On September 11, 2001, suicide attackers from the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, seized control of U.S. passenger jets and flew them into the World Trade Center, killing thousands of people. Another plane hit the Pentagon and another plane was recaptured from the attackers by the passengers and never reached its target. The September 11 attack was a shock to the system for many Americans, entirely unaware of the politics of the Middle East or the way in which U.S. policy has angered the people of the region. An editorial post-September 11 asked the question – “Why Do They Hate Us?”
The politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, wasted no time in providing an answer. They created a narrative, almost drawn from the comic books, of evil terrorists who had no other motivation than to commit acts of evil against the freedom-loving people of the United States. The drums for war began to beat and by October 2001, the U.S. had invaded and begun a military occupation of Afghanistan. Then president, George W. Bush, outlined his administration’s further designs – to confront what he called the “Axis of Evil”– Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.
Never was it mentioned by the mainstream politicians that the terrorists who attacked on 9/11 overwhelmingly came from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi monarchy encouraged, and continued to encourage, radical Islamic political organizations which reinforce its repressive grip over that society and provide a network of support throughout the Middle East. Some individuals linked to these organizations take issue with the Saudi monarchy and its ties to Western powers, in particular the United States. The Al-Qaeda organization, led by Osama Bin-Laden, a wealthy Saudi, was such an organization, and this was its motivation in attacking the United States.
The politicians in the U.S., however, used 9/11 to advance long-held political aims. In the 1990s, the U.S. had helped the Taliban come to power in Afghanistan. But, by the late 1990s the Taliban were refusing to facilitate the expansion of U.S. natural gas pipelines through Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda maintained a base of operations in Afghanistan, but in fact the U.S. had supported Al-Qaeda with weapons during the 1970s, when Afghanistan was occupied by the Soviet Union. The presence of Al-Qaeda, well known to the U.S., was a convenient pretext to overthrow the Taliban.
The republic of Iraq, ruled by Saddam Hussein, had long been the target of U.S. aggression, including an invasion in 1991. Iraq, the second most wealthy oil state in the Middle East, had used its resources on its own behalf since a military coup took control of the oil from the British in 1958. While the wealth disproportionately benefited the Iraqi ruling class and its dictatorship, there was still a marked improvement for ordinary people’s lives. During the 1970s, Iraq had a nearly first-world standard of living, including health care, literacy, and education. The example of a regime using its resources independently of international corporate capitalist control was an example that the U.S. could not tolerate.
For two years after 9/11, the Bush administration spun a series of lies, connecting Saddam Hussein to Al-Qaeda and to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Then, they constructed a lie that Saddam’s regime was seeking nuclear weapons. By the spring of 2003, the propaganda onslaught had succeeded, and the U.S. Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, including then-Senator Joe Biden, authorized the invasion of Iraq and the occupation that continues to this day.
Why did they do it? One only needs to look at the results. U.S. and multinational oil and gas companies have had their way with Iraq and Afghanistan and made billions of dollars. The profits keep pumping, and the nightmare of death and destruction visited on the Iraqi and Afghan people serves as a reminder – do not think to oppose U.S. imperialism. This is what happens. The occupations and invasions proved costly, and the U.S. did not continue on to wage war on Iran and North Korea. However, these states remain a target of U.S. aggression, not for their actions or how they oppress their populations, but simply because they are independent of U.S. control.
Now, in the Middle East we are watching Israel pull the same trick – to use a dramatic attack by Hamas to institute long-held military and economic plans. The Israeli politicians are clear – they want to replace the Palestinians, colonize Gaza, annex the West Bank. No price in death and destruction is too high for them. They have begun to commit genocide. As with September 11, don’t believe the lies! The truth is in the actions of those in power – they seek to profit, and use any pretext to advance their goals. Just as with the U.S. and September 11, Israel is using the October 7 attack as a pretext for the colonization of Palestinian land it was already planning.
