In Recognition of Mata Burke

IN RECOGNITION OF MATA BURKE -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 30, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. MIKE ROGERS
OF ALABAMA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on Sept. 11, 2004, teens from around the Third District gathered the campus of Jacksonville State University to remember the events of Ð9/11, and to reflect on the impact of those events on their life today.

One of the speakers that day was Mata Burke, an eleventh grade student at the Donoho School in Anniston. In honor of Mata's words and in recognition of her gift for writing, I am placing her entire speech in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD so that others may have the opportunity to hear her thoughts about that fateful day.
The text of her speech is as follows. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the House's attention to this important matter on this important day.

"WHO DID THIS TO US?"
(By Mata Burke)

"Now, as we are looking back and remembering the events of that day, it's hard to believe that three years have already gone by since it happened. The memory is still fresh in our minds, and perhaps, that is due to the fact that it's changed our everyday lives even now; whether it be by new security measures, constant bomb threats, or rising terror alerts. However, there is one thing that many people do tend to forget when remembering that day ..... and that is, "why did it happen?" "What were the motives?" and "who exactly was involved?"

Most everyone knows that the September 11th attacks were directly linked to Al Qa'ida and Osama bin Laden. But many may not know what exactly Al Qai'da is and who Osama bin Laden is.

There are many people who think that the terrorists who attacked on September 11th were simply evil people who hated everything America and freedom stand for. But this is a generalization that overlooks many of the true motives behind the attacks. To really understand why these attacks happened, we must look into the past at the beginnings of Al Qai'da and at previous terrorist attacks across the world.

Al Qa'ida is an international terrorist network that was founded and led by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qa'ida first began to take shape after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It was at that time that bin Laden and a Palestinian religious scholar, Abdullah Azzam, began recruiting, training, and financing thousands of mujahedeen, or holy warriors, from more than 50 different countries. Although they were originally fighting to rid Afghanistan of the Soviet invaders, bin Laden urged these holy warriors to continue their fight beyond Afghanistan. And thus, in 1988, he officially founded the terrorist group known as Al-Qa'ida, a name that is now familiar to people across the world.

Currently, there is not a specific place from which Al-Qai'da operates. Previous headquarters, such as Sudan and Afghanistan were removed by force, and now, it is thought that leaders are trying to regroup inside Pakistan, near the Afghan border. Still, it is important to realize that Al-Qa'ida operatives are not just located in the Middle East. They are spread throughout many countries across the world; including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite the distances that separate them, all of the members of this terrorist organization share one major thing in common: Sunni Muslim fundamentalist views. In essence, there are three main objectives of the Al-Qa'ida Jihad, or holy war based on these fundamentalist views. The first is to establish the complete rule of God on Earth. Second is to attain martyrdom in the cause of God, meaning to suffer and/or die in the hopes of doing God's will. And lastly is to purify Islam and get rid of what they see as moral corruption within their religion's followers. By doing this, they hope to unite all pure Muslims to live under one government. It is important to note that their goal is not to convert all non-believers to Islam, but rather they will not let the non-believers dominate, meaning they won't let non-Muslims push Muslim heritage out.

Even though Al-Qa'ida was originally formed to be a religious fundamentalist group wishing to protect and purify Islam, the motives for the terrorist attacks are not solely religious. Although religion is a major part of it, and indeed, has aided in the recruitment of terrorist group members, other motives lie deep within the history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East. In fact, Osama bin Laden, along with other Al-Qa'ida leaders have made direct statements explaining why they targeted the United States. Most of these statements refer to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; such as the stationing of U.S. troops in and around holy sites, and especially the American support of Israel. In October of 2001, Osama bin Laden made the following statement: "We swore that America wouldn't live in security until we live it truly in Palestine. This showed the reality of America, which puts Israel's interest above its own people's interest. America won't get out of this crisis until it gets out of the Arabian Peninsula, and until it stops its support of Israel." A few years earlier, bin Laden had made another statement describing the oppression he saw of Muslims in Palestine: "For over half a century, Muslims in Palestine have been slaughtered and assaulted and robbed of their honor and of their property. Their houses have been blasted, their crops destroyed. And the strange thing is that any act on their part to avenge themselves or to lift the injustice befalling them causes great agitation in the United Nations which hastens to call for an emergency meeting only to convict the victim and to censure the wronged and the tyrannized whose children have been killed and whose crops have been destroyed and whose farms have been pulverized." In these statements, bin Laden is clearly describing how he feels Israeli attacks in Palestine have caused great oppression of the Muslims living there. Thus, he sees the United States' support of Israel as a direct threat to Muslims and something he must retaliate against.

Although the United States is being targeted by Al-Qa'ida, it is only one of many different countries that the terrorists have attacked to further their cause. Osama bin Laden, maintains a strong grudge against Muslim countries in the Middle East that have allowed western infiltration and have begun buying into westernization. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Malaysia are seen as traitorous and abandoning their Muslim heritage.

The September 11th attacks were not the first terrorist acts against the United States. There have been many, many attacks against Americans in countries all around the world. There was an explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1995 that killed four Americans. There was an explosion in Al-Khobar that killed 19 Americans and wounded more than 400. There were attacks in east Africa, the destruction of the U.S.S. Cole, previous attempted World Trade Center bombings, and many more. Still, the September 11th attacks set a new standard. Never before had there been such a large scale terrorist attack on civilians on U.S. land. And although I have discussed with you the probable motives of the terrorists, there can never be justification for the events that occurred on 9/11."