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1!-T /I! T2 341 -5 86

ased on an interview with I1 %anifesto =Italy?>September 1+> 2001

7 The fall of the 9erlin 3all didnt claim any victims, but it did profoundly chan#e the #eopolitical scene. 0o youthink that the attacks of *+ could have a similar effect:

C%S'( ,he fall of the erlin -all was an event of great importane and did hange the geopolitial sene> but not inthe ways usually assumed> in my opinion! I*ve tried to e not in the their sale and harater>but in the target! /or the nited States> this is the first time sine the -ar of 112 that the national territory has been underattak> or even threatened! %any ommentators have brought up a Pearl &arbor analogy> but that is misleading! #nDeember 6> 1+71> military bases in two !S! olonies were attaked " not the national territory> whih was neverthreatened! ,he !S! preferred to all &awaii a Bterritory>B but it was in effet a olony! During the past several hundredyears the !S! annihilated the indigenous population =millions of people?> onAuered half of %e the territoriesof indigenous peoples but that is another matter?> intervened violently in the surrounding region> onAuered &awaii and thePhilippines =killing hundreds of thousands of /ilipinos?> and> in the past half entury partiularly> e the guns have been direted theother way! ,hat is a dramati hange!

,he same is true> even more dramatially> of )urope! )urope has suffered murderous destrution> but from internal wars!%eanwhile )uropean powers onAuered muh of the world with e nor elgium by the Congo> nor Italy by)thiopia> nor /rane by $lgeria =also not regarded by /rane as Ba olonyB?! It is not suprising> therefore> that )uropeshould be utterly shoked by the terrorist rimes of September 11! $gain> not beause of the sale> regrettably! ) no one an guess! ut that it is something strikingly new is Auite lear!

;y impression is that these attacks wont offer us new political scenery, but that they rather confirm the e but unontroversially> they draw support from a reservoir of bitternessand anger over !S! poliies in the region> e the Wall Street Journal surveyed opinions of Bmoneyed%uslimsB in the region bankers> professionals> businessmen with ties to the nited States! ,hey e however>was different -ashington*s poliies towards IraA and towards Israel*s military oupation! $mong the great mass of poorand suffering people> similar sentiments are muh more bitter> and they are also hardly pleased to see the wealth of the

region flow to the -est and to small -estern"oriented elites and orrupt and brutal rulers baked by -estern power! Sothere definitely are problems of the authority and power! ,he immediately announed !S! reation was to deal with theseproblems by intensifying them! ,hat is> of ourse> not inevitable! $ good deal depends on the outome of suhonsiderations!

Is 4merica havin# trouble #overnin# the process of #lobali"ation+and I dont mean just in terms of national securityor intelli#ence systems:

,he !S! doesn*t govern the orporate globaliEation pro@et> though it of ourse has a primary role! ,hese programs havebeen arousing enormous opposition> primarily in the South> where mass protests ould often be suppressed or ignored! Inthe past few years> the protests reahed the rih ountries as well> and hene beame the fous of great onern to the

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powerful> who now feel themselves on the defensive> not without reason! ,here are very substantial reasons for theworldwide opposition to the partiular form of investor" rights BglobaliEationB that is being imposed> but this is not the plaeto go into that!

=Intelli#ent bombs= in Ira, =humanitarian intervention= in >osovo. The ?./.4. never used the word =war= todescribe that. ow they are talkin# about war a#ainst a nameless enemy. 3hy:

$t first the !S! used the word Brusade>B but it was Auikly pointed out that if they hope to enlist their allies in the Islami

world> it would be a serious mistake> for obvious reasons! ,he rhetori therefore shifted to Bwar!B ,he 5ulf -ar of 1++1was alled a Bwar!B ,he bombing of Serbia was alled a Bhumanitarian intervention>B by no means a novel usage! ,hat wasa standard desription of )uropean imperialist ventures in the 1+th entury! ,o ite some more reent e the ma@orreent sholarly work on Bhumanitarian interventionB ites three eB as .obert /isk has stressed! ut there are laws forpunishing rimes identify the perpetrators> and hold them aountable> the ourse that is widely reommended in the%iddle )ast> by the :atian> and many others! ut that reAuires solid evidene> and it opens doors to dangerous Auestionsto mention only the most obvious one> who were the perpetrators of the rime of international terrorism ondemned by the-orld Court 18 years ago3

/or suh reasons> it is better to use a vague term> like Bwar!B ,o all it a Bwar against terrorism>B however> is simply morepropaganda> unless the BwarB really does target terrorism! ut that is plainly not ontemplated beause -estern powersould never abide by their own offiial definitions of the term> as in the !S! CodeH or $rmy manuals! ,o do so would atone reveal that the !S! is a leading terrorist state> as are its lients!

Perhaps I may Auote politial sientist %ihael Stohl B-e must reogniEe that by onvention" and it must be emphasiEedonly by onvention"great power use and the threat of the use of fore is normally desribed as oerive diplomay and not as

a form of terrorism>B though it ommonly involves Bthe threat and often the use of violene for what would be desribed asterroristi purposes were it not great powers who were pursuing the very same tati>B in aord with the literal meaning ofthe term! nder the =admittedly unimaginable? irumstanes that -estern intelletual ultures were willing to adopt theliteral meaning> the war against terrorism would take Auite a different form> along lines spelled out in e means any ativity that =$? involves a violent at or an at dangerous to human life that is a violation of the riminal laws of the nitedStates or any State> or that would be a riminal violation if ommitted within the @urisdition of the nited States or of any StateG and =? appears to be intended=i? to intimidate or oere a ivilian populationG =ii? to influene the poliy of a government by intimidation or oerionG or =iii? to affet the ondut of agovernment by assassination or kidnapping!B =nited States Code Congressional and $dministrative News> +th Congress> Seond Session> 1+7> #t 1+> volume2G par 4066> + S,$,! 2606 -est Publishing Co!> 1+7J?!

,he Auote I @ust gave is ited in a survey volume alled Western State Terrorism> edited by $le< 5eorge and published by ama@or publisher 10 years ago> but unmentionable in the nited States! Stohl*s point is then illustrated in detail throughout

the book! $nd there are many others> e though the taboo is not so strit in other )nglish"speakingountries> or elsewhere!

4T- is keepin# uiet until they find out whether the attack was internal or e and would lead the !S! and its allies into a Bdiabolial trap>Bas the /renh foreign minister put it!

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!ould you say somethin# about connivance and the role of 4merican secret service:

I don*t Auite understand the Auestion! ,his attak was surely an enormous shok and surprise to the intelligene servies ofthe -est> inluding those of the nited States! ,he CI$ did have a role> a ma@or one in fat> but that was in the 1+0s>when it @oined Pakistani intelligene and others =Saudi $rabia> ritain> et!? in reruiting> training> and arming the moste written by longtime %iddle )ast orrespondent and author FohnCooley! ,here is now> preditably> an effort under way to lean up the reord and pretend that the !S! was an innoentbystander> and a bit surprisingly> even respetable @ournals =not to speak of others? are soberly Auoting CI$ offiials toBdemonstrateB that reAuired onlusion"in gross violation of the most elementary @ournalisti standards!

$fter that war was over> the B$fghanisB =many> like bin aden> not $fghans?> turned their attention elsewhere fore to Chehnya and osnia> where they may have reeived at least tati !S! support! Not surprisingly> they werewelomed by the governmentsG in osnia> many were welomed by the governments> in osnia> many Islami volunteerswere granted itiEenship in gratitude for their military servies =Carlotta 5all>New York Times> #tober 2> 2001?!

$nd to western China> where they are fighting for liberation from Chinese dominationG these are Chinese %uslims> someapparently sent by China to $fghanistan as early as 1+6 to @oin a guerrilla rebellion against the government> later @oiningthe CI$"organiEed fores after the .ussian invasion in 1+6+ in support of the government .ussia baked"and installed>muh as the !S! installed a government in South :ietnam and then invaded to BdefendB the ountry it was attaking> to ite

a fairly lose analog! $nd in the southern Philippines> North $fria> and elsewhere> fighting for the same auses> as theysee it! ,hey also turned their attention to their prime enemies Saudi $rabia> )gypt> and other $rab states> and by the 1++0s>also to the !S! =whih bin aden regards as having invaded Saudi $rabia muh as .ussia invaded $fghanistan?!

3hat conseuences do you foresee for the /eattle movement: 0o you think it will suffer as a result, or is it possiblethat it will #ain momentum:

It is ertainly a setbak for the worldwide protests against orporate globaliEation> whih"again"did not begin in Seattle!Suh terrorist atroities are a gift to the harshest and most repressive elements on all sides> and are sure to be e regimentation> reversal of soial demorati programs>transfer of wealth to narrow setions> and undermining demoray in any meaningful form! ut that will not happenwithout resistane> and I doubt that it will sueed> e as they instantly reogniEed! Israel is openlye the alkans>and elsewhere!

2ow do you jud#e the reaction of 4mericans: They seemed pretty cool+headed, but as /askia /assen recently said inan interview, =3e already feel as thou#h we are at war.=

,he immediate reation was shok> horror> anger> fear> a desire for revenge! ut publi opinion is mi andounterurrents did not take long to develop! ,hey are now even being reogniEed in mainstream ommentary! ,oday*snewspapers> for e the !S! andthe -est generally have no ob@etion to religious fundamentalism as suh! ,he !S! in fat> is one of the most e

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religious fundamentalist ultures in the worldG not the state> but the popular ulture! In the Islami world> the most e apart from the ,aliban> is Saudi $rabia> a !S! lient state sine its originsG the ,aliban are in fat anoffshoot of the Saudi version of Islam!

