Terror Attacks in United States

Introduction 

The United States has been a victim of terrorism over the past years. From the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center to 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in East Africa and finally the 9/11 bombing of 2001. This has led to the increased vigilance and a call for the need to fight against terrorists. Weeks after the September 11 attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation linked the attackers to Arab terrorist group known as al-Qaeda. Several videos, interviews as well as audios from the senior officials of the decentralized terrorist network confirmed that the group was responsible for the attack ( Hanes & Machin, 2014) . An investigation by the FBI also lined the al-Qaeda group to the attack. From their investigations, the FBI was also able to identify the names of the nineteen hijackers. 

The National security Agency and the German Intelligence Agency both intercepted the communication of the then al-Qaeda leader and linked him to the attack ( Alsultany, 2013) . Other authorities from both U.S and Britain also gained electronic intercept comprising of the telephone conversation and bank transfers all which linked the attack to the Arab terrorist group al-Qaeda. In these conversations, the two leaders of the group were heard referring to an event that will take place in America at around September 11 and the potential impacts of the event. The New York Times also reported on September 12 that the authorities had identified the biographical details of the hijacker and all of them were linked to the Arab terror group al-Qaeda. Based on the sufficient evidence obtained by the various investigation bodies, both the United States and the United Kingdom governments made a conclusion that the attack was organized and done by the al-Qaeda. 

The conflict between Arabs, Muslims and Americans did not start today. It is a conflict that has been constructed out of what is perceived as past mistreatments and injustices by the previous regimes of America. In 1980, the leader of the Arab terror group Osama bin Laden declared war on America. During that time, very few people took it with any seriousness. But the declaration marks what is now over twenty years conflict between the United States and the Arabs; a conflict that has not been won by any side. A thirty-page fatwa was faxed to supporters all over the world declaring that America was an enemy of the Arabs and the Muslim community ( Hegghammer & Nesser, 2015 ). It went ahead to tell all Arabs and Muslims to kill any American given a chance. On the reasons mentioned, bin Laden dwelled on the history of the Islam and the grievances for the declaration were the sufferings that the people of Islam have undergone in the hands of the United States and allies, lack of equity and various injustices and loss of lives of the many Muslims through the alliances of the Jewish and Christians. Since ever then, the conflict has been on where the Arabs and the Muslim community believe that America is out to fight and eliminate Islamic community. 

Conflict between the United States and the Middle East 

For over thirty years, United Nations military forces have been engaged in the quarters of the Muslim community. The result of the engagement is far from being in sight. The mission of the troops in the various Islam quarters have been to liberate, defend or deter, punish the wicked while at the same time protecting the innocent. This has been called a global war on terror. 

The intensified war for the bigger part of the Middle East after the 9/11 shows an unexpected defect in the way of raising the military forces. The existing system of raising the U.S military is a failure. It promotes political irresponsibility as it underwrites the conception of citizenship. It is undemocratic and expensive for the United States to keep the military in the Middle East in the sense of global terror fight when the war is far from being won; almost lost. A strategy worthy using is one that can accommodate the unexpected. It should create choices. However, the United States strategy in the war for greater Middle East has been purely reactive rather than proactive. Instead of availing choices, it has created the sense that the United States has got no choices but to move on expecting to get results at the end. 

The American government should have learned that in any war, the outcomes turn out to be what people think and expect. It is not the number of killings that matter, but influencing the population matters the most. The United States soldiers labored under terrain where they are purely intruders. Despite their efforts, they are disadvantaged by the history of the West towards the Arabs where they are reported to have rarely acted on the interests of the Muslim community. Use of technology in war is another issue that emerges in the conflict between the United States and the Middle East. As the war was getting heated up, the U.S. national security ventured into technology. Computers and accurate guided weapons seemed to enhance the efficiency of the forces. However, since this invention, the war has not been won. It is a war that has not been won to date. 

However, questions have been on the reasons why the Arabs terror group decided to carry out an attack on the United States and claim the lives of so many innocent citizens. With the 9/11 attacks claiming the lives of so many people, many researchers have been trying to identify the possible reasons and the motives of the attacks. Historians have also been trying to explain the conflict that exists between the United States and the Middle East Arabs that could have given the attackers the motive to bomb U.S. The various conflicts that exist between the Middle East Arabs and the United States could have been caused by various factors. Majority of the causes being historical, where the hatred is carried from one generation to the next through radicalization of the mind making people see another group as enemies. 

