After 9/11, 2001, the American public realized that we were now at war with Al Qaeda, and the vast majority of Americans supported President Bush’s invasion of Afghanistan in order to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and destroy the Taliban. The average Pakistani did not support this action nor did the vast majority of worldwide Muslims of which there are one billion. As the war in Afghanistan bogged down, the Taliban insurgents grew stronger and more effective. We learned that the majority of Pakistanis support the Taliban and believe that bin Laden and the Taliban are true champions of Islam.
At the same time, George W. Bush was determined to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein. Our President’s argument to support a coalition to invade Iraq was:
1. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
2. Making nuclear weapons
3. Ties to Al Qaeda
4. Iraq posed a danger to the USA
When this was presented to the UN for approval to invade Iraq, it was voted down. Only Britain joined us in the invasion. The other major world powers did not support us.
President Bush asked advice from various experts and only wanted to hear confirmation of WMDs and the other three dangers mentioned above. When asked if he had consulted his father he apparently replied that he had consulted a higher Father. It is not likely that the Lord advised him to proceed with this unwarranted invasion of Iraq. George H.W. Bush coauthored a book with Brent Scowcroft — "The World Transformed." In the chapter titled "Desert Storm," Bush said, "I firmly believed that we should not march into Baghdad to occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant a later-day hero."
What are the reasons that the Muslims hate us enough to create mass murders? If our leaders had talked to Muslim leaders, they would have been told they consider our culture and military might and aggressions a threat to their religion and way of life. They are outraged by our actions and culture, including putting non-Muslims or "infidels" on "holy" Muslim soil. Furthermore, the Muslims believe that trying to impose a democracy on Iraq and Afghanistan will destabilize the whole Middle East.
There are about one billion Muslims in the world. A very conservative estimate is that five percent of Muslims would happily join Al Qaeda or any other terrorist group if asked. Five percent is 50 million!
We are no longer welcome in Iraq or Afghanistan. We can fight the insurgents and kill many but more will come, indefinitely, with a reservoir of almost 50 million potential insurgents. Our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is responsible for the Insurgency. If we withdraw our troops from those counties, I believe that the insurgency will withdraw but the civil war will continue.
I believe that the only way to de-escalate the war with the radical fundamentalist Muslims is through diplomatic channels. We have to convince the Muslim leaders that we do not want to destabilize the Middle East or impose our culture on them. To demonstrate our sincerity and diffuse the present situation, we and all non-Muslim countries should withdraw all troops from Muslim soil.
The civil war will continue in Iraq and the Kurds will remain separate. We can only hope that more moderate Muslims will have a greater influence on the fundamentalists’ strict interpretation of the Koran so that women and children can get an education and be more influential in everyday Muslim life.