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 In the 80's, Osama Bin Laden was the right arm of the CIA
against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He is a product
of the Americans. After the fall of the Berlin Wall
and since 1990, Bin Laden has pointed his
terrorist arsenal against Uncle Sam.
By Frei Betto
Immediately after the terrorist attack on the United States, President Bush declared a
war between good and evil. This division of the world into good and evil countries was one
that the western world had begun to bury with the end of the cold war. This division
fomented the Christian Crusades against the "infidel Muslims" and later, the
extermination of Jews by Hitler's troops.
Does it make sense to identify the United States with the good and its critics and
enemies with evil? The Bible and the Torah confront the question of good and evil with
divine wisdom. Good and evil live together in each of our hearts. Freedom consists in
knowing how to choose between selfishness and love. One cannot say that the United States,
in its history, has worked harder for justice and prosperity for all people in the world
than for the hegemony and financial gains of Uncle Sam.
Since the creation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States brought Puerto
Rico under its dominion (1898), invaded Cuba (1902), took over the Panama Canal, implanted
dictators in the southern hemisphere, fomented terror in Nicaragua, trained military
leaders in the ways of torture, and now propose FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) as
a form of commercial control of Latin America.
The White House which authorized the use of Napalm in the Vietnam War and bombed the
civilian population of Sudan during Clinton´s presidency is today a victim of its own
power. The oppressed mirror the aggressors when they retaliate with the same methods. Just
as the victims of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon did not deserve the tragedy that
they suffered, so the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima should not have been exterminated
with two atomic bombs.
Saddam Hussein initially was the White House marionette who helped the U.S. fight
against the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He demonstrated once again the insidiousness of
terrorist training policies of the U.S. The apprentice wizard turns against the sorcerer.
In the 1980's, Osama Bin Laden was the right arm of the CIA against the Soviet occupation
of Afghanistan. The CIA taught him to make bombs, to plan and activate terrorist attacks,
to hide his millions of dollars in fantasy companies and finance paradises, to operate
secret codes, and to infiltrate civilian and military groups. Bin Laden is a product of
the Americans. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and since 1990, Bin Laden has pointed his
terrorist arsenal against Uncle Sam.
The indefinite postponement of peace in the Mid-East including the creation of a
Palestinian state is another factor in the growth of dissatisfaction and xenophobia. Since
the U.N. resolutions of that region were not taken seriously and attacks continue in the
Gaza Strip and parts of Jordan, arms continue to be used to end a conflict that can only
be addressed with political negotiations.
In commemorating his 80th birthday last week, Cardinal Arns asked that all Brazilians
pressure Brazilian President Cardoso not to support any attitude or policy of vengeance on
the part of the United States. In Arns' words, terrorists should be punished for the
horrible crimes that they committed but innocent populations should not suffer.
Many of us are pacifists until a robber enters our house and kills a loved one. Thus,
we take on the same sentiments of the robber, allowing our violent side that hides inside
us to emerge. Peace is the fruit of justice. Thus, we should not do to others what we
would not want done to us. It may be impossible not to have enemies but it is possible to
avoid treating them with inhumanity and injustice which feeds the spiral of violence. War
never brings good solutions, only pain, destruction and more suffering.
Just as Pax Romana was not built on hatred of Christians, Pax Americana will not have a
future if it foments hatred toward Islamic people. Without them, western culture would not
be as it is today. As the Jewish people gave the world Marx, Freud, Einstein and many
other geniuses in science and the arts, the Arab people have given us geniuses such as
Al-Khwarizmi in the area of mathematics, Al-Kindi and Alhazem in physics, and Avrróis in
the area of philosophy.
It is time for the United States to demonstrate that they are the paladins of
democracy, not only in respecting differences but also by ending their support for the
autocratic, dictatorial governments of the Arab world where freedom of the people is held
ransom to the unjust price of barrels of petroleum.
Friar Betto, the author is a religious, a writer and teacher. Among his
many books is The Work of the Artist—A Holistic Vision of the World.
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