After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many thought the date would mark a turning point in modern history. The common belief was that nothing would be the same again. We had entered a new era of global terror when humanity would unite against this universal evil. Sept. 11 turned out to be a major turning point, but not in the way the secular ideologues and the religious zealots of America had imagined.
Six years after Sept. 11, America’s power, which the neocons worshipped and wanted to eternalize, is bleeding from many wounds. Right after the attacks in 2001 the whole world, from the Islamic to the former communist, had rallied around the US. There was hope for global peace. Many believed, perhaps too naively, that this would lead the world superpower to a moment of reflection — a reflection that would involve reason and compassion.
But that historic moment was lost and an historic opportunity was squandered by the political theology of the Bush neoconservatives. There was neither reason nor compassion in their ambitions to re-chart the world. This is truly ironic. A conservative political ideology is supposed to be based on collective wisdom and a sense of compassion for all beings. Conservatism distinguishes itself from socialist and liberal philosophies by insisting on non-individual but collective sources of knowledge, such as history, tradition, religion and family. It is also expected to love everything for the sake of God, the creator of all things.
The neocon networks of ideologues, advisors, policy makers, religious pundits, televangelists, news editors, TV hosts, etc., showed none of these. When they decided to invade Iraq, it was clear that they had no sense of history. Even a scanty knowledge of Middle East history would have been enough to show that the invasion of Iraq was a blatant mistake. The neocons listened to no one in the region — including Turkey and other countries that have had friendly relations with the US.
As for compassion — of which Bush took pride as a “compassionate conservative” — again we saw no sign of it in the treatment of Iraqis, Afghans, the Lebanese and the Palestinians. The Abu Ghraib prison is just one graphic exemplification of the ruthless war machinery the “compassionate conservatives” created in the name of American power. The religious ideologues of the Bush doctrine like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, who died last May, kept on sanctifying these acts of destruction and justified them as the fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy.
So was this a turning point as well? Using (”torturing” may be more appropriate) Christianity to justify the political ideology of neocon imperialism is a turning point in the religious history of the United States. True, Christianity has been distorted before to legitimize wars and the wholesale invasion of countries — just remember the Crusades and the religious arguments given for it by Pope Urban II in 1098 before the launching of the First Crusade. But the American religion, whether Catholic, Protestant or Jewish, has usually been more civil and progressive. This is the first time such a militant and apocalyptic ideology has been carved out of Christianity to sanctify a global imperialism.
Sept. 11 would have been a turning point in a much more rational and benevolent way. If the US administration had realized that they cannot remain a hegemonic power in a world with emerging new centers, Sept. 11 would have taught a lesson to all world powers. If American policymakers had accepted the fact that the only way they can keep their power is through power-sharing, they would have made both America and the world a safer place.
Looking back at the six years since the terrorist attacks, one cannot help but wonder if Sept. 11 turned out to be a turning point in the descent of American power. The end of the Cold War forced all nations to make serious adjustments. The only remaining super-power would have gained from the new balances of power