Ghost 9/11: Learning From Nine Anniversaries
By Ubaid Mushtaq
07 September, 2010
Countercurrents.org
On 11th of this month the world will mark the Ninth anniversary of
the 9/11 wanton attack on New York’s twin towers. On this day almost
3,000 innocent people from 90 different countries were burnt to ashes
in New York City, in Washington DC and in the skies above Pennsylvania
and with this, the action of 19 persons changed the dynamics of global
politics and prompted many conversations on how the world has changed
since. Many of the changes since then are bleak indeed- Global War on
Terror (GWOT) a consequence of these attacks continues unabated and,
as a result, it altered the very DNA of global politics and Muslim
identity in particular. Samuel Huntington's theory of a "Clash of
Civilisations" is actually becoming a reality now. While, nobody can
authentically say that the attack was planned by Muslim extremists but
still, as a result of it some bitter facts have emerged mostly
affecting the Muslim world. The attacks set the United States and its
allies directly in confrontation with the Muslim world. Majority
believes that the United States has pushed the world into a frenzied
quagmire and has posed a serious threat to international peace and
security.
The chain of constant killing of the Millions of people on the soil of
Afghanistan and Iraq by NATO forces have made situation much dangerous
than ever before. On the other side; the endless bloodshed and the
continuing saga of violence and extremism in Pakistan due its role in
US led war also pose a grave threat -not only to Pakistan's existence
but also to the peace, security and stability of this whole region.
The relations between America and the Muslim world also suffered
because of these wars. On one side majority of Muslims see the US as
the immoral and anti- Islamic. The propaganda line by some Muslims
against West is constructed around the route of these grievances with
the distortion and de-contextualisation of the Quran. On the other
side in the West Pan-Islamic movement and Islamophobia which means a
hatred of Islam and prejudice against Muslims gained much momentum
since 9/11. Other People too readily equated all Muslims to terrorists
and extremists. The result of which is the act of violence’s and
widespread sensitivity among Muslims that Islam is under attack from
the West. This also led to the Cancer of militancy which is now
continuously maligning the world speedily.
Nine years have gone and still there is no forum that can prove
convincingly that the mournful event of 9/11 was the act of
Afghanistan, whose country is being shattered on that pretext. The
situation in Afghanistan continues to remain brutal. The latest Afghan
policy announced by US president Barack Obama in December 2009, seemed
to be conveying signals of more violence and war crimes. According to
the UN, Human Right organizations, and other sources over 16,000
Afghan civilians have so far been killed as a result of aerial and
other types of bombings by NATO led forces and there are thousands of
more such deaths in remote villages that have not been accounted for.
Now the question is why the 3000 victims of World Trade Centre are
commemorated each year but not the millions of people that have been
killed in the aftermath of 9/11? What’s was the covert ideology behind
such attack?
Majority of western analysts are calling the war on terror as a direct
outcome of the action of those 19 men who attacked WTC and whose
ideology they believe was propounded by Al-Qaeda- Osama Bin Laden and
his henchmen in Afghanistan. But on the other side many analysts have
now arrived at the conclusion that the 9/11 was a pre planned inside
job worked out by the Evangelicals and Zionists occupying the White
House. There are lot of evidences put forth by these Western writers
and film makers, which go against the official story of 9/11. The
purpose behind the so called “war on terror” and US interventions have
been- to destabilize the Asian region and leaving its economy in ruins
and the reason for plunging deeper into Iraq and Afghanistan is the
ownership of oil and gas reserves of Central Asia. In fact the
planners of 9/11 were pursuing a very high objective in exchange to
sacrificing a few thousands of their innocent citizens. A decade
before 9/11, Time magazine (18 March 1991) reported that US policy
elites were contemplating a military presence in Central Asia and that
that much before 9/11, the US and its NATO allies decided to invade
Afghanistan.
The decision to this effect as many believe was taken in
Berlin during the joint meeting of Council of Ministers held in
November 2000. So underpinning these activities many fear that the
legacy of 9/11 will change the whole geopolitical scenario.
But, in the other context due to the dwindling and worsening state of
the US economy, inflation and the long term US’s interest. Obama may
not want the United States to stay on in Afghanistan for long time
now. Besides US is now of firm conviction that the battle at “Tora
Bora” was a failure and that neither the Taliban nor al-Qaida have
been eliminated. She want to focus more on Pakistan now and the war
equipment are being deployed against them on the excuses for which
grounds are already being prepared. So in this context the India and
Israel are also showing higher interest in the war against terror.
On the Ninth anniversary of 9/11world need to look further into the
future than it has ever before. If US is serious in developing
friendly relations with Muslim world then it must take a serious
Initiatives’ and must withdraw its forces from Afghanistan
immediately. As Obama in his Cairo Speech said that he has come to
seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the
world; “one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one
based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and
need not be in competition. As the superpower it is the America’s
responsibility to maintain the global order, nurture the international
system and maintaining global peace and harmony.
(The writer is an ex-student of Islamic University & regularly writes
on socio-political affairs; Feedback; ubaidmushtaq.blogspot.com)
