The Neocons Are Wrong About the War on Terror
Karl Rove, the architect of George W. Bush's presidency, is at it again. He accuses Democrats of being "stuck" in the pre-911 mode. He insists that the current Administration's hard-line stance is needed to protect America from future terrorist attacks. This includes electronic eavesdropping on American citizens without court order. It also includes "staying the course" in Iraq, meaning, keeping troops there without set withdrawal dates.
I hate this pudgy weasel. He is the caricature of the beet-faced, tight-collared, right-wing, Republican "war hawk" know-it-all who loves to talk tough, despite not having served a single day in the military, nor having any special background in military history. He is basically unqualified to make such statements in a policy-making capacity. He has not paid his dues. But Rove is a dangerous man--not to the terrorists who he aims to destroy-- but to the American way of life.
You see, history is full of expamples of leaders who employ the most powerful technique of human motivation in order to push their agenda: FEAR. It's not anything new. The scheme is pretty simple-- declare an enemy(Iraq, Muslim "Terrorists"), convince the people that this enemy is a threat to their way of life, and label all those who speak otherwise (Democrats, people who stop to think) as traitors to the state. It's been done before. Hitler used it to build the Third Reich. Mussolini. Fidel Castro. Mao. All masters of the fear game. The scheming Neocons (notably Rove, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Scooter Libby) realized that fear tactics were the only way to get the American public to accept their right-wing agenda. From what we see so far, the agenda called for more power to the Executive Branch, weakening of checks and balances between the branches of government, tax cuts for the rich, deficit spending, primarily for the war machine; reduction of federal funding of domestic programs to compensate for reduced tax revenue, challenges to the separation of church and state, challenges and downright disregard for scientific advisory boards (global warming, conservation, stem cell research, etc.), an experiment in empire building (Iraq), and the most unscrupulous of all, skirting campaign finance laws to add to the conservative war chest. The Neocons so far have been successful in most of their objectives, despite strong opposition from Democrats and moderate Republicans.
In order to push through such a controversial agenda, the neocons quickly invoked fear tactics after 9-11, hoping to catch the public off guard in the emotional disarray that permeated the country during the months following the attacks. 9-11 was the Golden Egg that dropped into Bush's lap. It was an anointment from the heavens above; a license to depart from the traditional democractic principles that have held this country together for over 200 years in favor of a demagogic, unchecked rule. 9-11 served as a green light to hold public policy meetings in secrecy, thwart Congressional inquiries, foster cronyism, engage in war-profiteering, weaken environmental protection laws, weaken privacy laws, waste tax dollars, abandon funding for our public schools, libraries, parks, roads and bridges. It was a fortuitous event that enabled Bush to reward big campaign donors who stood to benefit from a protracted war (Halliburton, Bechtel, Exxon, all aerospace corporations).
The Bush administration's post-9-11 planning was a devious, political scheme that fooled most ordinary people; and in my opinion, a success that rivals the success of the WTCs attack. Fox News contributed to this unscrupulous deception of the American people by providing visual aids and sound bytes. On the day the U.S. invaded Iraq, I remember, with disgust the Fox News anchor (Shepard) who giddily rattled off the various weapons of war, displaying their pictures for added effect as the US forces made their way towards Bagdad. Cobra Helicopters. C-130 Gunships. Bradley Fighting Vehicles. M-1 Abrams tanks. He couldn't help himself from cracking a broad smile and yukking it up. "We're going to KICK SOME SAND NI_ _ER ASS!!! HOORAY!!!" Well guess what, nimrod: It's four years later, terrorism is rampant in Iraq more than ever before, and the U.S. death toll is over 2,200 and climbing, with well over five times that number maimed and disabled for life. Doesn't sound like success to me. And what about those five colors of threat warnings? Where did they go? Fox News quit using them shortly after Bush defeated Kerry in 2004, which suggests that their use was for political purposes.