Support of Israel by the United States 

Israel and Arabs had conflicted for years over what many researchers believe to be caused by religious differences. However, due to the good relationship that existed between Israel and United States, the U.S. supported Israel in fighting against the Arabs. In November 2002, al-Qaeda leader allegedly wrote a letter to America describing that the U.S support for Israel that led to the killing of the Muslims is one of the motivations for the attack. In the letter, he described that expansion of Israel is one of the greatest crimes and anyone who supports it must be ready to pay heavily. The conflict between the Arabs and the United States, therefore, began when America supported Israel with the military to fight against the Arabs. As a result, the attack could have been revenge by the Arabs for the many Muslims that were killed by the United States military in their fight with Israel. Initially, the two nations had a perfect relationship. It was until the Arab-Israel conflict that marked the end of the good relationship and the beginning of enmity when the United States openly supported Israel in the United Nations. The United States was seen as the friend of the enemy and therefore an enemy as well. Since then, the two nations have developed hatred towards each other; a factor which could have formed the motive of the 9/11 attacks. 

U.S. Sanctions Imposed against Iraq 

On August 1990 after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the United Nations Security Council imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, which provided complete trade embargo. After the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait, mass removal and destruction of weapons were witnessed. This according to the Arabs was as a result of the United States sanctions. This created enmity between the Arabs and the United States. In a video of the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2004, he is reported saying that sanctions that were imposed by the United States on Iraq were “the greatest mass slaughter of children mankind has ever known.” These sanctions made the Arabs believe that the United States is fighting them economically and thus they declared Americans the greatest enemies. In the 1998 fatwa which was signed by the al-Qaeda leaders, all Muslims were told to kill any American if they had a chance. The sanction was identified as one of the reasons for the call of the killing of an American. In their statement, the Arabs were reported saying that “despite the great devastation caused by America on the Iraq people, despite the millions of people who lost their lives. As a result, Americans are once again trying to repeat the massacre as if they are not satisfied with the devastation they have caused; these people are the greatest enemies.” 

The expulsion of Arabs and Muslims from Kuwait starved it for over thirteen years. It is reported that over half a million Iraqi babies died. Despite the US not taking this history as being serious, it is still fresh in the minds of the Arabs. Every time they see Americans as bad people who made them suffer and even lose the lives of nearly a million people. The treatment that the United States gave to the thousands of the Arab fighters is yet another reason for the rivalry that is still witnessed between the Arabs and the United States. 

From the many reliable reports, the al-Qaeda quoted sanctions as one of the reasons why they bombed the United States on September 11, 20001. The sanctions led to the loss of trade to the Arabs. But the most devastating thing was the removal of the weapons of mass destruction by Resolution 687. The Arabs see Americans as people who want to sabotage them economically. As people who want them dead so that they can gain from their resources. This has led to ever existing enmity and conflict between the Arabs and the United States. 

Presence of U.S Military in Saudi Arabia 

By the end of the 1991 Gulf war, US kept over five thousand military troops in Saudi Arabia. The responsibilities of these troops were operation southern watch. This was a military operation conducted by the United States to monitor and control the airspace in southern Iraq with the main purpose of ensuring that Iraq complies with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 688. Saudi Arabia has the holiest Islamic sites such as Mecca and Medina. The presence of the US military angered many Muslims who felt that the US has no respect for their sacred place of worship. This made Arabs start seeing Americans as people who do not respect the Muslim community and that the presence of the military next to the holy place was considered as a provocation to the entire Muslim world. 

Having kept the military in Saudi Arabia for over seven years, it was declared that Americans were the enemy of Muslims and that they did not respect the holy worship place of the Muslims. During their stay in Saudi Arabia for over seven years, it was reported that the US military humiliated the Muslims, plundered its riches, dictated its rulers and terrorized its neighbors. This angered the Muslims who in turn declared war against Americans. This formed one of the conflicts that exist between the Arabs and the U.S. currently. A video of one of the leaders of al-Qaeda was recorded saying that the bombing of Khobar Towers on September 11 was revenge for the presence of the US military in Saudi Arabia. In another incidence that confirms this claim, the bombing of the 1998 United States embassy occurred exactly eight years to the day the American military were sent to Saudi Arabia ( Ryan, 2013) . The presence of the US troops in Saudi Arabia was felt by the Muslims that Americans were too near to the Mecca, an act that was considered disrespectful and a provocation to the Muslim world. The 9/11 attacks on the United States are therefore a revenge by the Arabs for what they feel the US does not respect the Muslim community. 

