Cole Is Misinformed

by Cliopatria

I rarely find Juan Cole's Informed Comment particularly informative, but his backhanded defense of Respect MP George Galloway features a wholly incorrect reading of the historical record.

The issue: after Galloway, the fanatically anti-war MP, described the London attacks as a response to British participation in the war in Iraq, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw responded,"People have to remember that 11 September was in 2001 before the military action." Cole then takes Straw to task:"Straw seems unaware that according to the September 11 Commission report, al-Qaeda conceived 9/11 in some large part as a punishment on the US for supporting Ariel Sharon's iron fist policies toward the Palestinians."

This would seem to be a compelling rebuttal to Straw's claim, except for one problem. It's wholly untrue. Nowhere in its report did the 9/11 Commission argue that"al-Qaeda conceived 9/11 in some large part as a punishment on the US for supporting Ariel Sharon's iron fist policies toward the Palestinians." The report is quite eloquent, and persuasive, in arguing, as the commission's senior consultant, Ernest R. May, has recalled,"that Al Qaeda attacked the United States because of what the nation was rather than because of what it did."

Indeed, to quote May further, for political reasons the commission decided not even to entertain the thesis that Cole claims it adopted."The report is weak in laying out evidence for the alternative argument that the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Capitol might not have been targeted absent America's identification with Israel, support for regimes such as those in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan, and insensitivity to Muslims' feelings about their holy places. The commissioners believed that American foreign policy was too controversial to be discussed except in recommendations written in the future tense. Here we compromised our commitment to set forth the full story."

Now, it might be that the 9/11 Commission was wrong, and Al-Qaeda" conceived 9/11 in some large part as a punishment on the US for supporting Ariel Sharon's iron fist policies toward the Palestinians." My guess is that this certainly represents Juan Cole's belief. But his misrepresentation of the report's conclusions is staggering.

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More Comments:

Robert KC Johnson - 7/12/2005

I'm sure that Cole believes much of what you report above.

My post, however, deals with his assertions about what the 9/11 Report says--where he simply was wrong.

Stephen Francis Kislock III - 7/12/2005

Mr. Johnson,
Professor Cole and MP George Galloway are very right in expressing their views as he bombing in Medrid and London and 9-11 in the US were payback.

History,the US and Great Britain were/are two of the big players in destroying Democratically Elected Governments, in the mid-east. Syria, in 1949 the CIA toppled President Shukri al-Quwatli Government. Iran, the August 19, 1953 CIA led coup d'etat removed Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq Government. In 1975 the US was instrumental in supporting Saddam Hussein rise to power.

Mr. Johnson, please read Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America". The Palestinian issue, is very important to the followers of Islam. To quote bin Laden's Letter "The blood pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged. You must know that the Palestinians do not cry alone; their women are not widowed alone; their sons are not orphaned alone.".

MP George Galloway's testimony was the most important heard on Capital Hill in years. Senator Coleman and C-Span must be congratulated for bring MP George Galloway to the attention of the American people.

Israel is the open wound in the Mid-East. The Indiscriminate Killing of Palestinian Men, Women and Children by IDF and the wanton destruction of Homes and Villages, is Osama bin Laden's Chief reason for the Attacks on the western allis of Israel.

The analogy I use, The fredom Fighters, use their Body as a Weapon, much like the Kamikaze did in WW II. The Military Strenght of the US is too much for a frontal attack.

And someone Tell Me WHY Osama bin Laden, LIVES?

Robert KC Johnson - 7/8/2005

Cole's quote has nothing to do with the 9-11 Commission Report's recapitulation of Bin Laden's rhetoric, or its analysis of why that rhetoric found a "ready audience" in the Arab world.

Again, Cole stated: "Straw seems unaware that according to the September 11 Commission report, al-Qaeda conceived 9/11 in some large part as a punishment on the US for supporting Ariel Sharon's iron fist policies toward the Palestinians." Yet, as I noted in the post, the Commission report concluded exactly the opposite. As May points out, there are two broad schools of thought on Al Qaeda's motivations--one holding that "Al Qaeda attacked the United States because of what the nation was," the other holding that Al Qaeda targeted the US "because of what it did." Cole obviously falls in the second camp. The commission report just as obviously falls into the first camp. The most charitable conclusion that can be reached is that Cole hasn't read the commission report.

Louis N Proyect - 7/8/2005

Bin Ladin shares Qutb's stark view, permitting him and his followers to rationalize even unprovoked mass murder as righteous defense of an embattled faith. Many Americans have wondered, "Why do 'they' hate us?" Some also ask, "What can we do to stop these attacks?"

Bin Ladin and al Qaeda have given answers to both these questions. To the first, they say that America had attacked Islam; America is responsible for all conflicts involving Muslims. Thus Americans are blamed when Israelis fight with Palestinians, when Russians fight with Chechens, when Indians fight with Kashmiri Muslims, and when the Philippine government fights ethnic Muslims in its southern islands. America is also held responsible for the governments of Muslim countries, derided by al Qaeda as "your agents." Bin Ladin has stated flatly, "Our fight against these governments is not separate from our fight against you."14 These charges found a ready audience among millions of Arabs and Muslims angry at the United States because of issues ranging from Iraq to Palestine to America's support for their countries' repressive rulers.

full: http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.htm