Matt's Essential Question Response

Matt M.
Answer to Essential Question
JUA 2006 ‘Why Do They Hate Us?’
December 13th, 2004, American forces in Tikrit, Iraq found and successfully captured Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein. This enormous victory for the Coalition carried many promises and assumptions of Iraq’s future. The “Butcher of Baghdad” was no longer a threat to the people of Iraq, however what did this really mean? Roadside bombings, kidnapping, and fear still ran the recently freed country. Americans began to ask a question that would determine the true future of Iraq – why are the Iraqis resisting an opportunity for stability after a three-year war in their country and an even longer regime of terror?
There are many ways to determine the answer to this essential question. Many have studied the ordeals the Iraqi people have experienced in recent history and considered the relationships between Middle Eastern countries while analyzing religious conflicts to result in a conclusion. Others put themselves in the places of the Iraqis to find out why they have such distaste for American culture. Americans have been told through the media time and again, “They hate us because of our freedom” This reason however, is not valid. Terrorists are not jealous of the freedoms Americans posses - terrorists fight for many reasons, but one which is common regards religious control in the new Iraqi government. The war between the Shiites and Sunnis has been fought since the beginning of Islam and will always be a factor in Iraqi politics. The new constitution formed in Iraq is favored by most Shiites; however the majority of Sunnis are extremely upset with the change in power. This conflict is one of the biggest reasons for violence, upset Sunnis still loyal to Saddam trying to take back control through means of terror. That is not to say that all terrorists are Sunnis it is just the majority.
A more general examination of the Muslim people reveals why they have such a hatred of the United States. The Gulf War originated in 1990 when Saddam invaded Kuwait under the belief that the Kuwaitis had been drilling Iraqi oil by slanting the drills over the Iraq–Kuwait boarder, after a sweeping defeat led by the American coalition the UN placed sanctions against Iraq.
While in Boston, we learned about such sanctions while spending some time at a local mosque. Our teacher of Islam, Bilal Kaleem, educated our group about the extremes these sanctions put on the Iraqi people. The outcome was a complete lack of medical supplies and food resulting in the deaths of an estimated million people. Bilal believes this is one of the biggest reasons why Americans are hated so much in Iraq; a result of the perceived impact that American politics have on the lives of the Iraqi people. The War on Terror is creating more terror in native citizens, thus turning these individuals into the people the Coalition forces are fighting against.
Is an end to this war in sight? Listening to the media leads people to believe there is no progress being made in Iraq and the war is an unending uphill battle. This is the complete opposite view of the United States Marine whom we interviewed before leaving Boston. He helped shed light on what is really going on in Iraq. Contrary to the media’s description of how Iraqi citizens view the soldiers in their country, the Marine told us the majority of Iraqis he encountered loved the American soldiers and were grateful for their aid in eliminating Saddam’s oppressive regime. The army estimated ten percent of Iraqis were willing to kill Americans, a larger amount disliked the soldiers, but the vast majority did indeed welcome the foreign legion.
Analyzing the ten percent of Iraqis willing to kill is comprised of mostly 20 year old males who most likely did not receive any benefits under Saddam. It is my belief that they fight not for what they think is right for their country or family, but because they believe terrorism is the cool thing to do. News stations confirm this theory in some ways when soldiers report that the clothes of terrorists they have killed are expensive western style imports proving their hatred for America may be strong enough to kill American soldiers yet not motivated enough by their cause to stop giving money to American retailers.
Americans are faced with the challenge of waking up each morning and wondering if today is the day the next 9/11 takes place. This fear is why terrorists succeed and it is only when Americans and Iraqis stop living in this constant state of panic can they truly defeat terrorism. Americans on a local level can start by being more tolerant of Muslims in their community. Racism only promotes a growing list of why some Middle Easterners hate American people. Tolerance to other people’s religion will show you care about their lifestyle and demonstrates a tremendous amount of respect, and in turn they will show the same respect for you.