This just in from the British Times
April 15th, 2008

Well it’s tax day in the great blood-stained state of the USA again. The American people, the majority of whom have proved themselves to be as dumb as mules or oxes over the last five years — no offense to our fine furred friends — will stand in lines by the thousands to hand over great gobs of their own money to their “government” tomorrow. The world community has watched the United States government, if you can call it that at this point, spend more than half a trillion of the American people’s hard earned dollars on invading another country half way around the globe for a whole roster of reasons that turned out to be “lies” (900 plus at last count) by various “intelligence agencies,” at least so says the “White House” and yet they continue to occupy the other country, having killed now what some estimate between one to two million of the Iraqi people in what many are now calling the most atrocious mass gencoide since, well, the same damn thing they did to Vietnam thirty-years ago.

Meanwhile the Americans continue to lose their homes by the tens of thousands each day while their government continues to bankrupt their economy in the greatest economic downturn in American history, the value of their once all-powerful dollar now worth less than it’s ever been in the world community as foreign investors and other countries continue to sell it as fast as possible. Nothing new – the same news as yesterday unfortunately for the sad lot of poor old Yanks. The only thing that makes it newsworthy is that tomorrow is the last day that all three-hundred million of them have to gleefully hand over thier hard earned bread so the war-mongering theives and hatchetmen that invaded their own country seven years ago can continue to bring the once great state down to its knees in what promises to be one hell of a show. The degradation and destruction of America which started some say almost forty years ago as with all empires will not be one giant explosion but a slow erosion that most will miss. It is only now that the Americans themselves are starting to see it as the rest of the world celebrates their great fortune around them they continue to drown in one quagmire after another and can’t figure out how to get out of this mess, all but a few of them remembering that they are a democracy after all and can always vote to boot the whole lot of them in the White House at any time if they were in the right mind to. Problem is the Americans are so damn busy watching their dumbass not-funny tv that most of them are missing the biggest show on earth — the slow crumbling and collapse of the biggest empire on the planet in modern times. And they’re starring it. Poor slobs.

Americans are some of the last people on earth who should be paying their government any taxes on their incomes at this point with how run amok things have been for the poor bastards lately. No matter how hard they try they cannot get their government to tell them why they went to Iraq, are still in Iraq, or when they are getting out if ever and what’s worse, polls show that the majority of the American people don’t even want their country to be in Iraq at all, and yet as that sallow and pitiable clown of a president they have continues to wave the banner of “democracy” around the world in that clumsy annoying backwoods southern drawl of his like a braindead three year old, the American people themselves can’t seem to actually do anything “democratic” to get themselves out of Iraq or any of their other messes. And yet tomorrow the United States government will collect billions upon billions of dollars from this same group of disgruntled Americans who claim to be so uptight and upset about the sorry state of affairs in thier once great state. Doesn’t make much sense on these shores over here that’s for sure. But that Simon Cowell is still one funny bastard. What’s that ya say? Oh yeah, he’s a Brit. Sorry ’bout that. Ok so the Americans indeed are truly fucked afterall.

And now an important news break — an announcement from the son of the former president of the United States 

“Dear Fellow Americans. We know the rest of the world must be laughing at and crying for us at the same time. Tax day is upon us. And though we’re now the only country in the “civilized world” that doesn’t have enough money for health care, and we don’t have enough money for “good schools” or “good edumacation,” and we don’t have enough money to ”get us out of this economic crisis that we’re in,” and God bless ya for believing us (he laughs here), WE HAVE FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS!!!! DADDY TOLD ME SO! WE BORROWED IT FROM THE SAUDIS AND FROM CHINA. EVIDENTLY THAT’S WHY WE DON’T CARE THAT THE CHINESE ARE KILLING ALL THOSE TIBETAN PEOPLES. Well i never met any Tibetan people so i guess it don’t matter that much to you and me anyway…. But the good news is WE HAVE FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS!!! AND GUESS WHAT WE’RE GONNA DO WITH IT? Feed the hungry? House the homeless? Improve education? Improve medical sciences? Increase spending on environmental science to prevent global crises? Hell no! What are you some kind of a morons? (O.K. well some of you did actually vote for me, G.W. so we know the answer to that one… “Ma can you believe some of those people really did vote for me? For real?” “Yes Georgie Boy. Your father says a few of them actually did. And you make us real proud by that son. Real proud. Now go back to your blog while your father continues his meeting with Osama.”) So what was I saying there???? Oh yeah, so you know what we’re gonna do with all that money you guys give us for taxes? We’re gonna blow the hell out of some other country, you know that one.. “Iraq” (i know, you don’t know anything about it, and never heard of it till we told you about it) and then after we blow it all up and kill most of fhe people there, we’re gonna spend more of your money to rebuild it.”

