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Impotent Republicans & The Mythical "War On Terror"
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| Impotent Republicans & The Mythical "War On Terror"
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| Ass Boil |
Terrorized by ‘War on Terror’
Posted on Mar 27, 2007
By Zbigniew Brzezinski
The “war on terror” has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration’s elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America’s psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. Using this phrase has actually undermined our ability to effectively confront the real challenges we face from fanatics who may use terrorism against us.
The damage these three words have done—a classic self-inflicted wound—is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves. The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare—political intimidation through the killing of unarmed noncombatants.
But the little secret here may be that the vagueness of the phrase was deliberately (or instinctively) calculated by its sponsors. Constant reference to a “war on terror” did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue. The war of choice in Iraq could never have gained the congressional support it got without the psychological linkage between the shock of 9/11 and the postulated existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Support for President Bush in the 2004 elections was also mobilized in part by the notion that “a nation at war” does not change its commander in chief in midstream. The sense of a pervasive but otherwise imprecise danger was thus channeled in a politically expedient direction by the mobilizing appeal of being “at war.”
To justify the “war on terror,” the administration has lately crafted a false historical narrative that could even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By claiming that its war is similar to earlier U.S. struggles against Nazism and then Stalinism (while ignoring the fact that both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were first-rate military powers, a status al-Qaida neither has nor can achieve), the administration could be preparing the case for war with Iran. Such war would then plunge America into a protracted conflict spanning Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and perhaps also Pakistan.
The culture of fear is like a genie that has been let out of its bottle. It acquires a life of its own—and can become demoralizing. America today is not the self-confident and determined nation that responded to Pearl Harbor; nor is it the America that heard from its leader, at another moment of crisis, the powerful words “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”; nor is it the calm America that waged the Cold War with quiet persistence despite the knowledge that a real war could be initiated abruptly within minutes and prompt the death of 100 million Americans within just a few hours. We are now divided, uncertain and potentially very susceptible to panic in the event of another terrorist act in the United States itself.
That is the result of five years of almost continuous national brainwashing on the subject of terror, quite unlike the more muted reactions of several other nations (Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, to mention just a few) that also have suffered painful terrorist acts. In his latest justification for his war in Iraq, President Bush even claims absurdly that he has to continue waging it lest al-Qaida cross the Atlantic to launch a war of terror here in the United States.
Such fear-mongering, reinforced by security entrepreneurs, the mass media and the entertainment industry, generates its own momentum. The terror entrepreneurs, usually described as experts on terrorism, are necessarily engaged in competition to justify their existence. Hence their task is to convince the public that it faces new threats. That puts a premium on the presentation of credible scenarios of ever-more-horrifying acts of violence, sometimes even with blueprints for their implementation.
That America has become insecure and more paranoid is hardly debatable. A recent study reported that in 2003, Congress identified 160 sites as potentially important national targets for would-be terrorists. With lobbyists weighing in, by the end of that year the list had grown to 1,849; by the end of 2004, to 28,360; by 2005, to 77,769. The national database of possible targets now has some 300,000 items in it, including the Sears Tower in Chicago and an Illinois apple and pork festival.
Just last week, here in Washington, on my way to visit a journalistic office, I had to pass through one of the absurd “security checks” that have proliferated in almost all the privately owned office buildings in this capital—and in New York City. A uniformed guard required me to fill out a form, show an ID and in this case explain in writing the purpose of my visit. Would a visiting terrorist indicate in writing that the purpose is “to blow up the building”? Would the guard be able to arrest such a self-confessing, would-be suicide bomber? To make matters more absurd, large department stores, with their crowds of shoppers, do not have any comparable procedures. Nor do concert halls or movie theaters. Yet such “security” procedures have become routine, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and further contributing to a siege mentality.
