Primary Source Documents

Fatwa issued February 23, 1998, “Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders.”
The attack on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 shocked observers around the globe. However, these attacks were not unprecedented. A series of bombings in the Middle East and Africa specifically targeting the United States had marred the post-Cold War triumphalism of the 1990s. The intelligence community had long identified Osama bin-Laden with these acts, even if his name was unfamiliar to most Americans before the events of September 11. The anti-western sentiments of Osama bin-Laden owed as much to the Cold War as they did to his Islamic principles. He had opposed the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan up until the end of the Cold War; after 1989, the United States became the target of his wrath. In the fatwa issued in February 1998, bin-Laden condemned the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and urged a jihad against Americans and their allies.

New York Times editorial, “Tearing Up the ABM Treaty,” December 13, 2001.
(User may need to register and then do a search for this article.)
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration strove to expand presidential authority domestically and internationally. Initially, the administration received unprecedented support from both its traditional allies and new ones such as Russia’s Putin. The U.S. and Russia found that they shared a common enemy. However, this newfound relation was soon put to the test by Bush’s disregard for the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The New York Times chastised Bush for his short-sightedness on the matter, charging that the president had failed to take into consideration the new threat posed by possible terrorist attacks. Bush’s unilateralism would place Putin in a difficult position, the editorial argued, as well as undermine the gains made under that treaty agreement.


1		What are the facts cited by bin-Laden as evidence of the need for a new jihad? How historically accurate are those “facts”?



2		Are the concerns expressed in this document primarily motivated by religious principles? Do other factors, such as nationalism, also play a role?



3		According to the New York Times editorial, what are the risks involved in losing Russian cooperation? How do these risks relate to the war on terrorism?



4		On what grounds has Bush made the decision to jettison the 1972 ABM treaty? Why does this editorial find fault with that decision? Do you agree or disagree?

2004 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.