September, 2004

The 9/11 Question Still to Be Answered

Max Ediger

(The author, a U.S. citizen, is the coordinator of the Centre for Justpeace in Asia and a staff member of Documentation for Action Groups in Asia [DAGA] based in Hong Kong).

In 2001, two innocent words, "nine eleven," suddenly became a very significant part of global language. Who among us does not still see horrible images of smoke, fire and death and feel fear again erupt in our lives when we hear those two words? Who among us does not continue to feel great anxiety as the War on Terror, which was unleashed as a response to 9/11, continues to destroy lives and even entire countries? While the true and complete history of that terrible day has yet to be written, those two words will continue to affect the lives of us all far into the future.

9/11 also marks a very significant turning point in a presidency that, until then, seemed to have no direction or focus. Suddenly, and with seemingly few questions asked, the global community moved again into the frightening atmosphere of the Cold War when the world was divided between those on our side and those not on our side. "You are either for us or against us" defined clearly the direction U.S. President George W. Bush and his team of neo-conservative advisors was planning to lead both the United States and the world. In short order, Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded, the United Nations was labelled as irrelevant, countries and individuals were saddled with negative labels that further alienated friends and fuelled enemies and a unilateral U.S. policy that ignored the importance of democratic processes both nationally and globally was set into motion. Today the death toll of this war on terror continues to climb, and now nearly 1,000 American soldiers have died along with approximately 6,000 people in Afghanistan and up to 10,000 in Iraq with no end to the growing destruction in sight. We are once again a divided world, and that division is increasing our fear and distrust of each other.

But as the war rages on and the world becomes, once again, more and more polarised, one of the shortest questions in the English language has yet to be truly asked or answered with sufficient seriousness: "Why?" Why did these men fly planes into the World Trade Centre killing themselves and some 3,000 innocent civilians? Why do threats of similar actions continue to terrorise the world? Why does stark division and inequality continue to drive humanity deeper into deadly conflict?

The why question was, of course, asked immediately following the horrific events of that momentous day, but the answer given was far too simplistic to explain the complex events that drove people to take these drastic and deadly actions. In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people shortly after 9/11, President Bush answered the query in a most one-dimensional way, perhaps with the intention of removing it from the minds of the American people.

"Americans," he said, "are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber—a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms—our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."

Since then, the "why" question has hardly been revisited by the U.S. administration or the media.

There is, of course, certain comfort in seeking simple answers to complex and confusing issues. It saves us from stressful debates, it prevents us from having to do serious and potentially painful self-criticism, it makes the identification of "friend" and "enemy" less complicated and it simplifies the search for a response of some kind. A great danger, however, lies in drawing such simplified conclusions, and that danger is that our solutions also become simple, incomplete, ineffective and even potentially devastating.

U.S. policy in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has unfortunately been based on a simplistic analysis of the problem. If the issue is simply that "they" hate us because of our freedoms, then we can destroy "them" and forcefully put in place our own system of democracy and freedom in order to end this hatred and ensure peace and security. Thus, attacks against Afghanistan and Iraq have been launched resulting in much death and suffering, the destruction of the livelihood of millions of people, the creation of a vacuum of leadership and the total destruction of economic and political structures considered to be the systems through which "their" hatred against us were maintained and turned into destructive actions. If this was, indeed, the proper response to 9/11, why is there yet no growing feeling of global security and peace? Fear, instead, has become a constant part of life.

Consequently, perhaps we need to revisit the "why" question in order to find deeper reasons for the hatred and resentment that created the 9/11 horror. To seek a deeper understanding does not mean we want to find justification for the acts of terror, but rather we desire to find truly effective and lasting solutions so that future generations need not live with the fear and insecurity under which the world now cowers.

One important step in addressing "why" would be for the United States to take a critical look at how their foreign policies affect people in other countries. As the world's lone superpower, the United States does touch the lives of virtually every human being through their political and economic policies. If these policies anger and alienate people in other countries, turning them against the United States, then these policies may be one of the root causes of the 9/11 attacks and should be examined. Transforming such negative policies and treating the global community with empathy and respect might go a very long way in neutralising the forces of terrorism and hatred. The present war on terrorism does not address this issue at all but is further acerbating it.

As Christians, we can and must play a significant role in challenging all governments to have the courage and wisdom to openly and honestly seek answers to the root causes of division, violence and alienation. We must confront these powerful institutions with the danger created by seeking very simple answers to hard, complex issues and conflicts. The root causes of 9/11 have yet to be clearly identified and responded to; and until this happens, the world cannot feel any sense of security. Let us continue to ask why and to seek the truth, for it is the truth that can finally set us free.