The Billiken's Bluff

An informative 11,000 word feature piece in Sunday's NYT Magazine exploring September 11th and the subsequent ongoing Global Stuggle Against Violent Extremism.

Of particular interest is Section III where Danner gives a brief summary of US involvement in the Middle East over the past 60 years. I was reminded/learned that:

-The US armed and bankrolled Iraq's war against Iran in the 80s. An Islamist Revolution had taken place in Iran and the US did not want the revolution to spread to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria.

-The US wanted to draw the USSR into their own version of the Vietnam War. So the US armed and bankrolled the mujahideens in Afghanistan in their battle against the Soviets in the late 70s, early 80s. One of those freedom fighting mujahideens was none other than Osama Bin Laden.

-Iraq emerged victorious, but bankrupt from their war with Iran. Iraq asked all Middle Eastern countries who had lent them money to forgive their debts. In particular Iraq asked Kuwait to forgive debts that it had incurred fighting Iran. Iraq's reasoning was that it was doing a service to its neighbors by preventing a popular uprising from spreading beyond Iran's borders into the greater Middle East. Kuwait balked at this demand. Iraq invaded Kuwait, setting off the First Gulf War.

-Osama Bin Laden, who had recently finished fighting the Soviets, returned to his native Saudi Arabia and offered to defend the Kingdom against Iraq should they invade. King Fahd said he did not want Bin Laden's help, thanks! Instead of aligning with Bin Laden, King Fahd allowed the US to base their military operations out of Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.

This infuriated Bin Laden. He cut off ties with Saudi Arabia, and decided to punish the US, who had armed him in the late 70s.

The rest is history. September 11th, the Afghanistan Operation, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Abu Ghraib, March 11th Madrid, Sharm Al-Shiekh, the London Tube Bombings...

I think I knew all of this, or at least some of this.