Middle East, Counter-Terrorism and What

¶ … Middle East, Counter-Terrorism and what the writer believes can be done in that area of the nation to promote peace. There were three sources used to complete this paper.

COUNTERTERROISM IDEAS AND THOUGHTS

Violence in the Middle East has been an issue for many years. For the most part the recent violence has been founded in the problems between militant Muslims and non-Muslims. The militant Muslims have come to believe that a government run by secular boundaries will fail the people of the nations (Terrorism and Homeland security pp. 154). The violence comes from disagreements about who shall govern the region and what regions shall be governed as one entity.

Militant Islamists' ideology is racist and anti-Semitic. Its origins date to the movement founded in 1928 called the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood's founder, Hassan al-Banna, expressed "considerable admiration for the Nazi Brownshirts. Like the Nazis who wanted to kill all Jews and enslave others who did not belong to the Aryan super nation, Osama bin Laden also calls for killing all Jews, Americans, and other infidels who prevent Islamists from building a pure Islamic state with global dimensions. In a statement made on February 23, 1998, bin Laden claimed that "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 (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878)."

With militant Muslims the belief is that violence is a method to meet the ultimate goal, which the followers believe is the will of their God.

The militant Muslims bear the most responsibility for the current violence in the Middle East as they believe that it is the will of God and therefore something they are called to do.

If the violence in the Middle East is going to stop and have a lasting peace in the area it is more important than ever to insure that a secular governing body handle the area's political operations. If a secular non-religious body is chosen to run the nations it will reduce the possibility of religious persecution and will promote a fair and equal treatment of all people (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878).

If a Muslim or Christian-based governing body is installed there may be actual persecution of the opposite faith. Even if measures are taken to insure that does not happen, there will always be the perception that persecution is taking place which will destroy any hope of the area living in peace for a lasting amount of time (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878).

One of the issues surrounding the violence in the Middle East is the existence and operation of Hamas.

Hamas is an Islamic organization based in Palestine. It is recognized by many Western nations as a terrorist organization because of the involvement of its members in acts of violence and past terrorism events (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

The organization was founded in 1987 and is most well-known for the suicide bombings that some of its members have carried out at various public arenas in the world.

According to the U.S. State Dept, Hamas is funded by Iran, Palestinian expatriates, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. In a 2002 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas' leaders "should be held accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity" that have been committed by its members. The same report quoted Reuven Paz, former head of research for the Shin Bet (Israeli intelligence agency), who described Hamas as "an authentic product of Palestinian society under Israeli rule, more so than the PA." (Palestinian Authority) (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The world was recently shocked when Hamas won 74 of the 132 available seats in the 2006 Palestine Legislative Council election. While the political alliance against Israelis was the basis for the election results it was interesting to world leaders that voters were willing to vote into office, people who are responsible for many killings (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

In 1992 the military area of the organization was formed and is active today.

Hamas regards the territory of the present-day State of Israel -- as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank -- as an inalienable Islamic waqf or religious bequest, which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims. It asserts that struggle (jihad) to regain control of the land from Israel is the religious duty of every Muslim (fard 'ain). This position is more radical than that now held by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which in 1988 recognized Israel's sovereignty (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The organization has 36 covenants that its members are expected to follow.

The covenants detail how the women and men are to behave and what is to be done with regards to non-Muslims. Its stated mission is to support the oppressed however, violence often becomes part and parcel of that support (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

One of its leaders summed it up with the following quote.

Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The children of Hamas are raised with the belief that they must devote their life to exalting their God which includes fighting against anyone who is non-Islamic.

Another organization, or political movement in the Middle East is Hezbollah which is the "main political party representing the Shia community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc. Founded with the aid of Iran, it follows the distinctly Shiite Islamist ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. It calls for the establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon, on the principle of sovereignty of the jurisconsult, although recognising that this could only come about with the consensus of the Lebanese people (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)."

The organization has a civilian section that is responsible for news services, running hospitals, and educational facilities. It also participates regularly in the Lebanese Parliament. It is recognized in the Arab world as a resistance movement. It is also a recognized political party. The United States along with several other western nations have declared the organization as a terrorist group. The European Union believes that the security wing of the organization is a terrorist-based group but the organization as a whole is not (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah).

Hezbollah has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel and Australia; the U.S. Department of State accuses Hezbollah of killing up to 300 American citizens (over 230 of whom were U.S. Marines in Lebanon - though accountability for the Marine barracks bombing has never been thoroughly established or proven) (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah).Hezbollah, however, denies any involvement in these attacks. The European Union has labeled Hezbollah's External Security Organization or international wing as "terrorist (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)."

Hezbollah and Hamas have a common goal and that is to spread the Islamic message as they see it and to fight against any non-Muslim cause.

Its primary focus has always been to expel Israeli forces.

The Islamic Jihad Movement was created in the 1970s and is a militant Palestine group. The United States has also designated this group as a terrorist group or organization based on past actions of its members (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad).

This group defines jihad as acts of war against Israeli Jews. Palestinian Islamic Jihad also opposes many other Arab governments, whom they see as being insufficiently Islamic and too western. The PIJ's armed wing, the Al-Quds brigades, has claimed responsibility for numerous militant attacks in Israel, including suicide bombings (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad)."

