Power, After All, Is Not Just Military

Power, After All, Is Not Just Military Strength. It Is The Social Power That Comes From Democracy, The Cultural Power That Comes From Freedom Of Expression And Research, The Personal Power That Entitles Every Arab Citizen To Feel That He Or She Is In Fact A Citizen, And Not Just A Sheep In Some Great Shepherd's Flock.

Since The 1960s, We Have Seen The Failure Of The Melting Pot Ideology. This Ideology Suggested That Different Historical, Cultural And Socioeconomic Backgrounds Could Be Subordinated To A Larger Ideology Or Social Amalgam Which Is "america." This Concept Obviously Did Not Work, Because Paradoxically America Encourages A Politics Of Contestation.

Note That There Was No Claim For These Attacks [on 9/11]. There Were No Demands. There Were No Statements. It Was A Silent Piece Of Terror.

Just As None Of Us Is Outside Or Beyond Geography, None Of Us Is Completely Free From The Struggle Over Geography. That Struggle Is Complex And Interesting Because It Is Not Only About Soldiers And Cannons But Also About Ideas, About Forms, About Images And Imaginings.

Ironically, Many Of People, Including Osama Bin Laden And The Mujahedeen, Were, In Fact, Nourished By The United States In The Early Eighties In Its Efforts To Drive The Soviets Out Of Afghanistan.