September 11 and the U.S. War: Beyond the Curtain of Smoke

by Roger Burbach

An informative collection of essays by journalists, activists, and political theorists providing the historical, political, and intellectual context for understanding the events and the consequences... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872864049
• ISBN13: 9780872864047
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: City Lights Books
• Length: 174 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Tour de Force

This book is a compilation of short essays written by highly intelligent analysts who attempt to account for the root causes of terrorism and the lingering implications of the U.S. foreign policy. Contrary to the popular albeit naïve belief, terrorists do not target Western modernism. Instead it is the U.S. foreign policy which makes certain individuals inimically disposed towards the U.S. government. Driven principally by imperialistic motives, the U.S. foreign policy makers seek to defend their strategic and economic interests even at the expense of human lives. Furthermore, U.S. punishes certain regimes which are oppressive and belligerent while it simultaneously aids and protects other which are equally if not more corrupt. In order to protect its strategic and economic interests, U.S. supports Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt, countries known for their extensive records of human rights violations. Also it is unanimously recognized in this book that the chief motive of the U.S. interference in the Middle East is its effort to control the enormous oil resources of the region. Oil thus plays a crucial role in U.S. foreign policy. Oil is the main reason why the U.S. keeps protecting Saudi Arabia. Also oil is the principal reason U.S. aided the Mujahideen in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion and not as is generally assumed to protect the people of Afghanistan. Soviet posed a serious threat to U.S. economic interests in the region. When it furthers the U.S. strategic and economic interests, cooperation with terrorists is morally justifiable. However, when other countries harbour terrorists they need to be severely punished. This is extremely hypocritical and cynical as the U.S. does not judge its own actions by the same standards it applies to others. Not many people know that U.S. government was charged with state terrorism against Nicaragua in 1986 by the International Court in the Hague. The International Court urged the U.S. to immediately put a stop to its terrorist activities in Nicaragua but U.S. did not comply. At this point Nicaragua still has not received any restitution from the U.S. government. Furthermore, U.S. is the only country in the world which has refused to acknowledge Palestinian rights, to prohibit nuclear test explosions, to ban the use of cluster bombs, to give increased aid to developing countries, to condemn apartheid in South Africa, to forbid the use of chemical and biological weapons, to take adequate measures against Nazi and Fascist activities, to study the underlying causes of terrorism, to vote for "a right to food", to accept a resolution stipulating that education, work, health and national development are fundamental human rights. In 1998, U.S. destroyed a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan which produced approximately 90 % of the most important medicines. According to U.S. the plant was secretly used to manufacture chemical warfare. However, no evidence was produced in support of this accusation and the leadin

The answer to "Why do they hate us?" is here

This book has left me utterly drained. I'm exhausted and all cried out, quite frankly. The book is comprised of some 30 essays from many sources each elucidating on the atrocities of 9/11 and comes a long way in explaining "why they hate us?" US Foreign policy has systematically been self-serving, and though it might often have resulted in greater freedom and greater wealth for those of us living in this fabulous country, this has come at a non-negligable cost. September 11 marks the crime against humanity in New York City, Washington, and in Pennsylvania, but it also marks a crime against humanity which occurred in 1973 in Chile where Pinochet, backed by US, killed thousands of civilians there and overthew a democratically elected leader in Santiago. Did you know that the Bush administration gave $20+ million to the Taliban in May of 2001 as thanks for their "war on drugs". Osama Bin Laden and the mujahideen were praised as freedom fighters by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. This book brings to light a lot of topics which are quite hush-hush these days. Unfortunately, if we do not understand the past and try to remedy our failures (and every single one of us on this planet is partially to blame for what came to be on such a horrible day) we are doomed to repeat it. Quite frankly, I pray that the world never see such a dark day in its future.

America and American's are not the problem

This book is fantastic, because it gives the reader a thorough grounding on the background behind the September 11 attack on America. Although, the book is a critical examination of the facts, and does not often paint American foreign policy in a positive light, American's should not feel defensive about the book. American people are some of the warmest and nicest people you could ever hope to meet (apart from the few exceptions we find in every country) and America is a fantastic country. However, what soon became clear from reading this book, was that, some people and countries seem to have a major problem with American foreign policy, which often appears to them, to centre around America's own needs, at the total exclusion of the needs and rights of others (e.g. in the case of the pursuit of oil and gas supplies) Further, there often appears to be a double standard in many of America's foreign policies. The reader will learn that America is hated in some parts of the world, not because America stands for freedom, or loves freedom, but instead because of perceived injustices carried out in the single minded persuit of American interests overseas. The American author's of the essay's in this book have highlighting this point (and many others), clearly and thoroughly. I enjoyed reading the many essay's in the book, and I discovered many interesting and disturbing facts, that I did not previously know. This book gives us the knowledge to ask important question's, and that can only be a good thing in any democracy.