While the Islamic Jihad is smaller than the Hamas and does not have the wide network of support that Hamas has it is still considered a dangerous organization by home security agencies (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad).

The group traditionally carries out attacks against groups of Israelis on the anniversary of the death of the group's leader.

Islamic Jihad is alleged to have used women and teens as suicide bombers. On March 29, 2004, 16-year-old Tamer Khuweir in Rifidia, an Arab suburb of Nablus was apprehended by Israeli security forces as he prepared to carry out a suicide attack. His older brother claimed he was brainwashed to do it by an Islamic Jihad cleric, and demanded the Palestinian Authority investigate the incident and arrest those responsible for it (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad)."

While there are many similarities among the three groups including the hatred of Israelites and the use of suicide bombers for the "good" of the cause there are also several differences. The second group is primarily concerned with ejection from Lebanon while Hamas is interested in a worldwide eradication of Israelites. The third group is small but also stands alone in many of its beliefs.

All three of these groups are a threat to the United States for several reasons. Each of the groups has a hatred for anything not Islamic, with a special hatred for Christian lifestyles. Each of the three groups also has an anger toward the United States because they believe that the United States has supported their enemies and interfered in what they believe is a religious disagreement of which the United States has no part.

They are also dangerous to the United States because of the United States policy of having open doors and welcoming many different cultures and traditions to its lands. For this reason the three groups believe the United States works closely with those that they wish to eradicate. In addition the groups can easily infiltrate the nation and set up terrorist plans in this country because of the freedom of travel that has been allowed until recently.

The United States should never negotiate with any terrorist group with one exception. If the terrorist group wants to work to dismantle itself and begin to reeducate its members to release their terrorist mindset the United States should be willing to work with the group to facilitate such goals. When it comes to acts of terrorism however, the United States should stand strong and refuse to ever negotiate with them for any reason at all.

If the United States wavers and negotiates with a terrorist group, for any reason, it will set the precedent for future attacks in the hopes that the United States will be willing to negotiate again.

While much of the world's attention has been on the United States war on terrorism and the search for bin Laden it is important to remember that religiously-based conflicts have occurred for many years.

One such conflict is that of the Kurdish people.

The PKK has been considered the strongest revolutionary group for many years in the ara. The Kurdish population at this time is 25 million strong and it is mostly located in Syria, Iraq and Turkey. The region is called Kurdistan. Approximately 85% of that population is Sunni Muslim by religious faith.

The Kurds are persecuted worldwide as they become a nomadic people searching for a place to call home. The Turkish army alone has burned thousands of the Kurdish villages and refused to allow Kurds to sing or speak in their native language, instead insisting that they are taught to speak Turkish.

Tens of thousands of people have died in what is coined Kurdish conflict.

The PKK is the largest militant styled Kurdish organization that has a mission to protect Kurdish culture, tradition, language and people with whatever means possible and necessary.

The people who have a stake in the Kurdish conflict are of course the millions of displaced Kurds as well as the Islamic residents who reside in Turkey, Iraq and other nations. The primary nations who are involved with the conflict are Turkey and Iraq and Syria because each of their populations are Kurdish by at least 15%.

The objections of the conflict include the desire by the Kurds to speak their language and teach their children about their culture, history and traditions. They would ultimately like to become a nation of their own. In the conflict they are constantly having to fight to maintain their culture and the right to teach their language, beliefs and traditions to their children while living in borrowed lands.

The Turkish, Syrians, Iraqis and others that have been forced to give up their land for the Kurds to reside often resent their presence and their beliefs and they fight officially and individually to make the Kurds conform to their new residence and nation.

For one to understand the plight and problems of the Kurdish people one only needs to study the history of the Native American. Much like the Native Americans many years ago, today's Kurds are being stripped of their identity without cause.

I believe that the Kurds are deserving of their own nation-state but I also believe it goes more deeply than whether or not they deserve it. There is so much unrest surrounding the conflict while the Kurds fight to maintain who they are, and their host nations fight to strip them of it that allowing them to have some designated land and become their own self-governed nation would go a long way to bringing lasting peace to those regions.

Providing them with an area to set up as a nation would allow the conflicts to come to a halt. It is something they deserve as they try to preserve their language and history for their children and something that would answer the problems being encountered with the borrowed residential lands that they currently occupy in that area of the world.

Osama bin Laden has several key issues. The main focus of his life is to lead his followers in what he believes is a campaign against anyone who is non-Islamic. He has targeted the United States as a classic example of what he tells his followers is the fate of evil Christian capitalists and their greed and deceit. Pointing to the westernized traditions and the freedom of women in those areas bin Laden has managed to convince his followers that all westerners are evil and not of God. He has created an especially hostile attitude toward those who are from the United States.

In recent years there have been several attacks that have been attributed to Al Qaeda, which is the militant group led by bin Laden. The attacks that are most well-known that have been attributed to AL Qaeda include the first attack of the towers which happened more than a decade ago. At that time a bomb was planted under the building and exploded however, the buildings failed to come down as they had been planned to do. The next attack in NYC happened at the towers again but this time it was an attack that gained worldwide attention. The attack of 9-11 using commercial airline planes filled with civilian passengers that were plowed into the towers during business hours will never be forgotten. It sparked a worldwide anger at bin Laden and created the support that President Bush needed to wage a war on terrorism using billions of United States dollars and hundreds of thousands of United States military troops.