What meanings, lessons, and vision for the future can we uncover from the terror, lost lives, and rubble of 9/11?

The shocks of 9/11 still reverberate within and around us. Who cannot feel them? I lived in New York for many years and love this city for its rich diversity of peoples, its energy, creativity, and fly-in-the face honesty. My youngest daughter was born near ground zero. As a college student she spent 6 months in Jerusalem, listening to Jews, Muslims, and Christians on all sides of the Middle East conflict and exploring nonviolent solutions. She heard Palestinian students debate whether to use violent or nonviolent means to make their concerns heard. A few days later they started throwing rocks and Israeli troops opened fire with U.S.- funded guns and tanks. Children were killed. My husband and I watched the news in fear for our daughter and sorrow for the victims on all sides. That was in the late 1980s.

More than a decade later, the same daughter, married and with a new- born baby she and her husband plan to raise in their mixed Jewish-Christian traditions, were returning to their home in California from a Bar Mitzvah in New Jersey. Instead of staying until 9/11 to visit friends, they returned on 9/10. They missed by a day being on a flight from Newark that was commandeered toward the White House but crashed instead into Pennsylvania fields. My daughter called safe in bed on the morning of 9/11, to tell me the breaking news. As the reality sank in, my knees buckled under me. My daughter, son-in-law and baby Rachel are alive. But the daughter of friends was killed, and other people I know barely escaped from the Twin Towers. I am not a dispassionate bystander.

My feelings and views of 9/11 and its aftermath continue to unfold, heavily affected by recent experiences in Israel and Palestine. Because I have been there, I paid attention when bin Laden avowed that there would be no peace for the U.S. until there was justice for Palestinians. While in Bethlehem and Jerusalem for international meetings in 2000, informal discussions with Palestinians had made it apparent that most were deeply frustrated by the peace process. They had lost faith in Arafat and in U.S. and Israeli leadership to deliver either Palestinian statehood or a just peace. They recounted almost a century of betrayed promises - from Britain's failure to deliver on its League of Nation's mandate, to UN and Western failures to stop Israel from seizing their lands, bulldozing their homes and businesses, and turning them into refugees in their own land, to the suppression of their human rights and freedoms under a system of virtual apartheid. The situation was a tinderbox ready to explode. Tragically, a few people on both sides wanted to light matches. When Ariel Sharon, accompanied by hundreds of armed soldiers, violated the sanctity of Haram al-Sharif, one of Islam's holiest shrines where Muslims believe Muhammed ascended to heaven -- it was widely seen as a deliberate strategy to enflame Muslims, evoke a violent reaction, and end the peace process. It worked. Muslims everywhere were outraged, especially Palestinian Muslims who were the custodians of this sacred place. More provocations followed, and, as anticipated, were answered with violence that was then used to legitimize Israeli military attacks and the occupation of Palestinian cities.

Suicide bombing did not bring justice for Palestinians. And a war on terrorism did not make Israelis more secure. Instead lives were needlessly lost or disrupted. How many victims might still be alive with different policies and strategies? As the numbers of dead mounted on both sides it became almost impossible to continue the peace process. Israelis who had been committed to the peace process and critical of Sharon's policies were soon supporting him or effectively silenced, and Palestinians and Israelis working for nonviolent solutions were marginalized. Six weeks after 9/11, I was in Israel again for meetings with inter-faith groups who had worked for years to advance co-existence through inter-religious dialogue. Most were extremely disheartened, and those who continued to meet and work together faced significant obstacles and duress. Still, dreams and efforts for peace persist. One of the miracles coming out of 9/11 and Middle East deaths is that despite, or perhaps because they have seen too much death, some people are finding the courage to become agents of their own and global transformation.

Ground Zero: Holy Ground for Healing

On 9/11, people of many cultures, races, and beliefs died at ground zero. For the next several days in the U.S. thousands of people called radio talk shows transmitting messages of fear, hate and vengeance. Some wanted to "nuke 'em back to the stone age." "Them" meant not only the perpetrators but also all things foreign. However, by the third day new voices began to be heard, arising from a deeper humanity and calling for reason and a rejection of violence. Some quoted Gandhi: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth soon leaves the world blind and toothless." Others invoked Martin Luther King who, at a time of hate, called for building the "beloved community." Many followed words with action, reaching out to the Islamic community to build bridges of peace and understanding. In the ensuing months these voices have become stronger and more numerous. Some are transforming ground zero into sacred ground where people of all faiths come to pray with one another. Ground zero, once a target of hate, is becoming holy ground for healing and reconciliation. By word and deed those coming to pray testify that religion must not be twisted to justify violence. Somehow the spirits of those who died here are moving people to choose love over hate, life over death. Ground zero is becoming a foundation on which to build peace and nonviolence.

