US refusal to examine its own Mideast policies enabled future terrorism

Evidence

I am not suggesting that critical reflection by the US government on this history and these grievances would remove the blame of 9/11 from al-Qaeda, nor do I condone in any way al-Qaeda’s ideology or tactics. I am suggesting that no effective plan to diminish the long-term threat of terrorism emerged in the months and years following 9/11 because the US government refused to take seriously how its own policies in the Middle East contributed to the conditions that gave rise to 9/11. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 267

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: US support for the mujahideen inadvertently seeded the creation of al-Qaeda — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 257; The US held contradictory Islamist allies and enemies simultaneously — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 214; US hostility to Islamism depended on whether it served US interests — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 233 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• US policy frames the world’s 2 billion Muslims as presumptive terrorists. #expands (0.70)
• US hostility to Islamism depended on whether it served US interests #corroborates (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 233
• US counterterrorism policies radicalized disaffected Somali youth into insurgency #exemplifies (0.60) — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 250
• The US held contradictory Islamist allies and enemies simultaneously #corroborates (0.55) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 214
• US imperial interests, not Islamist actions, determine Islamist ally or enemy status #corroborates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 278
• Clash of civilizations framing located terrorism’s cause within Islam itself #complicates (0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 266
• The US alternately armed and opposed Islamist forces to preserve its regional domination. #corroborates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 29
• US policy backed dictators and counterrevolution against the Arab Spring #complicates (0.45) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 580