To the Editor

On October 29^th, you reported that the United States appears to be losing propaganda war in Afghanistan. I agree with your assessment and believe much of the danger results from our inability to confront six myths:

First, our vocabulary increasingly suggests that the events of September 11^th were akin to a natural event. We speak of the destruction of the World Trade Center as if it were a natural “disaster” or “catastrophe.” Neither of these terms nor many other politically correct euphemisms accurately characterizes what happened—it was a deliberate, calculated, evil attack upon the United States and our ideals

Second, the foreign press is increasingly fond of characterizing the West in general and the United States in particular as exploiters. While it is true that we have far more than many other countries, we didn’t take it away from them, we built it! In many cases, we used resources that they were content to ignore. Even the oil that is a source of wealth and influence for many Muslim countries was discovered, tapped, and commercialized by the West.

Third, we are being conditioned to think of innocent Afghans. A more realistic assessment would recognize that that agents of their government planned, funded, carried out the attack. Under law, the Afghans are as responsible for the action of their  agents as the Nazi’s were responsible for many atrocities carried out by their agents.

Fourth, Muslim apologists are working vigorously to put a pretty face on Islamic teachings. A more accurate view may be found in the faces of Muslim men, women, and children celebrating the attack on America, the voices of Islamic religious leaders exhorting their followers to murder Christians, and the lines of Pakistani Muslims waiting to join the Jihad.

Fifth, protagonists have made an effort to portray the Palestinians as powerless victims. In fact, the Palestinians have exercised far more influence than either their numbers or their legitimate claims on our sympathies warrant. Beginning with decision to reject peaceful coexistence, they have sided with hostile governments, wantonly killed countless women and children, sabotaged every ealistic peace proposal, and taught yet another generation to hate.

Finally, some would have us treat civilian casualties as a pretext to stop military action in Afghanistan. Only Muslims delight in the killing of noncombatants, but even if we accept their estimates, we have killed and injured far fewer civilians that were murdered in the attacks of September 11^th

Eric W Skopec