Customer Reviews

Terrorism: Theirs and Ours

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

... Man, this little book of 59 pages packs a powerful punch...! It is worth every penny. You can read it in a few hours, and you will be glad you did; for, it opens your eyes to seeing our country as much of the rest of the world sees us - with total clarity!

... Ahmad states on page 24: "What is my recommendation to America? First, avoid extremes of double standards. If you're going to practice double standards, you will be paid with double standards. Don' use it. Don't condone Israeli terror, Pakistani terror, Nicaraguan terror, El Salvadoran terror, on the one hand, and then complain about Afghan terror or Palesinian terror. It doesn' work. Try to be even-handed. A superpower cannot promote terror in one place and reasonably expect to discourage terrorism in another place. It doesn't work in this shrunken world." Also, on page 20, he states: "Sometimes it's the fact that you have experienced violence at other people's hands. Victims of violent abuse often become violent people. The only time when Jews produced terrorists in organized fashion was during and after the Holocaust. It is rather remarkable that Jewish terrorists hit largely innocent people or U.N. peacemakers like Count Bernadotte of Sweden, whose country had a better record on the Holocaust. The men of Irgun, the Stern Gang, and the Hagannah terrorist groups came in the wake of the Holocaust. The experience of victimhood itself produces a violent reaction."

... This book comes in two sections: the first section is an edited transcript of a public talk the auther gave at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, on October 12, 1998; the second section is composed of excerpts edited from: Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire, Interviews with David Barsamian ( Souh End Press, 2000 ). ... This is a great litle book with a great wrap-around cover photo of former U.S. President, Ronald Reagan ( beardless! ), sitting in a room in the White House on June 16, 1986 while meeting with a group of heavily bearded mujahideen leaders from Afghanistan. Somehow, Reagan looks out of place in his own house! ... Read this book! You won't regret it. ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid

The late Eqbal Ahmad (d. 1999) led a full life. Apart from being a social activist, a political science professor in the United States, a short stint in the Pakistani army, and valuable contributions to the Algerian independence movement-he managed to be accused (unfairly) of attempting to kidnap Henry Kissinger and found the time to interview Osama bin Ladin in 1986. This world traveler and intellectual par excellence warned the world about September 11 two years before it happened. This short booklet includes an eloquent essay by Eqbal on terrorism and a couple of interviews of him by David Barsamian. Everything from Taliban, American foreign policy, Pakistani politics, the Kashmir issue, and the Arab-Israeli conflict is touched upon. The main, focus, of course, is terrorism: what is it, who defines it, who practices it, and what causes it.

Eqbal asserts that since WW II, the U.S. saw Islamic fundamentalism as a way to combat Communism in the Muslim world. He notes that the same groups that the U.S. gave billions of dollars in 1980s to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan have are now attacking the U.S. (what the CIA calls "Islamic blowback"). Eqbal explains why these groups now see the U.S. as their enemy, when just yesterday the U.S. was a friend. While Eqbal is very critical of U.S. foreign policy, no one should think that Eqbal is an apologist for terrorism. He was a committed secularist and a democrat, and had little sympathy for fundamentalists of any religion. (He called the Taliban "barbarians" when the Clinton administration was trying to secure an oil pipeline through Afghanistan.)

One criticism of this book is that it is too short. That is why readers who like this book should also get "9-11" by Noam Chomsky and "Rogue State" by William Blum. Also, you can find many of Eqbal Ahmad's articles online. Read them before you buy this book.

I bought this book wanting to know a little about the reality of terrorism. Terrorism: Theirs and Ours does just that. It gives the reader an accurate idea of what it is like, as well as what what the other side feels. The truly amazing thing about this book is that it was written before 9-11, before George W Bush bought, and cheated his way into being president. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth not only about Terrorism, but he United States invovlement in Terrorism.

This book affirms that American foreign allies are classified on whether their own goals converge or diverge from our own.

During the 1970's and 1980's we had partnered with Saddam, deciding that he was a 'brutal dictator' only when his objectives no longer echoed American public policy priorities.

Similarly, the people whom the State department now identifies as being 'dangerous' were at one point benign or even considered beneficial---because they had then supported our world view. It is critical and sobering to wonder who is organizing outside of today's policymaker scrutiny.

