This is all Bush’s fault
The attacks in Manchester and London prove what so many of us had said. We were right all along. No, not the racists blaming this on immigrants or the islamophobes blaming this on an entire religion, they still know nothing. I’m talking about what antiwar activists like myself have been saying for what feels like 17 years now; that Bush’s invasion of Iraq and his islamophobic policies actually made the world less safe, not more.
Let’s go back to early 2003. Millions marched against the Iraq war before it began. Scholars like Juan Cole warned of the fallout that could result and the instability that would result. Tens of thousands of innocent people would die. People would be enraged by this and flock to join Al Qaeda. Iraqis would fight tooth and nail not to support Saddam Hussein, but against foreign invaders. Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak said the war would create “100 Bin Ladens.” He was right.
Let’s do an empathy exercise; if China invaded America, destroyed the government, took away rights, destroyed the electrical grid and water system and depleted the nation’s healthcare and setup checkpoints everywhere and “accidentally” killed people in “misunderstandings” without consequences and got caught torturing more Americans to death, you think people in Kentucky and Alabama would sit there and do nothing, or would they rise up and commit the same terrorism campaigns that Iraqis did since 2003? If you’re preparing to tell me no, go watch Red Dawn (the original not the remake). There’s also a TED Talk that explains this point better than I could; you dont have to condone insurgents but you can understand them.
I’m a doctor. I work in a clinic. People come in all the time asking for antibiotics, and I have to tell them no. Why not? Because they’re not risk-free. If you give antibiotics unnecessarily, one of the risks is that it will disrupt the body’s natural environment, kill the good bacteria, and let the bad ones run rampant. Clostridium Difficile is the bane of many hospitals, it’s a bacteria unleashed by antibiotics and kills people with fatal inflammation and diarrhea.
ISIS is the C. Diff of the world.
ISIS was formed by remnants of Saddam’s military officer corps, who met in US prisons, notably Camp Bucca, and plotted a new group to take revenge. Revenge on America, its allies like UK, and revenge on Iraqis that cooperated with the occupation (Shia as well as “collaborator” Sunni tribes). They’ve been getting their revenge, and unlike Saddam they’re better at using religion as propaganda to get support outside of Iraq. They put out a message to people that said look at the carnage America and Europe did to us, look at the Shia Iraqis who took America’s side and welcomed them in, we’re oppressed Muslims fighting in self defense against them all, come join us. The world Muslim ummah rejected their message, but for disaffected people and nutcases, a few liked what they heard. Just like Trump’s supporters, the cynics who didnt like the way things in the world were going found something to get behind, and ignored the rest of us who warned against it.
Okay, so there here now. They’ve been condemned by every Muslim country and their ideas debunked by every Muslim religious body and scholar. Now what? Well the last thing you want to do is legitimize ISIS. Don’t call them “Islamic,” don’t call them mujahideen, just call them criminals. The US military never called them “Islamic terrorists” or “jihadis,” because in Arabic you’re calling them heroes. When you make stupid comments like “ISIS is following their religion while the peaceful Muslims are not,” you are legitimizing ISIS. Rather than take the side of the Muslim leaders who are saying ISIS is doing the opposite of what the Quran says and what Prophet Muhammad commanded, certain rightwingers with an agenda (Christian missionaries, Zionists, Neocons who want war, anti-immigrants, bigots, etc.) see it to their advantage to paint ALL Muslims with the same brush. They’re giving aid and comfort to ISIS.
Ignorant people, like Trump, always wondered why they never used the phrase “Islamic terrorism,” yet never bothered to hear the answer that the military and others frequently gave in unison. Instead they crafted elaborate conspiracy theories that Obama must be Muslim or sympathetic to terrorists because he won’t say the words. The Republican Party disgustingly got behind this slogan and pretended that if the president uttered the words then the war would be won. Baloney. Even Trump has walked that promise back, after the Saudis I assume put some common sense into his orange head.
ISIS has admitted they want to eliminate the “gray zone” and create a rift between Muslims and the rest of the world. As long as they can keep up this propaganda of conflict and pretend that they’re the poor underdogs, they will get a steady stream of support from the uneducated and idiots. When you call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US” and promise to close mosques and torture more Muslims, you are doing ISIS’ work. You are proving their point. There’s a reason ISIS and other extremists are using Trump’s quotes in their own propaganda videos.