Government at every level has stimulated the paranoia. Consider, for example, the electronic billboards over interstate highways urging motorists to “Report Suspicious Activity” (drivers in turbans?). Some mass media have made their own contribution. The cable channels and some print media have found that horror scenarios attract audiences, while terror “experts” as “consultants” provide authenticity for the apocalyptic visions fed to the American public. Hence the proliferation of programs with bearded “terrorists” as the central villains. Their general effect is to reinforce the sense of the unknown but lurking danger that is said to increasingly threaten the lives of all Americans.
The entertainment industry has also jumped into the act. Hence the TV serials and films in which the evil characters have recognizable Arab features, sometimes highlighted by religious gestures, that exploit public anxiety and stimulate Islamophobia. Arab facial stereotypes, particularly in newspaper cartoons, have at times been rendered in a manner sadly reminiscent of the Nazi anti-Semitic campaigns. Lately, even some college student organizations have become involved in such propagation, apparently oblivious to the menacing connection between the stimulation of racial and religious hatreds and the unleashing of the unprecedented crimes of the Holocaust.
The atmosphere generated by the “war on terror” has encouraged legal and political harassment of Arab-Americans (generally loyal Americans) for conduct that has not been unique to them. A case in point is the reported harassment of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for its attempts to emulate, not very successfully, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Some House Republicans recently described CAIR members as “terrorist apologists” who should not be allowed to use a Capitol meeting room for a panel discussion.
Social discrimination, for example toward Muslim air travelers, has also been its unintended byproduct. Not surprisingly, animus toward the United States even among Muslims otherwise not particularly concerned with the Middle East has intensified, while America’s reputation as a leader in fostering constructive interracial and interreligious relations has suffered egregiously.
The record is even more troubling in the general area of civil rights. The culture of fear has bred intolerance, suspicion of foreigners and the adoption of legal procedures that undermine fundamental notions of justice. Innocent until proven guilty has been diluted if not undone, with some—even U.S. citizens—incarcerated for lengthy periods of time without effective and prompt access to due process. There is no known, hard evidence that such excess has prevented significant acts of terrorism, and convictions for would-be terrorists of any kind have been few and far between. Someday Americans will be as ashamed of this record as they now have become of the earlier instances in U.S. history of panic by the many prompting intolerance against the few.
In the meantime, the “war on terror” has gravely damaged the United States internationally. For Muslims, the similarity between the rough treatment of Iraqi civilians by the U.S. military and of the Palestinians by the Israelis has prompted a widespread sense of hostility toward the United States in general. It’s not the “war on terror” that angers Muslims watching the news on television, it’s the victimization of Arab civilians. And the resentment is not limited to Muslims. A recent BBC poll of 28,000 people in 27 countries that sought respondents’ assessments of the role of states in international affairs resulted in Israel, Iran and the United States being rated (in that order) as the states with “the most negative influence on the world.” Alas, for some that is the new axis of evil!
The events of 9/11 could have resulted in a truly global solidarity against extremism and terrorism. A global alliance of moderates, including Muslim ones, engaged in a deliberate campaign both to extirpate the specific terrorist networks and to terminate the political conflicts that spawn terrorism would have been more productive than a demagogically proclaimed and largely solitary U.S. “war on terror” against “Islamo-fascism.” Only a confidently determined and reasonable America can promote genuine international security which then leaves no political space for terrorism.
Where is the U.S. leader ready to say, “Enough of this hysteria, stop this paranoia”? Even in the face of future terrorist attacks, the likelihood of which cannot be denied, let us show some sense. Let us be true to our traditions.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, is the author, most recently, of “Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower” (Basic Books).
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item..._war_on_terror/ |
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| zimmie |
Zbigniew Brzezinski? Oh yeah this guy
Architect of Kennedy and Johnson's Vietnam war strategy...... and........
the first Director of the Trilateral Commission
what a hypocrite!.....lol |
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| Monster_Zero |
I have Mr Brzezinski's new book on my wish list at Amazon... I would urge everyone to read "Kingdom of Fear" by Hunter S Thompson, the last book he wrote before his death... ;)
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| GeoDaddy |
Wasn't Ziggy the Carter Man o War that demonstarted to the Soviets that we had no will to counter their Intl Ambitions... in Africa, in Afganistan and put Soviet and Cubas right on our doorstep in Central America...
