Suicidal Terrorism
Jonathan DenbyPublished in the November 2001 Issue of the Old North End RAG
The horrendous attacks on September 11, 2001, changed the world forevermore. The great imperial power of the ages, the United States of America, was shown, for the first time, that its continental mainland was vulnerable to attack from the outside world. And as the nation reeled in shock and confusion from the attacks, the politicians in Washington were forming plans of their own. Immediately, the two political parties morphed, as they announced they stood together, shoulder to shoulder, behind the President, while they sang God Bless America on the steps of the Capital Building. The FBI wasted no time on drafting anti-terrorism legislation that directly challenged the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Then, ten days later, the illegitimate President George W. Bush himself ascended to the podium in the Capital, and delivered to Congress what amounted to be an unprecedented and formal doctrine declaring war on all nations, groups, and individuals who support, engage in, or harbor terrorism—which, in the end, also means those who oppose US state-terrorism and imperialism.
The chilling words of the Bush Doctrine reverberated from one end of the globe to the other: “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” Immediately, the inner sanctums of international governments raced to decide what to do. Many countries, from East to West, chose to protect themselves for the time being by advocating their support for Washington’s “war on terrorism.” NATO, of course, immediately sided with the US, invoking article five of the NATO charter, which calls for all member nations to unite in a response if one member nation is attacked. Powers that were usually hostile to US militarism—like Russia and China—immediately joined Washington’s coalition with secret aspirations of Western-backing for their own state-terrorism and atrocities. Even Pakistan, who recognized and supported the Taliban government, broke under US and international pressure, and provided its support of, and help with, the current military campaign by the US and Britain against Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan is just the beginning for the US. In fact, Bush pledged that, “Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen.” He then continued to ask for American’s “patience in what will be a long struggle,” while advocating a “crusade” to hunt down “evildoers” worldwide, and “Bring them to justice, or, bring justice to them.” But, sadly, it is not that simple. The reality is that this war is not about “ridding the world of evildoers” or “protecting freedom and democracy”; additionally, it is also not just about ridding the world of people like Osama Bin Laden and the ultra-reactionary Taliban. The US and their allies want to “make the world safe for democracy” by ridding the world of groups like the Zapatista rebels of Chiapas, Mexico, who they see as terrorists, or more appropriately, threats to their globalization agenda. They want to continue their support to conservative hawks like Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon—who is himself a well known state-terrorist and murderer of women and children. The Russians are craving to annihilate the Chechen separatists with US and coalition support. The Chinese communists hope that Washington will conveniently ignore its horrible human rights record when it comes time for its inclusion into the WTO. Many other nations dare not oppose Bush, hopping, at least, to stay clear of the US’s awaiting wrath. Meanwhile, the US seeks to hypocritically label some nations as state-sponsors of terrorism while disregarding other nations that are state-terrorists in themselves: Cuba, the US claims, supports terrorism; but Colombia, it seems, does not? One can see exactly where Bush’s doctrine is going with its “war on terrorism”: beyond the deserts of the Middle East, over every part of the world where there is opposition to the polices and interests of the US and its allies. Thus, a new age of a coordinated American aggression abroad has now arrived—an aggression that has now been defined in the imperialistic character of the Bush Doctrine.
In this aggression the US will need only to accuse a nation of supporting terrorism in order to enact a terrorism of its own. Behind the curtain of political illusions and propaganda, the doctrine will serve as a tool to coerce nations into submitting to US globalization and other agendas with the prospect of being labeled as “hostile regimes” that “support and harbor terrorists”—which will, of course, carry with it severe economic and military implications. It does not really matter whether a nation, in actuality, supports terrorism; the US just has to claim it does—a claim that can be supported by fabricated, questionable, or unpublicized evidence—and then that nation can be utterly destroyed by US and coalition military might. Is that not terrorism? Also, the fact that the US demands that nations now choose sides or face an unrelenting attack—is that not terrorism, and is that not a demand that reeks of a scheme to divide a whole world so that it can be conquered? The Bush Doctrine is but a ruse from a long tradition of ruses, and it is an extremely abhorrent one to say the least; for now the US has declared itself as judge, juror, and executioner to all. Is that what Bush means by “Justice”?
So this is the brave new world that confronts everyone, everywhere. The time has arrived when the US—the all-powerful, all-knowing superpower—with the help of various companions, attempts to tighten its political grip, all on the false pretext of safeguarding the world for democracy and freedom. The reality is that freedom and democracy, in all its forms, throughout the world, is now in dire jeopardy; and if people are interested in opposing terrorism, then let them oppose the Osama Bin Ladens of the world; but also let them oppose the other terrorists—the state-terrorists—such as the US Federal Government and their partners in crime.
Writer’s Note
August 1, 2010
I wrote Suicidal Terrorism months after the attacks of 9/11. It reflects my feelings at the time—namely my horror at how George W. Bush was using the attacks as a pretext for enacting an imperial policy that history has since proven to be disastrous for the United States. This article was written and published way before the misadventure of the Iraq War, but it seemed clear to me at the time where the Bush Doctrine was heading.
Rereading this article today, I find that some of my opinions have changed since those terrible days following the attack. My views have since moderated somewhat and I feel remise that I did not write more on the heinous nature of Al Qaeda the Taliban. I do not wish readers to view Suicidal Terrorism as an anti-American diatribe or an attempt to blame the United States for the 9/11 attacks. The 9/11 attacks were conceived, planned, and executed by an international criminal network that used Islam as a cover to justify their actions. This is a criminal and terrorist network that I believe must be confronted and destroyed wherever in the world it takes root.
However, this does not excuse the actions of George Bush, who used the fear and anger generated by 9/11 to launch a misconceived and foolhardy invasion of Iraq. Invoking his doctrine that he outlined in the weeks after 9/11, Bush sought to tie the regime of Saddam Hussein to the perpetrators of 9/11. When that did not work his administration sought to convince the public and world that Iraq posed an unacceptable danger to the United States because of its suspected hidden stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. When his case unraveled and no weapons were found, Bush turned to the old favorite excuse of bringing freedom and democracy to the barbarous peoples of the region. In this context, Suicidal Terrorism ought to be read as a presage of the imperial disasters that the Bush administration would lead us into in the years after 9/11.
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