By:Tashbih Sayyed, Ph. D.
One doesn't have to be terribly smart to appreciate why the war on terrorism is not going so well: Believing that Iraq is the main front, the war planners have dedicated a major portion of their resources to fight the insurgency in Iraq and have ignored the other power centers of Islamist terror like the Palestinian Authority Territories. This gross miscalculation on the part of the coalition strategists has enabled other terrorist groups like Hamas not only to continue with their atrocities but has also provided them with a very valuable opportunity to learn from their partner's experiences in Iraq.
Because the United States launched this campaign and took it upon itself to mobilize and lead the international community against the Islamist scourge, it has to bear the responsibility for this failure. It is treating the enemy as if it has only one face - Al Qaida - and one front - Iraq. Bush, who has repeatedly said "Iraq is our main front in the war against terror" also seems to be convinced that the war on radical Islam will be won just by defeating Al-Qaida in Iraq.
This simple-hearted approach has helped the enemy tremendously: The Arab terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and southern Lebanon, the Taliban in Afghanistan and fascists like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran have emerged as the immediate beneficiaries of the US's misguided policies in the Middle East. Radical Islamists using their strongholds in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and PA territories have cast the U.S. campaign in Iraq as a crusade. This has helped Hamas and Iran's President Ahmadinejad in winning their elections. They have not only won the elections but have also renewed their call for the destruction of the Jewish State, and would also like to harm the U.S.
Washington's failure to fathom the true nature and reach of the Islamist threat has prevented the U.S. from adopting a uniform policy against the many different heads of a unified and universally connected Hydra. Even in the post-9-11 world, the only super power in the world is unable to pull out of its pre-September 11, 2001 slumber. It has remained selective in identifying the enemy, and has ignored some vital terrorist bases like Palestinian Authority territories where the terrorists operate with impunity.
The world needs to understand that Hamas's agenda of destroying the Jewish State is part of the same Islamist ideology that has an unalterable objective to enslave the whole world. It has many faces and many fronts. And all of these faces and fronts are equally important in this war on terrorism. They must be attacked simultaneously and with equal force. Just cutting off one head of the Islamist serpent and letting others to grow unimpeded will only result in the eventual victory for the enemy. Bush has to realize that in this war, saving Israel is as important as saving Iraq: The Insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan is strategically and tactically linked with Hamas's terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine.
It is clearly no surprise that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran finds it appropriate to call for the annihilation of a member state of the United Nations. It is also understandable that Hamas continues to call for the destruction of the Jewish State. U.S. policies have created an international environment in which it is acceptable to be openly anti-American and anti-Semitic: Washington was quick in convicting the Taliban and Al-Qaida for the attacks on the U.S. interests but it didn't move with the same conviction against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Martyr's Brigade who have been murdering Americans and Israelis for a long time. It also did not do anything against countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria who have been funding the terrorist groups and homicide bombers as an article of their state policy.
The freedoms with which Islamists and Arabs have been allowed to carry-on their anti-Semitic, anti-Christian activities inside the U.S. have greatly contributed to the increased confidence of organizations like Hamas. U.S. reluctance to move against the Arab terrorist fronts within the U.S. gives the impression that Washington doesn't designate Arab anti-Semitic and anti-Christian activities to be illegitimate. There is no effort to investigate the real objectives of various Islamist groups who have setup their shops in the U.S. as Islamic civil right groups. Despite the warnings by various concerned organizations and individuals, these groups have been allowed to collect funds for the terrorist entities in the Jewish lands of Palestine and throughout the entire Arab world.
Nobody realizes that all of these groups who present themselves as anti-Zionists are basically anti-Americans. The leaders of these so called Islamic civil right groups are inherently and intrinsically anti-Semitic and anti-American. Thanks to the Arab money that is generously invested in financing various political candidacies, they do not encounter any difficulty in being invited to events by the U.S. Congressmen, Senators and even the White House. The visible presence of anti-Semitic groups on the hill and the U.S. failure to move with force against Arab terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine gives the impression that as far as Washington is concerned, terrorism against the Jewish people is not terrorism.
The manner in which Islamist terrorism is being discussed and dealt with by the U.S. gives the impression that it came into being only on September 11. 2001. Very few want to acknowledge that what happened on that black Tuesday in New York and Washington DC was the direct result of ignoring Islamist terrorism in Israel, and the many acts of militant Islamic terrorism against the U.S. both here and abroad that constituted acts of war.
Arab terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine is still being considered as simply an Israeli problem.
Homicide bombings in Israel, world support for the terrorist state of the Palestine Authority and sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hamas by world powers like the European Union, Russia and China has proven that the world is still susceptible to anti-Semitic influences.
One has to understand that the real cause of the Islamist terrorism is anti-Semitism. And that no war on terror can be won without eliminating this ancient affliction. Washington needs to understand that the U.S. policy of imposing peace in the Middle East at the cost of Israel's security will harm the U.S. interests in the region in the long run. Awarding a state to Hamas will only empower the Islamists. U.S. demands for an end to the "Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories" will only embolden the enemies of our freedoms.
The latest homicide bombing in Tel Aviv has reconfirmed that a Palestinian State will always be a terrorist state. The creation of another Palestinian State will undo everything that has been achieved thus far by demolishing the Taliban's government. Al-Qaida will gain in Palestine what it has lost in Afghanistan. Iran will have another base and Syria's influence will be further extended. This is why Iran and Syria are harboring and financing Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
The most recent developments in the Middle East and West Asia provide ample evidence that Washington's policies of appeasing Arab governments have created a very dangerous situation for the U.S. and its allies. The world has to understand that September 11 happened only because the world failed to realize what Israel is up against and that it is not just Israel's problem, but a world problem. Without strengthening Israel's hand against Arab terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine, no war on Islamist terror can be won.
(The writer is editor-in-chief of Muslim World Today and Pakistan Today, California-based weekly newspapers, president of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson Institute.)
