Misunderstanding the Enemy

Iraq has always been more about what Administration strategists believed to be true, based on a pre-conceived agenda, rather than a policy based on a clear understanding of the geo-political facts about The Middle East. Most egregious is the failure to understand who our enemy is or what motivates it. Bush has reiterated for years that terrorists do what they do because they “hate our freedoms”. Other possible reasons such as our presence in Muslim lands is dismissed with no debate. Without knowing why your opponents act, it is impossible to formulate a strategy to defeat them.

The following is from The New York Times Op-Ed page January 25,2006 written by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon co-authors of "The Next Attack: The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting It Right."

Mr. bin Laden staked his claim to leadership of the Muslim world on 9/11, striking us as others only dreamed of doing. On the tape, he shows strength by taking credit for America's humiliation in Iraq and continues to do what we are not: fighting for the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.

It is too early to say how this tape will affect Muslim opinion, but there is no doubt that Mr. bin Laden's strategy has been paying off. According to a poll released last month by Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland and Zogby International, when Muslims in several countries were asked what aspect of Al Qaeda they "sympathize" with most, 39 percent said it was because the group confronted the United States. Nearly 20 percent more sympathized because it "stands up for Muslim causes," which is really just a polite way of saying the same thing.

Two other phenomena also show the movement to be strengthening. The first is the emerging breed of self-starter terrorists with few or no ties to Osama bin Laden, like the Madrid and London bombers, and others who have been arrested before they were able to carry out attacks in Pakistan, Australia and elsewhere. The second is the emergence of an indigenous jihad in Iraq. Much is said about the foreign fighters in Iraq, but the truly dramatic development is the radicalization of Iraqis who will continue the insurgency or travel abroad to kill, like those who bombed three Western hotels in Jordan in November.

Despite so much evidence that the jihadists are winning sympathy, America has provided no counter-story to their narrative. Rather, the president has repeatedly objected to the notion that the Iraq war is having a radicalizing effect by arguing that America was attacked before we ever stepped foot in Iraq.