A decade after 9/11: Enduring lessons for the Arab world - By Fareed Zakaria

Let me tell you about the most influential book to be published since 9/11, at least according to me. It's actually not a book but a report - a United Nations report written by a committee. I'm talking about the Arab Development Report published in 2002.

After 9/11, in the midst of the discussion of what was happening in the Arab world, why it was the source of this terrorism, the UN Development Program's head, Mark Malloch Brown, commissioned a study of the Arab world looking at political, economic and social issues. But he insisted it be researched and written by Arabs so there was no accusation of an outsider's bias or neocolonialism. The result was a brutally frank document that was a sensation. It was downloaded off the internet 1 million times.

The report documented the stunning decay of the Arab world. If you want to explore the conditions that produced al Qaeda, read this report. Take a look at some of the most damning statistics. When the nonprofit Freedom House rated world regions on a broad range of political and civil rights, Arab countries came last. Look at the economy - the UNDP report highlighted that the entire Arab League put together - that is 22 countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt - had a smaller GDP than Spain. Fifteen percent of Arabs were unemployed compared to a global average of 6 percent at the time.

Then there's education: In 2002, 65 million adults, one of every four Arabs, were illiterate. One of out of every two Arab women couldn't read or write. And for the few Arab readers, there wasn't much choice. The entire region was translating just 330 books a year - one fifth the amount that Greece translates every year. All these statistics showed how the Arab world was worse off than everywhere except Sub-Saharan Africa.

Now, what caught my attention this week, almost a decade later, is that much of the data in that report is unchanged or barely changed. On jobs, the region now suffers some of the highest unemployment rates in the world. And the raw number of Arabs who can't read or write has actually increased. Other indicators have worsened, too. Somalia is now suffering from a deadly famine. And the last decade, Sudan's Darfur region becomes the mass crimes against humanity - one could go on.

In case you've been keeping track, the only real indicator of the Arab world's health that has actually improved since the UNDP report was published is its GDP. The Arab League's combined gross domestic product has quadrupled.

But here's the revealing statistic: The price of oil almost rose at the same rate. And that kind of oil-produced growth doesn't trickle down and it certainly doesn't help the tens of millions of Arabs in the region's most populous countries like Egypt and Syria that have little oil. According to World Bank data, it has taken three decades for the average Arab person's income to double since 1980. Meanwhile, inflation helped market prices double in just the first seven of those 30 years.

And so, now, we have the Arab Spring - from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya, repressive dictators are being toppled by people power. There's no doubt that this is great news. But remember, all other Arab regimes have managed to remain in power through a mix of repression and bribery. From Jordan to Oman to Saudi Arabia and Syria, increasing subsidies might delay popular resentment but it won't change the facts on the ground. And the crucial point is that even democracy will only succeed if these underlying social statistics on literacy and jobs and women's rights improves.

Ten years on from 9/11, the Arab world remains in denial. A recent Pew study shows the majorities in all Muslim states think that Arabs were not responsible for the attacks of September the 11th. Three out of four Egyptians hold that belief, for example. Now, that is simply nonsense. Instead of bizarre conspiracy theories, the Arab world needs to focus on the dire statistics the UNDP highlighted almost a decade ago.

The Arab spring is a first step for those countries that it has touched, but it needs to be a springboard for 300 million Arabs to look deep within and address the fundamentals that their leaders have neglected for decades - education, women's rights, economic reforms, jobs and real freedom.

100 protesters burn American flag outside U.S. embassy in London during minute's silence for 9/11

Protesters set fire to the U.S. flag outside the American embassy in London yesterday during a minute's silence to mark the moment the first hijacked airliner hit the World Trade Centre.

A group of 100 Muslim radicals, including members of Muslims Against Crusades, shouted 'USA  terrorists' and brandished anti-American placards.

One protester in Grosvenor Square said: 'You will always face suffering, you will always face humiliation, unless you withdraw your troops from Muslim lands.' 

Anger: Members of the group Muslims Against Crusades burn the American flag during a protest outside the U.S. embassy in London

Detained: A masked member of Muslims Against Crusades is led away after the group's protest

A small group of Muslims staged a counter-demonstration nearby, holding up placards reading 'Muslims Against Extremism' and 'If You Want Sharia, Move To Saudi'.

Abdul Sallam, 41, who was waving a sign that read 'Keep The Silence', travelled down to London from his home in Glasgow to show the strength of his feelings.

He said: 'I'm a Muslim. What they're doing is bringing shame on all Muslims.This is not part of the teachings of Islam.

