FORA.tv Speaker - Michael Sheuer

Former Senior CIA Officer, Bin Laden Unit; Author, Through Our Enemies’ Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America and Imperial Hubris. Scheuer argues that the greatest danger for Americans confronting the radical Islamist threat is to believe—at the urging of US leaders—that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. He contends that a rapidly growing segment of the Islamic world strenuously disapproves of specific US policies and their military, political, and economic implications. Al Qaeda’s public statements condemn America’s protection of corrupt Muslim regimes, unqualified support for Israel, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a further litany of real-world grievances. Scheuer suggests that unless US leaders recognize this fact and adjust their policies abroad accordingly, US actions in the Muslim world will only continue to empower Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.