Four Decades of Imperial Hubris

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David Hackworth , Soldiers For The Truth

 

 

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11-01-2004

 

Hack's Target

 

Four Decades of Imperial Hubris

 

 

 

By David H. Hackworth

 

 

 

In most of the wars we've fought, our leaders have understood our

enemies and how to take them down. But in the current shootout – a

continuation of the revolutionary fervor first ignited in Algeria in

the 1960s, then fanned by the Iranian Revolution, a huge Jihad victory

against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Israel's humiliating withdrawal

from Lebanon and its interminable fight in Palestine culminating in

9/11 and our retaliatory invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq – America's

leaders from both major parties and our military and intelligence

establishments remain in deep denial and blindly continue to believe

that because we've got the power, we shall overcome.

 

 

 

Ditto a large chunk of the American public that has sent me gigabytes

of e-mail about how we should do a Goldwater on the bad guys and " bomb

them back to the Stone Age " – when that's where most of our 1.3

billion potential Islamic opponents already are. If ignorance is

bliss, America might have cornered the market on happiness.

 

 

 

But unless we get real and bend our brains around what motivates our

enemy, we will never prevail against the increasing millions of

polarized Muslims who are becoming more united with every explosion of

smart bombs and every Yankee occupation boot stumping across their turf.

 

 

 

It's a commonly held belief among Muslims that the United States is

grabbing their land in order to destroy their faith and their ancient

way of life. Most believe that our unconditional support of repressive

Muslim regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and other " friendly "

Arab lands is all about keeping the people in chains and sucking up

their oil on the cheap at a price that Joe and Jane Doe can pay at the

U.S. pump without stroking out.

 

 

 

" Bin Laden has been precise in telling America the reasons he is

waging war on us, " writes " Anonymous, " the author of Imperial Hubris,

a critically important book that defines Osama and what's driving his

bombers. And the reasons don't " have anything to do with our freedom,

liberty, and democracy, but have everything to do with U.S. policies

and actions in the Muslim world. "

 

 

 

A rationale that bin Laden – dressed in white robes topped by a golden

cloak – repeated for our edification last week on global television.

Both presidential candidates came back with canned sound bites,

choosing to respond only to the medium, not the inconvenient message.

 

 

 

The author of Imperial Hubris is a CIA intelligence analyst who's

spent almost two decades " focused exclusively on terrorism, Islamic

insurgencies and the state of affairs of South Asia – Afghanistan and

Pakistan. " He is our top intelligence gun on Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda

and the " dangers they pose and symbolize for the United States. " He

writes:

 

 

 

" The war bin Laden is waging has everything to do with the tenants of

the Islamic religion. He could not have his current – and increasing –

level of success if Muslims did not believe their faith, brethren,

resources, and lands to be under attack by the United States and, more

generally, the West. "

 

 

 

Years after the fall of Tehran and almost 38 months after 9/11, our

leaders still don't recognize the scope of the bin Laden threat and

keep repeating the same mistakes so often that many of the folks we're

fighting are convinced we're crazy.

 

 

 

As the author of Imperial Hubris puts it, " We have not yet begun to

fight the kind of war needed to defeat the forces he (bin Laden) leads

and inspires. "

 

 

 

Our Islamic enemy might not have the capability for a Stalingrad or

Saigon, but according to the terrorist beheader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,

our soldiers in Iraq are " easy and mouthwatering targets. "

 

 

 

History is peppered with examples of a numerically inferior insurgent

opponent destroying a Goliath. Especially a Goliath who obviously

learned nothing from the Vietnam experience.

 

 

 

Israeli historian Martin van Creveld, one of the world's top

insurgency experts, says: " If you are strong, and you are fighting the

weak ... (t)he problem is that you cannot prove yourself against

someone who is much weaker than yourself – the Israeli forces have not

yet lost, but they are, as far as I can see, well on their way to losing. "

 

 

 

We have mindlessly waded into the same minefield and are getting

clobbered daily. And we will never win over an enemy we refuse to

understand.

 

 

 

--Eilhys England contributed to this column.

 

 

 

Col. David H. Hackworth (USA Ret.) is SFTT.org co-founder and Senior

Military Columnist for DefenseWatch magazine. For information on his

many books, go to his home page at Hackworth.com

 

 

 

 

 

11/03/2004