History 404-02 : 9/11 [ September 11, 2001 ] : History and Motive

May 19-June 13

MTWTh, 10:30-12

Admin 336

Dale Graden
office : Admin 305 A 
tel : 885-8956

Graden@uidaho.edu

Greetings. This course provides an overview of various themes related to 9/11, including some of the history of al Qaeda and motives for acts of terror. One paradigm of particular interest is what might be described as the dialectic between the external world and domestic politics and media in the US. Through readings, a few documentaries and class discussion, we will attempt to comprehend what historical and societal forces led to the cataclysm known as 9/11.

There will be two book critiques in the course. You can choose from the assigned readings, or select another book to write on (please inform me of the title before you read and write on a different title). The critiques should be type written, double spaced, and 3 to 6 pages in length.

Your grade is based on the two book critiques (80 percent) and your class participation (20 percent).

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Readings : The books are available at the UI Bookstore and for reduced prices at Amazon and other websites.

Week One

Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama Bin Laden Touchstone 0743234952

M :Why 9/11? A clash of civilizations? Who and why Osama Bin Laden?
T : USSR, Afghanistan and the US in the 1980s. al-Qaeda
W : "In Search of al-Qaeda"
Th : discussion of Holy War, Inc. 

Week Two

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror Random ISBN 0375508597
pages 1-215

T : Perspectives on Israel and Palestine
W : Media portrayal in the US; Hezbollah in Lebanon, the "party of God"
Th : Discussion of part one of The Age of Sacred Terror (to page 215); Ibn Taymiyya (1269-1328); Ibn Adb al-Wahhab (1703-92); Rashid Rida (1866-1935); Abu al-Ala Maududi; Sayyid Qutb

Week Three

Continue Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 219-446

M : Iran's revolution of 1979 : "the first Islamic political revolution"; US hostages; Iran-Iraq War 1980-88; election of President Mohammed Khatami in 1997 : a "quiet revolution"
View segment from CNN on "Iran Terror Threat" and part of "Naji Al-Ali: An Artist With Vision"
T : 1983 Lebanon bombing of US Marine barracks; 1993 World Trade Center Bombing; 1995 Tokyo sarin-gas attack; 1996 Oklahoma City bombing; 1998 East Africa bombings; 2002 Bali bombing; 2003 bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco; US responses
W : Discussion with guest Abdul Rahman
Th : discussion of part two of The Age of Sacred Terror

Week Four

John Miller and M. Stone, The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It Hyperion Publishers 0786869003

M : Preparations for 9/11.
T : Successes and failure of US intelligence
W : View Frontline : "The Man Who Knew"
Th : Discussion of The Cell

Quote worthy of reflection:

“In a curious sense, Iran and the US are mirror images of each other. Both countries are prone to a moralistic air of self-righteousness, especially foreign policy matters; and both are inclined to ideological rigidity and a sense of moral superiority. Each perceives itself as the indispensable state. Above all, these are two interpenetrated societies whose mutual sense of grievance, humiliation and betrayal has infiltrated their respective internal politics until the line between foreign and domestic policies is indistinguishable.”

Gary Sick, “The Clouded Mirror: The US and Iran , 1979-99” in Esposito and Ramazani, eds., Iran at the Crossroads  ( New York , 2001), 204.