Perhaps no other occurrence in recent times has generated as many explanations as to the September 11th attack eight years ago. It received condemnation worldwide, the attack being termed as the most disastrous the world has seen since the end of the Cold War. However, there appears a divergent line of thought which contends that the attack was justified. This paper is built around the contention that there are several justifications for the September 11 terrorist attacks carried out by Al Qaeda. The paper explores the wrongdoings allegedly committed by the Americans which could have warranted the attack.
The first explanation for the terrorist attack is that it was a response to the military occupation of the Arab world by the United States which is seen as the ‘head of the West’ (Scott, 2007 Para. 14). The suicide attacks are said to be driven by foreign occupations which are further reinforced and aggravated by religious zeal present in the Muslim world especially Iraq and the Middle East. The attacks were seen as a part of the greater ‘liberation’ movement in the Muslim World. Bin Laden has constantly spoken against the issue of the Muslims being humiliated by the West. This mistreatment of Muslims all over the world has pushed them to adopt such tactics as the terrorist attack to end this misalignment that has been propagated by the West over the years.
The fact that Osama bin Laden is a creation of the United States is another point that seems to justify the terrorist attack. There is a belief that Bin Laden, the mastermind of the terrorist attacks, is a Central Investigation Agency (CIA) creation, and thus the attacks on the Trade Centre and Pentagon were “blowback”. Bin Laden is said to be one of the jihadis who moved to Afghanistan in 1979 when the CIA started its operations in that country.
Bergen argues that though there is no concrete proof that Osama Bin Laden or his followers were trained or financially supported by the CIA, the involvement of the CIA in the Afghan war against the Soviet Union is a verifiable fact. This war led to the radicalization of a generation of Arab militants who gained immense business and battlefield tactics and experience. These influenced the establishment of Al Qaeda in 1988, to spread the Jihad across the universe (Bergen, 2006: Para. 7). Bin Laden made the most strategic decision concerning the September 11th attacks. Thus the proponents of the attack argue that the US is being haunted by a monster it created.
Another rationalization for the terrorist attack surrounds the complex economics of the oil business in the globe. The Muslim world is the largest reservoir of oil yet most US oil multinationals have acquired for the oil concessions and thus practically own the oilfields at the expense of the poor Muslims in the Arab world. This has led to the frustration of the Muslims which eventually has led to extremism as evidenced in the 9/11 attacks.
From the foregoing discussion, it emerges that the justifications for the terrorist attack are all a pointer and the US is to blame for the woes of September 11. The justifications cast aspersions on its conduct in the affairs of the Muslim world and the treatment of the Muslim population as the issues that provoked the unfortunate September 11 terrorist attacks. The paper concludes that the US is not saintly as it portrays itself and that the terrorist is not the agents of the devil fulfilling evil. The history of the US in the Arab world gives a rational explanation for the September 11 attacks. The arguments are seen to fit into the aggression-frustration hypothesis which argues that most terrorist activities are a reaction to the dissatisfaction with a variety of political, economic, and individual needs or aspirations
Works Cited
Peter, Bergen. What were the causes of 9/11? Prospect Magazine, 2006, Issue 126. Web.
Samuel J. Scott, The causes of 9/11, 2007.