The Washington Post reports today that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and a senior U.S. commander favor a protracted U.S. troop presence in Iraq. This is unwise for a number of reasons — the most obvious being that by continuing to have a presence, we’ll only forster more terrorist uprisings.
I just finished reading a facinating book: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaida and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction and rightly so.
If you want to understand the mindset of al-Qaeda, read this book.
It focuses on the events leading up to 9/11 and presents an historical perspective of the men who shaped the beliefs of al-Qaeda and the part played by Osama bin Laden.
In August of 1996, bin Laden declared war on the United States because of our continued presence in Saudi Arabia 5 years after the first Gulf War. At that time, he had little support compared to the huge number of terrorists that have now joined the fight against U.S. forces.
The longer we stay in Iraq and Afghanistan, the more dedicated al-Qaeda will be at continuing to attack our forces. These are a people who have been fighing and fueding for centuries. Our continued presence will only feed their anger and rage against us.
Electing to stay in Iraq for a protracted period of time will only insure that terrorism never ends in that country. We need to understand that it is our very presence that gives reason for these terrorists to keep fighting.
They don’t want democracy. They don’t want to live the lifestyle of Americans. They don’t want political and religious freedom. Trying to make them be like us is a mistake.
If you want to understand the mindset of al-Qaeda, buy the book, The Looming Tower, here.
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