Summary: The recent surge in attacks by Muslims in America mark a new phase in our long war, one long predicted and potentially horrific. We have run wild killing at will in the Middle East. Here are some thoughts about the consequences of this inevitable blowback.
Contents
- Blowback.
- Escalation.
- Muslim violence.
- For More Info.
- Preparation.
(1) Blowback
Slowly, a new phase in our long war has begun. While we continue operations in Afghanistan, reenter Iraq, look for ways to get involved in Syria in Ukraine, and expand our involvement in Africa — the blowback I (and many others) predicted has begun with attacks in the “homeland”. On Thursday morning Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez (24) shot four U.S. Marines at a military recruiting center and a Navy training reserve center in Chattanooga, TN. It wasn’t the first, and it won’t be the last.
On 1 June 2009, Carlos Bledsoe killed 23-year-old Pvt. William Long and wounded 18-year-old Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula at an Army recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas. The best-known case is, of course, Maj. Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, TX, on 5 November 2009. Since then there have been other attacks by Muslims on members of western military forces.
This year has seen a pick-up in our foe’s activities in America. In April Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud was indicted for planning to attack a (unstated) US military base. Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud planned to attack a base in Texas. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez killed 4 Marines and a Navy sailor at Chattanooga TN. Glen Greenwald describes other attacks …
Last October in Canada — weeks after the government announced it would bomb Iraq against ISIS — a Muslim man {saw} two Canadian soldiers in uniform and then ran them over, killing one … Omar Khadr was sent to Guantanamo as a teenager and branded a “terrorist” for killing a U.S. soldier fighting the war in Afghanistan during a firefight. One of the most notorious “terrorism” prosecutions in the U.S. — just brilliantly dissected by my colleague Murtaza Hussain — involved an alleged plot to attack the military base at Fort Dix.
Since 9/11 the flames of war have spread slowly across the Middle East and the flames of racial hatred and religious bigotry have spread across America. We have enjoyed fighting on the “global battlefield”, sending our drones and special operations forces to kill and kidnap at will — while seemingly immune to retaliation.
It’s taken a while, but some Muslims in America “are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” — and begun attacking our military institutions and personnel (a narrower target than the Obama administration’s definition of “combatants” as “all military-age males in a strike zone”. It’s blowback.
(2) Escalation
What comes next? Attacks in America seem unlikely to decrease America’s offensive programs against Muslims overseas. Nor does it seem likely to slow America’s rising tide of sentiment hostile to Islam.
What happens if these attacks in America continue to increase? Perhaps more prejudice against Muslims. Perhaps renewed determination to intervene in the Middle East. If we have one or more severe attacks in the Homeland, perhaps retaliatory strikes in the Middle East.
This could easily spin out of control. Both sides have people who would benefit if it did so.
(3) About Muslim violence in America
(a) Are these attacks terrorism?
The term no longer means anything in the US other than “violent crimes by people we don’t like”. As such, deciding if these attacks are terrorism is complex. For those interested in such things see these by Glen Greenwald at The Intercept and William Saletan at Slate.
(b) What about all those plots foiled by the FBI?
Many pro-war think tanks and media enthusiastically track arrests in the US of Muslims. I’ve found none that distinguish those arrests which were incited and facilitated by the police and FBI. They find young, often not too bright men and guide them every step to their arrest. Recent cases include John T. Booker (aka Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, age 20) Army Specialist Hasan R. Edmonds (age 22), and Fazliddin Kurbanov (31).
(c) Are Muslims violent in America?
There have been 71 mass murders (4 or more killed) in America since 1982. Many on the Right are only concerned with those killed by Muslims, but multiple studies show that only a minority are done by Muslims (e.g., the West Point Combating Terrorism Center and other studies).
Not only Muslims attack military targets in America. For example, Aaron Alexis who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on 16 September 2013 (a history of mental health problems).
(4) For More Information
See William Lind’s look at the lessons from the Chattanooga shootings. If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts about Islam, and especially these…
- The US Army brings us back to the future, returning to WWI’s “cult of the offense”.
- We are the attackers in the Clash of Civilizations. We’re winning.
- Handicapping the clash of civilizations: bet on the West to win big.
(5) Preparation