Regardless of the administration, such relationships of convenience are THE rule in international relations. America talks a good deal about wanting to respect human rights, but the real world often facilitates less stringency.

A classic, prescient lecture from the Pakistani activist-scholar, and mentor of Edward Said, together with an interview conducted with David Barsamian (who also provides a foreword). It was obvious to many, not least Ahmad, that American foreign policy, and use of terror, could only lead to a 9-11; indeed it has been delivering 9-11's across the globe for years. Here Ahmad lays out this trajectory from 1998.

Now, if this only came with crayons and pictures to color in, it might attract the attention of those who really need a crash course in terrorism. To the point, devine intervention happens to other people, but the self-righteousness of powerful America is what makes it so hypocritical. Unfortunately, I expect this primer to be as relevant for decades to come, so let's hope it doesn't go out of print.

Take a look at the cover photo of this book, and the inside content becomes apparent. You can see people, who are now branded as terrorists, were, at one time, chief guests in the White House.

This book carries some of Eqbal Ahmad's writings and transcripts of lectures on various international conflicts including US-Afghanistan and India-Pakistan. This book does a good job of exposing US Govt's hypocrisy and its unilateral goal of furthering only its own interests at the expense of everything and everyone in this world. It also tells you why and how the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts erupted, and why they have only worsened ever since they began. There's a brief discussion on the Kashmir issue as well. I wish it carried more details. Overall, this book presents to its readers a brief but accurate insight into the most prominent present day international conflicts.

Do not think that if you are not interested in international politics, you may find this book boring. Due to its concise nature, this book is very much readable and comprehensible to all. I say it is a "must-have" for every American, because it will tell them what their politicians haven't. US is the only country that, since its birth, has been at war every single day of the year at some place on this earth. It is mind-boggling to imagine what kind of wealth its people would have amassed if the same trillions of dollars that have been cumulatively spent on mindless killing of people and building nuclear weapons that will never be used, had been just distributed in cash to its citizens. It is no wonder that Eqbal Ahmad's words carried a great deal of truth. Why else would the CIA send its operatives to his house at night to threaten him if he didn't shut up? Eqbal was however up to the challenge, and told them to pack-off immediately since he was acting only in accordance with the US constitution, which says - "No taxation without representation". He said that since his views were not represented by the policies of the US Govt even though he paid taxes, he had every right to protest.

That was Mr Eqbal Ahmad, a foremost authority on international conflicts, alongside, I would say, Noam Chomsky. Do not miss this book. It is worth a thousand times its cover price. After reading this book, I can assure, you will be only egged on to read his other detailed books.

Wonderful prescient, but all too brief. Serves as a good introduction to the ideas of the dear departed Ahmad who would be a valuable contributor to the worldwide debate on what exactly consititutes terrorism. The way he shows that the term "terrorism" is construed to eliminate any links to state-sponsored violence and torture demands our attention and respect. This is a courageous and intelligent book.

From the perspective of someone from South Asia (Ahamd was from Pakistan), this book looks deeper at this thing called terrorism.

There are several aspects to the official approach to terrorism. First, terrorists change. Yesterday's terrorist is today's freedom fighter, and vice versa. Second, there seems to be no such thing as an "official" definition of terrorism. Explanations are designed to arouse our emotions, instead of stimulating our intelligence. Third, government officials may not be able to define terrorism, but they know that it must be stamped out worldwide.

Fourth, it's supposedly possible to tell the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. Fifth, the official approach ignores the causes of terrorism. Cause? What cause? Sixth, the moral revulsion against terrorism needs to be selective. Terror from disapproved groups needs to be strongly condemned, but terror from allies or approved groups can be ignored.

Why do groups commit terrorist acts? Getting their grievances heard through regular channels hasn't worked, so, to them, terrorism is the only way to be heard. Terrorism is an expression of anger and helplessness, and also a sense of betrayal. Through the spread of modern technology and communications, terror has become globalized. Everyone is a target.

The author recommends several approaches for America. Stop with the double standards. Don't condone some terrorism, and condemn others. In the present situation, such an approach will not work. Also, America should actually consider the causes of terrorism. It's a political problem; seek a political solution. The author also recommends reinforcing the framework of international law. Try going through the International Court of Justice.

This is an excellent book. It's short, and written from a non-American perspective. It does a fine job looking at the background behind terrorism, and it's well worth reading.