In an New York Times editorial of 9/12/02, Pulitzer Prize winner and NYT editorial board member William Safire, claimed in a story on 'The Split in the Saudi Royal Family' that "Fifteen of the nineteen suicide bombers who killed 3,000 Americans were Saudi Citizens." Although the content of his essay was informative, and the nationality of the bombers appears substantiated, what is misleading is the apparent glossed-over claim that 3,000 American lives were lost.
Safire's fellow Pulitzer NYT op-ed writer, Maureen Dowd, also claimed in a reflective story one year after the WTC bombings that 'three thousand American lives were lost'. Yet another national journalist referred to the event as 'the worst act of terrorism in history', while many other influential media newsmakers have referred to the bombings as 'the worst act of terrorism on American soil.' No one seems to dispute these preliminary glib claims as the speakers proceed to make their points. The problem is, none of the statements are true.
Although in grief, horror, and outrage, the American public may easily accept the notion that the bombings of the World Trade Center towers were the worst thing our nation has ever experienced, a careful view of American history, will indicate otherwise. 3,000 Americans did not die on September 11, 2002. The victims came from several foreign countries, with casualties from as many as 64 nations. The WTC bombings were not the worst act of terrorism in history. Comparatively speaking, the incineration of 150,000 civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki makes 9/11 seem like a mere drop in the bucket, both in human lives and physical destruction. For the victims, no amount of rationalization or legitimization will make it no less an act of terror.
Using an encompassing sweep of human history and an equally broad definition of what constitutes terrorism, there are many examples of mass civilian killings that convincingly illustrate that 9/11 was not the worst act of terrorism in history. What is it then? The worst act of terrorism on American soil? This claim is also false. From an indigenous standpoint, the intentional distribution of smallpox-infected blankets to tens of thousands of Native Americans in early U.S. history may stand as one of the worst acts of terrorism on American soil.
One could further state that the policy of extermination of native people in America, in itself, was the worst act of terrorism in America, which gets us to the point of the lack of honesty or historical perspective by the media in shaping the American psyche. The end product of cultural isolation and ethnocentrism by media misinformation is created by the process allowing the perpetuation of the current claim ('worst act of terrorism'), and other American myths.
As Americans, a global understanding of ourselves may be better served to examine alternative news sources, foreign allies, the international community, and our enemies, if not our history books. Americans may also gain a better understanding of themselves by reading domestic Native American publications. What is it we say about us? What do foreigners say about us? It is ironic, in a classic case of national projection, that the U.S. government and media is prompting the American public and the world to wage war against a regime characterized by using biological weapons against its own citizens, posing a threat to its neighbors, acting as a renegade in the world community in defiance of the United Nations, and holds weapons of mass destruction.
In addition to government and inflamed media fingering Saddam Hussein's Iraq, wouldn't the above description aptly apply to the United States of America? This again points to the vacuum of national awareness fostered by government and media, and the capability of both to keep Americans historically distracted by fomenting war while ignoring domestic poverty and global issues of population, weapons proliferation, and the destruction of our environment.
Despite America wishing to believe the myth that this is a peace-loving nation, U.S. history has never known a decade of peace in the quest for domination of first, the North American continent, and then, the world. With U.S. troops on active duty or covertly based in 63 foreign countries, this is a war-prone nation. Why don't we dismiss the myth and just say, 'We Like War'? In its historical pursuit of political and military objectives, the U.S. has used biological weapons against its own citizens, is the only nation to use weapons of mass destruction, and poses both a military and environmental threat to the world community. As a nation, we are suffering from either amnesia, denial, or indifference to the rest of the world.
Yet, despite the horror experienced by America on 9/11, our loss is further compounded by the failure of American media to recognize and inform the public of the impact of U.S. values and policies on other people of the world. Many have said that everything has changed since 911. Others may say nothing has changed. What hasn't changed is the dehumanization of people by the media. Whether it is 50 million Indians, 5 million captive African slaves, 150,000 Japanese, 2 million Palestinians, or an Afghan wedding party, the diminishment of non-American, non-white lives is a facet of our national history. Deemed as irrelevant, the only important lives are American lives.
As recently reflected in the erroneous claims of the tragedy of 9/11, the prioritization of American lives above all others, and the inherent racism in U.S. domestic and foreign policies is maintained by the presentation of discriminatory, skewed and distorted journalism. Yes, events of 9/11 were horrific. Yes, it was a terrible human tragedy. But let's dispell the myths before they become grounded as fact. It wasn't the worst act of terrorism in history. It wasn't the worst act of terrorism on American soil.
Victor Glover, Oglala, SD
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, USA
brovic@gwtc.net
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