Terrorists are the Cause of Violence By Josh L. Howard May 2004 Per chance, I found this publication. I was doing some research on the subject of the Middle East politics, and more than once, your published articles were pulled by Google. Since this is an academic journal, as it claims in the mission statement, I was hoping to find a fair and balanced view on the subject. After reading almost all the op-ed and opinion articles published so far, it became clear to me that either this is another lynching pad designed to discredit America and Israel or that its editors are practicing aggressive censorship; either way, articles like mine never see the light of the day. It is a shame that with this selective standard, you contribute to gross misrepresentation of the truth. But that will not discourage me from writing and at least letting the editors know that their role in providing one side of the story is not appreciated. The articles you have published are all critical of the US missions in the Middle East. They portray the military actions as the cause of violence and instability in the region. Some of the authors of your articles went as far as blaming the rise of Islamic terrorism on US intervention in Iraq. I must say that this line of logic shows either utter ignorance of the facts or blind opposition to the US efforts. Some have charged the current administration of an ideological war although the president stated over and over that his mission is to bring stability to the region and destroy terrorism. The president has been more than emphatic in giving Iraqis their sovereignty by the end of June, and for people to ignore that and paint the US efforts as occupiers is reckless to say the least. Instead of thanking the troops for risking their lives every day so that Iraqis are free, your writers blame the violence there on the presence of armed forces in Iraq. When terrorists attacked the US, there was not a single US soldier in Iraq. So how could the US presence cause or encourage terrorism.  When the US embassies in Africa were attacked and scores of innocent civilians murdered, there was no military action in any Muslim country. When Israeli civilians were murdered by Islamic terrorists, neither Israel nor the US was occupying Gaza and the West Bank or any other Muslim lands for that matter. The fact of the matter is that the Middle East communities are active participants in a culture of violence that went beyond its borders and effected cities as far away as New York and Washington. When that happened, it is only natural that a democratic government such as ours takes all necessary measures in order to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. I do not understand the logic of the anti-war writers who seem to dominate the space of your journal. Are they actually suggesting that the US government not act at all after the 911 attacks? If that is the case, I am glad that they are not in charge of running the country. If they were, the US would have suffered tens of additional terrorist attacks between 2001 and 2004. There is no way of keeping our country secure except by taking the fight to their backyard. Despite the naysayers, Iraq will soon have a stable interim government. In one year time, they will be governed by an elected democratic regime. For any realist, that is an incredible achievement considering that it took us more than 200 hundred years to establish a mature and representative authority. For the Iraqis to have all that in two or three years, it is a testament to the credibility and commitment of the US to the process of nation building around the world. For those who still doubt that this is the only way to change the Middle East and the Muslim world, they only need to look around and count how many democratic regimes there are around. Even after watching Saddam falls the way he did, these tyrants are still clinging to power and looking for ways to trick their people into believing that they are democratic and representative. No wonder why they are attacking the US proposals for Middle East reform. They are certain that US sponsored democracy will empower the people for a change and weaken their grip on power. They are opposing any reform under the pretext that it is being imposed and they are seeking to blame the lack of democratic institutions on Israel. None of these realities are discussed in the articles you select to publish because your mission seems to be supportive of continuous despotic regimes in the Muslim world. Like many other apologetic publications, you failed to publish one single piece that condemns in clear words the homicidal acts of Islamic extremists who killed scores of innocent civilians in Israel and now in the US. In conclusion, it is not this war that is creating terrorists. Terrorists existed way before we fought back. This is self-defense and if the world or the peaceniks are trying to deny us our right to protect ourselves, then let them--not us--turn the other cheek when they are attacked or go and try to live among them. ACTIONS: >> email this article to a friend  >> react to this article  >> more articles Note: Please email your opinion to op-ed@majalla.org; Op-Ed articles are not peer-reviewed. New Op-Ed articles are published monthly, and as special edition when warranted