In his March 1 editorial notebook ("Why They Hate Us"), Mark Seeley starts off asking exactly the right question, namely "What U.S. policies could have triggered the kind of animosity that culminated in the most heinous act of terror on American soil?" He goes on to say that these are tough questions whose answers are "often controversial," again right on the mark. He then turns about-face (seemingly unaware of the contradiction) and goes on to bypass his own question, instead recanting the familiar, "They hate us because we're so darn successful and good" nonsense.
In fact, there are by far too many instances of harmful U.S. policies in the Middle East (and the Third World in general) to even begin to name them all here. Since the 1950s (at least) the U.S. and its CIA have propped up and supported dictatorial regimes (Syria, Iraq and Iran for example), as well as blocked peace efforts in many instances because of (supposed) U.S. economic interests (especially oil interests); provided billions of dollars in weapons to Israel and turned a blind eye when Israel used them aggressively again and again in contradiction of the U.S. laws governing the arms deals; launched military attacks and sanctions against Iraq without the approval (and indeed with the disapproval) of the United Nations Security Council, the body we helped set up to mediate all conflicts between countries.
These few items are just the tip of the iceberg. It's all a matter of public record -- the foreign policies (that we know about) have, over the years, clearly led to the deaths of millions of non-American people. All independent analysts agree that the sanctions against the Iraqi people that started in 1991 and continue now, for example, have led to the deaths of at least 500,000 children.
I can't find any real examples of what Mark refers to as "(U.S.) foreign interventions to preserve democracy." The many interventions, whether we knew it or not, have preserved only the interests of the powerful and destroyed the lives of countless innocents abroad. It's our duty as citizens to be aware of our government's actions -- and that goes double for editorialists!
Jonathan Baugh
Graduate Student
Astronomy and Physics
