Myth: America brings terrorism on itself

Liberal myth

The United States brings terrorist attacks upon itself through its foreign policy.

The facts

Radical Islamic terrorists like al Qaeda are driven by an evil ideology of hatred and loathing.

Their beliefs and goals

• Their beliefs are based on an extreme misinterpretation of Islam.
• Their ultimate goal is the destruction of liberal democracy across the world, whether it be in the West or the Middle East, and the establishment of a Muslim Caliphate.
• Captured documents from al Qaeda indicate that the terrorist group is fighting in Iraq to establish the country as a base for exporting terrorism—not because the United States is there.

Exploiting frustration

• A British government study shows al-Qaeda recruits from disillusioned and angry youth.
• American foreign policy is an excuse for radical Islamic terrorism, not a cause.

Not foreign policy

• Osama bin Laden has preached his hatred of the United States for more than a decade, regardless of American foreign policy.
• Bin Laden attacked the United States for its weakness after it withdrew from Somalia in 1993—and again for its aggressiveness after September 11.

Declarations of war

Terrorist leaders have repeatedly declared war on the United States and its allies because of who they are.

• In 1998, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri called on their followers “to kill all Americans and their allies--civilian and military” as “an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it.”
• In 2002, radical Islamic leader Abu Bakar Bashir said the families of those slaughtered in the Bali terror bombing should “convert to Islam as soon as possible”

Related Heritage research

• James Phillips, "Iraq Is a Strategic Battleground in the War Against Terrorism," September 11, 2006
• Nile Gardiner and James Phillips, “The London Bombings: How the U.S. and the U.K. Should Respond,” July 21, 2005
• Deroy Murdock, “Terrorism and the English Language,” March 9, 2005
• James Phillips, “Somalia and al-Qaeda: Implications for the War on Terrorism,” April 5, 2002