The Globalization of State Terror

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Thu, 28 Jul 2005 11:51:07

The Globalization of State Terror

k

 

 

 

The Globalization of State Terror

Mike Whitney

 

 

 

July 27, 2005

 

" This is not an isolated criminal act we are dealing with; it is an

extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous

misinterpretation of the religion of Islam " Prime Minister Tony Blair

 

The " evil ideology " that underscores the war on terror is predicated

on two basic theories; preemption and enemy combatants. Both of these

run counter to fundamental principles of human rights and democratic

governance. Both must be met head-on and defeated. There is no

wiggle-room for equivocating or appeasement; this ideology is the

greatest manifestation of fanaticism in the world since the rise of

Nazism in the 1930's and must be collectively challenged. As Blair says, " This is not an isolated criminal act " but " an extreme and

evil ideology " thrusting us towards global war and ever-increasing

human rights abuse.

 

The preemptive doctrine overturns the conclusions of the Nuremburg

Tribunals that " War is the Supreme Crime " from which all the lesser

crimes naturally flow. It elevates war to a viable form of foreign

policy; an acceptable means of establishing one state's superiority

over another. In the case of Iraq, where the theory was applied with

the most appalling results; it has been exposed as a cruel facsimile

of unprovoked aggression against a defenseless enemy. The horrific

after-effects have been the destruction of Iraqi society, the death of

over 100,000 civilians and an enduring conflict with no end in sight.

These are the predictable consequences of a pernicious theory that

glorifies force above all else.

 

The principle at the heart of " enemy combatants " is no less sinister

than that of preemption. The theory presupposes that there is a

category of men that are intrinsically undeserving of any human rights

whatsoever. " Enemy combatants " is not intended to selectively deprive

people of particular rights; it is a blanket indictment of anyone the

president arbitrarily chooses to name; stripping them of their civil

liberties without any legal recourse. It overturns every meaningful

precedent of International law and American jurisprudence. Due

process, habeas corpus and the presumption of innocence are all

rescinded by executive edict. " Enemy combatants " is the language of

tyrants; it represents the dénouement of the rule of law and the birth

of the imperial presidency.

 

We have no choice but to categorically reject both these theories as a

direct assault on the constitutional system, representative government

and the inalienable rights of man.

 

It is clear now that the neocons, in their rise to power, developed a

strategy to eliminate the obstacles in their path. They wisely

narrowed their focus to three main areas where they anticipated the

most resistance; civil liberties, congressional approval of war and

the checks on presidential power. The monikers of " enemy combatant "

and preemption, minted in neo-fascist think-tanks, have concealed the

real objectives of their creators behind modern-sounding jargon. The

goals, however, remain the same; declaration of a permanent state of

war and the supremacy of the president.

 

That's where we are now; the world tilting further and further to the

right and the litany of horrors growing by the day. Torture and

indefinite detention have become staples of the new foreign policy

regime; compromising America's prestige in the world and eroding the

nation's moral authority. " Usable nukes " are now an integral part of

the Pentagon's forward-defense strategy making the Bush administration

the first country to claim a " first-strike " policy if US national

interests are at stake. This makes the US the most dangerous nation in

the world; brandishing its high-tech weaponry at third world countries

and threatening to attack if they fail to comply with Washington's

directives.

 

The expression of Bush's maligned vision is now evident everywhere;

from the gun-towers over Guantanamo, to the concertina wire

surrounding Falluja, to the cement abutments enclosing the White

House. The rising wave of militarism has been accompanied by an equal

and opposite retreat in civil liberties and personal freedom. The

full-force of the economic-political-military establishment is bearing

down on the institutions that preserved the peace for the last 60

years. The old order is crumbling and being replaced by a system that

accepts no rule except the absolute authority of the executive.

 

Ideas are the fuel that power the engine of history. The radical

ideology that animates the Bush regime is a force as real as the

laser-guided munitions that pummeled Baghdad. They may be obscured by

the vile fictions of the media, but their deadly meaning is not hard

to grasp. They represent the greatest danger the world has ever seen;

the globalization of state terror.

 

 

 

Courtesy and copyright © Mike Whitney

 

:: Article nr. 14138 sent on 28-jul-2005 02:41 ECT

 

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