Israel Isn't the Issue - Islamic fanatics hate America in its own right

Opinion Journal.com ^ | 9/20/01 | Norman Podhoretz

[vrwc54]

Is American support of Israel behind the hatred of this country that pervades the Arab world and that literally exploded into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11? Certainly this is what many in Europe believe, though thus far in the United States only a few anti-Israel intransigents, like the columnist Robert Novak, have voiced any such sentiment in public.

[vrwc54]

I'm not a fan of TNR but Marty Peretz also has some strong words about Powell and the anti-terrorist coalition: Here

[traditionalist]

Podhoretz makes some interesting points, but he ignores the obvious. While it is true that Arab anti-americanism has more causes than our subsidizing of Israel, one cannot deny that it is an important one.

Podhoretz is right that anti-American Arabs hate us because they believe we are dominating them. That is what the quotations he provides show. What he ignores, however, is that to the radical Islamist mind, Israel is the primary manifestation of our dominance. They essentially view Israel as an American colony in their territory. That's why they label Israel as only the "little satan." To them, Israel is merely the puppet of us, the "big satan."

The other US policy which radical Arabs view as a manifestation of our dominance is our intervention in the Persian Gulf and the propping up of the regimes in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. This seems to be Bin Laden's primary concern.

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[vrwc54]

Here is his latest article:

How to Win World War IV - by Norman Podhoretz

[First_Salute]

Heck of an article; I filed it; many thanks.