Brothers, sisters and children die while the U.S. participates in their destruction 

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September 11, 2001, was a tragic milestone for Americans. A handful of well-prepared terrorists brought down the Twin Towers, endangered the well-fortified headquarters of America’s military, extinguished the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people and left the U.S. population dealing with a new understanding—the realization that there is no safe place in our world, and that oceans and international boundaries are incapable of preventing terrorist attacks on our own soil.

It was an entirely new concept. Americans could no longer assert—or hope—that attacks could only happen somewhere else, and we realized that even our closest trade partners, despite highly-profitable commercial dealings, might not be our actual friends.

I realize I’m in uncomfortable territory as I say this, but the U.S. bears some responsibility for the hate it has generated in the Arab world. We must remember that we have attacked and effectively destroyed other countries without provocation—i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan—and there’s no way to pretend that we weren’t the aggressor.

The utter fabrication of the “weapons of mass destruction” ruse caused hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and left a prosperous and relatively stable Iraq in a state of economic disaster. Sure, Saddam Hussein was not a harmless Teddy Bear—he had been guilty of the worst crimes against his own people. But we didn’t need to destroy a country’s infrastructure and economy in order to affect a regime change.

Likewise, the sad reality that Osama bin Laden—America’s most-wanted terrorist—had made Afghanistan his safe zone will never bring back the innocent lives that were taken by our own forces, nor can the aftermath—a country left devastated—ever be justified. Afghans had already suffered enough through near-endless eras of war and tribal conflicts. The U.S. made sure that the country would likely never heal during our lifetimes.

Could American leadership have found better solutions for Iraq? Of course. Our military and special-ops people didn’t have to destroy a nation in order to end bin Laden’s leadership. Believe me, they have the intelligence capability and the specialized operatives to locate and take out a terrorist leader, along with his most important lieutenants, without leveling a country.

No matter how America’s leadership tries to portray our military aggressions as essential to world peace and order, there can be no absolution from the terror and suffering our country has spread in the most unfortunate places of our world.

September 11 was spearheaded mostly by carefully created Saudi terror sleeper cells, and the assault was a wake-up call to the grave danger of what can happen when a country seeks to control much of the world’s commerce, politics and ideology. We must remember: Attempting to have the world conform to U.S. whims is great in terms of a short-term win. But power, alone, is incapable of creating bonds of loyalty or love—which explains why such a high percentage of the world’s most troubled populations resent, or outright hate, the U.S.

Advance to the present: President Joe Biden now finds himself in a Catch-22, wanting to firm up the Jewish-American vote in this year’s election, while at the same time trying to get Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act like he possesses a human soul. Disturbed by Israel’s relentless uber-retaliation against Hamas and Gaza’s Arab population—something that has all the makings of a full-scale genocide—Biden has voluntarily taken our most valuable bargaining chip off the table, reiterating our commitment to protecting Israel.

America’s clout is clear; withholding the billions in handouts of cash and weapons to Israel could end Netanyahu’s murderous charge. Instead, Biden has chided the rabid Israeli leader over the ongoing massacre of Arab civilians, while at the same time assuring Netanyahu that the flow of U.S. arms will continue into perpetuity.

Without any effective American sanctions, the current Palestinian death toll—over 31,000 men, women and children—will continue to rise, and it now seems clear that Netanyahu is willing to starve generations of Palestinians if it means rounding up a few more Hamas fighters in the process.

Biden, reinforcing his opposition to expanding the fighting through Ramadan, has now proclaimed that the U.S. will build a temporary seaport on the Mediterranean—thereby sidestepping the excessive restrictions being used by Israel to stall the convoys of trucks attempting to bring aid to Gaza. But now, the relief ships—loaded with supplies and food—are being detained by the Israeli government, which claims that its intensive inspections and red tape are necessary for Israel’s safety. One ship has now embarked, as of this writing.

Every day, Biden’s criticism of Netanyahu is getting more strident, and he’s made a clear statement to Bibi that the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians will be detrimental to Israel, instead of making it a safer place. Of course, Biden is absolutely right, mostly because destroying Hamas—even if that’s possible—will not fix the underlying problem of lands that were stolen from the Arabs, the 75-year captivity of an entire people and the refusal of Israel to allow the Palestinians the right of self-rule.

International alliances are essential to America’s prosperity and survival, but the U.S. is playing into the actions of a rogue leader against his neighbors, assisting in the atrocities that threaten to cripple and destroy a people who simply long to be free.

We do have choices, and I believe it’s time for Biden to play his ace: Declare that the killing must stop, or the aid will end.

As Americans, we cannot overlook the killing of innocent people. If we are to be caring human beings in this world, we must realize that every man, woman, and child who dies isn’t just another number. They are family.

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and their adorable and ferocious dog “Poppy.” comments@cityweekly.net