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External Commentaries and Background Articles
"Osama bin Laden Urges Attacks on the U.S." Washington Post Posted: 2/13/2003
The translated transcript of Osama bin Laden's message as aired on the al
Jazeera satellite network.
Article Date: February 11,
2003
"The Islamofascist Agenda" National Review Online Posted: 12/9/2002
By Deroy Murdock
From Bali to Nigeria to cells in America itself, Islamist fanatics are moved
by hatred of non-Muslims, and ultimately by hatred of life itself.
Article Date: December 3, 2002
"Corporate America's funding of terrorism?" Jewish World Review Posted: 12/9/2002
By Avi Jorisch
"Why are local Lebanese subsidiaries of major American corporations--like
PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Western Union--lending comfort and support to
terrorists by advertising on Hezbollah television?"
Article Date: Oct. 24, 2002
"The Good & the Bad: Stephen Schwartz on Islam and Wahhabism" National
Review Online Posted: 11/22/2002
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
An interview with Stephen Schwartz, author of The Two Faces of Islam: The
House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror, focusing on the history, nature,
and prevalence of the fundamentalist sect of Wahhabism.
Article Date: November 18, 2002
"Moral Hazard: The Life of a Liberal Muslim" The New Republic Posted: 11/22/2002
By Franklin Foer
UCLA legal theorist Khaled Abou El Fadl has been denounced and ostracized by
fellow Muslims, and even received death threats, for arguing that Islamist
thinkers and clerics have "produced a culture that eschews self-critical and
introspective insight and embraces projection of blame and a fantasy-like
level of confidence and arrogance." (Registration Required)
Article Date: November 12, 2002
"Pharaoh of Today" ABCNEWS Posted: 11/22/2002
A translation of an audiotaped message aired today on Arab satellite
television network al Jazeera; U.S. intelligence authorities consider it to
be the voice of Osama bin Laden.
Article Date: November 12, 2002
"Al Qaeda Training Manual" U.S. Dep't of Justice Posted: 11/22/2002
Excerpts from a document found in an Al Qaeda member's home in England, with
exhortations to jihad, statements of purpose, and techniques of terrorism.
Article Date: October 8, 2002
"Militant Islam's New Strongholds" New York Post Posted: 11/7/2002
By Daniel Pipes and Jonathan Schanzer
The Islamist movement--the movement of those who seek to make Islamic law
the basis of their country’s constitution and legal code--is not confined to
the Arab world, nor does it always pursue its goal by peaceable persuasion.
As Daniel Pipes and Jonathan Schanzer report, important groups of Islamists
can be found in a large part of the world, from East Asia to West Africa,
and they often use terror to achieve their ends.
Article Date: October 22, 2002
"In the Party of God" The New Yorker Posted: 11/7/2002
By Jeffrey Goldberg
Part I of an arresting report on Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite terrorist
organization: its history, activities, goals, and aims.
Article Date: 10/7/02
"The ideology behind the thuggery" Weekly Standard Posted: 11/4/2002
By David Brooks
The ideology of Saddam Hussein's Baathist Party and its similarity to
Naziism.
Article Date: November 11, 2002
"The Bin Laden Memorial" The Radical Capitalist Posted: 10/25/2002
By Dan Roentsch
"Rebuilding the towers - or structures better than the originals - does not
cheat the heroes of their tribute, it is their tribute. If you want to
commemorate the event of the attacks, put a plaque on the side of one of the
buildings, and for an inscription write: 'On September 11, 2001, a handful
of tent-dwellers thought they could stop this.'"
Article Date: January 22, 2002
"On hallowed ground" Miami Herald Posted: 9/9/2002
By Dave Barry
Barry's memorable and moving (non-humor) tribute to the heroism of the
Flight 93 passengers.
Article Date: September 7, 2002
"The NEA's Sensitivity Tutors" TownHall.com Posted: 9/6/2002
By George Will
Columnist George Will writes that the National Education Association's
suggested lessons for the first anniversary of 9/11 illustrate three
appalling attitudes on the part of American educators.
Article Date: August 28, 2002
"Terrorism and Freedom: An Outside View" Social Science Research Council Posted: 9/6/2002
By Luis Rubio
Luis Rubio, general director of the Center for Research for Development in
Mexico City, argues that the 9/11 attacks tend to disprove the "clash of
civilizations" thesis put forward by Samuel P. Huntington. Rather, says
Rubio, they point to a clash within each civilization, including Islamic
civilization, between a modernist vision and a medievalist one.
