Lectures
Attacking America: How Jihadis are Fighting Their 200-year War with America
Synopsis
The global jihadis associated with Osama Bin Ladin do not believe that they began a war with America on September 11, 2001. Rather, in their view, Islam has been under constant assault by Western powers since 1916, when the secret Anglo-French Sykes-Picot agreement was formulated to establish the European spheres of influence and political boundaries of what is today’s middle-eastern world. From their perspective the jihadis waged the bloody attacks of 9/11 as a counter-assault against United States—the great purveyor of the Western ideology of liberalism and the source of aggression against the religion of Islam. In this topsy-turvy view of the war, the slaughter of innocent civilians becomes justified retaliation, and the killing of Muslims a positive commandment from God. Yet Americans and all who embrace the ideals of Western civilization must understand the view of the jihadis if al-Qa’ida and its supporters around the world are to be effectively confronted and defeated. In her lecture, the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies professor Mary Habeck will provide an in-depth look at the “War on Terror” from the viewpoint of the jihadis. Why did they carry out 9/11? What did they hope to achieve? What objectives do the jihadis seek in their war with the West and what strategies have they used since 9/11 to attain them? Will al-Qa’ida and its affiliated groups use weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, in their war? It is Dr. Habeck’s belief that until we are able to see through the eyes of our enemies, America’s war with Islamic extremists is doomed to failure.