.adial Islamist e often alled BfundamentalistsB were !S! favorites in the 1+0s> beause they were the bestkillers who ould be found! In those years> a prime enemy of the !S! was the Catholi Churh> whih had sinnedgrievously in atin $meria by adopting Bthe preferential option for the poor>B and suffered bitterly for that rime! ,he -estis Auite eumenial in its hoie of enemies! ,he riteria are subordination and servie to power> not religion! ,here are

many other illustrations!

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2!

IS ,&) -$. #N ,)..#.IS% -INN$)3ased on separate interviews withHartford Couranton September 20> 2001 and David arsamian on September 21> 2001

7 Is the nations so+called war on terrorism winnable: If yes, how: If no, then what should the 9ush administration

do to prevent attacks like the ones that struck ew %ork and 3ashin#ton:

C%S'( If we want to onsider this Auestion seriously> we should reogniEe that in muh of the world the !S! isregarded as the leading terrorist state> and with good reason! -e might bear in mind> for e that in 1+9 the !S! wasondemned by the -orld Court for Bunlawful use of foreB =international terrorism? and then vetoed a Seurity Counilresolution alling on all states =meaning the !S!? to adhere to international law! #nly one of ountless e if we want to redue the threat rather than esalate it! -hen I.$ bombs were set off in ondon> there was noall to bomb -est elfast> or oston> the soure of muh of the finanial support for the I.$! .ather> steps were taken toapprehend the riminals> and efforts were made to deal with what lay behind the resort to terror! -hen a federal buildingwas blown up in #klahoma City> there were alls for bombing the %iddle )ast> and it probably would have happened if thesoure turned out to be there! -hen it was found to be domesti> with links to the ultra"right militias> there was no all toobliterate %ontana or Idaho! .ather> there was a searh for the perpetrator> who was found> brought to ourt> and sentened>

and there were efforts to understand the grievanes that lie behind suh rimes and to address the problems! Fust aboutevery rime" whether a robbery in the streets or olossal atroities" has reasons> and ommonly we find that some of themare serious and should be addressed!

,here are proper and lawful ways to proeed in the ase of rimes> whatever their sale! $nd there are preedents! $lear e one that should be entirely unontroversial> beause of the reation of the highestinternational authorities!

Niaragua in the 1+0*s was sub@eted to violent assault by the !S! ,ens of thousands of people died! ,he ountry wassubstantially destroyed> it may never reover! ,he international terrorist attak was aompanied by a devastating eonomiwar> whih a small ountry isolated by a vengeful and ruel superpower ould sarely sustain> as the leading historians ofNiaragua> ,homas -alker for one> have reviewed in detail! ,he effets on their ountry are muh more severe even thanthe tragedies in New (ork the other day! ,hey didn*t respond by setting of bombs in -ashington! ,hey went to the -orldCourt> whih ruled in their favor> ordering the !S! to desist and pay substantial reparations! ,he !S! dismissed the ourt

@udgment with ontempt> responding with an immediate esalation of the attak! So Niaragua then went to the SeurityCounil> whih onsidered a resolution alling on states to observe international law! ,he !S! alone vetoed it! ,hey wentto the 5eneral $ssembly> where they got a similar resolution that passed with the !S! and Israel opposed two years in a row=@oined one by )l Salvador?! ,hat*s the way a state ould have set up another riminal ourt! ,hose are the measures the!S! ould pursue> and nobody*s going to blok it! ,hat*s what they*re being asked to do by people throughout the region>inluding their allies!

.emember> the governments in the %iddle )ast and North $fria> like the terrorist $lgerian government> whih is one ofthe most viious of all> would be happy to @oin the !S! in opposing terrorist networks whih are attaking them! ,hey*rethe prime targets! ut they have been asking for some evidene> and they want to do it in a framework of at least minimalommitment to international law! ,he )gyptian position is omple but> they say> only after some evidene ispresented about who*s involved and within the framework of the N Charter> under the aegis of the Seurity Counil!

,hat is the ourse one follows if the intention is to redue the probability of further atroities! ,here is another oursereat with e and e leading to still further atroities suh as the onethat is initing the all to revenge! ,he dynami is very familiar!

3hat aspect or aspects of the story have been underreported by the mainstream press, and why is it important thatthey be paid more attention:

,here are several fundamental Auestions

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/irst> what ourses of ation are open to us> and what are their likely onseAuenes3 ,here has been virtually nodisussion of the option of adhering to the rule of law> as others do> for e whih I @ust mentioned =failing>of ourse> but no one will bar suh moves by the !S!? or as )ngland did in the ase of the I.$> or as the !S! did when itwas found that the #klahoma City bombing was domesti in origin! $nd innumerable other ases!

.ather> there has> so far> been a solid drumbeat of alls for violent reation> with only sare mention of the fat that thiswill not only visit a terrible ost on wholly innoent vitims> many of them $fghan vitims of the ,aliban> but also that itwill answer the most fervent prayers of bin aden and his network!

,he seond Auestion is Bwhy3B ,his Auestion is rarely raised in any serious way!

,o refuse to fae this Auestion is to hoose to inrease signifiantly the probability of further rimes of this kind! ,herehave been some e the Wall Street Journal, to its redit> reviewed the opinions ofBmoneyed %uslims>B people who are pro"$merian but severely ritial of !S! poliies in the region> for reasons that arefamiliar to anyone who has paid any attention! ,he feelings in the streets are similar> though far more bitter and angry!

,he bin aden network itself falls into a different ategory> and in fat its ations for 20 years have aused great harm tothe poor and oppressed people of the region> who are not the onern of the terrorist networks! ut they do draw from areservoir of anger> fear> and desperation> whih is why they are praying for a violent !S! reation> whih will mobiliEeothers to their horrendous ause!

Suh topis as these should oupy the front"pages" at least> if we hope to redue the yle of violene rather than to

esalate it!

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&.

T2 I0-A-CI!4A !4;@4ICased on separate interviews with .adio b+2 =elgrade? on September 1> 2001> )lise /ried and Peter 'reysler for Deutshland/unk .adio =5ermany? onSeptember 20> 2001> and Gionarle del Popolo=SwitEerland? on September 21> 2001

7 2ow do you see the media covera#e of this event: Is there a parallel to the Culf 3ar in =manufacturin#consent=:

C%S'( %edia overage is not Auite as uniform as )uropeans seem to believe> perhaps beause they are keeping to theNew (ork ,imes> National Publi .adio> ,:> and so on! )ven the New York Times oneded> this morning> that attitudes inNew (ork are Auite unlike those they have been onveying! It*s a good story> also hinting at the fat that the mainstreammedia have not been reporting this> whih is not entirely true> though it has been true> pretty muh> of the New York Times!

,he Timesnow reports that Bthe drumbeat for war!!!is barely audible on the streets of New (ork>B and that alls for peaeBfar outnumber demands for retribution>B even at the main Boutdoor memorial to loss and griefB for the vitims of theatroity! In fat> that*s not unusual around the ountry! ,here is surely virtually unanimous sentiment> whih all of us share>for apprehending and punishing the perpetrators> if they an be found! ut I think there is probably strong ma@oritysentiment against lashing out blindly and killing plenty of innoent people!

ut it is entirely typial for the ma@or media> and the intelletual lasses generally> to line up in support of power at a timeof rises and try to mobiliEe the population for the same ause! ,hat was true> with almost hysterial intensity> at the time ofthe bombing of Serbia! ,he 5ulf -ar was not at all unusual!

$nd the pattern goes far bak in history!

4ssumin# that the terrorists chose the 3orld Trade !enter as a symbolic tar#et, how does #lobali"ation and culturalhe#emony help create hatred towards 4merica:

,his is an e all pro"$merian> and harshly ritial of !S! poliies! Is that a onern over BglobaliEation>B%Donalds> and @eans3 $ttitudes in the street are similar> but far more intense> and have nothing at all to do with thesefashionable e prosperity>religious pluralism and universal suffrage!B !S! ations are irrelevant> and therefore need not even be mentioned =SergeShmemann?! ,his is a omforting piture> and the general stane is not unfamiliar in intelletual historyG in fat> it is loseto the norm! It happens to be ompletely at variane with everything we know> but has all the merits of self"adulation andunritial support for power! $nd it has the flaw that adopting it ontributes signifiantly to the likelihood of further

atroities> inluding atroities direted against us> perhaps even more horrendous ones than those of +"11!

$s for the bin aden network> they have as little onern for globaliEation and ultural hegemony as they do for the poorand oppressed people of the %iddle )ast who they have been severely harming for years! ,hey tell us what their onernsare loud and lear they are fighting a &oly -ar against the orrupt> repressive> and Bun"IslamistB regimes of the region>and their supporters> @ust as they fought a &oly -ar against the .ussians in the 1+0s =and are now doing in Chehnya>western China> )gypt" in this ase sine 1+1> when they assassinated Sadat" and elsewhere?!

in aden himself has probably never even heard of BglobaliEation!B ,hose who have interviewed him in depth> like.obert /isk> report that he knows virtually nothing of the world and doesn*t are to! -e an hoose to ignore all the fats

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and wallow in self"indulgent fantasies if we like> but at onsiderable risk to ourselves> among others! $mong other things>we an also ignore> if we hoose> the roots of the B$fghanisB suh as bin aden and his assoiates> also not a seret!