Despite such hopeful directions it is important to ask some hard questions. Could the tragedies of 9/11 have been prevented? What were the underlying causes? Was declaring a "war on terrorism" the best response? Has it made the world more secure? What can/should be done to prevent such tragedies in the future?

Multiple Views of Causes

Nothing can justify the terrible taking of lives on 9/11. But ignoring underlying causes begets poor judgment in choosing remedies and preventing future tragedies.

Should the murderous acts of 9/11 be viewed primarily as criminal acts by disgruntled and misguided extremists? If so, would existing international legal remedies have sufficed or do we need to develop more effective international legal mechanisms? Or should they be viewed as acts of war for which no other response could be made except a retaliatory declaration of war? Did expanding the definition of war to include war against terrorism really advance human security, or does it undermine true security by legitimizing the use of violence and the suspension of human rights and civil liberties? How has the meaning of war changed when one party is a state and the other comprised of disparate non-state actors living in more than 60 countries? Is such a widespread and protracted war humanly and financially sustainable over the long run?

Did this "war" arise from a "clash of civilizations" - a conflict between cultures and religions? If the perpetrators believe that they are engaged in a "holy war" against perceived threats to Islam from the West (in the form of globalization, commodification and secular values), is retaliatory violence by the West the most effective response or would inter- cultural and inter-religious dialogue be more effective? Was 9/11 a cry by marginalized people wanting their voices heard? Was it the result of failed diplomacy or a failure to hear?

Or was 9/11 -- and U.S. reaction to it -- part of a larger pattern of geopolitical warfare over resources? 9/11 was the latest in a series of terrorist attacks whose perpetrators came from the Middle East. High among the reasons given by 9/11 conspirators is U.S. military support for Israel and U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's most sacred sites. But why is the U.S. so heavily invested in military support for this region? Because, in a time of rising energy needs and diminishing supplies, the world's largest reserves of oil are still to be found in the Middle East, and especially Saudi Arabia.

Or, in yet another view, does 9/11, along with other acts of terrorism, signify the inadequacy of 19th century systems to assure peace and security in a 21st century world? Is the nation-state system, including a state-centric UN system, though still useful for many functions, inadequate in the face of new global-scale interdependencies and challenges? Could this "war" have been prevented if there had been in place a more humane, democratic and equitable world order? When the opportunity to advance such a new world order presented itself at the end of the Cold War, and when many people, including in the Arab world, were ready to move in that direction, why was the opportunity lost? Can it be regained?

Or do the causes include all of the above or some interactive combination of them?

Steps Toward a Stable Peace

Depending on responses to these questions, some of the following might be more effective paths to security than an endless and costly war on terrorism. Some of these steps are primarily for the U.S; others are more universal.

1. Overcome ignorance and apathy about the effects of military and economic policies imposed on other regions and peoples. Stop pursuing policies in the Middle East aimed at resource greed and narrow national interests while turning a blind eye on the welfare of people who live there.
2. End U.S. dependency on oil from the Persian Gulf and other external sources. Conserve energy and develop renewable and sustainable alternatives (e.g. wind, solar).
3. Promote more democratic, participatory governments and the observance of human rights in the Middle East.
4. Help prevent economic collapse in the Middle East, not with "hand outs" or "aid" that demeans or begets dependency, but through equitable partnerships.
5. Deal equitably with Israeli and Palestinian peoples, recognizing the right of both to exist with full human rights and self-determination.
6. Advance understanding and appreciation for different cultures, religions, and worldviews through educational programs in schools, media, and community centers.
7. Build bridges for co-existence, tolerance, and community through people-to-people exchanges, sister cities, and inter-faith and inter- cultural dialogue.
8. Denounce violence (including systemic violence) and uphold nonviolence and human rights on all sides.
9. Curb access to technologies of violence and terror. Stop the flow of armaments whether in aid or trade. Support a ban on the illegal trafficking of small arms and light weapons. Strengthen existing arms control agreements and their enforcement, especially with regard to biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.
10. Strengthen non-military means to prevent and redress violence and terrorism (whether by states, groups, or individuals) - e.g. diplomacy, mediation, negotiation, arbitration, conflict resolution, peace-building. Strengthen and expand international legal and judicial mechanisms to effectively deal with international terrorism. Ratify and bring the International Criminal Court into force.