From the NewsHour last night, Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, discussed why Osama bin Laden wanted to attack the United States:
By provoking America, he hoped to get America to follow in the footsteps of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. He imagined that America, like the other super-power, the Soviet Union, would blumder into Afghanistan and there be bled to death by Muslim holy warriors. So it was an escalation on his part to try to draw the U.S. into Afghanistan and then rally Muslims to attack us, thereby creating a unified Muslim umma — an army of Muslims who would then be able to spread their message throughout the world.
…
We don’t know the ending.
I can tell you this: in November or December of 2001, when American and coalition forces invaded Afghanistan and fought the battle of Tora Bora, although we didn’t capture or kill bin Laden or Zawahiri or some of the other top lieutenants, al Qaeda was essentially dead. Not only had most of the members been killed or captured, it was repudiated throughout the world. The internal documents show that they were in great despair.
Unfortunately, Iraq — the war in Iraq — has given them new life, and I fear the progeny of al Qaeda are going to be with us for a long time.
Post a Comment
No personal attacks on any of the participants here.