4re the 4merican people educated to see this: Is there an awareness of cause and effect:

nfortunately not> @ust as )uropean people are not! -hat is ruially important to privileged elements in the %iddle )astregion =and even more so on the streets? is sarely understood here> partiularly the most striking e though -esterners prefer a different story> they see that !S! poliy in the past ten years has devastated theivilian soiety while strengthening Saddam &ussein" who> as they know> the !S! strongly supported through his worstatroities> inluding the gassing of the 'urds in 1++! -hen bin aden makes these points in the broadasts heardthroughout the region> his audiene understands> even those who despise him> as many do! $bout the !S! and Israel> themost important fats are sarely even reported and are almost universally unknown> to elite intelletuals in partiular!

People of the region do not> of ourse> share the omforting illusions prevalent in the !S! about the BgenerousB andBmagnanimousB offers at Camp David in the summer 2000> let alone other favored myths!

,here is e well doumented from unontroversial soures> but it is sarely known!

2ow do you see the reaction of the 4merican #overnment: 3hose will are they representin#:

,he nited States government> like others> primarily responds to the enters of onentrated domesti power! ,hat shouldbe a truism! #f ourse> there are other influenes> inluding popular urrents" that is true of all soieties> even brutaltotalitarian systems> and surely more demorati ones! Insofar as we have information> the !S! government is now tryingto e inluding Bmissile defense>B ode words for themilitariEation of spaeG undermining soial demorati programsG also undermining onerns over the harsh effets oforporate BglobaliEation>B or environmental issues> or health insurane> and so onG instituting measures that will intensifythe transfer of wealth to the very few =for e eliminating orporate ta so as toeliminate publi debate and protest! $ll normal> and entirely natural! $s for a response> they are> I presume> listening toforeign leaders> speialists on the %iddle )ast> and I suppose their own intelligene agenies> who are warning them that amassive military response will answer bin aden*s prayers! ut there are hawkish elements who want to use the oasion tostrike out at their enemies> with e no matter how many innoent people suffer> inluding people here and in)urope who will be vitims of the esalating yle of violene! $ll again in a very familiar dynami! ,here are plenty ofbin adens on both sides> as usual!

conomic #lobali"ation has spread the 3estern model all over the world, and the ?./.4. has been its prime supporter,sometimes with uestionable means, often humiliatin# local cultures. 4re we facin# the conseuences of the lastdecades of 4merican strate#ic policy: Is 4merica an innocent victim:

,his thesis is ommonly advaned! I don*t agree! #ne reason is that the -estern model"notably> the !S! model"is based onvast state intervention into the eonomy! ,he Bneoliberal rulesB are like those of earlier eras! ,hey are double"edgedmarket disipline is good for you> but not for me> e when I am in a good position to win theompetition!

Seondly> what happened on September 11 has virtually nothing to do with eonomi globaliEation> in my opinion! ,hereasons lie elsewhere! Nothing an @ustify rimes suh as those of September 11> but we an think of the nited States as anBinnoent vitimB only if we adopt the onvenient path of ignoring the reord of its ations and those of its allies> whih are>after all> hardly a seret!

verybody a#rees that nothin# will be the same after *+, from a restriction of ri#hts in daily life up to the #lobalstrate#y with new alliances and new enemies. 3hat is your opinion about this:

DEditor's note: Comsk!'s response to tis "uestion, edited ere, #e$an #! reiteratin$ a point made in an earlier inter%iewtat Septem#er && was te first time sine te War of &(&) tat te national territor! of te *+S+ was attaked #! forei$n

fores+ See pa$e &&+

I do not think it will lead to a long"term restrition of rights internally in any serious sense! ,he ultural and institutionalbarriers to that are too firmly rooted> I believe! If the !S! hooses to respond by esalating the yle of violene> whih ismost likely what bin aden and his assoiates hope for> then the onseAuenes ould be awesome! ,here are> of ourse>

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other ways> lawful and onstrutive ones! $nd there are ample preedents for them! $n aroused publi within the more freeand demorati soieties an diret poliies towards a muh more humane and honorable ourse!

3orldwide intelli#ence services and the international services and the international systems of control (chelon, fore their failures over the years have been olossal> a matter I and others have written aboutand that I annot pursue here!

,hat is true even when the targets of onern are far easier to deal with than the bin aden network> whih is not doubt sodeentraliEed> so laking in the hierarhial struture> and so dispersed throughout muh of the world as to have beomelargely impenetrable! ,he intelligene servies will no doubt be given resoures to try harder! ut a serious effort to reduethe threat of this kind of terrorism> as in innumerable other ases> reAuires an effort to understand and to address the auses!

9in Aaden, the devil is this an enemy or rather a brand, a sort of lo#o which identified and personali"es the evil:

in aden may or may not be diretly impliated in these ats> but it is likely that the network in whih he was a primefigure is"that is> the fores established by the nited States and its allies for their own purposes and supported as long asthey served those purposes! It is muh easier to personaliEe the enemy> identified as the symbol of ultimate evil> that to seekto understand what lies behind ma@or atroities! $nd there are> naturally> very strong temptations to ignore one*s own role"

whih in this ase> is not diffiult to unearth> and indeed is familiar to everyone who has any knowledge of the region andits reent history!

0oesnt this war risk becomin# a new Vietnam: That trauma is still alive.

,hat is an analogy that is often raised! It reveals> in my opinion> the profound impat of several hundred years of imperialviolene on the intelletual and moral ulture of the -est! ,he war in :ietnam began as a !S! attak against South:ietnam> whih was always the main target of the !S! wars> and ended by devastating muh of Indohina! nless we arewilling to fae that elementary fat> we annot talk seriously about the :ietnam war! It is true that the war proved ostly tothe !S!> though the impat on Indohina was inomparably more awful! ,he invasion of $fghanistan also proved ostly tothe !S!S!.!> but that is not the problem that omes to the fore when we onsider that rime!

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7!

C.I%)S #/ S,$,)ased on e 2001

7 4s you know, there is ra#e, an#er and bewilderment in the ?./. since the /eptember events. There have beenmurders, attacks on mosues and even a /ikh temple. The ?niversity of !olorado, which is located here in 9oulder, a

town which has a liberal reputation, has #raffiti sayin#, =Co home, 4rabs,= =9omb 4f#hanistan,= and =Co 2ome,/and i##ers.= 3hats your perspective on what has evolved since the terrorist attacks:

C%S'( It*s mi also supportive of people who are being targeted here beause they look dark or have afunny name! So there are ounterurrents! ,he Auestion is> what an we do to make the right ones prevail3

0o you think its more than problematic to en#a#e in alliances with individuals who are called =unsavorycharacters,= dru# traffickers and assassins, in order to achieve what is said to be a noble end:

.emember that some of the most unsavory haraters are in the governments of the region> as well as in our owngovernment> and the governments of our allies! If we*re serious about it> we also have to ask> -hat is a noble end3 -as it anoble end to draw the .ussians into an B$fghan trapB in 1+6+> as ;bigniew rEeEinski laims he did3 Supportingresistane against the .ussian invasion in Deember 1+6+ is one thing! ut initing the invasion> as rEeEinski laimsproudly that he did> and organiEing a terrorist army of Islami fanatis for your own purposes> is a different thing!

$nother Auestion we should be asking now> what about the alliane that*s being formed> that the !S! is trying to puttogether3 -e should not forget that the !S! itself is a leading terrorist state! -hat about the alliane between the !S!>.ussia> China> Indonesia> )gypt> $lgeria> all of whom are delighted to see an international system develop sponsored by the!S! whih will authoriEe them to arry out there own terrorist atroities3 .ussia> for e would be very happy to have!S! baking for its murderous war in Chehnya! (ou have the same $fghanis fighting against .ussia> also probablyarrying out terrorist ats within .ussia! $s would perhaps India> in 'ashmir! Indonesia would be delighted to havesupport for its massares in $eh! $lgeria> as @ust announed on the broadast we heard> would be delighted to haveauthoriEation to efighting against separatist fores in its western provines> inluding B$fghanisB who China and Iran had organiEed to fightthe war against the .ussians> beginning maybe as early as 1+6> some reports indiate! $nd that runs through he world!

Not everyone will be admitted so easily into the oalition> however we must> after all> maintain some standards! B,heush administration warned #n #tober 9J that the leftist Sandinista party in Niaragua> whih hopes to return to power ineletions ne has maintained tiesB with terrorist states and organiEations> and therefore Bannot be ounted on tosupport the international anti"terrorism oalition the administration has been attempting to forgeB =5eorge 5edda> $P>#tober 9?! B$s we stated previously there is no middle ground between those who oppose terrorism and those who supportit>B State Department spokeswoman )liEa 'oh delared! ,hough the Sandinstas laims to have Babandoned the soialistpoliies and anti"$merian rhetori of the past> 'oh*s statement of #tober 9J indiated the administration has doubtsabout the laims of moderation!B -ashington*s doubts are understandable! $fter all> Niaragua had so outrageously

attaked the !S! that .onald .eagan was ompelled to delare a Bnational emergenyB on %ay 1> 1+8> renowned annually>beause Bthe poliies and ations of the 5overnment of Niaragua onstitute an unusual and eB namely itsresistane to !S! attakG the -orld Court dismissed as groundless -ashington*s laims of other ativities! $ year earlier>.eagan had designated %ay 1 as Baw Day>B a elebration of our B200"year"old partnership between law and liberty>Badding that without law there an be only Bhaos and disorder!B ,he day before> he elebrated aw Day by announing thatthe nited States would disregard the proeedings of the -orld Court> whih went on to ondemn his administration for itsBunlawful use of foreB and violation of treaties in its attak against Niaragua> instantly esalated in response to the Courtorder to terminate the rime of international terrorism! #utside the !S!> of ourse> %ay 1 is a day of solidarity with thestruggles of $merian workers!

