The failure of the Bush Administration's foreign policy has had a variety of consequences: The disastrous invasion of Iraq stymied the Neo-Con's drive for an American empire in the Middle East. The Administration's pro-Israel stance led to the invasion of Lebanon and demolished the notion of the U.S. as a neutral broker in the conflict between Jews and Arabs. Bush's failure has also discredited the notion that America is engaged in a war on terror. It raises the questions: Who are the terrorists? And, what is the best way to fight them?
The Administration's concept of the war on terror arose in the days after 9/11. Bush spoke to the nation on 9/20, "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." Bush made it clear that while the immediate target was al Qaeda, his "war" would not stop there. He indicated that the locus of the war would be Muslim countries:" the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Therefore, his "war" would not include non-Muslim groups that have been called terrorists, such as the IRA and Zapatistas.
In his 9/20 speech, the President indicated his war on terror lacked a distinct target, noting that terrorism extended across national boundaries and, therefore, securing Afghanistan would not be synonymous with victory. "Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen." Accompanying Bush's opaque definition of the "war" was an equally vague notion of when the war would end: America's objective was to "defeat terrorism," to "lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future."
At the time, Bush noted, "Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network." However, in the months that followed it became clear that America actually was relying upon the U.S. military. Not only did Bush disdain other possible resources, such as diplomacy, he failed to involve the American people. "Americans are asking: What is expected of us? I ask you to live your lives, and hug your children." Americans were told that their lives were at peril, but they were not involved in Bush's "war."
After Bush's 9/20 speech, some critics asked whether it was possible to win his war on terror. They observed that terrorism is a complex social phenomenon, a product of the cultural eddies of the twentieth century, and cannot be "defeated" only ameliorated. These writers suggested that equally important as strengthening America's defenses and eradicating Al Qaeda, was destroying the roots of terrorism-the socio-economic bases of the terrorist groups. Bush gave a superficial explanation for Al Qaeda's motivation, "They hate our freedoms." Although little noted at the time, his glib explanation indicated that the focus of his "war" would be on destroying their physical infrastructure-camps, weapons, and leadership-rather than going deeper and removing the systems that produced terrorists; for example the support for Wahhabism by Saudi Arabia's ruling class and the system of Pakistani Madrassas that steadily churn out new terrorist recruits. History has shown that while Bush talked about terrorists hating our freedoms, he believed that the conduct of his war on terror required Americans to give up their freedoms; for example, by an unprecedented expansion of the powers of the Presidency and unauthorized domestic surveillance.
Thus, Bush's war on terror was launched with severe flaws: it had an unclear objective and, therefore, an uncertain duration; it utilized only America's military prowess; it failed to involved the U.S. public; and it treated our adversaries as two-dimensional villains rather than the products of a malevolent social system. From the onset Bush's "war" was doomed. It was as if he had decided to attack crab grass by simply mowing it, rather than devoting the time and energy to pulling it out by the roots.
From the beginning the war on terror had problems. America's "war" in Afghanistan suffered from an over reliance on technology and mercenaries, who failed to capture the Al Qaeda leaders. Instead of mounting a multi-phased campaign to deal with the factors that birthed terrorists, the U.S. treated Afghanistan solely as a military problem. Al Qaeda was blunted but not destroyed. And the seeds of terrorism were widely dispersed.
in the 2002 State-of-the-Union Address, the President announced an expansion of his war on terror. Bush denounced the "axis of evil" and accused Iraq, North Korea and Syria of being "state sponsors" of terrorism. The Administration claimed that Al Qaeda, the organization, had close ties with Iraq, the state. Bush mentioned terrorist organizations beyond Al Qaeda, "groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Jaish-i-Mohammed." Bush convinced Congress and much of the American public that the war on terror necessitated an invasion of Iraq. Administration insiders hinted that if the Iraqi occupation was successful, the White House planned to take out Syria. The Administration started calling Hezbollah a terrorist organization sponsored by Syria. This warped perspective fueled the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon.
It's time for liberals to tell the truth: President Bush's war on terror has failed. Keeping America in a permanent state of "war" isn't a foreign policy objective but rather a political one. It's part of an Orwellian Bush strategy to keep Americans paralyzed with fear and Congress in emergency mode where Bush Administration budgetary, military, and human rights abuses are overlooked.
Liberals should declare that Bush's "war" is over and propose a real strategy for combating terrorism.
Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer and Quaker actvist. He is particularly interested in progressive morality and writes frequently on the ethical aspects of political and social issues.
European colonial empires: several hundred years of terror.
Who are the original terrorists? IMO, it would be the colonial empires of Europe that spead to the US in the middle 19th century. The reason why we fight in the US and probably the UK is for expanding military colonialism for a plutocracy of elite banks and businesses to allow them to plunder resource rich nations by using debt or military might with the full blessing of the entire government and its military-industrial complex. In the US, we have been taught a history of nearly pure fantasy and have been raised to align ourselves with a nation that has expanded it's military colonial empire for well over 100 years. Our wealth has come at the expense of other nation's resources, wealth and culture.
There are some good books that I would recommend people to read about American history, influence and how it works. John Perkins' "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and Stephen Kinzer's "Overthrow" are a good start. I also recommend watching Bill Moyer's "The Secret Government". This video can be found at video.google.com/
videoplay?docid=2397496401234089687&q=secret Created in 1987, it shows that the NSA has been used for the expansion of the American Empire, operating outside of the legitimate part of the US government.
