Terrorism: Al-Qaeda

If in all the other terrorism cases, except Palestine, the state and its opponents speak different languages, and in all but one case languages from completely distinct language families, could there be a lesson there for America's relation with al-Qaeda?

The Arab and English speaking worlds do not communicate. There aren't many translators available. Groups like MEMRI are broadcasting the most inflammatory remarks of their side, while the Arab press repeats the ignorance of Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Madeleine Albright and George Bush .

It could have been important to know what they wanted, if only to be able to judge if any of the claims are meritorius. I doubt many people in the English speaking world knew anything of their goals before late 2001. It was only years after this that a collection of their writings were published in English.

The stuff that really got up Osama bin-Laden's dander was the presence of US troops (specifically, non-Muslims) on the Saudi penninsula. If more Americans had read the Koran, they'd know this was a problem for any nitpicking Muslims.

OBL got a lot of experience in Afghanistan, and learned that many other Arabs and Muslims had problems with the situation in Palestine/Israel, and, after some time, with the 1992-2003 bombing campaign over the skies of Iraq. Ten years without even a hint of UN sanction. The sanctions during the campaign probably led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi kids under five. At least, Madaleine Albright seems to admit it.1 So, this isn't anything new. These militants have been angry over these things for many decades. But if a person who only speaks English wanted to know about it, every word they'd learn would be through the filter of other people. For example, only one Op/Ed in America ever mentioned that Albright comment, but it is widely repeated in the Arabic press.2 Muslims in Europe far more favorable to the West than Muslims in SW and South Asia and Oceania. If the conflict was really about religion, it wouldn't matter where a Muslim was, now would it?