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September 25, 2001
A War, Not a Crusade
( Ted Galen Carpenter ) Unfortunately, some of the statements coming from Bush administration officials are not reassuring on that score. Secretary of State Colin Powell has stated that the U.S. goal is nothing less than to rid the world of the "evil of terrorism." President Bush even described America's war effort as a "crusade," a term that has an extremely negative historical connotation throughout the Islamic world. (Muslims well remember the medieval Christian Crusaders who invaded and occupied some of their lands in the Middle East.)
Agitated pundits also advocate a war against "terror states" and terrorist organizations everywhere in the world. Although such calls may be emotionally satisfying, they violate the most fundamental rule of good foreign policy: the requirement that the objective pursued must be attainable.
If Secretary Powell is taken at his word, America's war aims would be daunting indeed. Even if the United States confined its campaign to countries listed by the State Department as sponsors of international terrorism, and organizations designated as terrorist entities, the roster of enemies would be breathtakingly long. It would include seven countries (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Libya, and Sudan) and more than 30 organizations. Waging a war on that scale would be far beyond what the American people have contemplated.
Moreover, the State Department list is far from complete. Curiously, Afghanistan is not listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. Nor (for political reasons) are such U.S. "friends" as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, even though both governments have funded extremely dubious organizations for years. The roster of terrorist organizations itself continues to expand steadily. A few weeks ago, the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was added.
Waging a global crusade against terrorism would require the United States to fight an assortment of organizations that, while often vile, have never seemed to regard this country as their enemy. Would America really want to go out of its way to take on the Irish Republican Army, the Basque separatists in Spain, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, or Colombia's United Self-Defense Forces? What would be the possible gain from acquiring enemies where they do not now exist? Full Article
America to Wage War for USSR Inheritance
( Anatoli Baranov ) The world is waiting for the war. There are so many different messages appearing on this subject, it is hard to read them all. It is also hard to say how many people on the planet try to guess what will happen in the nearest future. The sources in the Russian special services are not standing aside in this respect and PRAVDA.Ru has recently touched upon one of them.
According to the estimations from a very respectable organization, the USA's incursion into Afghanistan will be carried out taking into consideration the British and Russian experiences. Missiles and bombardment will be used under the old scenario and special military forces will be used as well - nothing new. Full Article
America, We Feel Your Pain, Do You Feel Ours?
( Ramzy Baroud ) Every major American news network prides itself with having its own exclusive footage and reporting. When it came to the scene of the dozen dancing Palestinians, they were willing to share the report, which was syndicated all over the world, and aired endlessly.
A quick conclusion was drawn: Palestinians dance on the pain of Americans. Even if the short report was accurate, a few kids and an old woman hardly represent the Palestinian population, which consists of millions of people, tens of thousands of them are also American citizens. Full Article
The Balance Of Terror
( Naiwu Osahon ) The world is a very violent place thanks to its dominating selfish culture. A culture that believes it can verbalize virtue to clothe evil and hatred or marry love with its opposite number, capitalism. A culture that thrives on perpetually attempting to play God to the detriment of others.
Life was not always like this. A spiritual (African) culture launched mankind into the merry-ways of modern civilisation before it was abruptly aborted two thousand years ago by white culture's excessive greed, selfishness, racism, blind arrogance and a shortsighted religion. Full Article
The Present State Of Negro Patriotism
( JA Tolbert ) Call me unpatriotic; label me irresponsible; consider me disrespectful; accuse me of ungratefulness; talk of my arrogance; malign me as evil; and Lord knows, brand me a communist, but spare me the token flag waving, the specious calls for American unity, and the temporary prayer vigils that only occur in emergencies. Yes, we must remember and honor the dead, but now is not the time for the living that remain may not last long themselves. If we pause to cry now, it will obstruct the view of outright fascism coming straight at us.
The signs are everywhere. People who look Arab are being threatened, some killed; dim-witted government officials are calling for a 'war' that they will surely shield their children from serving in; media people are outright cheerleading the dim-witted officials; a US congresswoman's life has been threatened because she voted for peace; and even some of us have gone completely insane, commenting that we are willing to accept less civil rights if it means that White people will protect us! Have we completely lost what is reputed to be left of our miscegenated minds? Full Article
