Terrorism is the scourge of the era. It is a fearsome symbol conjuring images of nasty-looking, bearded men brandishing AK-47s. The media focus only on the terrorism of official enemies like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. The notion that the U.S. and its allies engage in terrorism is simply not a topic for discussion. In the current discourse, the terrorism of the designated bad guys is magnified. A lot of important information is omitted or didstorted.

Eqbal Ahmad
Eqbal Ahmad was Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. For many years he was managing editor of the quarterly Race and Class. His articles and essays appeared in The Nation and other journals throughout the world. He wrote a weekly column for Dawn, Pakistan's oldest English newspaper. Confronting Empire, the book of Eqbal Ahmad interviews by David Barsamian, is published by South End Press. Eqbal Ahmad died in Islamabad on May 11, 1999.