Yeah, I trust Ziggy on War as I trusted Jimmy on the economy... with double digit infaltion, interest rates and unemployment in the 70s.
Besides, anyone who watches a little girl sing praise for her mother.. as she heads out to commit homicide... and little children marching around with bombs around their waists carrying toy AKs... and that woman who wanted hide explosive liquid in her baby's bottle...
And stick their big fat head in the sand... saying the the problem in "Under Here!"
Has gotta be delusional to the poingtg of being a danger to themsleves - let alone US - as a public figure.
Even Dummocrats fear what will happen in Muslim world if we cut&run from Iraq... they just wanna pin it on Bush and not take responsibility for defeat themselevs.
Again, we have been living a privildegd Life for too long... the world is catching up and a lot of peolple hate "amerikkans" as much as the liberal/left hate Bush and Consevatives and Christians... maybe more... but I doubt it.
g |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by GeoDaddy
g |
You're pretty stupid aren't you...? Good for you.
Idiot. |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by Monster_Zero
I have Mr Brzezinski's new book on my wish list at Amazon... I would urge everyone to read "Kingdom of Fear" by Hunter S Thompson, the last book he wrote before his death... ;)
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Thanx, I will... |
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| vegaseric |
| Ass Boil, this thread right here is proof that even mainstream liberals are not even on your side. Liberals I know who HATE BUSH(YES....UNION MEMBERS) all know that there is a war on terror and that terrorist are a threat. Only radical OBL supporters try to say that it's a "terrorist act". |
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| harley-davidson |
| Quote: Ass Boil, this thread right here is proof that even mainstream liberals are not even on your side. Liberals I know who HATE BUSH(YES....UNION MEMBERS) all know that there is a war on terror and that terrorist are a threat. Only radical OBL supporters try to say that it's a "terrorist act". |
You are unable to understand a fucking thing, trying to explain to a fucking idiot like you that this administration has used an exaggerated threat of terror to instill fear into it's society for greed and power is like talking to a fucking wall |
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| vegaseric |
| No, you're just a liberal and want to believe what you want because you're anti-republican. It's easy but you will never get out of your mold and that's where liberals got you. Sucker. |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by harley-davidson
You are unable to understand a fucking thing, trying to explain to a fucking idiot like you that this administration has used an exaggerated threat of terror to instill fear into it's society for greed and power is like talking to a fucking wall |
...a "Stonewall"???
:) |
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| cecilturtle06 |
Quote: Originally posted by vegaseric
No, you're just a liberal and want to believe what you want because you're anti-republican. It's easy but you will never get out of your mold and that's where liberals got you. Sucker. |
"What are you talking about?" Ronnie the Limo Driver, aka Scoresman923.
Funny how vegaseric, zimmie, geo, like to "shoot the messenger" while conveniently ignoring the bigger picture of the message.