"Islam and Liberal Democracy: The Challenge of Secularization" Journal of Democracy Posted: 9/6/2002
By Abdou Filali-Ansary
A brief description of the differences in the religious attitude between one
of Islam's major Islamist thinkers and one of Islam's major anti-Islamist
thinker.
Article Date: 1996
"The Religious Undercurrents of Muslim Economic Grievances" Social Science Research Council Posted: 9/6/2002
By Timur Kuran
Timur Kuran, professor of economics and law at the University of Southern
California, writes: "Muslims who are angry at the United States are
propelled by more than their own poverty or that of their societies. They
are driven also by a vision that treats Islam as the answer to every
conceivable problem and attributes all failures to no-Islamic influences."
"Who Are Active Terrorists?" Middle East Forum Posted: 9/6/2002
The Middle Quarterly draws on a report by the Congressional Research Service
to list and describe seventeen Islamist terrorist groups, and rate their
degree of activity.
Article Date: December 2000
"Manual for a 'Raid'" New York Times Review of Books Posted: 9/6/2002
By Hassan Mneimneh Kanan Makiya
Two scholars describe a five-page document written by one of the 9/11 terrorists to his fellow terrorists. In it, instructions for the hijackings
are described in both literal and religious-ritualistic terms.
Article Date: 1/9/02
"Translation of Hijacker's Note" ABCNEWS.com Posted: 9/6/2002
Translation of the hijacker's document provided by ABC News.
Article Date: Sept. 28, 2001
"September 11: What Our Children Need to Know" Thomas Fordham Foundation Posted: 9/6/2002
Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundations,
explains that the NEA's politically correct lessons for 9/11 prompted his
foundation to seek out an alternative series of civic lessons for 9/11/02.
Article Date: September 2002
"September 11 and the Struggle for Islam" Social Science Research Council Posted: 9/6/2002
By Robert Hefner
Robert W. Hefner, a professor in the department of anthropology at Boston
University, writes that Middle Eastern governments, immediately after World
War II, tried to dampen religious forces and strengthen the states. But the
failures of nationalism and socialism in the 1970s and 1980s led the
populations of those countries to turn to religion.
"The Mullahs and the Postmodernists" The Atlantic Monthly Posted: 9/6/2002
By Jonathan Rauch
Jonathan Rauch observes that radical Islamists and radical-egalitarians,
despite their great differences, stand united in their opposition to
Enlightenment individualism.
Article Date: January 2002
"9/11 Lesson Plan" The New York Times Posted: 9/6/2002
By Thomas Friedman
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner
for his commentary on the Middle East, offers three good ideas for a 9/11 lesson
plan.
Article Date: September 4, 2002
"Under Our Very Noses: The Terrorist Next Door" National Review Posted: 1/29/2002
By Adrian Karatnycky
Many of the September 11 terrorists "became extremists while living in the West, sustained by fanatical mullahs and organizations that operate openly in our midst."
Article Date: 11/5/2001
"Occidentalism" The New York Review of Books Posted: 1/18/2002
By Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit
A stunning cultural and philosophical analysis of anti-Westernism--among Western as well as Islamic and other thinkers.
Article Date: January 17, 2002
"Don't 'Engage' Rogue Regimes" Wall Street Journal Posted: 12/22/2001
By Michael Rubin
A scholar of the Middle East argues for confrontation rather than compromise in the war on terrorism; the article is of special interest for the author's report of a visit to Sudan.
Article Date: December 12, 2001
"Illusion of Muslim Unity" Dawn Posted: 12/22/2001
By Irfan Husain
A journalist for the Pakistani magazine points out the core problem Islamic countries face: "is a conflict between the perceived dictates of our faith and the demands of modernization and rationality. For centuries, Muslim rulers have been unwilling to provide the space and freedom needed for free thought to flourish, exercising tight control over intellectuals and teachers. This is why there is such little creative activity in the Muslim world."
Article Date: December 15, 2001
"Non-Judgment Day at Yale" The Washington Post Posted: 12/20/2001
By Michael Kelley
Using a Newsweek column by a Yale student, Michael Kelly shows the extent to which cultural relativism has infected education and prevented many from making proper moral judgments.
Article Date: December 19, 2001
"Transcript of Usama bin Laden video tape" CNN.com Posted: 12/13/2001
Article Date: December 13, 2001
"An Arsenal of Believers" The New Yorker Posted: 12/13/2001
By Nasra Hassan
A chilling, on-the-scene description of how Palestinian terrorist groups recruit and train suicide bombers.
