone into with the empty promises that we would do so. We place dictators in power, including both Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, and we remove them when they no longer suit our purposes. Throughout all of this meddling, the people of the region suffer the most. They constantly endure the debilitating instability, which is caused by the deconstruction of societies we never bother to properly reconstruct.
I am sure that the Iraqi people would prefer the freedom and democracy that we pretend we can offer them, but they have learned from painful experience that neither the United States nor the United Nations are to be depended on for either of these. Americans' understanding of the Middle East is limited, and I am still struggling to grasp the complexities of the situation myself. However, I do know from what I've learned in my American history classes that a successful revolution must come from within. Grassroots movements are what bring lasting peace and stability to a people, because they have the support of the people. Iraqis do not want the United States to overthrow their leader because when such an act comes from outside, it leaves the people without a strong leadership to take his place.
Since the Ottoman Empire fell apart, the Western powers have considered the Middle East an open market to strengthen their imperial power, and nothing has changed. By pressuring leaders like Saddam Hussein with sanctions and war, we only punish civilians, pushing them into such poverty and suffering that we weaken their internal revolutionary movements. Although we claim to have a motive to help the Iraqis, our involvement only worsens their situation. The world powers need to back down in the Middle East and promote change through humanitarian aid. If we relieve the immediate suffering of the populace, then they will have the strength to remove the thorn of oppressive dictators in their side, which has debilitated them for too long.