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It is> then> understandable that the !S! should seek firm guarantees of good behavior before allowing a Sandinista" ledNiaragua to @oin the alliane of the @ust led by -ashington> whih is now weloming others to @oin the war it has beenwaging against terrorism for 20 years .ussia> China> Indonesia> ,urkey> and other worthy states> though of ourse noteveryone!

#r> take the BNorthern $llianeB that the !S! and .ussia are now @ointly supporting! ,his is mostly a olletion ofwarlords who arried out suh destrution and terror that muh of the population welomed the ,aliban! /urthermore> theyare almost ertainly involved in drug traffiking into ,a@ikistan! ,hey ontrol most of that border> and ,a@ikistan is reported

to be a"maybe the"ma@or transit point for the flow of drugs eventually to )urope and the nited States! If the !S! proeedsto @oin .ussia in arming these fores heavily and launhing some kind of offensive based on them> the drug flow is likely toinrease under the ensuing onditions of haos and refugee flight! ,he Bunsavory haratersB are> after all> familiar from arih historial reord> and the same is true of the Bnoble ends!B

%our comment that the ?./. is a =leadin# terrorist state= mi#ht stun many 4mericans. !ould you elaborate on that:

,he most obvious e though far from the most e is Niaragua! It is the most obvious beause it isunontroversial> at least to people who have even the faintest onern for international law! )ditor*s note See page 27 forChomsky*s more detailed elaboration on this point!J It is worth remembering" partiularly sine it has been so uniformlysuppressed" that the !S! is the only ountry that was ondemned for international terrorism by the -orld Court and thatre@eted a Seurity Counil resolution alling on states to observe international law!

,he nited States ontinues international terrorism! ,here are also what in omparison are minor e and for a ouple of days the headlines read> B#klahomaCity ooks ike eirut!B I didn*t see anybody point out that eirut also looks like eirut> and part of the reason is that the.eagan administration had set off a terrorist bombing there in 1+8 that was very muh like #klahoma City> a trukbombing outside a mosAue timed to kill the ma mostlywomen and hildren> aording to the report in the Wasin$ton Post4 years later! ,he terrorist bombing was aimed at a%uslim leri whom they didn*t like and whom they missed! It was not very seret! I don*t know what name you give to thepoliies that are a leading fator in the death of maybe a million ivilians in IraA and maybe a half a million hildren> whihis the prie the Seretary of State says we*re willing to pay! Is there a name for that3 Supporting Israeli atroities is anotherone!

Supporting ,urkey*s rushing of its own 'urdish population> for whih the Clinton administration gave the deisivesupport> 0 perent of the arms> esalating as atroities inreased> is another! $nd that was a truly massive atroity> one ofthe worst ampaigns of ethni leansing and destrution in the 1++0s> sarely known beause of the primary !S!responsibility" and when impolitely brought up> dismissed as a minor BflawB in our general dediation to Bending

inhumanityB everywhere!

#r take the destrution of the $l"Shifa pharmaeutial plant in Sudan> one little footnote in the reord of state terror>Auikly forgotten! -hat would the reation have been if the bin aden network had blown up half the pharmaeutialsupplies in the !S! and the failities for replenishing them3 -e an imagine> though the omparison is unfair> theonseAuenes are vastly more severe in Sudan! ,hat aside> if the !S! or Israel or )ngland were to be the target of suh anatroity> what would the reation be3 In this ase we say> B#h> well> too bad> minor mistake> let*s go on to the ne letthe vitims rot!B #ther people in the world don*t reat like that! -hen bin aden brings up that bombing> he strikes aresonant hord> even among those who despise and fear himG and the same> unfortunately> is true of muh of the rest of hisrhetori!

,hough it is merely a footnote> the Sudan ase is nonetheless highly instrutive! #ne interesting aspet is the reationwhen someone dares to mention it! I have in the past> and did so again in response to Aueries from @ournalists shortly after+"11 atroities! I mentioned that the toll of the Bhorrendous rimeB of +"11> ommitted with Bwikedness and awesome

rueltyB =Auoting .obert /isk?> may be omparable to the onseAuenes of Clinton*s bombing of the $l"Shifa plant in $ugust1++! ,hat plausible onlusion eliited an e filling many web sites and @ournals with feverish andfaniful ondemnations> whih I*ll ignore! ,he only important aspet is that that single sentene" whih> on a loser look>appears to be an understatement" was regarded by some ommentators as utterly sandalous! It is diffiult to avoid theonlusion that at some deep level> however they may deny it to themselves> they regard our rimes against the weak to beas normal as the air we breathe! #ur rimes> for whih we are responsible as ta for failing to provide massivereparations> for granting refuge and immunity to the perpetrators> and for allowing the terrible fats to be sunk deep in thememory hole! $ll of this is of great signifiane> as it has been in the past!

$bout the onseAuenes of the destrution of the $l"Shifa plant> we have only estimates! Sudan sought a N inAuiry intothe @ustifiations for the bombing> but even that was bloked by -ashington> and few seem to have tried to investigate

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where Bperiodi outbreaks of meningitis or holera are not unommon>B so affordable mediines are a dire neessity=Fonathan elke and 'amal )l"/aki> tehnial reports from the field for the Near )ast /oundation?! It is> furthermore> aountry with limited arable land> a hroni shortage of potable water> a huge death rate> little industry> an unservieabledebt> wraked with $IDS> devastated by a viious and destrutive internal war> and under severe santions! -hat ishappening within is largely speulation> inluding elke*s =Auite plausible? estimate that within a year tens of thousands hadalready Bsuffered and diedB as the result of the destrution of the ma@or failities for produing affordable drugs andveterinary mediines!

,his only srathes the surfae!

&uman .ights -ath immediately reported that as an immediate onseAuene of the bombing> Ball N agenies based in'hartoum have evauated their $merian staff> as have many other relief organiEations>B so that Bmany relief efforts havebeen postponed indefinitely> inluding a ruial one run by the !S!"based International .esue Committee in agovernment townJ where more than fifty southerners are dying dailyBG these are regions in Bsouthern Sudan> where the Nestimates that 2!7 million people are at risk of starvation>B and the Bdisruption in assistaneB for the Bdevastated populationBmay produe a Bterrible risis!B

-hat is more> the !S! bombing Bappears to have shattered the slowly evolving move toward ompromise betweenSudan*s warring sidesB and terminated promising steps towards a peae agreement to end the ivil war that had left 1!8million dead sine 1+1> whih might have also led to Bpeae in ganda and the entire Nile asin!B ,he attak apparentlyBshattered!!!the eB along with efforts to address Sudan*s domesti rises> to end support for terrorism> and

to redue the influene of radial Islamists =%ark &uband>6inanial Times, September > 1++?!

Insofar as suh onseAuenes ensued> we may ompare the rime in Sudan to the assassination of umumba> whihhelped plunge the Congo into deades of slaughter> still ontinuing> or the overthrow of the demorati government of5uatemala in 1+87> whih led to 70 years of hideous atroitiesG and all too many others like it!

&usband*s onlusions are reiterated three years later by Fames $still> in the artile @ust ited! &e reviews Bthe politialost to a ountry struggling to emerge from totalitarian military ditatorship> ruinous Islamism and long"running ivil warBbefore the missile attak> whih Bovernight plunged 'hartoumJ into the nightmare of impotent eB he onludes!

$still Auotes Dr! Idris )ltayeb> one of Sudan*s handful of pharmaologists and hairman of the board of $l"Shifa therime> he says> is B@ust as muh an at of terrorism as at the ,win ,owers"the only differene is we know who did it! I feel

very sad about the loss of life in New (ork and -ashingtonJ> but in terms of numbers> and the relative ost to a poorountry> the bombing in SudanJ was worse!B

nfortunately> he may be right about Bthe loss of life in terms of numbers>B even if we do not take into aount the longer"term Bpolitial ost!B

)valuating Brelative ostB is an enterprise I won*t try to pursue> and it goes without saying that ranking rimes on somesale is generally ridiulous> though omparison of the toll is perfetly reasonable and indeed standard in sholarship!

,he bombing also arried severe osts for the people of the nited States> as beame glaringly evident on September 11> orshould have! It seems to me remarkable that this has not been brought up prominently =if at all?> in the e with photographs and detailed biographies of many of his prinipal adres>and vital information about al"Kaeda*s finanial interests in many parts of the globe>B but refused to aept the information>

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out of Birrational hatredB of the target of its missile attak! BIt is reasonable to say that had we had this data we may havehad a better hane of preventing the attaksB of September 11> the same senior CI$ soure onludes =David .ose>5#ser%er, September 40> reporting an 5#ser%erinvestigation?!

#ne an sarely try to estimate the toll of the Sudan bombing> even apart from the probable tens of thousands ofimmediate Sudanese vitims! ,he omplete toll is attributable to the single at of terror"at least> if we have the honesty toadopt the standards we properly apply to offiial enemies! ,he reation in the -est tells us a lot about ourselves> if we agreeto adopt another moral truism look into the mirror!

#r to return to Bour little region over here whih never has bothered anybody>B as &enry Stimson alled the -esternhemisphere> take Cuba! $fter many years of terror beginning in late 1+8+> inluding very serious atroities> Cuba shouldhave the right to resort to violene against the !S! aording to !S! dotrine that is sarely Auestioned! It is>unfortunately> all to easy to ontinue> not only with regard to the !S! but also other terrorist states!

