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November 11, 2001
America's Democratic Dictates
By A. H. Hotep
Those responsible for the attack on the United States has exposed more terrorists than the world's people have ever been aware of.
It is becoming very clear to many people including medical personnel and relief organizations that the biggest terrorist threat that the world faces is from the United States and its allies. Only those who cannot go beyond CNN or FOX news networks will not agree.
More and more people are witnessing the degradation of human rights at the hands of the US government and their outright bullying tactics under the disguise of fighting terrorism. The United States government is bent on demonstrating to the world that as the only 'super power', they are now making the rules. Full Article
Tougher terror laws challenged
BBC
Civil rights campaigners have said they will challenge in the European courts government plans to detain terrorist suspects without trial.
The emergency powers will be targeted at foreign nationals suspected of terrorism who cannot currently be deported under existing immigration laws. Full Article
The New Imperialism
By Pepe Escobar Asia Times
ISLAMABAD - Joseph Conrad was the first modern writer to fully understand that in extreme situations the distinctions and nuances between civilization and the "heart of darkness" collapse with a bang. Conrad showed how the sublime heights of European civilization could fall into the pit of the most barbarous practices - without any sort of preparation or transition (no wonder that Belgium still has not officially acknowledged the genocide of millions during King Leopold's possession of the Congo).
Now more than ever it is rewarding to re-read Conrad - and as an added bonus to watch Francis Ford Coppola's reading of Conrad in the recently released director's cut of Apocalypse Now. The New Afghan War increasingly runs the risk of being configured as The New Vietnam. Washington has said from the beginning this is not Gulf War II. But now, deeply frustrated because they are unable to break the Taliban - those medieval architects of a pan-Islamic utopia - the Pentagon is contemplating a Desert Storm-style invasion the next Afghan spring. This won't be Gulf War II: this will be Vietnam II. Full Article
Terrorism meets reactionism
By Michael Parenti
When almost-elected president George W. Bush announced his war on terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, he also was launching a campaign to advance the agenda of the reactionary Right at home and abroad. This includes rolling back an already mangled federal human services sector, reverting to deficit spending for the benefit of a wealthy creditor class, increasing the repression of dissent, and expanding to a still greater magnitude the budgets and global reach of the US military and other components of the national security state.
Indeed, soon after the terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial (September 19), calling on Bush to quickly take advantage of the "unique political climate" to "assert his leadership not just on security and foreign policy but across the board." The editorial summoned the president to push quickly for more tax-rate cuts, expanded oil drilling in Alaska, fast-track authority for trade negotiations, and raids on the Social Security surplus. Full Article
Media Ignorance and Arrogance
Phil Brennan
On Monday I watched President Bush's superbly competent press secretary Ari Fleischer thrust and parry with a largely hostile media during his daily briefing. There were the usual snide allusions to the allegedly slow pace of the campaign in Afghanistan along with complaints that these self-appointed military geniuses, the great majority of whom couldn't tell a bangalore torpedo from a hero sandwich, were not being given blow-by-blow accounts of every second of the conflict, military secrecy and the safety of U.S. forces be damned. Full Article
