The Truth About the War on Terror

The year was 1979 and the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan. Their paratroopers landed in Kabul and seized control of the government and their army poured into the country. The reason for the invasion was to assist the government of the time in their fight against the Mujahedeen, a group of Islamic "freedom fighters" opposing the government of President Amin, a Marxist-Leninist. As a good Marxist should, Amin was opposing the religious establishment in Afghanistan. Unfortunately for him, the nation was (and is) seriously Islamic. A guerrilla war ensued. There was a treaty in place from some years prior that allowed the Soviets to enter the country upon the request of the government. The Kremlin used this treaty as a rationale for the invasion of the country. Soon after, they executed President Amin and replaced him with a president more to their liking. This all happened at the height of the cold war and the U.S. viewed this incursion as either a Soviet land grab or an opportunity to spring a trap on the Soviet Union similar to the experience we had as a nation in Vietnam.
In order to do this, we went to the intelligence services of our "allies " in the region, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Saudi's provided the money while the Pakistan ISI (Pakistan's intelligence service) organized and passed weapons to the Mujahedeen to assist them in fighting the Soviets. CIA officers assisted in country in arranging for the rebels to receive weapons and technical support to oppose the Soviets. This went so far as to provide handheld anti-aircraft missiles called Stingers to the Mujahedeen for use against the Russian helicopters. The Soviet Union makes some of the finest armored and well- armed helicopters in the world ( the Mujahedeen are said to have stated that they weren't afraid of Soviet soldiers but they were afraid of their helicopters). To make a long story short, at least in the short run, this strategy worked wonderfully. The Mujahedeen fought a long insurgency and finally, in 1989, after years of conflict, the Soviet forces withdrew. The intelligence services plans had worked well. The Soviet Union's coffers were drained in order to fight a losing war.
The Saudis had done their part, including using a right wing, radical form of Islam called Wabbism to motivate the "freedom fighters," and the motivation of a clergy declared "jihad" against the infidel Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan. Sound familiar? It worked like a charm. Volunteer fighters from over the entire middle -east had reported for duty and fought in Afghanistan. They also had become experienced warriors. And the Soviets weren't the only infidels. The United States was supporting Israel and playing favorites in their favor and against the Arab states. Also, as a result of the first Iraq war we had troops stationed in the middle east. The U.S. had become the new infidels. Men like bin Laden had become expert fighters in the Afghan mountains and had returned home. In the case of bin Laden, he had made a success of himself in industry and had the fortune to prove it. Like any good businessman, he was also a charismatic person, and he knew how to get things done. Even if the "thing" was killing enough people to make more powerful nations bow to their goals. The primary goal of the new Mujahedeen was to create a conservative fundamentalist pan-Islamic state and to defend the "true faith."
The enemies of this state are not just the western nations, however, but those that would oppose the creation of this new Islamic "Empire." That means that secular and moderate Muslims who would not embrace the dream are fair targets too. Usually they become casualties as a result of collateral damage, but are sometimes targeted because they are perceived to support "the enemy" as well. They see themselves as the defenders of the true faith, and other westerners and Muslims who do not support their ideals become targets as necessary to reach their goals. As you might imagine, most Muslims are as appalled by this development as we are in the west. Just as Christians are appalled when people do terrible things in the name of Christianity, they are outraged by these developments as well. While they share some of the grievances of conservative Islam about the western countries, they oppose the means and the goal of at least the fundamentalist objectives of these "new Mujahedeen."
So now, you know. This was the path that lead to the loss of life in the marine barracks bombing in Lebanon, the bombing of the American embassy in Africa, the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, and ultimately, the road to 9/11. America and her "allies" made this situation. If you break it you own it. That is why we are responsible for fixing this. And I suspect part of the reason for the second Iraqi war. If the United States placed troops in an Arab nation, they would be inviting a new jihad. All of the radicalized Islam crowd would have to respond. We would be waiting for them.
In addition, a democratic state in the middle -east could set an example that would change everything. The dictatorships and kingdoms that now exist could be pushed to revolution and/or reform. If that wasn't the goal that is what has in in essence happened. Perhaps it created the beginning of an end to years of dealing with and propping up dictators and despots in order to secure our economic future and our supply of oil. Yes, this destabilizes the middle- east and that might prove to be dangerous. Yes, there are many citizens of the middle-east nations with serious grievances against the United States. And its true revolutions create instability and uncertainty and are inherently dangerous. But this is us being true to ourselves and our ideals as Americans. Would it not be far better to deal with nations governed by the people, for the people? We may have our differences over policy and economics, and they would be honest differences bringing argument and heated discussion on the world stage, but between free peoples. The arguments of organizations like Al Qaeda would become less tempting and compelling. And perhaps, just perhaps, we can fix our mistake.

Rickey L. Goodson, Indiana Wesleyan University, Business/Economics. Well, my family has been after me to start writing for some time so here it is. You know that old saying that there are some people that cause things to happen, others that observe what is happening, and finally people that wonder what happened? Well, I have always been a student of the human condition, which I guess explains my interest in history and current events (which is just history happening now). This is very cool stuff to me. I can't help myself. Unfortunately, this leads to a strange side effect. The need to talk about it. Which is why my family wants me to write. They get tired of hearing it all. So if you clicked on the link that put you here it is your fault. Not mine. Now, with that little disclaimer out of the way, let's talk about the upcoming presidential election.