In your book !ulture of Terrorism, you write that =the cultural scene is illuminated with particular clarity by thethinkin# of the liberal doves, who set the limits for respectable dissent.= 2ow have they been performin# since theevents of /eptember :

Sine I don*t like to generaliEe> let*s take a onrete e theNew York Timesreported that the !S!has demanded that Pakistan ut off food aid to $fghanistan! ,hat had already been hinted before> but here it was stated flatout! $mong other demands -ashington issued to Pakistan> it also Bdemanded!!!the eliminated of truk onvoys that providemuh of the food and other supplies to $fghanistan*s ivlian populationB"the food that is keeping probably millions of

people @ust this side of starvation =Fohn urns> Islamabad> New York Times?! -hat does that mean3 ,hat means thatunknown numbers of starving $fghans will die! $re these ,aliban3 No> they*re vitims of the ,aliban! %any of them areinternal refugees kept from leaving! ut here*s a statement saying> #'> let*s proeed to kill unknown numbers> maybemillions> of starving $fghans who are vitims of the ,aliban! -hat was the reation3

I spent almost the entire day afterwards on radio and television around the world! I kept bringing it up! Nobody in)urope or the !S! ould think of one word of reation! )lsewhere in the world there was plenty of reation> even aroundthe periphery of )urope> like 5reee! &ow should we have reated to this3 Suppose some power was strong enough to say>et*s do something that will ause a huge number of $merians to die of starvation! -ould you think it*s a serious problem3$nd again> it*s not a fair analogy! In the ase of $fghanistan> left to rot after it had been ruined by the Soviet invasion ande muh of the ountry is in ruins and its people are desperate> already one of the worsthumanitarian rises in the world!

ational @ublic 1adio, which in the *8Es was denounced by the 1ea#an administration as =1adio ;ana#ua on the@otomac,= is also considered =out there= on the liberal end of respectable debate. oah 4dams, the host of 4ll Thin#s!onsidered, asked these uestions on /eptember F =/hould assassinations be allowed: /hould the !I4 be #ivenmore operatin# leeway:

,he CI$ should not be permitted to arry out assassinations> but that*s the least of it! Should the CI$ be permitted toorganiEe a ar bombing in eirut like the one I @ust mentioned3

Not a seret> inidentallyG prominently reported in the mainstream> though easily forgotten! ,hat didn*t violate any laws!$nd it*s not @ust the CI$! Should they have been permitted to organiEe in Niaragua a terrorist army that had the offiialtask> straight out of the mouth of the State Department> to attak Bsoft targetsB in Niaragua> meaning undefendedagriultural ooperatives and health linis3 .emember that the State Department offiially approved suh tasksimmediately after the -orld Court had ordered the !S! to end its international terrorist ampaign and pay substantialreparations!

-hat*s the name for that3 #r to set up something like the bin aden network> not him himself> but the bakgroundorganiEations3

Should the !S! be authoriEed to provide Israel with attak heliopters used to arry out politial assassinations andattaks on ivilian targets3 ,hat*s not the CI$! ,hat*s the Clinton administration> with no notieable ob@etion! in fat> itwasn*t even reported> though the soures were impeable!

!ould you briefly define the political uses of terrorism: 3here dose it fit in the doctrinal system:

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,he !S! is offiially ommitted to what is alled Blow"intensity warfare!B ,hat*s the offiial dotrine! If you read thestandard definitions of low"intensity onflit and ompare them with the offiial definitions of BterrorismB in army manuals>or the !S! Code =see p! 19> footnote?> you find they*re almost the same! ,errorism is the use of oerive means aimed ativilian populations in an effort to ahieve politial> religious> or other aims! ,hat*s what the -orld ,rade Center attakwas> a partiularly horrifying terrorist rime!

,errorism> aording to the offiial definitions> is simply part of state ation> offiial dotrine> and not @ust that of the !S!>of ourse!

It is not> as is often laimed> Bthe weapon of the weak!B

/urthermore> all of these things should be well known! it*s shameful that they*re not! $nybody who wants to find outabout them an begin by reading the $le< 5eorge olletion mentioned earlier> whih runs through lots and lots of ases!,hese are things people need to know if they want to understand anything about themselves! ,hey are known by thevitims> of ourse> but the perpetrators prefer to look elsewhere!

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8!

CIC) #/ $C,I#Nased on an interview with %ihael $lbert on September 22> 2001

Aets assume, for the sake of discussion, that bin Aaden was behind the events. If so, what reason mi#ht he have had:It certainly cant help poor and disempowered people anywhere, much less @alestinians, so what is his aim, if heplanned the action:

C%S'( #ne has to be autious about this! $ording to .obert /isk> who has interviewed him repeatedly and atlength> #sama bin aden shares the anger felt throughout the region at the !S! military presene in Saudi $rabia> supportfor atroities against Palestinians> along with !S!"led devastation of IraAi ivilian soiety! ,hat feeling of anger is sharedby rih and poor> and aross the politial and other spetrums!

%any who know the onditions well are also dubious about bin aden*s apaity to plan that inredibly sophistiatedoperation from a ave somewhere in $fghanistan! ut that his networks was involved is highly plausible> and that he is aninspiration for them> also! ,hese are deentraliEed> non"hierarhi strutures> probably with Auite limited ommuniationlinks among them! It*s entirely possible that bin aden*s telling the truth when he says he didn*t know about the operation!

$ll that aside> bin aden is Auite lear about what he wants> not only to any westerners who want to interview him> like/isk> but more importantly to the $rabi"speaking audiene that he reahes through the assettes that irulate widely!$dopting his framework for the sake of disussion> the prime target is Saudi $rabia and other orrupt and repressiveregimes of the region> none of whih are truly BIslami!B $nd he and his network are intent on supporting %uslimsdefending themselves against BinfidelsB wherever it may be Chehnya> osnia> 'ashmir> -estern China> Southeast $sia>North $fria> maybe elsewhere! ,hey fought and won a &oly -ar to drive the .ussians =)uropeans who are presumably notrelevantly different from ritish or $merians in their view? out of %uslim $fghanistan> and they are even more intent ondriving the $merians out of Saudi $rabia> a far more important ountry to them> as it is the home of the holiest Islamisites!

his all for the overthrow of orrupt and brutal regimes of gangsters and torturers resonates Auite widely> as does hisindignation against the atroities that he and others attribute to the nited States> hardly without reason! It*s entirely truethat his rimes are e for

e were e who are Auite real> bin aden may appear tobe a hero> however harmful his ations are to the poor ma@ority! $nd if the nited States sueeds in killing him> he maybeome even more powerful as a martyr whose voie will ontinue to be heard on the assettes that are irulating andthrough other means! &e is> after all> as muh of a symbol as an ob@etive fore> both for the !S! and probably muh of thepopulation!

,here*s every reason> I think> to take him at his word! $nd his rimes an hardly ome as a suprise to the CI$!BlowbakB from the radial Islami fores organiEed> armed> and trained by the !S!> )gypt> /rane> Pakistan> and othersbegan almost at one> with the 1+1 assassination of President Sadat of )gypt> one of the most enthusiasti of the reators ofthe fores assembled to fight a &oly -ar against the .ussians! ,he violene has been ontinuing sine without letup!

,he blowbak has been Auite diret> and of a kind very familiar from 80 years of history> inluding the drug flow and theviolene! ,o take one ase> the leading speialist on this topi> Fohn Cooley> reports that the CI$ offiers Bonsiously

assistedB the entry of the radial Islami )gyptian leri Sheikh #mar $bdel .ahman to the !S! in 1++0 = *nol! Wars1+&e was already wanted by )gypt on harges of terrorism! In 1++4> he was impliated in the bombing of the -orld ,radeCenter> whih followed proedures taught in the CI$ manuals that were> presumably> provided to the B$fghanisB fightingthe .ussians! ,he plan was to blow up the N building> the inoln and &olland tunnels> and other targets as well! Sheikh#mar was onvited of onspiray and given a long @ail sentene!

4#ain, if bin Aaden planned these actions, and especially if popular fears of more such actions to come are credible,what is the proper approach to reducin# or eliminatin# the dan#er: 3hat steps should be taken by the ?./. orothers, domestically or internationally: 3hat would be the results of those steps:

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)very ase is different> but lets* take a few analogies! -hat was the right way for ritain to deal with I.$ bombs inondon3 #ne hoie would have been to send the .$/ to bomb the soure of their finanes> plaes like oston> or toinfiltrate ommandos to apture those suspeted of involvement in suh finaning and kill them or spirit them to ondon tofae trial!

Putting aside feasibility that would have been riminal idioy! $nother possibility was to onsider realistially thebakground onerns and grievanes> and to try to remedy them> while at the same time following the rule of law to punishriminals! ,hat would make a lot more sense> one would think! #r take the bombing of the federal building in #klahoma

City! ,here were immediate alls for bombing the %iddle )ast> and it probably would have happened if even a remote hintof a link had been found! -hen it was instead disovered to be a domestially devised attak> by someone with militiaonnetions> there was no all to obliterate %ontana and Idaho> or the B.epubli of ,eB whih has been alling forseession from the oppressive and illegitimate government in -ashington! .ather> there was a searh for the perpetrator>who was found> brought to ourt> and sentened> and to the e there were efforts tounderstand the grievanes that lie behind suh rimes and to address the problems! $t least> that is the ourse we follow ifwe have any onern for genuine @ustie and hope to redue the likelihood of further atroities rather than inrease it! ,hesame priniples hold Auite generally> with due attention to variation of irumstanes! Speifially> they hold up in thisase!