Article Date: November 19, 2001
"Jihad Lit" New York Times Posted: 12/11/2001
By Neil MacFarquhar
Excerpts from the biography of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the man who convinced Osama bin Laden to launch his jihad against the West.
Article Date: December 9, 2001
"Trial by Fury" The New Republic Posted: 12/7/2001
By Laurence H. Tribe
A renowned constitutional scholar approves the executive order permitting military tribunals—but says Congress should modify it.
Article Date: November 29, 2001
"On The Subject of Executive Branch Arrests and Trials" Cato Institute Posted: 12/7/2001
By Timothy Lynch
Timothy Lynch offers the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony against the constitutionality of military tribunals.
Article Date: December 4, 2001
"Military Tribunals:
A Long And Mostly Honorable History" FindLaw's Writ Posted: 12/7/2001
By John Dean
FindLaw's John Dean takes a second look at the constitutionality of military tribunals and finds they pass muster.
Article Date: December 7, 2001
"Bioterrorism and Pharmaceuticals: The Influence of Secretary Thompson’s Cipro Negotiations" American Enterprise Institute Posted: 12/4/2001
By John E. Calfee
A detailed examination of the U.S. government's jawboning of Bayer and the likely consequences for intellectual property rights.
Article Date: November 1, 2001
"Deterrence Works" London Telegraph Posted: 12/4/2001
This editorial argues that answering force with force is both practical and moral.
Article Date: December 2, 2001
"Fighting Militant Islam, Without Bias" City Journal Posted: 11/22/2001
By Daniel Pipes
Pipes clearly distinguishes Islam from Islamism--the militant fundamentalist
movement that supports terrorism worldwide--and offers ways to neutralize
the latter.
Article Date: Autumn 2001
"An Investigation in Egypt Illustrates Al Qaeda's Web" New York Times Posted: 11/22/2001
By Susan Sachs
An investigative report by the New York Times reveals the reach and
ruthlessness of al-Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad.
Article Date: November 21, 2001
"National ID Cards: New Technologies, Same
Bad Idea" Cato Institute Posted: 11/22/2001
By Adam Thierer
A critique of national ID cards with a host of links to relevant information
sources on the issue.
Article Date: September 28, 2001
"Don't Shred the Constitution To Fight Terror" Wall Street Journal Posted: 11/20/2001
By Robert A. Levy
The Executive order establishing military tribunals vests too much power in one branch of government. (registration may be required)
Article Date: November 20, 2001
"Postmodern Jihad: What Osama bin Laden Learned from the Left" The Weekly Standard Posted: 11/19/2001
By Waller R. Newell
The influence of European philosophers and writers like Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul, Sartre, and Franz Fanon on the Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist movements.
Article Date: November 26, 2001
"Bringing Al-Qaeda to Justice: The Constitutionality of Trying Al-Qaeda Terrorists in the Military Justice System" The Heritage Foundation Posted: 11/16/2001
By David B. Rivkin, Jr.
The legality of trying terrorists before military tribunals may turn on whether the trials are held in the United States or abroad.
Article Date: November 5, 2001
"Bush Order on Military Tribunals is Further Evidence
That Government is Abandoning Democracy's Checks and Balances" ACLU Posted: 11/15/2001
By Laura W. Murphy, Director
ACLU opposes military tribunbals.
Article Date: November 14, 2001
"Infinite Justice: Military, not federal trials, for the terrorists." National Review Online Posted: 11/15/2001
By Douglas W. Kmiec
A legal scholar looks at the option of trying terrorists before military tribunals
Article Date: November 11, 2001
"War Crimes Are Different" Wall Street Journal Posted: 11/15/2001
By Douglas W. Kmiec
Rules that make sense in the context of ordinary crimes, but not in the context of terrorism, could be set aside by military tribunals. (registration may be required)
Article Date: November 15, 2001
"Terror Court: Full Text of Bush Executive Order" ABC News Posted: 11/15/2001
Text of the presidential order allowing for the establishment of millitary tribunals to try non-Americans suspected of international terrorism.
Article Date: November 13, 2001
University of Michigan Documents Center University of Michigan Documents Center Posted: 11/15/2001
A treasure trove of documents concerning the war on terrorism and its background.
"No more jury trials for terrorists" TownHall.com Posted: 11/15/2001
By Michelle Malkin
Columnist Michelle Malkin on military tribunals for suspected terrorists
Article Date: October 24, 2001
"Appropriate Justice For Terrorists:
Using Military Tribunals Rather Than Criminal Courts" FindLaw Posted: 11/15/2001
By John Dean
FindLaw columnist John Dean urged military tribunals for suspected terrorists immediately after the September 11 attack.