Western Support for attacking Muslims in Somalia 

Another factor that has created a conflict between the US and the Arabs is the support of an attack on Muslims in Somalia. Unites States supported the killing of a terrorist group in Somalia known as Al-Shabaab ( Livingston, 2013 ). Due to the continuous attacks on innocent citizens of Somalia, United States supported the fight against the group claimed to have undergone radicalization under the Muslim religion. The Arabs on their part felt that the United States of America are in support of the killing of the Muslim religion. This further added to the rift that already exists between the two nations. Arabs feel that united states are always in support of the killing of one particular religion, further viewing the nation as an enemy of the Muslim religion. 

While it has been reported that the al-Shabaab terror group is linked to the Muslim religion, Muslims have on several occasions distanced themselves from the group. They argue that Muslim religion values human life and stands for justice for all. However, what brings controversy in separating this group from the Muslim religion is the fact that the terror group only kills non-Muslims individuals. Since the US declared support in fighting against any group perceived to a terror group, Arab have since considered this as US declaration of war against the Muslim community. This creates more enmity, leading to the attacks witnessed in the US by the Arabs as revenge against the killings of their own. 

After the September 11 attacks, there were discussions in the public of the causes of terrorism. While some commentators claimed it was an attempt and an effort to excuse and justify the killing of the innocent lives, some argued that it was motivated by the hatred of freedom; the fanaticism inherent to Islam. Despite the cause, however, terrorism was declared an evil deed that does not require any further analysis but a strict fight back. The view was however dismissed, and the only theoretical way in which one can discuss this is the notion of radicalization. 

Support of Russian atrocities against Muslims 

In the year 2000, the Muslim community underwent human rights violations in the hands of the Russian soldiers ( Art, 2013 ). Many women were raped, kidnapped and killed. While the human rights exerted pressure on the Russian government to carry out investigations and take legal actions against the suspects, very little was done by the government. Despite the great cultural discrimination and stigma that the Muslims underwent in Chechnya, there was no any sign of goodwill from the government to take any serious actions against those who committed the offence. Pressure later mounted on the US president Bill Clinton to talk with the Russian government and condemn the killings. However, even after the two presidents met, nothing took place. This was felt by the Arabs as an act of the US government supporting the killings of the Muslims. The US was also reportedly supported the Russian government policy on Myanmar which led to the prosecution of the Muslim minority. These are seen by the Arabs as a war declared by the US against the Muslim community. As a result, the Arabs developed a strong hatred towards Americans and given a chance, they can always carry an attack in revenge. In his letter in November 2002, bin Laden mentioned US support of Russia as one of the reasons for the revenge attack. Another cause of the rivalry between the Arabs and the US is due to the United States supporting Indian oppression against the Muslims in Kashmir. The Taiba group was declared a terrorist group by the US government and gave support to the Indian government to oppress the group and end its terrorist activities. 

The first Persian Gulf War between the Iran and Iraq also marked another step in the relationship between Arabs and Americans. During this war, United States openly supported Iraq in its war against the Islamic Republic of Iran ( Smith, 2013 ). The United States supported Iraq by reopening of the diplomatic channels, removing the restrictions on the export of technology as well as provision of the operational intelligence that was used during the war. Through their support, much Islamic community from Iran was murdered. After the end of the war, Arabs had to review their relationship with the United States. They were seen as enemies because they supported the killing of Islam Republic community of Iran. Since then, Arabs see Americans as enemies who supported the killings of their members. As a result, the rivalry still exists between the two nations. 

Anti-Arabism. 

During the Gulf War of 1991, anti-Arab sentiments were on the rise in the United States. Arabs living in America experienced a lot of backlash as a result of terrorist attacks, some of which were not even committed by the Arabs ( Hanes & Machin, 2014 ). An example is the Oklahoma City bombing and the explosion that occurred at TWA Flight 800. Based on the Arab American Institute report, over two hundred hate crimes were committed against the Arabs living in America as well as the American Muslims. According to a report conducted after the Oklahoma attack, 33% of the Arabs living in America report having been discriminated ethnically or accused of being in association with the terrorist group ( Kressel, 2012). As a result of these treatments, the Arabs and Muslims develop a feeling that Americans hate them. The only way they can reciprocate this is to hate back or revenge leading to perpetual conflict between America and Arabs. 

