Friday, January 4, 2008

Okay, someone has got to say this

First, there is no "War On Terror". How can there be a war against a feeling? We may as well have a "war on nervousness" or a "war on anxiety".
I get that this is supposed to be our way of saying that we're sick of terrorist groups taking potshots at us.
I get that we want the world to understand that if you attack the Untied States, we're going to blow your country up.
The problem with a "war on terror" is that it's way too vague. In every other war, it was against a specific nation or group of nations. In World War II for instance, we could see a soldier in a German uniform of a Japanese uniform and just shoot him. No need for remorse; he wore the uniform of the enemy, he got shot; end of discussion. The "war on terror" is mostly against civilians, and the problem there is the constant risk of shooting an innocent person. It would be convenient for our side if everyone who hated America and was dedicated to harming us in some way could agree on some common uniform. But they don't, and so our "war on terror" is constantly waged hoping we actually shoot the enemy, and not some poor shmuck that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The problem is, we get it wrong more often than we think. We arrest, imprison, and kill innocents all the time. The vast majority of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay have no history with, or allegiance to any terrorist organizations. My guess is, if they ever get released they will want membership in any group promising to overthrow the U.S. government. And who can blame them? Taken from their homes, flown halfway around the world and put in a prisoner of war camp, denied legal representation, denied a chance to see what "evidence" exists against them, kept in the dark, I'm surprised we've gotten away with it this long.

Also, if we were really interested in going after the nations from whence these 9/11 hijackers came, we'd have gone after Saudi Arabia with guns blazing. Now, I know our relationship with them is… complicated. We're not happy about the fact that 15 of the 19 9/11 bad guys were Saudi Arabian, we wish they were nicer to Israel, we sure wish they were a democracy instead of being ruled by a king, but gosh darn it, they've got so much cheap oil! It makes it hard for us to hold a grudge about all that other stuff, and it also exposes why we're so concerned about sending troops to that part of the world in the first place.

And speaking of 9/11, we had it coming. There, I said it. We piss all over the world, we refuse to forgive the debts of third world nations, we refuse to sign international treaties banning the use of land mines (after over 100 nations signed it), we consume way more than our fair share of natural resources, we pollute the planet and mock anyone who tries to suggest alternative energy or the idea that the planet could be changing as a result of our policies and practices. We have more money, more waste, and less of a clue about our own impact than any other nation, bar none. We tell ourselves that we are the police force for the entire planet, forcing democracy on other nations while fixing our own elections. We blast other nations for human rights abuses while we execute the mentally retarded. As a nation, we are arrogant, wasteful, rude, ignorant, and way too heavy handed when we deal with other nations. I'm surprised we don't have attacks on the scale of 9/11 once a week. It certainly would balance out the karmic scales.

All of this is assuming that the 9/11 story we got from the government is in fact accurate and true. And this is a generous assumption. Let's just admit it folks; our government has been systematically spoon feeding us propaganda for so long, we've lost the ability to distinguish between the truth and the lies. A lone gunman assassinated Kennedy? The attack on Pearl Harbor was completely unprovoked and caught us totally by surprise? America didn't have concentration camps in World War II? Bush won the election in 2000? We had no idea that terrorists were planning 9/11? If you believe any of those things, then you drank the Kool-Aid. Sorry to be the one to tell you.

Ready for some more truth?

There is no such thing as "Islamo-fascism". There are no "Islamo-fascists". It would be great if there were. They could wear uniforms, appoint generals, and give us something organized to shoot at. The Muslims of the world don't want you dead. They hate our government; and they have good reason to hate them. But they aren't stupid. They understand that there is a huge difference between the American government and its people. They don't want you dead any more than you want them dead. They want what we want; to live in peace, to have their sovereignty respected, and to be allowed to manage their own affairs. But when we (the United States) disrespect their right to self-government, when we bomb their cities, when we kill their women and children, when we set up military bases on their holy lands, they are eventually going to get so pissed that they come after us, even if it means certain death for them. Someone once said it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. I can see the wisdom in that, and apparently so can they.

More?

There was absolutely no link between 9/11 and Iraq.

Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were never in cahoots against us. They didn't even like each other.

The only reason people like Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, etc even exist is because we created them:

Those WMD's Iraq supposedly had? The only reason our government was so convinced Saddam Hussein had them was because WE SOLD THEM TO HIM in the 80's. We didn't want to go to war with Iran ourselves, so we did we what we always do in cases like that: we financed, trained and provided intelligence to our enemy's enemies. Iraq and Iran hated each other, and we hated Iran too. So, we give Iraq a bunch of weapons, training and intelligence, and say "Sic 'em!"

Osama bin Laden rose to power in the 80's too, thanks once again to our policy of funding our enemy's enemy. The U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan, and a bunch of "freedom fighters" fought them off, eventually winning. This was in no small part due to our providing them with weapons, training and intelligence. Sound familiar? This is pretty much Standard Operating Procedure when it comes to American foreign policy. We didn't have the balls to declare war on the Soviets (most likely because we knew we'd get our asses handed to us) so instead we took the opportunity to fund another of their enemies. The problem was, after the Soviets were gone we stopped supporting those "freedom fighters". And they got pissed. And guess who was one of the leaders of those groups was? If you guessed Osama bin Laden, you're right. Nice job.

So, the problems we have in the Middle East are mostly of our own creation. We prop up despots and then it turns and bites us in the ass 20-30 years later. We make enemies and then use propaganda to make us look like victims.

The American public needs to start calling its own government on its lies. We need to get our facts, and call our so-called "leaders" on the carpet to answer for their transgressions. It's time for a little revolution in this country.

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