November 26, 2003
With Friends Like These
This blogger has argued before now that if we were truly interested in fighting a War on Terrorism, we would start by eliminating our own acts of -- as well as the sponsoring of and financing of -- terrorism.
Eliminating the double-standards inherent in U.S. Foreign Policy would not only meet the most elementary standards of logic and morality, but given the sheer volume of Terror for which we are responsible (the United States accounts for something on the order of 45% of the global arms trade, for example), would, obviously, result in a gigantic reduction in the over-all level of World Terror. It would also (no small potatoes) in all likelihood "drain the reservoir" of support for those that choose to practice terror against us -- not to mention greatly increasing the likelihood that those currently choosing to practice terror will continue to do so.
If all this sounds a little abstract, here's a more straight-forward recipe:
Cease engaging in terrorist activities, cease befriending and arming brutallly repressive dictators, cease bombing Third World countries into oblivion, cease meddling in others' affairs, cease stealing others' resources, cease imposing devastating austerity programmes; and these injustices will cease "blowing back" and biting us in the ass. It's really not terribly complicated.
All of which is to say that the "War On Terror" is, as currently conceived; seriously hypocritical, illogical, immoral.
But it's also, on its own terms, been a complete failure. Which is why the Bush Administration's touting of its terror-fighting credentials, in a new advertisement attacking the Democrats for lack of same, is as beguiling as this line of argument has always been.
"[The Democrats] are opposed to a policy of pre-emptive self-defense, and they are attacking the president for pursuing that policy," complains Republican Party chairman Ed Gillespie.
Did the Bush Administration fail to notice Bali? Did it fail to notice Riyadh? Did it fail to notice Istanbul? Did it fail to notice the almost-weekly terror bombings in Free Iraq? Did it fail to notice al-Qaida's having split into "dozens of autonomous, hard-to-find 'franchises'"?
In waging its "War on Terror" the Bush Administration has -- besides murdering tens of thousands, wrecking the U.S. economy, burning International Law to a crisp, ignoring (or exacerbating) the far more important threats to world "security", and trampling the civil rights of the world's citizenry -- apparently nabbed or knocked off a bunch of top-level followers of bin Laden.
With no discernible effect on the level of terror waged against us and our "allies" (unless the effect has been to increase it). Is this anything other than patently obvious?
Can't Bush In '04 come up with some other record upon which to campaign -- something that isn't so transparently ridiculous?
Incidentally, lest one think these are merely the latest ravings of an insipid pinko wrecker, be it noted that, "Experts who have served in top positions in both Republican and Democratic administrations are increasingly suggesting that the Iraq war has diverted momentum, troops, and intelligence resources from the worldwide campaign to destroy the remnants of al-Qaida."
Posted by Eddie Tews at November 26, 2003 04:31 PM
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