Looking for motive is not excusing or looking for an excuse. Detectives always look for motive behind crime, but no one thinks they are looking to excuse the crime. When looking for motive one is accused of "blaming America" for the attacks, it is unreasonable not to expect people to become resentful, and to want revenge, when our government bombs them, supports police states in their countries, and imposes murderous sanctions on them. If you want to understand Iran look at the United States policies in Iran and our support of the Shah. Our government's foreign policy has put the American people in greater danger and made us more open to attack than we would otherwise have been.
In May 1996, on 60 Minutes Madeleine Albright said that half a million dead Iraqi children as a result of the sanctions on that country during the 1990s were "worth it." How could that remark, which was broadcast all over the Arab world, not help but provoke a response. If Americans lost that many of their family members, friends, and fellow citizens would they not seek to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice much like we began to do in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks?
This does not mean Americans are bad people, or that they are to blame for terrorism. It only means that actions cause reactions, and that Americans will need to prepare themselves for these reactions if their government is going to continue to intervene around the world.
John Jenkins
Email: jrjenki@yahoo.com
Hyperbole is the Best Thing Ever.
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