“Why? Well why didn’t you ask why five years ago you big dummies? It’s too late to ask “why” now. So shut up, pay your taxes like we tell you to so we can keep on with our killing. And for God’s sake shut the hell up about “your constitutional rights.” Those days are long gone. (in case you haven’t noticed.) Yours truly, Uncle Sam, Big Bad Bushy, Mean DickHead Cheney, and Condi “Don’t mind me, I’m just that scowling whore in the corner that does whatever those two jugheads ask me to do” Rice “I made that one up myself. I hope Condi doesn’t get too mad at me for it.”

“PS — Just because we are your “elected officials” and thus are your “employees” and in effect “work for you,” don’t get any ideas about telling us ”what to do” or “firing us.” I think you have figured that out by now. Those days are over. Happy tax day you morons! And thanks for voting me in!” 

And Yet All is Not Lost…

Dear Friend of United for Peace and Justice,

Tomorrow is Tax Day! People all around the country will be calling attention to how our tax dollars are used, and making the connection between our country’s current financial troubles and the more than $505 billion that has already been spent on the occupation of Iraq.

Ideas for taking action and educating others on April 15th:

• Hand out leaflets making the connections between the war and our growing economic crisis here at home. (See below for resources.) You can distribute this material at your local post office, at busy transportation hubs during rush hour, and in other locations where you can talk with people, including where you work or go to school.
  
• Sign our open letter to Rep. John Murtha, and encourage others to do so as well.
  
• Call in to local radio talk shows, or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
• Call your representatives and your senators in Congress and urge them to use their power to bring all of the troops home!

Resources you can use, created by UFPJ and a few of our member groups:

1) The War Resisters League’s federal pie chart illustrates how much of our tax dollars really go toward military spending.3) This new UFPJ leaflet urges people to pressure Congress to stop funding the war! The leaflet has a box for you to add local contact information — just click inside that box and type. 4) “Healthcare Not Warfare” is a new campaign initiated by PDA.5) The National Priorities Project’s website has up-to-date breakdowns of what the war in Iraq is costing your state and your community!And if you’re receiving a refund this year, please consider dedicating some or all of it to peace! Click here to donate to UFPJ.

Yours, for peace and justice,

Leslie Cagan
National Coordinator, UFPJ

Dear Friends,

The perennial diplomat that I am and that many friends fault me for, I must admit that I am guilty, but i believe that gaining full perspective is important — even in the case of war-criminal-shaping up to be the worst president (if one dares still call him that at this point) in United States history George W. Bush. Every now and then the old dog can surprise us. The article below about his aid to African nation Liberia is impressive. It is what makes America have the potential to be such a positive and powerful influence in the world. Does that make GW a good guy all of a sudden? Nah. Too much water under the bridge. It will take us decades to reverse the damage these liberty-snatching, constitution-bashing war-mongrels have caused in our once-great-State. But it does go to show that when the puppeteers who are pulling the strings let him (whoever they are), the man is capable of some downright good deeds.

A good friend of mine who works for the UN in Liberia sent me this article and I thought you all might find it interesting. In fact even a bit inspiring. Now, if we could just convince him to get his grubby hands out of Iraq and Iran and tend to his business here at home –i.e. the job he was hired to do — then he may not lose this game scoring a big fat -0- points. For now, he hasn’t even scored one point yet in a game that’s lasted seven long years. That’s a long time not to get even one point on the scoreboard. But hey, from what it looks like, not many people are even tuned in to the game. But you are. And thank god for YOU!

