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MPAC Bulletin - Oct. 7, 2005
MPAC responds to Bush address on war on terror
Washington, DC: The President of the United States delivered a major foreign policy speech on Thursday, October 6, to the National Endowment for Democracy, in which he argued that America must counter Islamic radicalism today just as communism was countered over 50 years ago. The speech was filled with impassioned phrases to maintain the movement for democratic change in the Muslim world.
MPAC reviews the 5-point strategy to win the war on terror and offers its recommendations:
"First, these extremists want to end American and Western influence in the broader Middle East, because we stand for democracy and peace and stand in the way of their ambitions."
The President should make a distinction in the future between those who promote terrorism as an instrument of change in the Muslim world and those who use non-violent means, such as democratic elections. Many Muslims worldwide want to end American and Western political and military interference in the domestic affairs of their countries. They see their stand as pro-democracy. To clump them with extremists is short-sighted and will hinder any progress for bridging the Muslim world with the United States.
"Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to launch attacks and conduct their war against non-radical Muslim governments."
The suggestion that the U.S. government needs to maintain and expand military bases in region will be interpreted by the Arab people, not the extremists, as an indication that US is seeking a hegemony. This will incite a dual response by the Arab people; they may then seek to counter such hegemony in addition to their on-going fight against extremism. In reality, the masses of the Muslim world are the best antidote for extremists taking power in Muslim countries. Our connection with them can take us further than sending more troops in the region.
"Third, the militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia."
There is virtually no support in the Muslim world to re-establish the Caliphate or some Muslim empire. Such a notion exists merely in the warped imagination of a handful of people. To make this point a major issue of strategy gives extremists too much credit. Simultaneously, we cannot ignore the one billion Muslims who live in the Muslim world between Spain and Indonesia. To portray these individuals as a vacuum seeking to overthrow their governments is dehumanizing and unjust.
"Fourth, we're determined to deny the militants’ control of any nation which they would use as a home base and a launching pad for terror."
Muslim Americans must work with any government and group to educate, engage and empower the masses to deny any extremist from gaining control in any country. However, it is equally important that the U.S. maintain universal standards of decency to demonstrate the real values of freedom and democracy it seeks to export. A good first step would be to rectify the damage from torture scandals in U.S. prisons in Iraq and Guantanamo.
"The fifth element of our strategy in the war on terror is to deny the militants future recruits by replacing hatred and resentment with democracy and hope across the broader Middle East."
The United States government cannot speak about democracy and peace when it supports dictatorships and does not speak out against human rights abuses by U.S. allies. The war in Iraq is recruiting more extremists and the continued assault on Shi’a populations exacerbates tensions which breed hatred and resentment on all sides, rather than difuse it.
MPAC calls yet again on the Administration to engage substantively with the American Muslim community, who hold both the experience and expertise necessary to formulate effective policy but who have both the most to gain and the most to lose from the War on Terrorism.
Full Transcript of President Bush's Speech of Oct. 6, 2005
New York Times Opinion 1 – Oct. 7, 2005
President Bush's major speech:
Doing the 9/11 time warp again
Yesterday, the same day New Yorkers were warned there was a "specific threat" of a bombing on their subways, President Bush delivered what the White House promoted as a major address on terrorism. It seemed, on the surface, like a perfect topic for the moment. But his talk was not about the nation's current challenges. He delivered a reprise of his Sept. 11 rhetoric that suggested an avoidance of today's reality that seemed downright frightening.
The period right after 9/11, for all its pain, was the high point of the Bush presidency. Four years ago, we hung on every word when Mr. Bush denounced Al Qaeda and made the emotional - but, as it turned out, empty - vow to track down Osama bin Laden. Yesterday, it seemed as if the president was still trying to live in 2001. It was eerie to hear him urge Americans to take terrorism seriously. There wasn't any reason to worry about that even before subway riders were being told about the threat of a terrorist attack on their commute home.
He seemed to be reading from a very old and familiar script as he revealed that terrorists recruit "disillusioned young men and women," some of whom build weapons based on information available on the Internet. He shared his conviction that "it is cowardice that seeks to kill children and the elderly with car bombs." He said his team was "reforming our intelligence agency" and reorganizing government for "a broad and coordinated homeland defense." …..
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/opinion/07fri1.html
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