Books about what America is looking forward to in the future are the Wolfowitz doctrine from PNAC and the Bush Doctrine which are a neo-conservative view. Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" and the Carter Doctrine are a neo-liberal view. The object of either doctrine is for the globalization of multinational banks and corporations using military force if necessary to expand the Anglo-American empire across the globe. Both are dependent upon a military plutocratic world run by plutocrats and the removal of the middle class.
by
Jim Reinhart (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 60 comments)
on Friday, August 18, 2006 at 12:20:58 PM
What is the reason for terrorism, and what is terrorism anyway? There must be more to it than fanatics randomly killing the civilians of another country because they dislike freedom, or behavior that does not fit their own religious convictions. There has to be a better reason than that. Why would anyone strap a bomb to their waist and blow themselves up? An elderly Palestinian when asked this question on TV responded: " What else can we do when we are faced with planes and tanks and bombs? All that we have to resist with is our own bodies." The modern killing machines of the Israeli's and the Americans have been used against civilians. They not only drop bombs and strafe civilian non-combatants but use land mines, cluster bombs, and even have chemical and biological weapons in their arsenals. The modern warfare against non-combatants can only be answered with "You kill our civilians and we will kill yours."
Al Quada, Hezballah, Hamas and other resistance forces are waging a war of human desperation against the might of a mechanized colossus that in the name of "national defense" saps the money of its own taxpayers to fatten the bottom line of corporations. Islam has been in the religion business for ages and has never tried to use force to impose its ideology on anyone. This can not be said for the Christian crusaders. Why would Islam decide to wage war on us in this generation?
The corporations public relations machine that has been honed by billions of dollars spent on advertising are using their brainwashing techniques to convince us that we are in danger from religious fanatics. This is just another exercise of using war as economic policy. Scare the shit out of the American people and they will quietly accept their tax money being stolen and the loss of their liberties as the Constitution is trashed. They have over twenty think tanks like Heritage and The American Enterprise Institute that provide talking heads for TV. Their lobbyists even use congressional offices to fabricate bills that they desire. The appropriations committees have just given the Pentagon another 450 billion dollars and Israel another 4 billion. What is truly frightening is that the only available liberals running for office insist that they are for an even stronger US defense budget. This is insanity-mass insanity. We already have more modern weapons than all of the countries in the world together. Even ex-president and peace nobelist Jimmy Carter proudly helped launch a nuclear submarine called-The Jimmy Carter.
We have been convinced that the billions of dollars they have taken from us are necessary in "the war against terrorism"but in a war of the Spiritual against the Material the spiritual will always win. The war mongers know this and their greatest fear is that the peoples of the world will find this out. Every attrocity committed by them has its blowback. Mel Gibson is not the only closet anti-semite that has come out of the closet in reaction to the slaughter of children at Qamas. It is no accident that Joe Leiberman lost to Ned Lamont in the primaries in spite of support from Senators Boxer and Feinstein.. In the November mid term elections the Republicans face the loss of both houses of Congress and there is a national demand for the impeachment of the Bush administration. We might not have to wait for 1998 to impeach the idiot King George. The only way to defeat terrorism is to stop giving Boeing, Northrup, General Dynamics and Halliburton our tax money and shut off the pipe line of our tax money going to Israel. Zionism has joined with the military industrial complex and every new atrocity is steering the Jewish community towards another holocaust. The Jews who are supporting Zionism in their desire for a national home are not different from the Jews who lined up at Auschwitz in the expectation of taking a shower. They are more lambs for the coming slaughter. Israel not only lost the war to Hezballah but is giving rise to a wave of anti-semitism that can not have a good outcome. They have lost an even more important battle-the battle for public opinion.
I call upon the American people to exchange their fears of terrorism for fear of the genuine threat to the planet posed by the business form known as the Corporation.
======================
by
gramps (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 107 comments)
on Friday, August 18, 2006 at 2:21:48 PM
That Tuesday in September that the world stood still was followed by a Sunday afternoon Interfaith Prayer Gathering in Shea Stadium.
Clerics of all faiths in their unique dress filed solemnly out onto the field as the Shofar sounded in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The diversity that is America was united in our pain and in our reaching out to each other as sister and brother.
Five years ago ALL of the world was united by the events of THAT DAY and only a few people of the world rejoiced over the violence and horror.
Instead of seizing the opportunity to lead the world in the global battle against terrorism,
this Administration imitated the way of the enemy,
instead of rising above the desire for an eye for an eye this Administration perpetuates the cycle of violence which only begats more violence.
What has gotten my Irish up more than anything with this Administration, is that they have used and mis-used my Lord for political gain and I do NOT see him in their actions or rhetoric.
When I get angry, I
DO SOMETHING,
and one thing I always do is write.
I feel the same way that cherylee feels. This group of Neo-Cons are the terrorists. And either they let 9/11 happen or they were part of the planning.
We are in for a lot more fear mongering for the next election, like the liquid bombers last week. They talked a good talk and only one of them had build a bomb.
I recall the first bombing of the towers where the CIA helped the scared so-called terrorists plant the bomb even though they did not want to.
So "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
by
anthny (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 39 comments)
on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at 6:03:49 PM
5 comments
How would you rate this?
You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.
It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....
Must Read (
Well Said (
News (
Touching (
Funny (
Supported (
Interesting (
Inspiring (
Valuable (
