In an opinion piece in '' The Guardian '' titled " The Algebra of Infinite Justice " , Roy responded to the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan , finding fault with the argument that this war would be a retaliation for the September 11 attacks : " The bombing of Afghanistan is not revenge for New York and Washington . It is yet another act of terror against the people of the world . " According to her , U.S. president George W. Bush and UK prime minister Tony Blair were guilty of Orwellian doublethink : When he announced the air strikes , President George Bush said : " We 're a peaceful nation . " America 's favourite ambassador , Tony Blair , ( who also holds the portfolio of prime minister of the UK ) , echoed him : " We 're a peaceful people . " So now we know . Pigs are horses . Girls are boys . War is peace . She disputes U.S. claims of being a peaceful and freedom-loving nation , listing China and 19 Third World " countries that America has been at war with — and bombed — since World War II " , as well as previous U.S. support for the Taliban movement and the Northern Alliance ( whose " track record is not very different from the Taliban 's " ) . She does not spare the Taliban : " Now , as adults and rulers , the Taliban beat , stone , rape , and brutalise women , they do n't seem to know what else to do with them . " In the final analysis , Roy sees American-style capitalism as the culprit : " In America , the arms industry , the oil industry , the major media networks , and , indeed , U.S. foreign policy , are all controlled by the same business combines " . She puts the attacks on the World Trade Center and on Afghanistan on the same moral level , that of terrorism , and mourns the impossibility of beauty after 2001 : " Will it be possible ever again to watch the slow , amazed blink of a newborn gecko in the sun , or whisper back to the marmot who has just whispered in your ear — without thinking of the World Trade Centre and Afghanistan ? " In May 2003 she delivered a speech titled " Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy ( Buy One , Get One Free ) " at Riverside Church in New York City , in which she described the United States as a global empire that reserves the right to bomb any of its subjects at any time , deriving its legitimacy directly from God . The speech was an indictment of the U.S. actions relating to the Iraq War . In June 2005 she took part in the World Tribunal on Iraq , and in March 2006 , Roy criticised President George W. Bush 's visit to India , calling him a " war criminal "
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Arundhati Roy