The Anti-Arab Curse of 9/11 Returns

Much like the aftermath of 9/11, it didn’t take long for legacy media to begin parroting a lot of far-right anti-Arab talking points

Photo by Rumman Amin on Unsplash

Here we go again. Dirty bombs, sleeper cells, foreign fighters, and yes, even Iranian nationals who were released into the U.S., because, of course, we have to tie immigration to terrorism. Ol’ Dubya intertwined immigration at the border with terrorism after 9/11, despite the attackers of that event entering the country legally and with visas. This is the United States. When has this country turned away from an opportunity to espouse outright racism?

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What’s most interesting is that they don’t have anything new. They are giving us reruns of what the news media looked like in the aftermath of 9/11. Much like recent talk about immigration, only in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean putting targets on Latinos' backs, the same could be said about the current “terrorism” discourse, and relating to it in the context of the Middle East is putting a target on Arab Americans' backs.

They do this because attacking Iran is nonpartisan. We don’t have to look too far back in history to see this approach to maintaining hostility with Iran. During the last election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump sounded identical on this issue, and a few others, but let’s just focus on Iran. Harris said that Iran was the biggest threat to the U.S., when the intelligence has been telling us otherwise for years.

I’m not trying to compare the two or say one is better than the other. I am merely pointing out the nonpartisan nature of what is happening in the Middle East and why the news media thinks it can get away with its obvious bias. We saw this bias play out at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when several media outlets around the world referred to Ukrainian children as more civilized and not like some faraway place like the Middle East.

“Ukraine isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades,” said Charlie D’Agata on CBS News in April 2022. “This is a relatively civilized, relatively European - I have to choose those words carefully, too - city, one where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.”

We also see the bias in coverage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the bombing of several countries in the region without provocation, including Iran, and in the coverage of ICE agents brutally arresting people, and when people protest and fight back, they are labeled as violent rioters by legacy meida, as if the state is justified. Now, they’re breaking their necks doing mental gymnastics to justify the bombing of Iran and talking less about the illegality of it all.

Bombing nuclear sites, attacking nations unprovoked, allowing Israel to do the same, and killing innocent civilians are all war crimes. So is using starvation as a weapon and using aid as a tool to conduct mass killings of innocent civilians. But Israel is doing it with U.S. money and weapons, and you rarely hear about the constant atrocities in legacy media. What you do hear about it is one-sided imperialist and colonialist justification for slaughtering millions.

It’s the same story time and again.

So here we are. The news media that a huge population consumes have their messaging set, and they’re all saying the same things. They’re creating fear based on no actual data or facts, just speculation from the same talking heads that led us into the Iraq war on pretenses and flat-out lies about weapons of mass destruction. They’re the same people who continued to spread the “we don’t know when, we don’t know how, but a terrorist attack is imminent” lie to convince the public that we need the Patriot Act, which trampled on our civil liberties.

During the Biden administration, FBI Director Chris Wray, a Trump appointee who was held over by the Biden White House, testified in Congress, claiming that foreign fighters were entering the country via the Southern Border, saying, “red lights were blinking everywhere,” but offering no evidence to prove it.

Before Wray’s testimony in Congress, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leaked an alert to the Daily Caller, an outlet founded by Tucker Carlson, warning of foreign fighters crossing the border. It’s a leak I chased, which led to CBP and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denying that such evidence exists and that the statement was false.

Now, here we are, and legacy media is suggesting this is true.

Meanwhile, the federal government is issuing terrorism bulletins and worldwide security alerts, creating more fear and panic. While the statements are largely toothless, just seeing a title like “DHS Issues National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin Amid Israel-Iran Conflict” or “Worldwide Caution Security Alert” immediately creates a sense of something dire. However, reading the statements, they clearly say otherwise.

“It is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threats to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence, and antisemitic hate crimes. There are currently no specific credible threats against the homeland.”

The Department of State issued a similar alert relating to international travel, warning U.S. citizens. The statement uses similar but largely toothless language, much like that of the DHS statement, likely because there are no credible threats to U.S. citizens at home or abroad.

“The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East,” reads the Department of State alert. “There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution. Please read carefully our Travel Advisory, country information, and any recent security alerts when planning travel.”

Digging even deeper, there are reports that the U.S. warned Iran about the incoming strikes, allowing Iran to move whatever materials they needed to. The report was confirmed by Amwaj Media and is now making the rounds in some Western news outlets, mostly independent.

“Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking Iranian political source confirmed that the Trump administration on June 21 conveyed that it did not seek an all-out confrontation, and only intended to strike the Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites,” according to Amwaj Media. “The message is said to have been delivered by a third party. Importantly, the senior source also confirmed that the targeted sites were evacuated, with "most" of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium kept in secure locations.”

If the U.S. warned Iran ahead of time, what exactly is the motivation for the broad Islamophobia and Anti-Arab sentiments in the media so quickly? Why so much talk about continuing to bomb Iran and forcing regime change across all news media?

The answer is simple to some and more complex to others. But it boils down to the same reason false claims of antisemitism are largely driven by Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiments: to protect the colonialist outpost that is Israel, the same country that started this unprovoked war using Gaza as a pretext. Islamophobia is one piece of that.

“Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks,” reads the National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.

While legacy media jumps all over these anti-Arab dog whistles, all of the statements issued by Trump’s White House revolve around the idea of threats, but admit to having no evidence for any of it. That’s not stopping corporate-owned media, whose main job is to promote war even if countries are talking to each other before launching attacks. In the end, it all feels like theater because it largely is. However, it’s being used to promote bigotry and hate.

Fox News may be more blatant about its racism, but other media outlets are supporting their reporting by pushing the unfounded claims of so-called “sleeper cell” threats. Notice you haven’t heard about Iran having the right ot defend itself after being attacked unprovoked? We are living through the age of deception, where far too many stories are lies by omission.

Meanwhile, the Gestapo is still disappearing people from our communities.

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Arturo is an independent journalist whose work can be found at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.