Keys to Perception [View All]

[H2O Man]

The declassified "key judgements" of the NIE are interesting. I think DUers would do well to compare the parts of the NIE that have been made public, with other sources of information that we have had available for a longer period of time. It may be that while the declassified parts of the NIE are of value in exposing the damage the war in Iraq has done, and the lies that Bush and Cheney cling to, that it is not in and of itself something we should fully endorse as representing the democratic position.

An example of this can be found when we compare the NIE's "four underlying factors" that fuel the jihadist movement, with the six factors that Michael Scheuer lists in his book "Imperial Hubris." My goal is not to focus on the policies of any other nation or nations, other than the United States. In that context, I am curious if other DUers could identify any potentially significant differences between the NIE and the Scheuer list?

From the NIE: "Four underlying factors are fueling the spread of the jihadist movement: (1) Entrenched grievances, such as corruption, injustice, and fear of Western domination, leading to anger, humiliation, and a sense of powerlessnes; (2) the Iraq jihad; (3) the slow pace of real and sustained economic, social, and political reforms in many Muslim majority nations; and (4) pervasive anti-US sentiment among most Muslims, all of which jihadists exploit."

Now from Scheuer: "Accept that we are hated, not misunderstood. The United States is hated across the Islamic world because of specific US government policies and actions. The hatred is concrete not abstract, martial not intellectual, and it will grow for the foreseeable future. While important voices in the United States claim the intent of US policy is misunderstood by Muslims, that Arabic satellite television channels deliberately distort the policy, and that better public diplomacy is the remedy, they are wrong. America is hated and attacked because Muslims believe they know precisely what the United States is doing in the Islamic world. They know partly because of bin Laden's words, partly because of satellite television, but mostly because of the tangible reality of US policy. We are at war with an al Qaeda-led, worldwide Islamist insurgency because of and to defend those policies, and not, as President Bush mistakenly has said, 'to defend freedom and all that is good and just in the world.'

"To recognize the validity of this point, always keep in mind how easy it is for Muslims to see, hear, experience, and hate the six US policies bin Laden repeatedly refers to as anti-Muslim:

-- US support for Isreal that keeps Palestinians in the Israelis' thrall.
-- US and other Western troops on the Arabian Peninsula.
-- US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
-- US support for Russia, India, and China against their Muslim militants;
-- US pressure on Arab energy producers to keep oil prices low.
-- US support for apostate, corrupt, and tyrannical Muslim governments."
(pages 240-1)

What do you see as the differences between what the NIE identifies as the roots of the militant Islamic people's dislike of the US, and what Scheuer highlights? This isn't a question with "right" or "wrong" answers -- it is, rather, an attempt to help us identify a range of perceptions that may hold some of the keys to presenting the democratic party's grassroots position on ending the US war on Iraq.

Thank you for your consideration.