Bush's main legacy so far is making the world a sadder, more dangerous place to live. He shares this honor with the Muslim fanatical extremists. George W. Bush played perfectly into Osama Bin Laden's treacherous plan to instigate a holy war between the West and the Middle East; a war that continues to manifest. People should realize that Bin Laden's 9-11 attack did not end with destruction of the world trade centers in New York. Although devastating in scope, the 9-11 attack was just the opening salvo. Future damage to the U.S. will not be limited to more terrorist attacks. It will come in the form of a gradual decline in our quality of life -- not as dramatic as the complete destruction of two office high-rises, but just as damaging with wider ranging effects. Thanks to the ill-advised U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Middle East is on edge. More terrorists are joining the cause. Iran, seeing the aggressive U.S. actions in Iraq and the continued U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia, desires to develop nuclear weapons. The Iranians fear that they are next. How can we blame them? Palestinians recently voted for Hamas as their ruling party. Hamas is led my militants who call for the destruction of Israel. As the situation in the Middle East continues to destabilize, there will be a strong reason (this time a real, justifiable reason) to keep U.S. forces there indefinitely in order to protect our oil interests and to protect Israel. This will consume billions of tax dollars that would have otherwise gone towards domestic improvement projects. Our roads, bridges, schools, libraries and park systems will be the first to suffer; followed by the arts, medical research, student grants, foreign aid, and so on. Countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and China will invest heavily in their infrastructure while the U.S. is bogged down with military spending. In a matter of years, these countries will surpass the U.S. in technological innovation and commerce. The Right Wingers will continue to play the 9-11 fear card, will win more public offices and will convince Congress to allow electronic spying of its citizens, without court order. Pretty soon, the feds will use this new power to root out criminals in general, and in the process innocent civilians will be wrongly accused and imprisoned. This will tie up our court systems. As the Right Wingers get their way and go unchecked, we will soon see armed military troops in metropolitan areas, patrolling the streets and subway systems just like in Israel. We will feel a lot of tension as a society, as this new world order starts to sink in. Yes, pre-911 life will soon be a distant memory...
To reiterate, the U.S. continues to suffer damage four years after the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. A hundred years from now the history books will show that 9-11 was the most brilliant, successful act of terrorism in the history of mankind; a flawlessly executed operation whose gains wildly exceeded expectations. It was a bargain, too-- about 12 terrorist lives and a few years of training, perhaps costing less than a million dollars in all. A measly million dollars that shook the foundation of the most powerful country on the planet, and forever changed the course of history.
I hate this pudgy weasel. He is the caricature of the beet-faced, tight-collared, right-wing, Republican "war hawk" know-it-all who loves to talk tough, despite not having served a single day in the military, nor having any special background in military history. He is basically unqualified to make such statements in a policy-making capacity. He has not paid his dues. But Rove is a dangerous man--not to the terrorists who he aims to destroy-- but to the American way of life.
You see, history is full of expamples of leaders who employ the most powerful technique of human motivation in order to push their agenda: FEAR. It's not anything new. The scheme is pretty simple-- declare an enemy(Iraq, Muslim "Terrorists"), convince the people that this enemy is a threat to their way of life, and label all those who speak otherwise (Democrats, people who stop to think) as traitors to the state. It's been done before. Hitler used it to build the Third Reich. Mussolini. Fidel Castro. Mao. All masters of the fear game. The scheming Neocons (notably Rove, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Scooter Libby) realized that fear tactics were the only way to get the American public to accept their right-wing agenda. From what we see so far, the agenda called for more power to the Executive Branch, weakening of checks and balances between the branches of government, tax cuts for the rich, deficit spending, primarily for the war machine; reduction of federal funding of domestic programs to compensate for reduced tax revenue, challenges to the separation of church and state, challenges and downright disregard for scientific advisory boards (global warming, conservation, stem cell research, etc.), an experiment in empire building (Iraq), and the most unscrupulous of all, skirting campaign finance laws to add to the conservative war chest. The Neocons so far have been successful in most of their objectives, despite strong opposition from Democrats and moderate Republicans.