War on terrorism 

After the 9/11 attack, many people were of the view that the attack had changed the world permanently. The US administration announced thorough war on terrorism, with the goal of bringing to justice those responsible for the 9/11 attacks as well as preventing any future emergence of the terror groups ( Cohen, 2016 ). This was to be achieved using economic and military sanctions the states seen to be harboring terrorists. A month after the attack, a war began in Afghanistan after the British and U.S military bombed targeting the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban groups. They later invaded Afghanistan with a group of Special Forces, marking the largest U.S global war on terrorism conducted outside the United States ( Khan & Ecklund, 2013 ). Even though the United States government have put much effort in the fight against terror through direct involvement as well as providing aid to other nations to fight the terror group, the war against terrorism is still a battle that must continue. While very few cases of serious attacks have been reported since the war against terror was declared, the country needs to fight until a terror-free state is achieved. 

Although Arabs and Muslims consider the United States as an enemy due to the strong stand to fight against the criminal terror groups, the U.S stand can be understood. Based on the consequences of terror activities such as loss of lives, a strong stand against any group that supports or associates with terror is justified. Many innocent lives are lost as a result of such activities. However, it is argued that an act of terror is not related to any religion or community but just. On several occasions, the Muslim community has distant itself with terror groups. This brings a lot of difficulty in the fight against the terror group because it is difficult to identify those directly associated with the group exactly. 

Despite having made efforts through economic and military sanctions to the states perceived to be breeding terrorists, some researchers have criticized the manner in which the United States handled the attacks. Dr Chomsky in his book “Was there an alternative” tries to argue that the bombing of Afghanistan and killing of Osama as well as the economic sanctions were full of consequences. He argues that in the process to kidnap and assassinate Osama, so many other innocent lives were lost. He also argues in his book that the sanctions imposed on some states had adverse consequences on the lives of the citizens who were not part of the terror group. Dr Chomsky suggests that an alternative way could have been used to handle the situation if the war against terror was to won. In another argument, it is said that the sanctions imposed on states who are seemed to support terror affect the economic lives of citizens of those countries, an act that further increases the enmity between the Arabs and the United States creating the possibility of future revenge. 

Conclusion 

The conflict between the United States and the Middle East Arabs started a long time ago and is far from being over or being won by any party. For years now, the conflict, hatred and revenge have taken over the two rivals. Due to the various previous actions by the United States, Arabs believe that they are hated by Americans. This has led to certain revenge plots by the Arabs on the claim that they suffered at the hands of the United Nations military. This has taken the war against terror to another level with America sending it’s military to camp in the great Middle East quarters with the aim of accomplishing a global war against terror. However, this war has not been won by any side as the efforts by the United States military get thwarted by the Arabs who see them as intruders. The war against terror is still far from over, and unless new strategies and tactics are applied, it remains a war that might never be won for the centuries to come. 

References 

Alsultany, E. (2013). Arabs and Muslims in the media after 9/11: Representational strategies for a" postrace" era. American Quarterly , 65 (1), 161-169. 

Art, R. J. (2013).  A grand strategy for America . Cornell University Press. 

Cohen, S. (2016).  Democracies at war against terrorism: a comparative perspective . Springer. 

Hanes, E., & Machin, S. (2014). Hate crime in the wake of terror attacks: Evidence from 7/7 and 9/11.  Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice ,  30 (3), 247-267. 

Hegghammer, T., & Nesser, P. (2015). Assessing the Islamic State’s commitment to attacking the West.  Perspectives on Terrorism ,  9 (4). 

Khan, M., & Ecklund, K. (2013). Attitudes toward Muslim Americans Post-9/11.  Journal of Muslim Mental Health ,  7 (1). 

Kressel, N. (2012).  Mass hate: The global rise of genocide and terror . Hachette UK. 

Livingstone, G. (2013).  America's backyard: the United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror . Zed Books Ltd. 

Ryan, M. (2013).  Decoding Al-Qaeda's Strategy: The Deep Battle against America . Columbia university press. 

Smith, C. (2013). Anti-Islamic sentiment and media framing during the 9/11 decade.