Article Date: September 28, 2001
"Cipro and the Risks of Violating Pharmaceutical Patents" Natiional Center For Policy Aanlysis Posted: 11/15/2001
By Frank R. Lichtenberg
An economist looks at the benefits of protecting pharmaceutical patents, such as Bayer's patent on Cipro.
Article Date: November 15, 2001
"Terrorists and the Law of War" The Weekly Standard Posted: 11/15/2001
By Jerome M. Marcus
Military tribunals will allow the government to prosecute suspected terrorists for their central crimes, not secondary ones.
Article Date: November 19, 2001
"Seizing Dictatorial Power" New York Times Posted: 11/15/2001
By William Safire
U.S. criminal courts can handle trials of al-Qaeda terrorists. (registration may be required)
Article Date: November 15, 2001
"Remarks by the President to United Nations General Assembly" Posted: 11/12/2001
By George W. Bush
The President's stern and stirring address to the nations of the world about the war on terrorism.
Article Date: November 10, 2001
"The Scandal of Middle East Studies: Bankrupt Scholarship and Foolish Policy Advice" Weekly Standard Posted: 11/12/2001
By Stanley Kurtz
A scathing critique of postmodern, leftist scholars of Islam and the Middle East.
Article Date: November 19, 2001
"Who Are the Active Terrorists?" Middle East Quarterly Posted: 11/12/2001
A chart showing that religious terrorist groups are now much more active than Marxist ones
Article Date: December 2000
"Bin Laden rails against Crusaders and UN" BBC News Posted: 11/5/2001
The text of a videotaped statement made by Osama bin Laden and broadcast on al-Jazeera television.
Article Date: November 3, 2001
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan Posted: 11/5/2001
A women's organization that has shown extraordinary courage in calling for secular democracy in opposition to fundamentalist rule. The site contains photographic evidence of Taliban brutality.
Freedom House Freedom House Posted: 11/1/2001
The Freedom House site contains its freedom ratings, with summary reports on the status of human rights and abuses of rights in each country. A useful source of information on our allies and enemies in the Middle East.
"Islam has become its own enemy" The Observer Posted: 10/31/2001
By Ziauddin Sardar
A prominent Muslim writer calls for the moderate Islamic world to take responsibility for dealing with terrorism, which has caused more harm in their own societies than elsewhere.
Article Date: October 21, 2001
"The ID Idea" National Review Online Posted: 10/25/2001
By Robert Levy
Robert Levy of the Cato Institute presents the case against a national ID card.
Article Date: October 24, 2001
"What is the Koran?" The Atlantic Posted: 10/23/2001
By Toby Lester
A survey of scholarly trends in interpreting the Koran
Article Date: January 1999
"The Last Totalitarians" National Review Online Posted: 10/18/2001
By Brink Lindsey
Brink Lindsey, of the Cato Institute, delineates the common motivation behind fundamentalism Islam, communism, and fascism.
Article Date: September 28, 2001
The Terrorism Research Center The Terrorism Research Center Posted: 10/18/2001
The Terrorism Research Center offers a wide variety of information and sources to help understand America's new war.
"Terror and Liberalism" American Prospect Posted: 10/16/2001
By Paul Berman
Berman examines the similarity of Islamic terrorism and 20th century totalitarianism and their hostility toward modernism.
Article Date: October 22, 2001
"Al Qaeda's Threats" BBC News Posted: 10/16/2001
The videotape statement by bin Laden aired the night the bombing of Afghanistan began
Article Date: October 7, 2001
"Al Qaeda's Threats" BBC News Posted: 10/16/2001
A statement by Suaiman Abu Ghaith, threatening continuing "storms of airplanes."
Article Date: October 14, 2001
"The Enemy is not Islam. It is Nihilism" The Weekly Standard Posted: 10/16/2001
By Charles Krauthammer
"Once again, the world is faced with a transcendent conflict between those who love life and those who love death both for themselves and their enemies."
Article Date: October 22, 2001
"Debate: Civil Liberties in Wartime" Slate Posted: 10/16/2001
A former general counsel for the National Security Agency and a constitutional lawyer debate the topic: Civil Liberties in Wartime
Article Date: September 17, 2001
"Most Wanted Terrorists" FBI Posted: 10/11/2001
The FBI's list of the most wanted terrorists, with pictures and background information on each.
