Terror v. Surveillance? Keeping Americans Safe in Two Simple Steps

Terror v. Surveillance? Keeping Americans Safe in Two Simple Steps | Common Dreams
First, stop creating new terrorists.  People in [Iraq and Afghanistan] who previously had no reason to attack U.S. military personnel or civilians are understandably unhappy with aggressive wars that destroy their homes and kill their people.  Second, let’s recognize that it is unlikely that the terrorism of Al Qaeda and others would have happened if not for nearly seven decades of a failed U.S. policy in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Muslim world more generally. Since the United States filled the imperial void left by the weakening of Great Britain and France after World War II, our Middle East policy has been primarily aimed at maintaining a flow of oil and—just as important—a flow of oil profits that is advantageous to U.S. economic interests.