Prof says Bush, not terrorists, to blame for War on Terror

Penn Professor Ian Lustick presents his new book titled "Trapped in the

According to one Penn professor, the American government - not extremist groups like al-Qaeda - is to blame for the war on terror.

Professor Ian Lustick asks whether the U.S.'s current conflict is necessary in his new book, Trapped in the War on Terror, which was presented to an audience of about 30 at the Penn Bookstore yesterday.

Lustick said that the Bush administration has created America's greatest enemy and that the administration exploits the war for political gains.

He added that he believes a confrontation with Iran is part of this plan.

"The war on terror needs enemies, so [the administration] will generate enemies by invading Iran," he said.

Lustick questioned the validity of the information about the war released by the government.

"There is such a gap between what is real and what is not that it's hard not to think of 1984," Lustick said, referring to George Orwell's novel about a repressive government.

Lustick said he believes that the "Republican supremacists" Dick Cheney and Karl Rove sought to start a neo-imperialist war with Iraq before 9/11.

He said that in order for the Iraq war to be possible, these "supremacists" needed the Sept. 11 attacks so that the more moderate members of the administration like Condoleezza Rice and President Bush could be swayed.

He drew on his own experience working with government agencies to support his theory that the government is feeding misinformation to the public.

"You have to go to the very top [of the agencies] to find anybody that believes anything said publicly," Lustick said.

He added that he believes the Iraq war has created terrorism and forced the U.S. to fight a war by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's rules. He said that the war is creating more terrorists than it is killing and that the terrorists are not the real enemy.

"There is no winning this war, because the war on terror is the enemy," Lustick said.

Throughout the lecture, Lustick read passages from his book and answered questions from the audience.

The overall response to the views he expressed in the lectured was positive.

"He said something that needed to be said," College senior Martyn Griffen said. "I look forward to reading his book."

Comments (12)

Wow! Isn't academic freedom wonderful? I guess this well sheltered professor hasn't read any of the speeches of the current Iranian president, nor the covenant of the PLO, or the declarations of countless jihadists who seek to impose a caliphate in Europe (after wiping out Israel but not clear where before or after achieving "death to America" the Great Satan). His timeline really is deficient if he does not recognize terrorism, and specifically allegedly Islamic-based terrorism, as having a history prior to George W. Bush's administration. Takes one's breath away...

Hilarious! This is golden. Oh wait, he was serious? Well it could be worse, we could be Columbia. Or Harvard where the middle east studies center is funded by the Saudi government...which makes about as much as sense as a Russian studies dept funded by the Soviet Union...

I personally believe the attack on the World Trade Center was a hoax staged by warmongering Republicans. In fact, I have seen several videos on YouTube showing clearly that the World Trade Center never really existed.

This rant must be Professor Lustick's bid to be included in the next edition of David Horowitz' book, The 101 Most Dangerous Professors in America. It should be a cause of sorrow for current Penn students and their parents--as well as alumni--to witness such an abuse of academic freedom.

Anyone reading this article, but not hearing my talk or reading the book, will be misinformed about my views. For example the article here quotes me this way: "The war on terror needs enemies, so [the administration] will generate enemies by invading Iran," he said. Mr. Meza, deleting my words but using brackets to substitute his own, makes it look like I say the "administration" will generate the enemies. In fact it is not the administration but the "War on Terror" itself, which I argue is out of anyone's control, that will tend to produce the enemies it needs to continue. Similarly, the sensationalist headline of the article is inaccurate. Although I document an important role of the supremacist cabal in starting the War on Terror, Kristol, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, Perle, etc. are no longer in charge because the War on Terror has taken on a self-powering dynamic of its own. If you don't care to read "Trapped in the War on Terror," you can get my views in detail and accurately by listening to an interview with me broadcast recently on Radio Times: http://www.whyy.org/rameta/RT/2006/RT20060918_20.ram Ian Lustick

I don"t think this guy is a American. It is typical rhetoric form a left wing professor who always seem to find solace at a American university. If he feels so strongly about this issue please have him do us all a favor. Get you left wing, liberal ass back to where you came from. We don't want or need your attitude when we are in a fight for our lives and freedom. You and your other liberal friends make me sick. I am sorry the Daily prints your garbage. Oh, but I just remembered this America where we have rights. Unlike those we are defending in the Middle East.

How can it even make sense to say "The war on terror is the enemy"? So, killing terrorists and breaking up terrorist activity and cells is a bad thing??? This is the kind of liberal crap that Penn espouses and is directly the result of lack of faculty diversity. You claim that you and other Americans (read: liberals) are victims of groupthink yet you and your crew of flunkies are all exactly alike. The state of politics in this country is sad, and you are not helping.

after reading the posted comments and realizing that the students at penn are not a bunch of liberal wackos, i feel good about the fact that such professors are just making asses out of themselves. like, did the war on terror start terrorism. how many terrorist attacks were there even before september the eleventh? at least this shows the vast opportunities that america offers. if an idiot can become a profeesor at penn then anyone can become anything. in fact, i'm going to design a nuclear powered vibrator. i bet this professor will buy one, maybe two!

[QUOTE id="34b2cd76-dc9b-4073-841c-911784bb66d5"]I don"t think this guy is a American. It is typical rhetoric form a left wing professor who always seem to find solace at a American university. If he feels so strongly about this issue please have him do us all a favor. Get you left wing, liberal ass back to where you came from. We don't want or need your attitude when we are in a fight for our lives and freedom. You and your other liberal friends make me sick. I am sorry the Daily prints your garbage. Oh, but I just remembered this America where we have rights. Unlike those we are defending in the Middle East.[/QUOTE] ....AMEN! Too long have American universities been cesspools of left-wing, liberal, bleeding heart ideology. Too long have the so called "enlightened" few been empowered to espouse so much bullshit. Hey Professor, those Islamic nutcases across the ocean hated us and our way of life (its called "freedom") LOOOOOONG before the war on terror. Open your eyes, smell the coffee and get a grip on reality.

It is sad that an idiot like this actually gets paid by the university to dream up such crap! I can't wait to unload on the next poor sucker from Alumni Development who calls me looking for some $$ I guess $200 K doesn't go so far these days when you are shopping for a real education

I'm sorry, but not since Princeton Professor Peter Singer explained that folks should give as good as they get from dogs who hump their legs, have I been so exasperated with the way professors in wacademia like Noam Chomsky, Ward Churchill and (now) Ian Lustick think they should use their head for a colonoscopy and then crab-walk across the University stage expecting all the world to think their new hats make them look smart. And, as with Professor Singer's efforts to get pet stores to carry Viagra, I have a very hard time taking Leftists seriously anymore; because I'm not sure taking them seriously helps anybody. So, let's all go splash some water on our faces, wash off the giggles from this latest clown act, and return to battling our regularly scheduled enemies-- who are still planning their next attack.

Ian Lustick is the clearest voice I've heard to date on the topic of the War on Terror, started by Bush. This war is responsible for the radicalization of the Islamic community against the West. I hearily recommend listening to his interview on WHYY.

Comments are closed for this item.