On Sept. 10, 2001, the world was an extremely dangerous place.
The networks of A.Q. Khan in Pakistan were in full swing, peddling
near-turn-key instructions for nuclear weapons to Iran, North Korea
and elsewhere. Libya had a clandestine nuclear program that went
completely unnoticed by the notoriously unintrusive International
Atomic Energy Agency.
In addition to the brutal oppression of women,
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan served as the primary safe haven for
al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden was preparing, as he had previously done
many times, plans to attack the United States and our interests
abroad.
Prior to 2001, numerous U.S. targets, including our barracks in
Lebanon, embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the USS Cole, the World
Trade Towers, and the Khobar towers were struck by cohesive terror
networks actively working to murder Americans. A former U.S.
president was targeted for assassination by the now-deposed Iraqi
dictator.
War had been waged upon us, yet few chose to notice.
For the most part, the United States’ reaction to these
attacks was one of perpetual inaction or flaccid retaliation. A
handful of cruise missiles were launched at night into empty
buildings in Baghdad ““ a devastating attack against Iraqi
cleaning women and night watchmen ““ but this did little to
deter continued Iraqi sponsorship of terrorism.
Weak, ineffective and extraordinarily brief retaliatory missile
strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan emboldened terrorists there
as well. It showed the world that they could get away with murder
““ literally.
Not surprisingly, al-Qaeda perceived America as a paper tiger,
unwilling to shed blood to defend ourselves. Our withdrawal from
Somalia in 1993 after 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in Mogadishu was
cited by bin Laden as further proof of our lack of resolve.
Then came George W. Bush.
Whatever one thinks of President Bush’s domestic policies,
he has done much good in the world of international relations.
Since his tenure began, two of the most odious regimes in the
Middle East ““ Taliban Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein’s
Iraq ““ have been utterly destroyed. Terrorist groups are on
the run as never before. Two-thirds of al-Qaeda’s known
leadership have been killed or captured. Key Sept. 11 planners,
including Abu Zubeida and Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, are now
incarcerated. Thousands more terrorists worldwide have been
apprehended or eliminated.
In place of totalitarianism and terror, the seeds of freedom
have been planted. Eight million Afghans and nearly nine million
Iraqis have, for the first time in decades, participated in free
elections to facilitate representative governments.
The world is ablaze with the talk of democracy. The boldness of
dissidents is at an all-time high. Mubarak was forced to allow
multi-party elections in Egypt. Nation-wide elections in Saudi
Arabia, though woefully inadequate, were held for the first time
ever. Syria has withdrawn from Lebanon, ending its repressive
30-year occupation.
The “nuclear Wal-Mart” of A.Q. Khan has been shut
down. Libya’s entire nuclear program has been turned over,
lock and key, to the United States, where it now sits secure, out
of the hands of a terrorist-supporting megalomaniacal tyrant. U.S.
forces have withdrawn from the Arabian peninsula and thankfully no
longer protect the abominable Saudi royal family.
These accomplishments did not happen spontaneously. The United
States and our allies supported dissidents, pressured dictators,
and destroyed autocratic rule in much of the region.
Bush said Saddam must go, and he went. Bush declared an end to
Taliban rule, and it ended. He demanded that Syria withdraw from
Lebanon, and they left.
For the first time in a long time, the U.S. government is
standing behind its ideals and its threats. And the terrorists are
feeling the heat. Who would have imagined that the Taliban’s
former foreign minister would admit that he regretted sheltering
bin Laden, as he recently did?
It bears without mentioning that no president is perfect. I have
severe reservations about some of Bush’s policies. His
coziness with the Saudis is contemptible and terribly
short-sighted. Our reliance on Pakistan as an ally in the war on
terror is disturbing at best, as is our relationship with Sudanese
intelligence agents. Bush should also exert greater pressure on
China as a means of subverting Kim Jong Il in North Korea.
That said, overall the Bush doctrine is making America safer.
Who, on Sept. 12, 2001, truly believed that our homeland would not
suffer another successful attack within the next five years?
In an age where al-Qaeda is feverishly seeking dirty bombs and
nuclear weapons, the free world cannot afford to sit back
passively. The old world order predicated upon
“stability” and “realism” came crashing
down with the Twin Towers on that warm September morning.
Though his record is not without its blemishes, Bush has
vociferously supported the forces of freedom and opposed the menace
of totalitarianism. He has increased the security of America and
buttressed liberty abroad. For that, he will not soon be
forgotten.
Keyes is a third-year Middle Eastern studies
student.