Gerges argues that the U.S. "has assigned too much importance to the terrorists and has unwittingly invested bin Laden and Zawhiri with the legitimacy and stature that they desperately craved." This propaganda victory for al-Queda is seen as "suspect by those unable to believe that the American government could be so naà ¯ve." In truth, it is far from naà ¯ve: the "war on terror" is what is fed to the people at home by the corporate media, a story that inculcates into the public the idea that their very way of life is threatened by the hundred or so remaining al-Queda fighters in Afghanistan and now on into Pakistan. Without that fear factor, without the evil other, the reality of the U.S. killing civilians and destroying cultural and physical landscapes to control resources and other geopolitical forces might not be so convincing an argument to continue with the violence and atrocities against international law that the U.S. commits daily in the Middle East.
As for Obama, one year into his presidency, one year after the 2009 writing date of Gerges revision, there is little hope for a change of tactic, as the U.S. surges anew into the region and is being highly disruptive of the whole Pakistani arena of affairs. Obama has inherited Bush's war, made it his own, and continues the rhetoric about terrorists without discussing the essence of the reason for attacking and occupying the Middle East - for its own geopolitical advantage and to support the Israeli state.
Israel and Palestine
Israel and Palestine do not pay a major role in this text, nor hardly even a minor role. But they are mentioned infrequently, with Israel being identified as being the U.S.'s sidekick in the Middle East. When Palestine is mentioned it is considered as not prominent on the jihadi agenda, yet "the Palestinian tragedy continues to inspire young activists and fuel their rage. I [Gerges] have not met an Islamist or jihadi who does not mention Palestine as an example of Western injustices inflicted on Muslims." While Palestinians may not be important to Zawahiri and bin Laden, "many of their foot soldiers and operatives have been moved and influenced by it." In his final summarizing comments, Gerges sees U.S. policy as failing to understand the divisions mentioned above - and conversely which he fails to see as a purposeful ignorance - and the "legitimate grievances of many Muslims - foremost the simmering regional conflicts in Palestine, Iraq, and Kashmir."
Regardless of Gerges lack of insight into the geopolitical motives for the U.S. to continue its "war on terror", The Far Enemy provides good insights into the jihadi movements and their fractiousness and relative weakness on the global stage.
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