America's Moment of Truth

Dr. Moonis Ahmar
Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi

We'll need patience and determination. Our resources may deplete some times but we shall use our military might, intelligence and diplomatic resources at our disposal to rout out global terrorism." American President, George W Bush.

Almost one month after the deadly terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, there still exists a high degree of shock, anger and outrage in America against the forces of evil. The fact that despite possessing a superior intelligence network and massive resources, Washington has not been able to retaliate effectively against those responsible for hitting and destroying the pride of America is itself a reminder of limitations faced by that country. The United States has provided evidence to Nato and Pakistan concerning the involvement of Osama Bin Laden and his organisation "Al-Qaeda" for their involvement in a chain of terrorist acts against America, still it has not been able to restore its pride which remained shattered as a result of September 11 events. With a loss of more than 1.5 trillion dollars and 7,000 casualties in the two terrorist incidents, the United States has still not been able to retaliate against those responsible for such deadly acts.

America's moment of truth has arrived. The country and its people, despite showing a great degree of restrain, courage and resilience in facing cowardly acts of September 11, tend to lack the ability in giving a matching response to such groups who are responsible for not only putting the United States, but the entire world in a major crisis. While dealing with the forces of terrorism, the US Congress, While House, Pentagon, State Department and other segments of power are unable to formulate a policy which could at least restore the pride of American people and teach the enemy a tough lesson. In this scenario, the basic question which has been raised is: Will the United States successfully cope with the challenge which it is facing from numerous enemies and how will it provide a basic sense of security to its people who have suffered heavily as a result of events of September 11? Four important observations could be made while examining America's moment of truth.

First, the American way of life, which has been a source of pride and comfort to many people, will not remain the same. A greater sense of insecurity, paranoia and hatred particularly among the ruling white Americans against Muslims of Arab and West Asian origin will unleash the process of polarisation in American society. Similarly, freedom, independence and a greater degree of mobility, which formed the charm of American society, will be replaced with tight security measures, curtailment on free expression and strong vigilance on the Arab-West Asian Muslim community. Hate crimes, racial attacks and other forms of violence against Muslims, particularly Arabs may become common in the days to come. Second, the competence and leadership of the US administration, particularly of President Bush has become questionable. It is true that patience and wisdom should be the principal objective of American Government in pursuing its war against terrorism, but people in America have a right to ask the failure of Bush administration to punish culprits responsible for the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and take punitive measures against those groups who are known for their terrorist acts against the United States.

President Bush has failed to "strike when the iron is hot" and the crisis since September 11, which gave an opportunity to Washington to rid of a chain of terrorists once and for all is lost. Merely by following a policy of threats and brinkmanship, the Bush administration has failed to take a decisive action against terrorists, thus not been able to restore the pride of American people and provide them with a basic sense of security.

Third, despite the huge material and physical losses faced by the United States as a result of September 11 events, there is a great likelihood that American nation, while having a history of resilience against various forms of challenges will recover from the present crisis and regain the pride which they had lost as a result of deadly terrorist attacks. While, the leadership in the White House may not be of that calibre but American people with their will and determination will again gain confidence amidst an atmosphere of gloom and pessimism. Despite the desire of some hard liners in the United States to curb human freedom and unleash crackdown on the Muslims of Arab and West Asian origin, such an attempt will be foiled by those Americans who understand the value of freedom for all and respect of human rights. It seems that a thought process and soul searching in America has begun which tries to understand the causes of terrorism against their country and how such a menace could be effectively curbed. The greatest asset of the US is its huge reservoir of qualified people, democracy and establish institutions, which at this critical moment will help in regaining confidence and pride of that country.

Finally, the military-industrial complex in the United States, which has always exploited crises and enemy image to embark on heavy military expenditures will face it difficult this time to cash the situation because of huge material loss to American economy. President Bush may say that despite the depletion of resources, his administration would use military might and technology to fight terrorism but the fact of the matter is as a result of September 11 incidents, there is not enough money to embark on massive military adventure. Perhaps, no event, including Pearl Harbour, Second World War or the Cold War had inflicted so much of material damage to American economy like the destruction of World Trade Centre. Not only serious damage has been done to American economy but also its ramifications are far and wide. Most important, if the war against terrorism is without any specific direction and is just aimed to take out anger of American people, the outcome may be further economic disasters for the United States. On this account, it will take several months, if not years, for America to recover from the material implications of September 11 events before it could think of utilizing resources for a large-scale military operation. Moreover, US allies like Nato and Japan, in view of their own economic predicament are unable to bail out American economy in moment of crisis.

It seems that the United States will learn lessons from its present moment of crisis because it is its last chance to rationalise its foreign policy goals and objectives. American people have largely suffered because of oppressive, unfair and irrational policies pursued by Washington in different parts of the world. A process of rethinking in the United States about formulating foreign policy based on moral, fair and just principles can go a long way in minimizing the number of enemies held by the United States. Surely, American people have the capability and strength to emerge successfully from the present crisis but the future of the United States as a global power primarily depends on revitalising its foreign policy, particularly in those areas where it is rightly or wrongly considered as a source of all trouble.

This article was written before the attack on Afghanistan

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:37:01 PM

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