3hat steps, in contrast, is the ?./. #overnment seekin# to undertake: 3hat will be the results, if they succeed intheir plans:

-hat has been announed is a virtual delaration of war against all who do not @oin -ashington in its resort to violene>

however it hooses!,he nations of the world fae a Bstark hoieB @oin us in our rusade or Bfae the ertain prospet of death anddestrutionB =.! -! $pple>New York Times> September 17?! ush*s rhetori of September 20 forefully reiterates thatstane! ,aken literally> it*s virtually a delaration of war against muh of the world! ut I am sure we should not take itliterally! 5overnment planners do not want to undermine their own interests so grievously! -hat their atual plans are> wedo not know! ut I suppose they will take to heart the warnings they are reeiving from foreign leaders> speialists in theregion> and presumably their own intelligene agenies that a massive military assault> whih would kill many innoentivilians> would be e idoliEe their leader> devalue moderation and validate fanatiism! If ever history needed a atalystfor a new and awful onflit between $rabs and the -est> this ould be itB =Simon Fenkins> TimesondonJ> September 17>one of many who made these points insistently from the outset?!

)ven if bin aden is killed" maybe even more so if he is killed" a slaughter of innoents would only intensify the feelingsof anger> desperation and frustration that are rampant in the region> and mobiliEe others to his horrendous ause!

-hat the administration does will depend> in part at least> on the mood at home> whih we an hope to influene! -hatthe onseAuenes of their ations will be we annot say with muh onfidene> any more than they an! ut there areplausible estimates> and unless the ourse of reason> law> and treaty obligations is pursued> the prospets ould be Auitegrim!

;any people say that the citi"ens of 4rab nations should have taken responsibility to remove terrorists from theplanet, or #overnments that support terrorists. 2ow do you react:

It makes sense to all upon itiEens to eliminate terrorists instead of eleting them to high offie> lauding and rewardingthem! ut I would not suggest that we should have Bremoved our eleted offiials> their advisers> their intelletual laAue>and their lients from the planet>B or destroyed our own and other -estern governments beause of their terrorist rimes andtheir support for terrorists worldwide> inluding many who were transferred from favored friends and allies to the ategoryof BterroristsB beause they disobeyed !S! orders Saddam &ussein> and many others like him! &owever> it is rather unfair

to blame itiEens of harsh and brutal regimes that we support for not undertaking this responsibility> when we do not do sounder vastly more propitious irumstanes!

;any people say that all throu#h history when a nation is attacked, it attacks in kind. 2ow do you react:

-hen ountries are attaked they try to defend themselves> if they an! $ording to the dotrine proposed> Niaragua>South :ietnam> Cuba> and numerous others should have been settings off bombs in -ashington and other !S! ities>Palestinians should be applauded for bombings in ,el $viv> and on and on! It is beause suh dotrines had brought )uropeto virtual self"annihilation after hundreds of years of savagery that the nations of the world forged a different ompat after-orld -ar II> establishing"at least formally> the priniple that the resort to fore is barred e

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lasses and those who they helped mobiliEe> aross the politial spetrum> from left to right> inluding the most powerfulleft politial fore in the world> in 5ermany! ) and some of the mostprominent among them ended up in @ail for Auestioning the nobility of the enterprise among them .osa uertrand .ussel> and )ugene Debs! -ith the help of -ilson*s propaganda agenies and the enthusiasti support of liberalintelletuals> a paifist ountry was turned in a few months into raving anti"5erman hysteris> ready to take revenge onthose who had perpetrated savage rimes> many of them invented by the ritish %inistry of Information! ut that*s by nomeans inevitable> and we should not underestimate the iviliEing effets of the popular struggles of reent years! -e neednot stride resolutely towards atastrophe> merely beause those are the marhing orders!

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9!

CI:II;$,I#NS )$S, $ND -)S,ased on interviews with )uropean media September 20"22> 2001 with %arili %argomenou for $lpha ,: Station =5reee?> %iguel %ora for )l Pais =Spain?>

Natalie evisalles for iberation =/rane?

Editor's note: 7s man! of tese "uestions were written #! 8ournalists wo speak En$lis as a seond lan$ua$e, in someinstanes prases were edited for larit! wit e%er! effort to preser%e te intended meanin$+

7 4fter the attack in the ?./.4., /ecretary of /tate !olin A. @owell said that the ?./. #overnment will revise the lawsfor terrorism, includin# the law of *FG that prohibits assassinations of forei#ners. The uropean ?nion is also aboutto apply a new law on terrorism. 2ow mi#ht response to the attacks come to constrict our freedoms: 5or instance,does terrorism #ive #overnment the ri#ht to put us under surveillance, in order to trace suspects and prevent futureattacks:

C%S'( $ response that is too abstrat may be misleading> so let us onsider a urrent and Auite typial illustration ofwhat plans to rela< onstrains on state violene mean in pratie! ,his morning =September 21?> theNew York Timesran anopinion piee by %ihael -alEer> a respeted intelletual who is onsidered a moral leader! &e alled for an Bideologialampaign to engage all the arguments and e as he knows> there are no suharguments and e at least on the part of anyone amenable to reason> in effetthis translates as a all to re@et efforts to e in onventional fashion> to enlist himself among those who provide Barguments and eB taitly endorsing politial assassination> namely> Israeli assassinations of Palestinians who Israel laims supportterrorismG no evidene is offered or onsidered neessary> and in many ases even the suspiions appear groundless! $ndthe inevitable Bollateral damageB"women> hildren> and others nearby" is treated in the standard way! !S!"supplied attakheliopters have been used for suh assassinations for 10 months!

-alEer puts the word BassassinationB in Auotes> indiating that in his view> the term is part of what he alls the Bfervid andhighly distorted aounts of the blokade of IraA and the Israeli"Palestinian onflit!B &e is referring to ritiism of !S!"baked Israeli atroities in the territories that have been under harsh and brutal military oupation for almost 48 years> andof !S! poliies that have devastated the ivilian soiety of IraA =while strengthening Saddam &ussein?! Suh ritiisms aremarginal in the !S!> but too muh for him> apparently! y Bdistorted aounts>B perhaps -alEer has in mind oasionalreferenes to the statement of Seretary of State %adeleine $lbright over national ,: when she was asked about theestimates of a half million deaths of IraAi hildren as a result of the santions regime! She reogniEed that suhonseAuenes were a Bhard hoieB for her administration> but said Bwe think the prie is worth it!B

I mention this single e easily multiplied> to illustrate the substantive meaning of the rela &onduras alone abstaining! ,he offendingpassage states Bthat nothing in the present resolution ould in any way pre@udie the right to self"determination> freedomand independene> as derived from the Charter of the nited Nations> of peoples foribly deprived of that right!!!>partiularly peoples under olonial and raist regimes and foreign oupation or other forms of olonial domination>nor!!!the right of these peoples to struggle to this end and to seek and reeive support in aordane with the Charter andother priniples of international lawJ!B ,hese rights are not aepted by the !S! and IsraelG or at the time> their South$frian ally! /or -ashington> the $frian National Congress was a Bterrorist organiEationB but South $fria did not @oin

Cuba and others as a Bterrorist state!B -ashington*s interpretation of BterrorismB of ourse prevails> in pratie> with humanonseAuenes that have been severe!

,here is now muh talk about formulating a Comprehensive Convention against ,errorism> no small task! ,he reason>arefully skirted in reports> is that the !S! will not aept anything like the offending passage of the 1+6 resolution> andnone of its allies will aept it either if the definition of BterrorismB onforms to offiial definitions in the !S! Code or armymanuals> but only if it an somehow be reshaped to e there are many fators to be onsidered in thinking about your Auestion! ut the historial reord is ofoverwhelming importane! $t a very general level> the Auestion annot be answered! It depends on speifi irumstanesand speifi proposals!

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9undesta# in Cermany already decided that Cerman soldiers will join 4merican forces, althou#h 8E percent of theCerman people do not a#ree with this, accordin# to a survey of the 5orsa Institute. 3hat are your thou#hts on this:

/or the moment> )uropean powers are hesitant about @oining -ashington*s rusade> fearing that by a massive assault againstinnoent ivilians the !S! will provide bin aden> or others like him> with a way to mobiliEe the desperate and angrypeople to their ause> with onseAuenes that ould be even more horrifying!

3hat do you think about nations actin# as a #lobal community durin# a time of war: It is not the first time that

every country must ally with the ?./.4., or be considered an enemy, but now 4f#hanistan is declarin# the same thin#.

,he ush administration at one presented the nations of the world with a hoie @oin us> or fae destrution! Editor'sNote: Here Comsk! is referrin$ to a "uote pu#lised in te New (ork ,imes> Septem#er &9, )&! See pa$e ;9+

,he Bglobal ommunityB strongly opposes terror> inluding the massive terror of the powerful states> and also the terriblerimes of September 11! ut the BglobalB ommunity does not at! -hen -estern states and intelletuals use the termBinternational ommunity>B they are referring to themselves! /or e N$,# bombing of Serbia was undertaken by theBinternational ommunityB aording to onsistent -estern rhetori> although those who did not have their heads buried inthe sand knew that it was opposed by most of the world> often Auite voally! ,hose who do not support the ations of wealthand power are not part of Bthe global ommunity>B @ust as BterrorismB onventionally means Bterrorism direted against usand our friends!B It is hardly surprising that $fghanistan is attempted to mimi the !S!> alling on %uslims for support! ,he sale> ofourse> is vastly smaller! )ven as remote as they are from the world outside> ,aliban leaders presumably know full well that

the Islami states are not their friends! ,hese states have> in fat> been sub@eted to terrorist attak by the radial Islamistfores that were organiEed and trained to fight a &oly -ar against the !S!S!.! 20 years ago> and began to pursue their ownterrorist agenda elsewhere immediately> with the assassination of )gyptian president Sadat!