Yours, Ed Hale

Read ABC News article here:

Bush parting gift to liberia
Liberians Give Bush Two Medals in Gratitude for Bush’s ‘Legacy’ Gifts

By JON GARCIA
FREETOWN, LIBERIA, Feb 22, 2008

From those lovely ladies at Codepink comes this tasty morsel:

April 1, 2008

Dear Friend,

Before the Congressional recess, I was besieged by CODEPINK women who are fasting until I agree to start impeachment hearings against Bush and Cheney. When I sat down to Easter dinner with my family, I looked at my plate of honey-baked ham and scalloped potatoes and I thought about what was really on my table. Everyday these women sit in my office and ask me to put Impeachment on America’s table; after all the times in my career that I’ve stood up to the “bad guys”-racists, greedy CEOs, corrupt politicians, could I really continue to let Bush and Cheney run roughshod over the Constitution and the American and Iraqi people? My wife Monica voted for impeachment of Bush and Cheney as a Detroit city councilwoman and I was proud of her for cooking their goose.

I sat down to digest my meal and my conflicted feelings on Impeachment by relaxing and watching the opening night Nationals game. Upon flipping on the TV and finding the right channel, I settled in and wouldn’t you know it… the CODEPINK women were there! President Bush was to throw out the first pitch and once he took the field, the CODEPINK women (one of them even wearing a giant Bush head and prison costume) encouraged all the baseball fans to boo him. And guess what? They did. You can see it right here.

As they booed, I thought of the changing times I’ve witnessed in my life. America can change and we are all agents of change.* It struck me then that the American people really want to see this Administration out of office and they want it now. Bush and his pinch-hitter Cheney have been striking out with the American people for way too long.

I realized it was time to step up to the plate for all the citizens of this great country who want to end the war. So I am putting Impeachment on America’s table.

Sincerely,
John Conyers
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

Dear MoveOn member,

This is pretty outrageous: a group of Clinton-supporting big Democratic donors are threatening to stop supporting Democrats in Congress because Nancy Pelosi said that the people, not the super-delegates, should decide the Presidential nomination.

It’s the worst kind of insider politics—billionaires bullying our elected leaders into ignoring the will of the voters.

But when we all pool our resources, together we’re stronger than the fat cats. So let’s tell Nancy Pelosi that if she keeps standing up for regular Americans, thousands of us will have her back. And we can more than match whatever the CEOs and billionaires refuse to contribute. Clicking here will add your name to our statement:http://pol.moveon.org/democracy/o.pl?id=12391-2362222-AqGson&t=273

The statement reads: “The Democratic nomination should be decided by the voters—not by super-delegates or party high-rollers. We’ve given money—and time—to progressive candidates and causes, and we’ll support Speaker Pelosi and others who stand up for Democracy in the Democratic Party.”

We’re launching it today with our friends at the blog OpenLeft.com. Our goal is to deliver tens of thousands of signatures to Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders later this week. (more…)

Friends,

It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn’t it, that the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone surprised?

4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.

And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, “two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.” Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: “So?”

“So?” As in, “So what?” As in, “F*** you. I could care less.”

I would like every American to see Cheney flip the virtual bird at the them, the American people. Click here and pass it around. Then ask yourself why we haven’t risen up and thrown him and his puppet out of the White House. (more…)

Michigan doctor facing criminal charges for defending a protester

As mass sentiment against the U.S. occupation of Iraq continues to grow across the world, many activists on college campuses are experiencing increased police repression and attacks on their First Amendment rights. One of these instances occurred on Nov. 30, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Michigan—home of the University of Michigan.

As a result of that protest, Dr. Catherine Wilkerson, a respected community physician who provides medical care to working-class people at a local clinic, was charged with two crimes stemming from an encounter with local and campus police. On Nov. 26, 2007, her trial is set to begin in Ann Arbor.

The ANSWER Coalition is supporting the efforts of the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson to demand that all charges against her be dropped. Click here to show your support by signing a petition that will be hand delivered to University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie.

Background

During a protest against the war on Iraq and threats of war on Iran, University of Michigan police brutalized and arrested three activists. Police tactics included the use of pressure point control tactics. PPCT is a pain compliance tactic that essentially uses painful pressure and manipulation of the body in order to force the victim to comply.

After brutalizing one protester and threatening him with pepper spray directly in the face, the police then pinned him to the ground in a manner that can result in suffocation. As the man groaned in agony, the officer used his knee and his substantial physical bulk to crush the protester’s chest, face down against the floor. Between desperate gasps, the man told officers that he could not breathe, and then fell unconscious.

Dr. Wilkerson identified herself as a physician and demanded access to the man in order to examine him and determine if his life was in danger. After much resistance from the police, Dr. Wilkerson was allowed to examine the man and determined that he was still alive. As this was occurring, an ambulance with paramedics, the fire department and the Ann Arbor police arrived on the scene.

