Muslims For A Safe America

After years of neglect by the Bush Administration (which was focused on Iraq), the Obama Administration is increasing the number of American troops in Afghanistan.  But even with more American troops there, the Taliban are standing strong.  Afghanistan remains violent and unstable. American and Afghan casualties continue to mount.  American leaders say there will never be a military solution in Afghanistan, only a political solution, due to the difficulty of the fight. American allies have announced that they are not willing to leave their troops in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Should America continue to send more troops to Afghanistan?  Or should America cut its losses and begin to pull back?

Arguments By Those Who Believe That America SHOULD Send More Troops To Afghanistan

1. The 9/11 attacks originated from Afghanistan.  The Taliban government gave Al Qaeda a safe haven to plan and prepare for the 9/11 attacks.

2. If America does not completely defeat the Taliban, the Taliban will re-establish a government that will oppress the Afghan people.
   
3. If America doesn’t completely defeat the Taliban, the Taliban will allow Al Qaeda to re-establish training camps in Afghanistan to plan attacks on American cities.  In light of Al Qaeda’s many grievances about American foreign policy in the Muslim world, there will be more plots like the 2009 plot to bomb the NYC subway and the 2010 plot to bomb Times Square.

4. America must prove to friends and enemies that it doesn’t run from a fight.  America must prove to the Afghan government and others that America is a reliable ally that doesn’t abandon its friends. America must prove to the Taliban and Al Qaeda that no one gets away with attacking the American homeland.

5. America has not yet succeeded in Afghanistan, because the Bush Administration did not put in the necessary resources.  America  can defeat the Taliban, now that America has a president who has made the war against the Taliban a priority.  And America won’t be alone.  The Afghan government will continue the fight against the Taliban if Afghan President Karzai is convinced that America will not abandon Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government did have ties to the Afghan Taliban, but once the Pakistani Taliban began attacking Pakistan in an attempt to overthrow the government, the Pakistani government fully allied itself with America.

Arguments By Those Who Believe That America SHOULD NOT Send More Troops To Afghanistan

1. The 9/11 attacks did not originate from Afghanistan.  They originated from the CIA or Israeli intelligence, in order to “justify” the invasions of Muslim countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. The war in Afghanistan is killing thousands of American troops and Afghan Muslims (Afghan soldiers, Afghan civilians, and Taliban).  Those deaths will stop when the war stops.

3. America has made a huge investment in building the Afghan army.   It’s time for that investment to pay off.  When American troops pull back, the Afghan army will keep the Taliban on the run. Furthermore, if there are no American troops in Afghanistan, fewer Afghans (like Najibullah Zazi, who pled guilty in the 2009 NYC subway plot) or Pakistanis (like Faisal Shahzad, who pled guilty in the 2010 Times Square plot) will try to attack American cities.  (Both Zazi and Shahzad said they planned their attacks because of American intervention in Afghanistan.)  

4. America has already proven that it will respond with severe force to an attack on the American homeland.  There is no need for American troops to stay in Afghanistan forever.

5. It is not possible for America to defeat the Taliban.  After nine years, the Taliban have proven themselves to be tough on their home turf.  There has been no progress for America thus far. Furthermore, America does not have reliable partners in the region.  The Afghan government wants to cut a powersharing deal with the Taliban (because Afghan President Karzai believes America is not a reliable ally).  The Pakistani government has been fighting the Taliban in Pakistan, but supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan (in order to maintain influence in Afghanistan).

Osama Bin Ladin’s February 23, 1998 fatwa says, “The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.”

Some American Muslims have responded to Osama Bin Ladin’s call. For example, in October 2004, an American Muslim from New York, James Elshafay, pled guilty to conspiring to blow up a New York subway station. In November 2007, an American Muslim from Illinois, Derrick Shareef, pled guilty to plotting to attack a shopping mall with hand grenades. In January 2009, an American Muslim from New York, Bryant Neal Vinas, pled guilty to providing Al Qaeda with information that could have been used to attack the Long Island Rail Road. In April 2010, an American Muslim from New York, Zarein Ahmedzay, pled guilty to plotting to bomb the New York City subway system. Ahmedzay told the judge that he planned to bomb the subway to pressure the U.S. military to withdraw from Afghanistan. In June 2010, an American Muslim from Connecticut, Faisal Shahzad, pled guilty to attempting to set off a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square. When the judge asked Shahzad whether he had realized that his car bomb could have killed children in Times Square, Shahzad said, “It’s a war. I am part of the answer to the U.S. terrorizing the Muslim nations and the Muslim people. On behalf of that, I’m revenging the attack. Living in the United States, Americans only care about their people, but they don’t care about the people elsewhere in the world when they die.” The judge said that civilians in Times Square did not have anything to do with American foreign policy, and Shahzad replied, “The people select the government. We consider them all the same.” Shahzad told the judge he was a “Muslim soldier.” Shahzad said he chose a warm Saturday night in May 2010 for the bombing, because he knew that Times Square would be more crowded on a warm weekend night, so more people would be injured or killed. Several other American Muslims (and Muslims of other nationalities) have been convicted of plotting attacks against targets inside the U.S.

Many American and European Muslim scholars and organizations have repeatedly condemned attacks on civilians since the 9/11 attacks. Following the London bombings, the Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa stating, “Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram — or forbidden.” Read the rest of this entry »

For decades, the U.S. government has sided with Israel over the Palestinians. The U.S. has given Israel over $140 billion in money and weapons (which Israel has used against Palestinians and other Muslims). The U.S. has provided public and diplomatic support for Israel’s military actions (against Palestinians and other Muslims), prevented Security Council criticism of Israel, prevented international scrutiny of Israel’s nuclear weapons program, and blamed the Palestinians for provoking all conflict with Israel. Furthermore, the U.S. has tried to pressure the Palestinians to accept Israeli demands on Jerusalem, borders between Palestine and Israel, settlements in the West Bank, and Palestinian refugees; and the U.S. has blamed Palestinians for the failure of the parties to successfully negotiate a peaceful resolution. American leaders have said that America’s “special relationship” with Israel makes America safer.

As a result of American support, Israel has become the regional superpower, and the Palestinians are weak in comparison. But desperate and angry Palestinians continue to resist, Israel has not been able to beat the Palestinians into submission, and the region remains tense. Every few years, a major battle breaks out, followed by a ceasefire. After decades of American support for Israel, neither Israelis nor Palestinians have peace or security.

Is it in America’s best interests to continue to throw America’s full support behind Israel?

Or is it in America’s best interests for America to take an even-handed approach between the Israelis and Palestinians? For example, should America equally fund the Israelis and Palestinians? Should America criticize and withhold aid from whichever side is at fault when there is violence? Should America offer independent proposals, and use American aid as an incentive, to help the parties reach a mutually acceptable compromise in their difficult disputes? Read the rest of this entry »