In order to push through such a controversial agenda, the neocons quickly invoked fear tactics after 9-11, hoping to catch the public off guard in the emotional disarray that permeated the country during the months following the attacks. 9-11 was the Golden Egg that dropped into Bush's lap. It was an anointment from the heavens above; a license to depart from the traditional democractic principles that have held this country together for over 200 years in favor of a demagogic, unchecked rule. 9-11 served as a green light to hold public policy meetings in secrecy, thwart Congressional inquiries, foster cronyism, engage in war-profiteering, weaken environmental protection laws, weaken privacy laws, waste tax dollars, abandon funding for our public schools, libraries, parks, roads and bridges. It was a fortuitous event that enabled Bush to reward big campaign donors who stood to benefit from a protracted war (Halliburton, Bechtel, Exxon, all aerospace corporations).
The Bush administration's post-9-11 planning was a devious, political scheme that fooled most ordinary people; and in my opinion, a success that rivals the success of the WTCs attack. Fox News contributed to this unscrupulous deception of the American people by providing visual aids and sound bytes. On the day the U.S. invaded Iraq, I remember, with disgust the Fox News anchor (Shepard) who giddily rattled off the various weapons of war, displaying their pictures for added effect as the US forces made their way towards Bagdad. Cobra Helicopters. C-130 Gunships. Bradley Fighting Vehicles. M-1 Abrams tanks. He couldn't help himself from cracking a broad smile and yukking it up. "We're going to KICK SOME SAND NI_ _ER ASS!!! HOORAY!!!" Well guess what, nimrod: It's four years later, terrorism is rampant in Iraq more than ever before, and the U.S. death toll is over 2,200 and climbing, with well over five times that number maimed and disabled for life. Doesn't sound like success to me. And what about those five colors of threat warnings? Where did they go? Fox News quit using them shortly after Bush defeated Kerry in 2004, which suggests that their use was for political purposes.
Bush's main legacy so far is making the world a sadder, more dangerous place to live. He shares this honor with the Muslim fanatical extremists. George W. Bush played perfectly into Osama Bin Laden's treacherous plan to instigate a holy war between the West and the Middle East; a war that continues to manifest. People should realize that Bin Laden's 9-11 attack did not end with destruction of the world trade centers in New York. Although devastating in scope, the 9-11 attack was just the opening salvo. Future damage to the U.S. will not be limited to more terrorist attacks. It will come in the form of a gradual decline in our quality of life -- not as dramatic as the complete destruction of two office high-rises, but just as damaging with wider ranging effects. Thanks to the ill-advised U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Middle East is on edge. More terrorists are joining the cause. Iran, seeing the aggressive U.S. actions in Iraq and the continued U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia, desires to develop nuclear weapons. The Iranians fear that they are next. How can we blame them? Palestinians recently voted for Hamas as their ruling party. Hamas is led my militants who call for the destruction of Israel. As the situation in the Middle East continues to destabilize, there will be a strong reason (this time a real, justifiable reason) to keep U.S. forces there indefinitely in order to protect our oil interests and to protect Israel. This will consume billions of tax dollars that would have otherwise gone towards domestic improvement projects. Our roads, bridges, schools, libraries and park systems will be the first to suffer; followed by the arts, medical research, student grants, foreign aid, and so on. Countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and China will invest heavily in their infrastructure while the U.S. is bogged down with military spending. In a matter of years, these countries will surpass the U.S. in technological innovation and commerce. The Right Wingers will continue to play the 9-11 fear card, will win more public offices and will convince Congress to allow electronic spying of its citizens, without court order. Pretty soon, the feds will use this new power to root out criminals in general, and in the process innocent civilians will be wrongly accused and imprisoned. This will tie up our court systems. As the Right Wingers get their way and go unchecked, we will soon see armed military troops in metropolitan areas, patrolling the streets and subway systems just like in Israel. We will feel a lot of tension as a society, as this new world order starts to sink in. Yes, pre-911 life will soon be a distant memory...
To reiterate, the U.S. continues to suffer damage four years after the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. A hundred years from now the history books will show that 9-11 was the most brilliant, successful act of terrorism in the history of mankind; a flawlessly executed operation whose gains wildly exceeded expectations. It was a bargain, too-- about 12 terrorist lives and a few years of training, perhaps costing less than a million dollars in all. A measly million dollars that shook the foundation of the most powerful country on the planet, and forever changed the course of history.
posted by The Pragmatist | 7:35 PM
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