The Changing Face of Terror

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Wed, 15 Mar 2006 22:06:15 -0800

The Changing Face of Terror

 

 

 

The Changing Face of Terror

Mike Whitney

 

March 15, 2006

 

Ever since the attacks on 9-11 we have heard one slogan reiterated

more frequently than any other, " Everything changed on September 11 " .

 

The phrase has become the motto for transforming America according to

the policy objectives of the men in power. In fact, the criminal

conduct of government officials and their wars of aggression have all

been causally brushed aside by invoking their keynote defense,

" Everything changed " !

 

September 11 has been the most abused and manipulated public relations

scam in history. It is trotted out in every presidential speech, every

executive press conference, and every appearance by an administration

official. It is routinely used to undermine the rule of law and to

vindicate the despotic powers of the president.

 

" Everything changed " ; " The gloves came off " ; " We must accept the new

realities of the post 9-11 world " .

 

September 11 has become the defining moment in human history; the

seminal event that provides the meager justification for butchery and

repression.

 

The United States is now gripped by a form of low-grade state terror;

the twin-axels of fear and deception keep the imperial bandwagon

gliding along its path. America has been subsumed in a swamp of

paranoia and lies; clearing the way for future hostilities and greater

brutality.

 

Everything changed.

 

We know now that every breach of the law, every assault on tradition,

every illegal war was perfectly timed to coincide with the

" galvanizing moment " ; a " Pearl Harbor-type event " that would rally the

public behind their war president and begin the long, descent into

iniquity.

 

The Patriot Act was prepared and ready for approval well before 9-11,

just as the NSA program of blanket-spying on the American people began

shortly after. Rumsfeld was already looking for excuses to attack Iraq

just hours after the Towers fell, and in a matter of months, White

House attorneys would be building a legal defense for the cruel and

inhuman treatment of prisoners.

 

Was this merely coincidence or was the Bush administration already

prepared for the transition to dictatorship?

 

Treaties were shredded, civil liberties were savaged, and every

obstacle to presidential authority was removed. Now, the only

principle the Bush administration adheres to is the fundamental belief

that it is above the law.

 

In Iraq we see a mirror-image of the radical ideology that energizes

domestic policy. The daily slaughter of innocent people is

papered-over by a slick public relations campaign disparaging terror

and touting liberation. Again, we see the twin-axels of fear and

deception rotating simultaneously.

 

The promises of reconstruction, democracy, and security have

disappeared behind the daily onslaught of cluster-bombs, death squads,

malnutrition, poisoned water, unemployment, and despair.

 

New Orleans is only different by a matter of degrees. America's " Jewel

of the South " has been transformed into a garrison city, replete with

armored vehicles, fully-armed military personnel, and contingents of

corporate paramilitaries.

 

If riots had broken out, we would have seen a reenactment of

Falluja-type justice dispensed by Army regulars and Cheney's mercenaries.

 

In the 6 months since Hurricane Katrina, the administration has not

provided funds for the reconstruction of even one home in the region.

Bush's abhorrence to " nation building " has been faithfully honored in

New Orleans as well as Baghdad. The American public has been

dumbstruck by the extent of the governments' callousness. This country

has never seen capitalism stripped of its adornments; a predatory,

mean-spirited system that discards its own people when profit is not

involved.

 

In Iraq, fear and deception are the driving forces behind the policy.

The MSM has played a major role by providing bogus information that is

designed to mislead the public.

 

Can we believe the media when they refer to " suicide bombers " or

" sectarian violence " without evidence? Isn't the moniker " suicide

bomber " loaded with political bias; suggesting crazed, Muslim fanatics

who have no regard for their own lives or the lives of others? Where's

the proof? Couldn't it be a device that the media purposely uses to

reinforce racial stereotypes and, thus, support the war-effort?

 

The same rule applies to sectarian violence. The phrase " sectarian

violence " is meant to imply that this is not America's war at all, but

that we are simply innocent bystanders keeping the warring parties

from killing each other.

 

What rubbish.

 

The term " sectarian violence " suggests that the media knows who is

detonating the bombs, provoking ethnic tensions, and producing the

mountains of carnage.

 

But do they? Most of them are locked up in the Palestine Hotel all

day, polishing up the narrative they are provided by the Pentagon.

 

The media reports what they are told to report and most of it is

nothing more than the verbatim statements from administration and

military officials.

 

Who could read the papers or listen to the news and not draw that very

same conclusion?

 

Perhaps, there is a far more sinister force behind the seemingly

random bombings that alternate between Shiite and Sunni communities.

Perhaps, they are being ignited by people who want to see Iraq broken

up into mini-statelets that are less threatening to the occupying

army? Perhaps, they are part of a massive covert operation intended to

weaken resistance and spread anarchy throughout the region?

 

Perhaps, Iraq, like America, is being controlled by men who believe

that terror is the most effective way to govern.

 

At least that would explain why " everything has changed " .