|
|
|
| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 125, Zeilen: 1ff. (complete page) |
Quelle: Cornell 2006 Seite(n): 1 (internet resource), Zeilen: - |
|---|---|
| Remarkably, this is not a description of al Qaeda made by the likes of Donald Rumsfeld or Richard Perle, although it easily could have been. Rather, it describes the Soviet Union as George Kennan saw it 59 years ago in his famous “Long Telegram.” Kennan’s assessment of the Soviet Union went against the prevalent thinking at the time. Importantly, he saw that with the Soviet Union it would be a zero-sum competition.
The communists did not wish merely to gain dominion over a limited territory, they wished to conquer all. In Khrushchev’s words, they wanted to “bury us.” Kennan knew it was a battle between the ‘West’s’ vision, a vision of life and liberty, versus a vision of tyranny, death and destruction. When bin Laden states that “the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies— civilians and military— is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it….” the similarity is striking. The Cold War began in the heart of Europe, with its division into East and West, and then spread as communism expanded into Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Similarly, from its very beginnings, al Qaeda has been a global network with tendrils stretching to the cells in Germany that planned the 9/11 attacks to its headquarters in Afghanistan, to its newer training facilities in the Philippines, and its recruiting areas as diverse as north Yorkshire, Fallujah, Madrid, and Africa. Just as the communists before them, the terrorists exploit those parts of the world that have the highest concentration of disaffected and disenchanted populations. In the case of communism this included the populations of Europe on the brink of starvation after six years of World War, the uneducated peasants of Asia, and the impoverished of Africa and Latin America. In addition to its sophisticated leaders, al Qaeda now exploits the disenfranchised and undereducated of the Middle East, Central Asia and [Africa.] |
Remarkably, this is not a description al Qaeda made by the likes of Donald Rumsfeld or Richard Perle, although it easily could have been. Rather, it describes the Soviet Union as George Kennan saw it 59 years ago in his famous “Long Telegram.” Kennan’s assessment of the Soviet Union went against the prevalent thinking at the time. Importantly, he saw that with the Soviet Union it would be a zero-sum competition.
The communists did not wish merely to gain dominion over a limited territory, they wished to conquer all. In Khrushchev’s words, they wanted to “bury us.” Kennan knew it was a battle between our vision, a vision of life and liberty, versus a vision of tyranny, death and destruction. When bin Laden states that “the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies— civilians and military— is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it….” the similarity is striking. The Cold War began in the heart of Europe, with its division into East and West, and then spread as communism expanded into Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Similarly, from its very beginnings, al Qaeda has been a global network with tendrils stretching to the cells in Germany that planned the 9/11 attacks to its headquarters in Afghanistan, to its newer training facilities in the Philippines, and its recruiting areas as diverse as north Yorkshire, Fallujah, Madrid, and Africa. Just as the communists before them, the terrorists exploit those parts of the world that have the highest concentration of disaffected and disenchanted populations. In the case of communism this included the populations of Europe on the brink of starvation after six years of World War, the uneducated peasants of Asia, and the impoverished of Africa and Latin America. In addition to its sophisticated leaders, al Qaeda now exploits the disenfranchised and undereducated of the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. |
No source given, nothing has been marked as a citation. |
|