4ccordin# to you, an attack a#ainst 4f#hanistan is a =war a#ainst terrorism=:

$n attak against $fghanistan will probably kill a great many innoent ivilians> possibly enormous numbers in a ountrywhere millions are already on the verge of death from starvation! -anton killing of innoent ivilians is terrorism> not awar against terrorism!

!ould you ima#ine how the situation would be if the terrorists attack in the ?./.4. had happened durin# the ni#ht,when very few people would be in the 3T!: In other words, if there were very few victims, would the 4merican#overnment react in the same way: ?p to what point is it influenced by the symbolism of this disaster, the fact that itwas the @enta#on and the Twin Towers that were hit:

I doubt that it would have made any differene! It would have been a terrible rime even if the toll had been muh smaller!,he Pentagon is more than a Bsymbol>B for reasons that need no omment! $s for the -orld ,rade Center> we sarelyknow what the terrorists had in mind when they bombed it in 1++4 and destroyed it on September 11! ut we an be Auiteonfident that it had little to do with suh matters as BglobaliEation>B or Beonomi imperialism>B or Bultural values>Bmatters that are utterly unfamiliar to bin aden and his assoiates> or other radial Islamists like those onvited for the1++4 bombings> and of no onern that their atroities over the years have aused great harm to poor and oppressed peoplein the %uslim world and elsewhere> again on September 11!

$mong the immediate vitims are Palestinians under military oupation> as the perpetrators surely must have known!,heir onerns are different> and bin aden> at least> has been eloAuent enough in e tosupport %uslims in their struggles against BinfidelsB in Saudi $rabia =whih he regards as under !S! oupation?>Chehnya> osnia> western China> North $fria> and Southeast $siaG maybe elsewhere!

It is onvenient for -estern intelletuals to speak of Bdeeper ausesB suh as hatred of -estern values and progress! ,hatis a useful way to avoid Auestions about the origin of the bin aden network itself> and about the praties that lead to anger>fear> and desperation throughout the region> and provide a reservoir from whih radial Islami terrorist ells ansometimes draw! Sine the answers to these Auestions are rather lear> and are inonsistent with preferred dotrine> it isbetter to dismiss the Auestions as BsuperfiialB and Binsignifiant>B and to turn to Bdeeper ausesB that are in fat moresuperfiial> even insofar as they are relevant!

/hould we call what is happenin# now a war:

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,here is no preise definition of Bwar!B People speak of the Bwar on poverty>B the Bdrug war>B et! -hat is taking shape isnot a onflit among states> though it ould beome one!

!an we talk of the clash between two civili"ations:

,his is fashionable talk> but it makes little sense! Suppose we briefly review some familiar history! ,he most populousIslami state is Indonesia> a favorite of the nited States ever sine Suharto took power in 1+98> as army"led massaresslaughtered hundreds of thousands of people> mostly landless peasants> with the assistane of the !S! and with an outburst

of euphoria from the -est that is so embarrassing in retrospet that it has been effetively wiped out of memory! Suhartoremained Bour kind of guy>B as the Clinton administration alled him> as he ompiled one of the most horrendous reords ofslaughter> torture> and other abuses of the late 20th entury! ,he most e apart from the,aliban> is Saudi $rabia> $ !S! lient sine its founding! In the 1+0s> the !S! $long with Pakistani intelligene =helpedby Saudi $rabia> ritain> and others?> reruited> armed> and trained the most e from groups reklessly finaned by the $meriansB =most of thefunding was probably Saudi?! #ne of the indiret benefiiaries was #sama bin aden!

$lso in the 1+0s> the !S! and !'! gave strong support to their friend and ally Saddam &ussein"more seular> to besure> but on the Islami side of the BlashB"right through the period of his worst atroities> inluding the gassing of the'urds> and beyond!

$lso in the 1+0s the !S! fought a ma@or war in Central $meria> leaving some 200>000 tortured and mutilated orpses>

millions of orphans and refugees> and four ountries devastated! $ prime target of the !S! attak was the Catholi Churh>whih had ommitted the grievous sin of adopting Bthe preferential option for the poor!B

In the early +0s> primarily for ynial power reasons> the !S! seleted osnian %uslims as their alkan lients> hardly totheir benefit!

-ithout ontinuing> e and the !S! and the %uslim world> inluding itsmost murderous and fanati religious elements> on the other side3 I do not of ourse suggest any suh absurdity! ute on rational grounds3

0o you think we are usin# the word =civili"ation= properly: 3ould a really civili"ed world lead us to a #lobal warlike this:

No iviliEed soiety would tolerate anything I @ust mentioned> whih is of ourse only a tiny sample even of !S! history> and)uropean history is even worse! $nd surely no BiviliEed worldB would plunge the world into a ma@or war instead offollowing the means presribed by international law> following ample preedents!

The attacks have been called an act of hate. 3here do you think this hate comes from:

/or the radial Islamists mobiliEed by the CI$ and its assoiates> the hate is @ust what they e as it has been> repeatedly> for 20 years! /or the population of the region>Auite a distint ategory> the reasons for their feelings are not obsure! ,he soures of those sentiments are also Auite wellknown!

3hat do you su##est the citi"ens of the 3estern world could do to brin# back peace:

,hat depends what these itiEens want! If they want an esalating yle of violene> in the familiar pattern> they shouldertainly all on the !S! to fall into bin aden*s Bdiabolial trapB and massare innoent ivilians! If they want to reduethe level of violene> they should use their influene to diret the great powers in a very different ourse> the one I outlinedearlier> whih> again> has ample preedents! ,hat inludes a willingness to e beause that would be @ustifiation for terrorism> a position so foolishand destrutive as sarely to merit omment> but unfortunately ommon! ut if we do not wish to ontribute to esalatingthe yle of violene> with targets among the rih and powerful as well> that is e as in all otherases> inluding those familiar enough in Spain! Editor's note: Comsk! is #ein$ inter%iewed #! te Spanis press, andtus is referenes to Spain+

Did the U.S. "ask for" these attacks? Are they consequences of American politics?

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,he attaks are not BonseAuenesB of !S! poliies in any diret sense! ut indiretly> of ourse they are onseAuenes> thatis not even ontroversial! ,here seems little doubt that the perpetrators ome from the terrorist network that has its roots inthe merenary armies that were organiEed> trained> and armed by the CI$> )gypt> Pakistan> /renh intelligene> Saudi$rabian funding> and others! ,he bakgrounds of all of this remain somewhat murky! ,he organiEation of these foresstarted in 1+6+> if we an believe President Carter*s National Seurity $dviser ;bigniew rEeEinski! &e laimed> maybe hewas @ust bragging> that in mid"1+6+ he had instigated seret support for %u@ahidin fighting against the government of$fghanistan in an effort to draw the .ussians into what he alled an B$fghan trap>B a phrase worth remembering! &e*s very

proud of the fat that they did fall into the B$fghan trapB by sending military fores to support the government si< monthslater> with onseAuenes that we know! ,he nited States> along with its allies> assembled a huge merenary army> maybe100>000 or more> and they drew from the most militant setors they ould find> whih happened to be radial Islamists>what are alled here Islami fundamentalists> from all over> most of them not from $fghanistan! ,hey*re alled B$fghanis>Bbut like bin aden> many ome from elsewhere!

in aden @oined sometime in the 1+0s! &e was involved in the funding networks> whih probably are the ones whihstill e fores based in those same groupsassassinated President Sadat of )gypt> who had been instrumental in setting them up! In 1+4> one suiide bomber> maybewith onnetions to the same fores> essentially drove the !S! military out of ebanon! $nd it ontinued!

y 1++> they had sueeded in their &oly -ar in $fghanistan! $s soon as the !S! established a permanent militarypresene in Saudi $rabia> bin aden and the rest announed that from their point of view> that was omparable to the

.ussian oupation of $fghanistan and they turned their guns on the $merians> as had already happened in 1+4 when the!S! had military fores in ebanon! Saudi $rabia is a ma@or enemy of the bin aden network> @ust as )gypt is! ,hat*s whatthey want to overthrow> what they all the un"Islami governments of )gypt> Saudi $rabia> other states of the %iddle )ast>and North $fria! $nd it ontinued!

In 1++6 they murdered roughly si North $fria> )ast $fria> the %iddle )ast> the alkans> Central $sia> westernChina> Southeast $sia> the !S!> for years! ,hat*s one group! $nd that is an outgrowth of the wars of the 1+0s and> if youan believe rEeEinski> even before> when they set the B$fghan trap!B /urthermore> as is ommon knowledge amonganyone who pays attention to the region> the terrorists draw from a reservoir of desperation> anger> and frustration thate from seular to radial Islamist! ,hat is rooted in no small measure in !S! poliies is evidentand onstantly artiulated to those willing to listen!