Dr. Wilkerson was forcibly kept aside. One of the medics then held a succession of three ammonia inhalants directly under the patient’s nose, culminating with cupping his hands over the man’s nose while he forced him to inhale the third capsule of the noxious gas. This caused the man to retch and nearly vomit as the medic taunted him, “You don’t like that, do you?”

Dr. Wilkerson was outraged by the punitive and dangerous actions of the police and medics. She told the medics, “What you are doing has no efficacy and is punitive, and you know it.”

For speaking out, Dr. Wilkerson too was brutalized by the police.

Police grabbed her from behind, wrenched her arms behind her, then slammed her against a wall and held her there as she begged him to release his painful grip. The officer then detained her against her will for a protracted period of time, forcing her to stand in a hallway despite her continued extreme shoulder pain.

Dr. Wilkerson was not arrested at this time, however, as she did not break any laws and was simply attempting to fulfill her ethical obligations as a physician.

Dr. Wilkerson later registered a complaint of police brutality at City Hall. One week after filing her complaint, she was shocked to find a letter in the mail from the county prosecutor informing her that she was being charged with attempted assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer and attempted assaulting/resisting/obstructing a paramedic.

The charges are a blatant example of police retaliation against a respected doctor and community activist for complaining about police misconduct.

Dr. Wilkerson faces jail time and hefty fines if she is convicted. She has refused to take the prosecutor’s plea deal because she has done nothing wrong. In fact, her intervention in the police riot prevented possible grave injuries for those attacked by the cops.

Statement from Dr. Wilkerson

From “Scenes from a cop riot” by Dr. Catherine Wilkerson:

When I became a doctor I knew I would encounter a lot of human suffering, but I never envisioned a time when my efforts to alleviate it would get me brutalized by the police, then charged with a crime. I never envisioned a time when I would witness another health “professional” brazenly violate the most fundamental principle of medical ethics: first do no harm. But thirty years after graduation, at a political event on the campus of the University of Michigan, those things happened.

Take action

All the charges should be dropped on Dr. Wilkerson immediately. Community activists, medical workers and all progressive people should join in this demand. The ANSWER Coalition is supporting the efforts of the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson to demand that all charges against her be dropped.

Click here to show your support by signing a petition that will be hand delivered to University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie.

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.answercoalition.org/
info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-694-8720
Los Angeles: 213-251-1025
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
Chicago: 773-463-0311

 

Yom Kippur is a day of atonement for jews world wide.
This is what i am sorry for:
by Arlan Feiles

It seems that my rants and raves about the state of our union continue to annoy many ears.
I have a terrible problem with bringing up the nasty topic of the disintegration of the American dream
It was brought to my attention that perhaps if i talked about something other than the fact that our Nation is on the verge of a Constitutional catastrophe,
maybe people wouldnt continue to roll their eyes at my voiced concerns of the current state of our “Nation”.
While most of you are pleasantly sedated by reality TV and your struggle to keep up with the Joneses.
Our Constitution is systematically being ripped to shreds.
Have you noticed?
well, If you can think of something more important than our country being thrust into pre-revolution politics I happily invite your suggestions.
Frankly, I cannot stand the shoulder shrugs and the “What do we do about it” responses.
We are currently steps away from living in a society akin to 1935 Berlin.
you think i’m joking?
you think that’s not funny?
Your Right!
Perhaps youve seen the new photos emerging of smiling Nazis at Auschwitz.
Well, I see these vacant smiles in alot of your faces.
Alot of you “Liberals” who scoff at the “Republican thugs” while surfing for the newest American Top Model.
and Alot of you Republicans who surf righteously in step with your “God”.
When do we stand As Americans?
When do we decide that the future of our Nation is more important than our Wiis? our Gods?
When do we insist on a candidate who truly cherishes the American Dream and what it really means?
When do we stop voting for the lesser of evils?
When will we stop them from silencing our voices?
When will i hear any of your voices?
Im tired of hearing myself repeat the same thing over and over.
I too am guilty. I too have let this happen. for this i am sorry.
In the Jewish Community we constantly repeat the phrases “Never Forget” and “It can never happen Again”
Have we forgotten these words?
Have you forgotten these Words?
Have we forgotten their meaning?
will it happen again?
It can and it will if we believe it can’t. Just saying it can’t doesn’t mean shit.
If you dont know what Im talking about please educate yourself. pick up a book or listen to the radio. do something.
Jesus, Barry Fuckin Manillow is acting more like a man than most of you.
Its time to stand up for your rights. all of our rights. let me hear your voices.
Lets not stand alone in darkness and silence. Please let me know that i am not alone in my concern.
I love and cherish you all. I worry about the future of your children and one day mine.
This time of year jews atone for our wrongs.
I am sorry i have wronged you all for not speaking loud and long enough.
A very wise person said “be the leader you long for”
this is my goal for the New Year.
Please forgive me for not being a better citizen and example
I will hope not to let you down again.
happy holidays with love
Arlan