Oh, and we've heard Bush's messages, and they're basically lies compounded on lies. We understand those messages loud and clear. Time for some "testifyin' under oath" messages |
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| harley-davidson |
| Quote: No, you're just a liberal and want to believe what you want because you're anti-republican. It's easy but you will never get out of your mold and that's where liberals got you. Sucker. |
God fucked up a perfectly good asshole when he put teeth in your's, for fucking starters I don't have much more faith in the DEMS in comparison, I don't stake a fucking claim to either party they both suck, you choose to either ignore the facts of the reality around you, or your just too fucking stupid to comprehend them, to me you're the lowest form of a right wing coward by using the blood of other people in a war you feel is between our freedom and OBL being elected our next president, all to give you the tough guy persona of being a man....pussy |
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| vegaseric |
Quote: Originally posted by harley-davidson
God fucked up a perfectly good asshole when he put teeth in your's, for fucking starters I don't have much more faith in the DEMS in comparison, I don't stake a fucking claim to either party they both suck, you choose to either ignore the facts of the reality around you, or your just too fucking stupid to comprehend them, to me you're the lowest form of a right wing coward by using the blood of other people in a war you feel is between our freedom and OBL being elected our next president, all to give you the tough guy persona of being a man....pussy |
That was very liberal of you...anything else clone? |
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| harley-davidson |
| Quote: That was very liberal of you...anything else clone? |
Yea shut your pie hole and go enlist tough guy |
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| Monster_Zero |
Quote: Originally posted by vegaseric
That was very liberal of you...anything else clone? |
You're not politically versed enough to call people names... idiot! :rolleyes:
PS... I chuckle every time my spell-check tries to change your name to "Gastric" :p |
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| vegaseric |
Quote: Originally posted by harley-davidson
Yea shut your pie hole and go enlist tough guy |
We'll enlist together.....tough guy! |
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| Stonewall |
Is this a shift in the Left?
I had thought a big talking point was get of Iraq so we can back to the real War... The War on Terror. The war the left tells us we are not fighting.
So, now we quit the War on Terror too? It's a "mythical" thing now? |
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| Kill Van Kull |
vegasretard> HD is about as much a 'liberal" as you are a republican.
:cool: |
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| harley-davidson |
| Quote: We'll enlist together.....tough guy! |
Shit4brains......psssssssst....out of the two of us, you're the idiot that supports chimp and his IRAQ war, but in reality you don't support it, your refusal to enlist in something you supposedly support is the loudest protest you could make....stupid fuck |
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| otherone4life |
| that's what we get when the chicken hawks run things ....W and Big Time are happy to let other people's kids die while they sleep safely |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by vegaseric
Ass Boil, this thread right here is proof that even mainstream liberals are not even on your side. Liberals I know who HATE BUSH(YES....UNION MEMBERS) all know that there is a war on terror and that terrorist are a threat. Only radical OBL supporters try to say that it's a "terrorist act". |
Please point to the part of the article or a quote from me saying terrorists are not a threat?
You are too stupid for words. You have once again missed the entire point of a story.
Congratulations on being king of the dumbfucks :hw: :hw: :hw: |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by vegaseric
We'll enlist together.....tough guy! |
Why do you need someone else to enlist with you?
YOU are the one who loves war - you should be first in line down at the recruiting center..... but you are a fucking pussy so you think it's ok for others to die for the things you claim to "support". |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by Stonewall
Is this a shift in the Left?
I had thought a big talking point was get of Iraq so we can back to the real War... The War on Terror. The war the left tells us we are not fighting.
So, now we quit the War on Terror too? It's a "mythical" thing now? |
You cannot wage a "war" on an ideology or a tactic. You may as well wage a war on lust or passion. |
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| Billyfromsphily |
Quote: Originally posted by Ass Boil
You cannot wage a "war" on an ideology or a tactic. You may as well wage a war on lust or passion. |
They and the religious right would like to go after those too! Since they have none of them present in their cowardly little bodies! |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by Billyfromsphily
They and the religious right would like to go after those too! Since they have none of them present in their cowardly little bodies! |
I disagree. They lust to control the lives of others while they diddle children and steal money in the name of "god". |
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| salafibrigades |
| We must fight this war against terror forever if we wish to exist much longer. Our brave policy makers in Washington have more information than we do about terror. Let's sit back and let them do their jobs. If Iran does not release those hostages soon we should unite in another glorious war. |
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| vegaseric |
Quote: Originally posted by harley-davidson
Shit4brains......psssssssst....out of the two of us, you're the idiot that supports chimp and his IRAQ war, but in reality you don't support it, your refusal to enlist in something you supposedly support is the loudest protest you could make....stupid fuck |
Like I said, we'll enlist together or will you make excuses for yourself? |
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| Stonewall |
Quote: Originally posted by Ass Boil
You cannot wage a "war" on an ideology or a tactic. You may as well wage a war on lust or passion. |
I hope that is not true, it certainly has declared a war on us.
