Increasing numbers of people in this country and abroad believe American support for Israel is one of the prime factors behind the attacks on Washington and New York.
Opponents of Israel are already trying to spin stories to the effect that, if only the U.S. were not so pro-Israel, this would not have happened. Or, similarly, if only Israel had not built settlements or if only Israel had returned all of the West Bank. Gaza and Jerusalem, this would not have happened.
This is utter nonsense. The attacks on Washington and New York were planned long ago, probably before the Oslo peace process collapsed or before Camp David failed to produce an agreement. The hatred from the other side predates and transcends Bibi Netanyahu or Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin or Shimon Peres.
Although the people who carried out the attacks had their roots in the Middle East, and certainly are hostile to Israel, the reality is that this is not a war against Israel. It has little to do with settlements, borders, refugees or any of the other issues usually associated with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
If Yasser Arafat had accepted the American-backed Israeli offers made last year, he would have had a Palestinian state consisting of 95 percent of the West Bank, all of Gaza, a portion of traditional Israel to compensate for West Bank land to be acquired by Israel, all of the Arab sections of East Jerusalem, major parts of the Old City within the Walls of Jerusalem, the ability for over 100,000 Palestinian refuges to return and many others to be able to enter the new Palestinian state, world recognition, membership in the United Nations and billions of dollars in development aid.
Even had Arafat had accepted these proposals, the terrorists would still likely have attacked America.
In fact, when Bin Laden lists his panoply of enemies, Israel is in the middle of the pack. The list is headed by "the Big Satan" -- America. They object to our stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia, at Jiddah's request. But, even more, they reject the very nature of our free and democratic society. They oppose us - not merely our policies. It is "we" - almost in the abstract - who are the enemy and whose way of life offends them. They are upset at what they consider our godless ways, the status of our women, what we eat, what movies we make and watch, our lifestyle, in short; our core values and behavior.
While their list of "evils" includes America and Israel, it also includes Russia for their actions in Chechnya, the Philippines for putting down a Muslim revolt, India for not giving Kashmir its independence, and even other Moslems for not adhering to their interpretations of Islamic principles.
Certainly, America's relationship with Israel enraged Bin Laden and his followers, but there is another very important Middle Eastern context that must be discussed and rectified; namely that most Islamic and Arab nations helped nourish a climate in which such hatred could fester and grow.
With the possible exception of Iraq, no one can blame these nations for complicity in the attacks; however, it is instructive to look at the Arab media and education systems.
The media in the region, from Algeria to Iran to the Palestinian Authority to Iraq and Syria, exhort hatred against Israel and America. Even the press published by Egypt, our ally and recipient of over $2 billion in annual aid from America, praised and justified the attack on the pizza restaurant in Israel. This was consistent with Egyptian press accounts glorifying suicide attacks against Israeli civilians as appropriate.
Merely two weeks before the attacks, Al-Akhbar, a daily newspaper sponsored by the Egyptian government, wrote that " the U.S. treats [the Arabs] as it treated slaves inside the American continent." This is typical of what the "moderate" Arab press has been telling its readers; the contents in more radical states have been far more scathing.
A second problem can be found in textbooks and classrooms throughout the Arab world. To date, no Arab state is even willing to acknowledge this as a problem. Only the Palestinians were asked to deal with this and they agreed, through the Oslo peace process, to rectify the problem. Despite the agreement, textbooks in the Palestinian areas continue to vilify Americans and Israelis and teach skewed versions of history and geography.
Furthermore, suicide bombers are glorified in classrooms and mosques in virtually every Arab State. Criticism of America and American policies, combined with praise for those who act against the United States and its allies, helped to set the stage for September 11.
It was quite appropriate for Arab leaders to condemn the attacks on September 11, but they should look to themselves if they wish to see a major cause and, similarly, a significant part of the solution. The Bush Administration, while correct in seeking the assistance of moderate Arab regimes in a coalition against terrorism, should not miss the opportunity to insist that these nations take steps to change the atmosphere that allowed such hatred to develop and grow.
-- Ralph Nurnberger teaches international relations at Georgetown University and is Of Counsel with the firm Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, LLP. In Washington, DC.