Blowback Strikes
Shocked and Horrified

By Larry Mosqueda

Like all Americans, on Tuesday, 9-11, I was shocked and horrified to watch the WTC Twin Towers attacked by hijacked planes and collapse, resulting in the deaths of perhaps up to 10,000 innocent people.

I had not been that shocked and horrified since January 16, 1991, when then President Bush attacked Baghdad, and the rest of Iraq and began killing 200,000 people during that “war” (slaughter). This includes the infamous “highway of death” in the last days of the slaughter when U.S. pilots literally shot in the back retreating Iraqi civilians and soldiers. I continue to be horrified by the sanctions on Iraq, which have resulted in the death of over 1,000,000 Iraqis, including over 500,000 children, about whom former Secretary of State Madeline Albright has stated that their deaths “are worth the cost”.

Over the course of my life I have been shocked and horrified by a variety of U.S. governmental actions, such as the U.S. sponsored coup against democracy in Guatemala in 1954 which resulted in the deaths of over 120,000 Guatemalan peasants by U.S. installed dictatorships over the course of four decades.

Last Tuesday’s events reminded me of the horror I felt when the U.S. overthrew the governments of the Dominican Republic in 1965 and helped to murder 3,000 people. And it reminded me of the shock I felt in 1973, when the U.S. sponsored a coup in Chile against the democratic government of Salvador Allende and helped to murder another 30,000 people, including U.S. citizens.

Last Tuesday’s events reminded me of the shock and horror I felt in 1965 when the U.S. sponsored a coup in Indonesia that resulted in the murder of over 800,000 people, and the subsequent slaughter in 1975 of over 250,000 innocent people in East Timor by the Indonesian regime with the direct complicity of President Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

I was reminded of the shock and horror I felt during the U.S. sponsored terrorist contra war (the World Court declared the U.S. government a war criminal in 1984 for the mining of the harbors) against Nicaragua in the 1980s which resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 innocent people (or as the U.S. government used to call them before the term “collateral damage” was invented–”soft targets”).

I was reminded of being horrified by the U. S. war against the people of El Salvador in the 1980s, which resulted in the brutal deaths of over 80,000 people, or “soft targets”.

I was reminded of the shock and horror I felt during the U.S. sponsored terror war against the peoples of southern Africa (especially Angola) that began in the 1970’s and continues to this day and has resulted in the deaths and mutilations of over 1,000,000. I was reminded of the shock and horror I felt as the U.S. invaded Panama over the Christmas season of 1989 and killed over 8,000 in an attempt to capture George H. Bush’s CIA partner, now turned enemy, Manuel Noriega.

I was reminded of the horror I felt when I learned about how the Shah of Iran was installed in a U.S. sponsored brutal coup that resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Iranians from 1952-1979. And the continuing shock as I learned that the Ayatollah Khomeni, who overthrew the Shah in 1979, and who was the U.S. public enemy for decade of the 1980s, was also on the CIA payroll, while he was in exile in Paris in the 1970s.

I was reminded of the shock and horror that I felt as I learned about the how the U.S. has “manufactured consent” since 1948 for its support of Israel, to the exclusion of virtually any rights for the Palestinians in their native lands resulting in ever worsening day-to-day conditions for the people of Palestine. I was shocked as I learned about the hundreds of towns and villages that were literally wiped off the face of the earth in the early days of Israeli colonization. I was horrified in 1982 as the villagers of Sabra and Shatila were massacred by Israeli allies with direct Israeli complicity and direction. The untold thousands who died on that day match the scene of horror that we saw last Tuesday. But those scenes were not repeated over and over again on the national media to inflame the American public.