If nothing else we can remove the ideology from our midst. Are we allowed that at least? Or must we simply resign ourselves to continued attacks? Like Car Accidents, Bathtub Drownings, Cancer. Death by Islam will just be another cause of death we can do nothing about. We do however try to prevent those other type deaths. Seatbelts. Careful in the Tub, we have anti-slide sticky things, and we have overflow drains. Handrails, etc.. Radiation Treatment for Cancer, healthy living.
What will be our battle against death by Islam? Nothing?
How about a patch for them? This way we can at least see them. No, that patch thing was ruined by the Nazi's. We can never do that, I had forgotten about WWII.
Did you know that Nazi's got their idea of Jewish Yellow Badges from muslims? Isn't that something... :) |
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| vegaseric |
| If it was their choice we would just roll over and take it......that's how they like it. |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by Spinwall
I hope that is not true, it certainly has declared a war on us.
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Your ignorance knows no bounds. I love it!!!
:rdf:
Quote: Originally posted by Fdubya247
Jackson was a traitor to his country and Constitution. Just like Bush, everyone in his administration, and all the cockroaches who follow them. Believe me, I know why you admire him!:
You are a duped sucker, who, much like the inbred hillbilly's of 1860 who fought so loyally for the rich Plantation owners who told them to, and the poor, dumb Bavarian farmboys who joined the SS for love of Hitler, you are so desperate for "Daddy's" love, you'll excuse any crime or treachery. How pathetic.
You are weak. You are scared. You are ignorant. You are mentally unhealthy.
Thus, you are a Conservative.
:rdf: |
Stonewall "Whackson"
Senior Snowballer (gulp!)
Jerkin' Off
Posting Frequency_______
Spamming Like a MoFo...
________________________________________
"Let us cross over the river and corn-hole each other under the shade of the trees." Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Whackson...jerkin' it since 1869:jackoff::ass2mouth:69::slapcum::bruno::blow: |
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| curleydan |
Quote: Originally posted by cecilturtle06
"What are you talking about?" Ronnie the Limo Driver, aka Scoresman923.
Funny how vegaseric, zimmie, geo, like to "shoot the messenger" while conveniently ignoring the bigger picture of the message.
Oh, and we've heard Bush's messages, and they're basically lies compounded on lies. We understand those messages loud and clear. Time for some "testifyin' under oath" messages |
funny how its only the right leaning members of the board that "shoot the messenger". |
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| Halcyon |
Quote: Originally posted by curleydan
funny how its only the right leaning members of the board that "shoot the messenger". |
"War on Terror"
"War on Drugs"
Are you starting to see a pattern with republicans? They always want to go to war on something, it's pathetic. How about we just stop the bullshit wars and just call it for what it is.
"War on America" |
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| harley-davidson |
| Quote: Like I said, we'll enlist together or will you make excuses for yourself? |
The absolute last fucking person I would enlist with would be you, I'D end up dead babysitting your candy fucking ass in that shit hole |
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| Stonewall |
| War on America is pretty much what Muslims have declared. They call it the War against the Jews and Crusaders. |
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| Ass Boil |
"pretty much" war on America?s
Give me a break.
I must say, though, you're grammar is very good for someone typing while hiding under a bed.... |
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| Stonewall |
Quote: Originally posted by Ass Boil
"pretty much" war on America?s
Give me a break.
I must say, though, you're grammar is very good for someone typing while hiding under a bed.... |
It is odd this shift in the left.
I remember right after 9/11 the left complaining that the government not doing enough and disregarding the threat. And now I learn there is no threat. So, I guess the next attack the left will not complain at all.
And really it only took one article. Just saying what people wanted to hear.
