It is the assessment of the U.S. Government – the correct assessment – that Moazzam Begg was a member of al-Qaeda. Captured in Pakistan in 2002, Mr. Begg was handed over to the U.S. Military. Held at Bagram air base, Begg was then transferred to the Guantanamo Bay prison. He was released in 2005 on the request of then-British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
Since then, apart from occasional and unexplained jaunts to Syria, Begg has been a lecture circuit regular. These lectures do not tend to vary. Speaking with a confident but humble tenor, and pained pauses-for-effect, Begg explains why America is responsible for the global terrorist threat. But his ultimate message is one that seeks to apologize for al-Qaeda’s Salafi-Jihadism.
Last month, Begg spoke at an auspicious institution: the Oxford University debating union. And this week, the video of his speech was released. It encapsulates Begg’s cultivation of personal sympathy in service of his political agenda. At 5 minutes and 30 seconds in, Begg claims that ISIS is a consequence not of Salafi-Jihadist totalitarianism (and political failure in Baghdad), but of U.S. Military prisons during the occupation of Iraq. Here we see Begg’s early identification of the enemy: America.
At 22:30, escalating his portrayal of the United States in an evil disposition, Begg insinuates that a U.S. military psychologist attempted to manipulate him into committing suicide. It’s worth watching Begg here. His penchant for theatrics wins the apt-attention of the audience.
Then at 26:40, Begg makes his first mistake. He shows his true beliefs. Lamenting U.S. military operations, he describes “a young Canadian boy”, Omar Khadr, who was wounded by U.S. forces and brought to Bagram airbase. Begg neglects to mention that Khadr’s wounds were inflicted during a battle with U.S. military forces. A battle in which one American soldier lost his life. Yet because the audience does not know enough, Begg has the power to shape their perceptions. And he does so. Khadr blurs the “young boy” Khadr with other “old people – people who were denied their walking sticks.” His implication: All prisoners of the U.S. prisoners, regardless of age and threat, were innocent victims of horrific, pointless abuse.
Still, having laid the groundwork, it is not until the latter part of the speech that Begg’s ultimate strategy becomes clear. Cleverly, at 29:40, Begg uses the popular student activism against privilege and race to portray U.S. counter-terrorism operations as inherently racist. American interrogation techniques, he suggests, are not designed to extract information, but rather to subjugate Muslims as a community of people.
Four minutes later Begg offers his strategy for addressing terrorist threats to the West: “Don’t invade countries.” At 34:51 Begg expands on his thesis: “If we want to tackle the security problem, we need to fully, fully accept our role in destabilizing the world.” Here we see the old lie of the jihadist sympathizers. If only America accepted regimes such as the Taliban, we would be safe from attack. Yet by this point, with the students firmly sympathetic to him, Begg’s absurdity (ignoring that the U.S. invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban were harboring those responsible for the 9/11 attacks) is ignored. Begg’s audience is not thinking about the twin towers, but of the old men and young boys in less privileged lands.
Fortunately, the evidence of Begg’s views are too obvious for him to deny. When not lecturing, for example, Begg is defending friends such as Shaker Aamer (a certain terrorist). Begg’s organization, CAGE, has even defended the ISIS executioner, Jihadi John (a/k/a Dust Boy). Begg has also equivocated on the stoning of women (on stoning, read my column from 2014).
Yes, Begg’s supporters point to his quiet condemnations of ISIS. But like those who too often fall for Begg’s stories, they’re claims prove their ignorance. Begg has always been an al-Qaeda fan, not an ISIS supporter. And ISIS and al-Qaeda are enemies. Opposing one says nothing about one’s views towards the other.
Tom Rogan (@TomRtweets) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a foreign policy columnist for National Review, a domestic policy columnist for Opportunity Lives, a former panelist on The McLaughlin Group and a senior fellow at the Steamboat Institute.
If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