EmergencyNet News EmergencyNet News Posted: 10/11/2001
This site for emergency workers—"No-Nonsense News and Analysis, Written by Professionals, For Professionals"— covers news and assesses risks related to terrorism.
"This is a Religious War" NY Times Sunday Magazine Posted: 10/11/2001
By Andrew Sullivan
An insight on the link between fundamentalism and political controls among all religions and secular creeds. (registration may be required)
Article Date: October 7, 2001
President George W. Bush's Address President George W. Bush's Address Posted: 10/5/2001
President George W. Bush's address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, September 20, 2001
Article Date: September 20, 2001
The Joint Resolution of Congress The Joint Resolution of Congress Posted: 10/5/2001
The joint resolution of Congress authorizing the use of force against terrorists, adopted September 14, 2001
Article Date: September 14, 2001
"Terror Guide" Fox News Posted: 10/3/2001
The English text of instructions to the terrorist hijackers, found among their belongings after the attack
"Fixing Airport Security" Reason Public Policy Institute Posted: 10/2/2001
By Robert Poole
A lack of professionalism, not a failure of privatization, was behind the airport security lapses of September 11.
Article Date: September 21, 2001
"Counter Terrorism" National Security Institute, Security Resource Net Posted: 9/28/2001
The National Security Institute's website is a resource for security professionals. This page on the site contains links to the text of security laws and executive orders, facts sheets, reports, and commentary.
"Statement on the World Trade Center Atrocity" Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society Posted: 9/28/2001
By Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq (a pseudonym) is the Tom Paine of Islam: a humanist critic of its sacred texts. His site has commentaries, book references, and other valuable material.
Great Buildings Online: World Trade Center Great Buildings Online: World Trade Center Posted: 9/21/2001
A good site on the history of the WTC, with many pictures.
The Middle East Forum The Middle East Forum Posted: 9/21/2001
This research institute, led by Daniel Pipes, "works to define and promote American interests in the Middle East." Its journal, Middle East Quarterly, publishes accessible analyses by scholars.
"World War III" New York Times Posted: 9/17/2001
By Thomas L. Friedman
A sober and hard-hitting response by one of the Times' best writers, a specialist in Middle East affairs. (registration may be required)
Article Date: September 13, 2001
"Editorial: It Happened Here" The New Republic Posted: 9/17/2001
The response of the leading voice of moderate liberalism, emphasizing the cultural roots of the attack.
Article Date: September 24, 2001
"Why You" New York Times Magazine Posted: 9/17/2001
By Michael Lewis
A financial writer notes that the World Trade Center was targeted because the terrorists understood that financial markets create freedom. (registration may be required)
Article Date: September 23, 2001
"Postmodern Terrorism" Foreign Affairs Posted: 9/17/2001
By Walter Laqueur
An eminent historian's prescient analysis of terrorism in historical and global perspective.
Article Date: September 30, 1996
"Rational Fanatics" Foreign Policy Posted: 9/17/2001
By Ehud Sprinzak
A review by an Israeli expert of studies about suicide terrorists
Article Date: September 30, 2000
"The Roots of Muslim Rage" The Atlantic Posted: 9/17/2001
By Bernard Lewis
An insightful in-depth analysis by a preeminent historian of Islam.
Article Date: September 1990
"The Drive for Power" Middle East Quarterly Posted: 9/17/2001
By Martin Kramer
A review of the key ideas and thinkers who created the Islamic fundamentalist movement over the last century. Kramer is a scholar at Tel Aviv University. Like Bernard Lewis, he cites the ideas of Western leftists as one source of hatred for the West.
Article Date: June 1996
"Get Ready for Twenty World Trade Center Bombings" Middle East Quarterly Posted: 9/17/2001
By Steven Emerson
An interview with a specialist on Muslim terrorist organizations operating in the United States. Emerson produced the award-winning PBS documentary Jihad in America, broadcast in November 1994.
Article Date: June 1997
"Hunting bin-Laden" Frontline Posted: 9/17/2001
The PBS programs’ site has a wealth of information on Osama bin-Laden’s life, terrorist activities, and threats against the United States.
"bin-Laden: Public Enemy Number 1" The Smoking Gun Posted: 9/17/2001
Documents from the CIA and criminal trials of terrorists.
These commentaries are from external websites not affiliated with The Objectivist Center. We are not indicating agreement or disagreement with what these writers wrote, but think that their views are important in understanding the full issue. The background articles set the context by providing key historical information and description.
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