To be effective in winning the war on terror with a 'hearts and minds' strategy, the United States must end the rhetoric of 'good and evil' and 'for us or against us.' It is time for Americans, especially foreign policy decision-makers, to recognize that, if placed in different shoes, they too might have been terrorists.
To illustrate the allure of terrorism to moderates, imagine a young man born in Saudi Arabia to a middle class family in 1980. Since his birth, he has seen and heard American-supported oppression and aggression of Muslims on television.
He learns about vicious operations conducted by U.S.-ally Russia against Chechnya's Muslims. Unfortunately for the United States, our fictitious young man also hears President Bush, when talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin, say, 'I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy ... I was able to get a sense of his soul.'
Our young adventurer is told that the Chinese authorities are doing everything possible to destroy the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang province, Uighar Muslims. Indeed, China is shutting down its mosques, restricting the use of its language and banning many of its books and journals. Most severely, the Chinese are using the war on terror and subsequent U.S. support to jail thousands of political prisoners, many whom never see the light of day again.
At home in Saudi Arabia, the young man sees harsh restrictions on basic freedoms like speech, press, religion, assembly and fair elections, as well as systematic discrimination against women and ethnic minorities. Meanwhile, King Abdullah is invited to President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Not to mention the suppression of Muslims the young man sees in Palestine, Kashmir India and Egypt, as well as areas lesser known to Americans such as Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Eastern Africa.
Looking at the death and destruction directed at Muslims around him, the young man could easily believe there was a war against Muslims conducted by allies of the United States. To this young man, the evil in the world is the United States.
Now, the young man notices the United States quickly closing in on his homeland. Although not occupying all these countries, the United States has a significant number of troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The country that has supported most of the death and destruction this young man has ever known is now on his doorstep.
By 2005, the young man hears al-Qaeda's call for a defensive jihad against the evil trying to invade and destroy Islam. Put yourself in this young man's shoes while recalling the principles of liberty, freedom and justice, upon which our great nation was founded. The world is suddenly not so black and white.
To be fair, the United States does carry out many good deeds in Muslim countries. They provide aid to Pakistan's earthquake victims, people displaced from the fighting in Chechnya, and the Palestinian Authority, just to name a few. The United States means well. However, these good deeds will always be overshadowed by the death of innocent Muslims at the hands of U.S. allies. Given the image of the United States, a public relations campaign alone cannot win this war. A significant policy change is also necessary to eliminate the alluring offer given to moderates by terrorism.
This policy change must begin with the development of alternative sources of energy so the United States will have less at stake in the oil-rich nations with Muslim regimes, many of which are excessively oppressive. Without a reliance on oil, the United States will have the opportunity to reduce commitments and support in oil-wealthy nations and have a broader set of options to choose from when faced with any emergency in Muslim regions.
As the United States is able to loosen their support of the regimes committing atrocities against Muslims, the terrorist's call to action will loose its luster.
