Washington’s policies radicalizing Muslim youths in US: American analyst

Young journalists club

News ID: 7452
Publish Date: 9:31 - 29 January 2017
A senior professor at the University of Minnesota underlined the US role in the emergence of terror groups in the Middle East and said Washington’s policies against Muslims have provoked some American youths into being attracted to these groups.
"…By denigrating Muslims in the United States and not objecting to European opposition to Muslims, they (US officials) have created a climate for disaffection of young Muslims, who have been attracted to terrorist organizations in the Middle East,” William Beeman said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.

"This will continue in the United States under the Trump presidency unless something drastic changes in the attitude of Trump and his supporters,” he added.

"Young Muslims need to feel they are welcome and have a place in society with good employment opportunities and social acceptance if they are going to be inoculated from terrorist recruitment,” the analyst noted.

"So the United States, while not directly sponsoring terrorists, has indirectly supported the creation and support of terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, Europe and the United States,” he said.

"The United States does not label any group that it supports as a terrorist group. That said, there has been considerable indirect support for terrorism by the United States.”

"In opposing the Assad regime in Syria, the United States trained opposition groups there in camps in Jordan,” Professor Beeman said, adding, "The German magazine, Stern, had documentation showing that among the trainees supported by the US were the founders of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL), so in an important way, the United States contributed to the founding of that organization.”

He went on to say that in addition, the United States continues to support Saudi Arabia who is in turn supporting the repression of the Shi'ite majority in Bahrain and the Saudi actions against the Yemeni government.

"Further back, the United States was directly responsible for the founding and support of Al-Qaeda as a result of the American financial and military support for the Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union. After the Soviets were expelled, the United States abandoned the Afghan Mujahedeen--especially the thousands who had come from other nations outside of Afghanistan. Their countries of origin (Saudi Arabia, Morocco. Egypt, etc.) did not want them back, fearing that they would direct their efforts to overthrowing those regimes in their countries of origin (this actually did happen during the "Arab spring"). The former Mujahedeen were exiled, effectively, and the United States, who had supported them, essentially abandoned them. They found their way to Pakistan where they morphed into being the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.”

He further pointed to the US invasion of Iraq and said, "Additionally, in Iraq, the United States under George W. Bush participated in the "de-Bathification" of the Iraqi military and government. These high officials and military officers were essentially thrown out of office with no recourse in the new government.”

"They eventually formed the terrorist resistance to the United States in places like Fallujah, and also to the Shi'ite government in Baghdad. Later these same disaffected Sunnis joined or supported Al-Qaeda and later Daesh,” he added.
(Tasnim)
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