%ou said that the main practitioners of terrorism are countries like the ?./. that use violence for political motives,

3hen and where:

I find the Auestion baffling! $s I*ve said elsewhere> the !S! is> after all> the only ountry ondemned by the -orld Court forinternational terrorism"for Bthe unlawful use of foreB for politial ends> as the Court put it"ordering the !S! to terminatethese rimes and pay substantial reparations! ,he !S! of ourse dismissed the Court*s @udgment with ontempt> reating byesalating the terrorist war against Niaragua and vetoing a Seurity Counil resolution alling on all states to observeinternational law =and voting along> with Israel and in one ase )l Salvador> against similar 5eneral $ssembly resolutions?!,he terrorist war e thanks to the omplete ontrol of Niaraguan air spae by the !S! and the advaned ommuniationseAuipment provided to them by their supervisors!

It should also be reogniEed that these terrorist ations were widely approved! #ne prominent ommentator> %ihael'insley> at the liberal e argued that we should not simply dismiss State Department @ustifiations

for terrorist attaks on Bsoft targetsB a Bsensible poliyB must Bmeet the test of ost"benefit analysis>B he wrote> an analysisof Bthe amount of blood and misery that will be poured in> and the likelihood that demoray will emerge at the otherendB"BdemorayB as the !S! understands that term> an interpretation illustrated Auite learly in the region! It is taken forgranted that !S! elites have the right to ondut the analysis and pursue the pro@et if it passes their tests!

)ven more dramatially> the idea that Niaragua should have the right to defend itself was onsidered outrageous arossthe mainstream politial spetrum in the nited States! ,he !S! pressured allies to stop providing Niaragua with arms>hoping that it would turn to .ussia> as it didG that provides the right propaganda images! ,he .eagan administrationrepeatedly floated rumors that Niaragua was reeiving @et fighters from .ussia" to protet its airspae> as everyone knew>and to prevent !S! terrorist attaks against Bsoft targets!B ,he rumors were false> but the reation was instrutive! ,hedoves Auestioned the rumors> but said that if they are true> of ourse we must bomb Niaragua> beause it will be a threat to

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our seurity! Database searhes revealed that there was sarely a hint that Niaragua had the right to defend itself! ,hattells us Auite a lot about the deep"seated Bulture of terrorismB that prevails in -estern iviliEation!

,his is by no means the most eand beause the failed efforts of Niaragua to pursue lawful means> instead of setting off bombs in -ashington> provide amodel for today> not the only one! Niaragua was only one omponent of -ashington*s terrorist wars in Central $meria inthat terrible deade> leaving hundreds of thousands dead and four ountries in ruins!

During the same years the !S! was arrying out large"sale terrorism elsewhere> inluding the %iddle )ast to ite onee the ar bombing in eirut in 1+8 outside a mosAue> timed to kill the ma with 0 deadand 280 asualties> aimed at a %uslim sheikh> who esaped! $nd it supported muh worse terror for e Israel*sinvasion of ebanon that killed some 1>000 ebanese and Palestinian ivilians> not in self"defense> as was oneded atoneG and the viious Biron fistB atroities of the years that followed> direted against Bterrorist villagers>B as Israel put it!$nd the subseAuent invasions of 1++4 and 1++9> both strongly supported by the !S! =until the international reation to theKana massare in 1++9> whih aused Clinton to draw bak?! ,he post"1+2 toll in ebanon alone is probably another20>000 ivilians!

In the 1++0s> the !S! provided 0 perent of the arms for ,urkey*s ounterinsurgeny ampaign against 'urds in itssoutheast region> killing tens of thousands> driving 2"4 million out of their homes> leaving 2>800 villages destroyed =6 times'osovo under N$,# bombs?> and with every imaginable atroity! ,he arms flow had inreased sharply in 1+7 as ,urkeylaunhed its terrorist attak and begin to deline to previous levels only in 1+++> when the atroities had ahieved their goal!In 1+++> ,urkey fell from its position as the leading reipient of !S! arms =Israel")gypt aside?> replaed by Columbia> the

worst human rights violator in the hemisphere in the 1++0s> and by far the leading reipient of !S! arms and training>following a onsistent pattern!

In )ast ,imor> the !S! =and ritain? ontinued their support of the Indonesian aggressors> who had already wiped outabout 1M4 of the population with their ruial help! ,hat ontinued right through the atroities of 1+++> with thousandsmurdered even before the early September assault that drove 8 perent of the population from their homes and destroyed60 perent of the ountry" while the Clinton administration kept to its position that Bit is the responsibility of thegovernment of Indonesia> and we don*t want to take that responsibility away from them!B

,hat was September > well after the worst of the September atroities had been reported! y then Clinton was omingunder enormous pressure to do something to mitigate the atroities> mainly from $ustralia but also from home! $ few dayslater> the Clinton administration indiated to the Indonesian generals that the game was over! ,hey instantly reversedourse! ,hey had been strongly insisting that they would never withdraw from )ast ,imor> and they were in fat setting updefenses in Indonesian -est ,imor =using ritish @ets> whih ritain ontinued to send? to repel a possible intervention

fore! -hen Clinton gave the word> they reversed ourse 10 degrees and announed that they would withdraw> allowingan $ustralian" led N peaekeeping fore to enter unopposed by the army! ,he ourse of events reveals very graphially thelatent power that was always available to -ashington> and that ould have been used to prevent 28 years of virtual genoideulminating in the new wave of atroities from early 1+++! Instead> suessive !S! administrations> @oined by ritain andothers in 1+6 when atroities were peaking> preferred to lend ruial support> military and diplomati> to the killers"to Bourkind of guy>B as the Clinton administration desribed the murderous President Suharto! ,hese fats> lear and dramati>identify starkly the prime lous of responsibility for these terrible rimes of 28 years"in fat> ontinuing in miserable refugeeamps in Indonesian -est ,imor!

-e also learn a lot about -estern iviliEation from the fat that this shameful reord is hailed as evidene of our newdediation to Bhumanitarian intervention>B and a @ustifiation for the N$,# bombing of Serbia!

I have already mentioned the devastation of IraAi ivilian soiety> with about 1 million deaths> over half of them younghildren> aording to reports that annot simply be ignored!

,his is only a small e frankly> surprised that the Auestion an even be raised"partiularly in /rane> whih has made its own ontributionsto massive state terror and violene> surely not unfamiliar! Editor's note: Comsk! is #ein$ inter%iewed #! 6ren mediaere, tus te referenes to 6rane+

4re reactions unanimous in the ?./.: 0o you share them, partly or completely:

If you mean the reation of outrage over the horrifying riminal assault> and sympathy for the vitims> then the reations arevirtually unanimous everywhere> inluding the %uslim ountries! #f ourse every sane person shares them ompletely> not

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Bpartly!B If you are referring to the alls for a murderous assault that will surely kill many innoent people"and> inidentally>answer bin aden*s most fervent prayers" than there is no suh Bunanimous reation>B despite superfiial impressions thatone might derive from wathing ,:! $s for me> I @oin a great many others in opposing suh ations! $ great many!

-hat ma@ority sentiment is> no one an really say it is too diffuse and omple e or ideologial in nature! ,his is done throughintimidation> oerion> or instilling fear!B In aord with this"entirely appropriate"definition> the reent attak on ,he !S!is ertainly an at of terrorismG in fat> a horrifying terrorist rime! ,here is sarely any disagreement about thisthroughout the world> nor should there be!

ut alongside the literal meaning of the term> as @ust Auoted from !S! offiial douments> there is also a propagandistiusage> whih unfortunately is the standard one the term BterrorismB is used to refer to terrorist ats ommitted by enemiesagainst us or our allies! ,his propagandisti use is virtually universal! )veryone Bondemns terrorismB in this sense of theterm! )ven the NaEis harshly ondemned terrorism and arried out what they alled Bounter"terrorismB against theterrorist partisans!

,he nited States basially agreed! It organiEed and onduted similar Bounter"terrorismB in 5reee and elsewhere inthe postwar years! Editor's note: Te inter%iewer ere is a Greek 8ournalist, tus Comsk!'s referenes to Greee+/urthermore> !S! ounterinsurgeny programs drew Auite e whih was treated with respet-ehrmaht offiers were onsulted and their manuals were used in designing postwar ounterinsurgeny programsworldwide> typially alled Bounter"terrorism>B matters studied in important work by %ihael %Clintok> in partiular!5iven these onventions> even the very same people and ations an Auikly shift from BterroristsB to Bfreedom fightersB andbak again! ,hat*s been happening right ne beause of their attaks on Serb polie andivilians in an effort to eliit a disproportionate and brutal Serbian response> as they openly delared! $s late as Fanuary1+++> the ritish"the most hawkish element in N$,# on this matter"believed that the '$"C' was responsible for moredeaths than Serbia> whih is hard to believe> but at least tells us something about pereptions at high levels in N$,#! If onean trust the voluminous doumentation provided by the State Department> N$,#> the #SC)> and other -estern soures>nothing materially hanged on the ground until the withdrawal of the ':% monitors and the bombing in late %arh 1+++!

ut poliies did hange ,he !S! and !'! deided to launh an attak on Serbia> and the BterroristsB instantly beameBfreedom fighters!B $fter the war> the Bfreedom fightersB and their lose assoiates beame Bterrorists>B BthugsB andBmurderersB as they arried out what from their point of view are similar ations for similar reasons in %aedonia> a !S!ally!

)veryone ondemns terrorism> but we have to ask what they mean! (ou an find the answer to your Auestion about myviews in many books and artiles that I have written about terrorism in the past several deades> though I use the term in theliteral sense> and hene ondemn all terrorist ations> not only those that are alled BterroristB for propagandisti reasons!

Is Islam dan#erous to 3estern civili"ation: 0oes the 3estern way of life pose a threat to mankind:

,he Auestion is too broad and vague for me to answer! It should be lear> however> that the !S! does not regard Islam as