The events and images of last Tuesday have been appropriately compared to the horrific events and images of Lebanon in the 1980s with resulted in the deaths of tens of thousand of people, with no reference to the fact that the country that inflicted the terror on Lebanon was Israel, with U.S. backing. I still continue to be shocked at how mainstream commentators refer to “Israeli settlers” in the “occupied territories” with no sense of irony as they report on who are the aggressors in the region.

Of course, the largest and most shocking war crime of the second half of the 20th century was the U.S. assault on Indochina from 1954-1975, especially Vietnam, where over 4,000,000 people were bombed, napalmed, crushed, shot and individually “hands on” murdered in the “Phoenix Program” (this is where Oliver North got his start). Many U.S. Vietnam veterans were also victimized by this war and had the best of intentions, but the policy makers themselves knew the criminality of their actions and policies as revealed in their own words in “The Pentagon Papers,” released by Daniel Ellsberg of the RAND Corporation. In 1974 Ellsberg noted that our Presidents from Truman to Nixon continually lied to the U.S. public about the purpose and conduct of the war. He has stated that, “It is a tribute to the American people that our leaders perceived that they had to lie to us, it is not a tribute to us that we were so easily misled.”

I was continually shocked and horrified as the U.S. attacked and bombed with impunity the nation of Libya in the 1980s, including killing the infant daughter of Khadafi. I was shocked as the U.S. bombed and invaded Grenada in 1983. I was horrified by U.S. military and CIA actions in Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan, Brazil, Argentina, and Yugoslavia. The deaths in these actions ran into the hundreds of thousands.

The above list is by no means complete or comprehensive. It is merely a list that is easily accessible and not unknown, especially to the economic and intellectual elites. It has just been conveniently eliminated from the public discourse and public consciousness. And for the most part, the analysis that the U.S. actions have resulted in the deaths of primarily civilians (over 90%) is not unknown to these elites and policy makers. A conservative number for those who have been killed by U.S. terror and military action since World War II is 8,000,000 people. Repeat–8,000,000 people. This does not include the wounded, the imprisoned, the displaced, the refugees, etc. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated in 1967, during the Vietnam War, “My government is the world’s leading purveyor of violence.” Shocking and horrifying.

Nothing that I have written is meant to disparage or disrespect those who were victims and those who suffered death or the loss of a loved one during this week’s events. It is not meant to “justify” any action by those who bombed the Twin Towers or the Pentagon. It is meant to put it in a context. If we believe that the actions were those of “madmen”, they are “madmen” who are able to keep a secret for 2 years or more among over 100 people, as they trained to execute a complex plan. While not the acts of madmen, they are apparently the acts of “fanatics” who, depending on who they really are, can find real grievances, but whose actions are illegitimate.

Osama Bin Laden at this point has been accused by the media and the government of being the mastermind of Tuesday’s bombings. Given the government’s track record on lying to the America people, that should not be accepted as fact at this time. If indeed Bin Laden is the mastermind of this action, he is responsible for the deaths of perhaps 10,000 people-a shocking and horrible crime. Ed Herman in his book The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda does not justify any terrorism but points out that states often engage in “wholesale” terror, while those whom governments define as “terrorist” engage is “retail” terrorism. While qualitatively the results are the same for the individual victims of terrorism, there is a clear quantitative difference. And as Herman and others point out, the seeds, the roots, of much of the “retail” terror are in fact found in the “wholesale” terror of states. Again this is not to justify, in any way, the actions of last Tuesday, but to put them in a context and suggest an explanation.

Perhaps most shocking and horrific, if indeed Bin Laden is the mastermind of Tuesday’s actions; he has clearly had significant training in logistics, armaments, and military training, etc. by competent and expert military personnel. And indeed he has. During the 1980s, he was recruited, trained and funded by the CIA in Afghanistan to fight against the Russians. As long as he visited his terror on Russians and his enemies in Afghanistan, he was “our man” in that country.

The same is true of Saddam Hussein of Iraq, who was a CIA asset in Iraq during the 1980s. Hussein could gas his own people, repress the population, and invade his neighbor (Iran) as long as he did it with U.S. approval.

The same was true of Manuel Noriega of Panama, who was a contemporary and CIA partner of George H. Bush in the 1980s. Noriega’s main crime for Bush, the father, was not that he dealt drugs (he did, but the U.S. and Bush knew this before 1989), but that Noriega was no longer going to cooperate in the ongoing U.S. terrorist contra war against Nicaragua. This information is not unknown or really controversial among elite policy makers. To repeat, this not to justify any of the actions of last Tuesday, but to put it in its horrifying context.