Thank you, Zbigniew Brzezinski. New hero of the left. |
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| Halcyon |
Quote: Originally posted by Stonewall
War on America is pretty much what Muslims have declared. They call it the War against the Jews and Crusaders. |
The difference is, the muslims openly declare war with anyone they want to..... the republipussies disguise their war on America with deceit and lies
Whose the bigger threat, really? Those over there, or those here already? |
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| Stonewall |
Quote: Originally posted by Halcyon
The difference is, the muslims openly declare war with anyone they want to..... the republipussies disguise their war on America with deceit and lies
Whose the bigger threat, really? Those over there, or those here already? |
What are your concerns?
What is happening now that is so offensive to you?
Meanwhile 20 year olds get sent to prison for 50 years for weed. Thats been going on for a couple decades now.
Tell me, what bothers you?
Are they listening to overseas phone calls? Going through Library records?
Are you a fired up Librarian? |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by Stonewall
It is odd this shift in the left.
I remember right after 9/11 the left complaining that the government not doing enough and disregarding the threat. And now I learn there is no threat. So, I guess the next attack the left will not complain at all.
And really it only took one article. Just saying what people wanted to hear.
Thank you, Zbigniew Brzezinski. New hero of the left. |
Once again you conveniently miss the point of the article. This willful ignorance is becoming a habit of yours...
He is simply pointing out how this administration is terrorizing America with an invented "war" against something you cannot wage "war" against. ..
And none of your passive - aggressive islamaphobic rants have offered any solutions. Obviously occupying a country where no al qaeda were located is having the OPPOSITE effect, creating MORE terrorists and more terrorism.
So what's the answer, Mr. Conservative? Kill all the muslims? Isn't that the kind of indiscriminate killing you are accusing them of?
And maybe you can remind us where 15 of the 9/11 were from? |
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| Stonewall |
Quote: Originally posted by Ass Boil
Once again you conveniently miss the point of the article. This willful ignorance is becoming a habit of yours...
He is simply pointing out how this administration is terrorizing America with an invented "war" against something you cannot wage "war" against. ..
And none of your passive - aggressive islamaphobic rants have offered any solutions. Obviously occupying a country where no al qaeda were located is having the OPPOSITE effect, creating MORE terrorists and more terrorism.
So what's the answer, Mr. Conservative? Kill all the muslims? Isn't that the kind of indiscriminate killing you are accusing them of?
And maybe you can remind us where 15 of the 9/11 were from? |
I thought the point of the article was supposed to be understood in light of it's Headline...
Impotent Republicans & The Mythical "War On Terror"
That is the title of the thread.
I would advise learning Islam. Understanding Islam. Thats the big thing, "Understanding" Islam.
This war was not invented, it was just misnamed by Bush. And, we don't have to name it anything, it's already named. What does the enemy call it? Lets go with that.
The solution you would attribute to me..."So what's the answer, Mr. Conservative? Kill all the muslims? Isn't that the kind of indiscriminate killing you are accusing them of?"
No thats not my answer.
People need to learn Islam.
Your comments about the 15 Saudi's on 9/11, I'm not sure what to tell you. Is it a surprise somehow? bin Laden is a Saudi National. There is only one border that this enemy even sees. It is the border between Islam and everything else. The Ummah have no border.
But, what should we do with Saudi Arabia because of those 15?
Internal U.S. solutions have to be based on whatever our overall policy is going to be. The most I would call for is getting them out of the U.S.. Isolate them.
Reagan once said this, or something like it...A Communist is a person who studies Marx, an anti-Communist is someone who understands Marx.
That is like Islam and Muslims. A Muslim is someone who studies the Islamic Teachings and an Infidel is someone who understands Islamic Teachings.
Lets get some "understanding" going.
Those articles I post showing the horrors of this religion, what it causes, what it's effects are, that is the result of Islam. That is what you get when you apply Islam in your society. You get places like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Understand that. |
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