'Islam is all about peace, but what they want to do is hate other people.

Destructive: Protesters take pictures of the burning American flag during the demonstration

Sitting it out: Police prevent English Defence League supporters from confronting the Muslims Against Crusades protest outside the embassy

'Islam teaches you that when you see anything bad or evil, you should speak out against it.
'If the moderate Muslims all came out and spoke out, that would defeat them.

'I am proud to be British. I love my country. All these people are doing is breaking Britain apart.'
Earlier, a group of English Defence League protesters were ordered to move on to accommodate the anti-American demonstration.

The 60-strong group briefly scuffled with police as they were forced away from their original location to a different part of Grosvenor Square.

Twenty people were arrested for breach of the peace as the group was dispersed towards Oxford Street.
And at least four more arrests were made as police escorted the Muslim group back towards the Central London Mosque in Regents Park.

Contempt: A fanatical protester spits at photographers as he is being arrested

Counter-protest: EDL members protest against the Islamist demonstration

One of the guests at the Grosvenor Square memorial service said the protesters should be stopped from standing just across the road from the embassy and using a loud megaphone.

The man, whose cousin died in the terror attacks, added: 'They shouldn't be allowed to do it. It's very disrespectful. It's too loud.'

He added: 'They can say what they want but not with the loudspeaker. They shouldn't obstruct the service.'

New York cracks down after "credible" 9/11 threat

(Reuters) - New York police amassed a display of force on Friday including checkpoints that snarled traffic in response to intelligence about a car or truck bomb plot linked to the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Officers armed with automatic weapons were stationed at city landmarks including Wall Street, Times Square and the September 11 memorial site where the Twin Towers once stood.

U.S. officials called the threat "credible but unconfirmed" and timed to the anniversary of the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,995 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

There was reason to believe threat may be linked to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

New Yorkers who have grown accustomed to bag searches at subway stations and random displays of police presence encountered increased vigilance after the threat, which prompted President Barack Obama to order a redoubling of U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

A manhunt was under way for two or three suspects, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity. One said there could be a link to Zawahri, who took the reins of al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed in May in a U.S. raid in Pakistan.

Near the site known as Ground Zero, where a new World Trade Center is under reconstruction and Obama will attend Sunday's commemoration, police established a checkpoint behind the historic Trinity Church, stopping vehicles, opening the cargo bays of trucks and checking drivers' licenses.

Similar checkpoints went up at Times Square, Columbus Circle on the southern edge of Central Park and outside the Macy's department store in midtown, creating traffic jams all over Manhattan.

"I think for our safety it is good," Eva Kurzawska, 57, said as she watched irritated drivers a checkpoint in midtown.

"The commute on the train this morning was horrible but it was worth it because we are being protected," said Mario Vigorigo, 42, a wireless manager from Brooklyn.

Sam Ginzburg, a senior trader at First New York Securities, said warnings of a potential attack was one factor unnerving traders before the weekend. "There is an extreme amount of negativity," he said as U.S. stocks fell on Friday.

A senior law enforcement official told Reuters police patrols and security will be stepped up beginning at 3 p.m. EDT to coincide with the evening rush hour. The operation will involve a "big show of force" which will include teams of officers armed with heavy weapons.

While the rush-hour operation had been planned some time ago, the forces and tactics deployed were increased after authorities received the intelligence threat this week.

'TERRORISM IS THEATER'

The intelligence included possible threats of attacks targeting subways or commuter trains or possible car bomb attacks in New York or Washington, U.S. officials said.

"We have to be concerned. Terrorism is theater and this is a stage, right now probably the world's biggest stage," New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told CNN.

"We have the opening of the 9/11 memorial, the president and two former presidents here, obviously a lot of high profile public officials will be here, so we have to be concerned," Kelly said.

In addition to the vehicle checkpoints, police would assign additional officers to cover bridges and tunnels, increase bag searches in the subway system, deploy radiation detectors and employ bomb-sniffing dogs, Kelly told NY1 television.

Vice President Joseph Biden said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program on Friday morning, "We don't have the smoking gun but we do have talk about using a car bomb."

A counterterrorism official said the threat information came from Pakistan's tribal areas.

Documents discovered in Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after he was killed in a raid in May by Navy SEALs, highlighted his persistent interest in attacking the United States around the anniversary of the 2001 attacks. But it is unclear if the plans ever evolved beyond aspiration.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Michelle Nichols, Edward Krudy, Brian Snynder and Jennifer Marostica in New York; Editing by Doina Chiacu)