As shocking as the events of last Tuesday were, they are likely to generate even more horrific actions by the U.S. government that will add significantly to the 8,000,000 figure stated above. This response may well be qualitatively and quantitatively worst than the events of Tuesday. The New York Times headline of 9/14/01 states that, “Bush And Top Aides Proclaim Policy Of Ending States That Back Terror” as if that was a rationale, measured, or even sane option. States that have been identified for possible elimination are “a number of Asian and African countries, like Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, and even Pakistan.” This is beyond shocking and horrific-it is just as potentially suicidal, homicidal, and more insane than the hijackers themselves.

Also, qualitatively, these actions will be even worse than the original bombers if one accepts the mainstream premise that those involved are “madmen”, “religious fanatics”, or a “terrorist group.” If so, they are acting as either individuals or as a small group. The U.S. actions may continue the homicidal policies of a few thousand elites for the past 50 years, involving both political parties.

The retail terror is that of desperate and sometime fanatical small groups and individuals who often have legitimate grievances, but engage in individual criminal and illegitimate activities; the wholesale terror is that of “rational” educated men where the pain, suffering, and deaths of millions of people are contemplated, planned, and too often, executed, for the purpose of furthering a nebulous concept called the “national interest”. Space does not allow a full explanation of the elites Orwellian concept of the “national interest”, but it can be summarized as the protection and expansion of hegemony and an imperial empire.

The American public is being prepared for war while being fed a continuous stream of shocking and horrific repeated images of Tuesday’s events and heartfelt stories from the survivors and the loved ones of those who lost family members. These stories are real and should not be diminished. In fact, those who lost family members can be considered a representative sample of humanity of the 8,000,000 who have been lost previously. If we multiply by 800-1000 times the amount of pain, angst, and anger being currently felt by the American public, we might begin to understand how much of the rest of the world feels as they are continually victimized.

Some particularly poignant images are the heart wrenching public stories that we are seeing and hearing of family members with pictures and flyers searching for their loved ones. These images are virtually the same as those of the “Mothers of the Disappeared” who searched for their (primarily) adult children in places such as Argentina, where over 11,000 were “disappeared” in 1976-1982, again with U.S. approval. Just as the mothers of Argentina deserved our respect and compassion, so do the relatives of those who are searching for their relatives now. However we should not allow ourselves to be manipulated by the media and U.S. government into turning real grief and anger into a national policy of wholesale terror and genocide against innocent civilians in Asia and Africa. What we are seeing in military terms is called “softening the target.” The target here is the American public and we are being ideologically and emotionally prepared for the slaughter that may commence soon.

None of the previously identified Asian and African countries are democracies, which means that the people of these countries have virtually no impact on developing the policies of their governments, even if we assume that these governments are complicit in Tuesday’s actions. When one examines the recent history of these countries, one will find that the American government had direct and indirect influences on creating the conditions for the existence of some of these governments. This is especially true of the Taliban government of Afghanistan itself.

The New York Metropolitan Area has about 21,000,000 people or about 8 % of the U.S. population. Almost everyone in America knows someone who has been killed, injured or traumatized by the events of Tuesday. I know that I do. Many people are calling for “revenge” or “vengeance” and comments such as “kill them all” have been circulated on the TV, radio, and email. A few more potentially benign comments have called for “justice.” This is only potentially benign since that term may be defined by people such as Bush and Colin Powell. Powell is an unrepentant participant in the Vietnam War, the terrorist contra war against Nicaragua, and the Gulf war, at each level becoming more responsible for the planning and execution of the policies.

Those affected, all of us, must do everything in our power to prevent a wider war and even greater atrocity, do everything possible to stop the genocide if it starts, and hold those responsible for their potential war crimes during and after the war. If there is a great war in 2001 and it is not catastrophic (a real possibility), the crimes of that war will be revisited upon the U.S. over the next generation. That is not some kind of religious prophecy or threat, it is merely a straightforward political analysis. If indeed it is Bin Laden, the world must not deal only with him as an individual criminal, but eliminate the conditions that create the injustices and war crimes that will inevitably lead to more of these types of attacks in the future. The phrase “No Justice, No Peace” is more than a slogan used in a march, it is an observable historical fact. It is time to end the horror. CP

Larry Mosqueda teaches at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington