Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Gracie Arenas [Click to enlarge]

"They hate us because we're free," President Bush declared shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11. We've heard it echoed from major conservatives - especially from the neoconservatives like Bill O'Reilly. But after four years into what looks like a never-ending "war on terror" I haven't heard much discussion about why the terrorists hate Americans. Then I watched a recent Republican national presidential debate. Of all the GOP candidates, it was Ron Paul who had the wisdom to bring the war on terror debate back to its essentials when he said, "They don't attack us because we're free." I'm happy at least one person isn't satisfied with Bush's answer that the terrorists harm us because they hate our freedom.

My father taught me at an early age that in order to neutralize and avoid conflict with a person, you must decipher and understand that person's motives first. Americans should constantly evaluate and debate the motives behind the terrorists because it is crucial in preventing future terrorist attacks.

I believe the motive behind the terrorists' attacks is simpler than they hate our freedom. Could it be possible that they hate us just as we would hate anyone who invades and occupies our land with weapons, who steals our property by force and who attempts to tear the foundation of our culture? It's not our freedom that they hate, but instead it's the United States' militaristic foreign policy that has had serious involvement in and around the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula for decades.

During the debate, Paul reminded Americans of the United States-led coup that re-installed the Shah in Iran in 1957 and our current relations with the nation as a sad example of blowback - a term coined by the CIA that describes an unforseen repercussion. Like countless other examples of U.S. intervention, the foreign policy makers for the U.S. believed protecting commercial interests (oil) abroad was more important than respecting the sovereignty of another nation. The U.S. support and re-installation of an unpopular dictator and subsequent actions in Iran led to the capture of 66 hostages in November 1979. President Carter retaliated to the capture of the U.S diplomats and froze $8 million in Iranian assets, which encouraged more hostilities. It wasn't until after Ronald Reagan promised to unfreeze the funds that the captors released the hostages - 444 days after their abduction.

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