HOW CAN ANYONE NOT SEE WHERE THE FUCK WE ARE NOW?!
Defining "Terrorist"
Apply the very criteria Bush uses in his "war on terror" speech to identify "terrorism" and see who best fits his own definition of "terrorists":
"The terrorists" are "unconstrained by any notion of common humanity and the rules of warfare." This from the country that brought the world Guantnamo, Abu Ghraib, the secret torture chambers in Eastern Europe, the outsourcing of torture, and an Attorney General who ruled that the Geneva Convention prohibition against torture is "quaint" and irrelevant.
"The terrorists" want "to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world." Actually, according to Bush's speech, "the terrorists" are out to control a region from Spain to Indonesia, whereas Bush demands the right to enslave and intimidate the whole world.
"The terrorists" leaders come from "wealth and privilege" and have no regard for "poor." Tell this one to the people in the 9th Ward in New Orleans.
"The terrorists" seek "weapons of mass murder."This from the leader of the only country to ever use atomic weapons for mass murder, the country with an arsenal of more than 10,640 nuclear weapons (more than all the next four countries combined).
We could go on and on, but this list should help the critical-minded reader identify which country and which "world leader" it is who embodies terrorism-- even by his own definition.
And if anyone wants to argue that there is a fundamental distinction between terrorist acts carried out by forces who do not control countries, and forces who do, two quick points: First, why is a non-state terrorist worse than a terrorist state? And, if you insist on making that distinction, look at the U.S. record for backing forces like the Contras in Nicaragua, RENAMO in Mozambique, the Colombian "paramilitaries," the Ton Ton Macoutes in Haiti, and let's not forget that former U.S. ally Osama bin Laden when he was causing trouble for the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Beyond the hypocrisy of the world's biggest terrorist calling for a "war on terrorism," a quick comparative look at the "target" vs. "allied" countries in this war, again even using Bush's own definition, makes it clear that who and what is identified as a target in this war has nothing to do with any particular repressive internal measures, development of "weapons of mass destruction," association with September 11, 2001, or any other criteria supposedly driving the "war on terror." As many have pointed out, Saudi Arabia--where most of the 9/11 attackers came from--is an ally in the "war on terror," while Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11, became the main target of this war.
Bush's speech puts Iran in the crosshairs of the "war on terror" because, he charges, the country has "ballistic missile programs." Pakistan (along with India) upheld as a model citizen in the "war on terror," has a nuclear arsenal. The list of draconian, brutally repressive regimes in the region that fall into the category of "allies" in the "war on terror" goes on and on, including the three model countries singled out in Bush's speech: Egypt (with its torture chambers full of dissidents), Saudi Arabia (where robbers and adulterers are executed and women who walk on the street unaccompanied are subject to arrest), and, again, Pakistan--a military dictatorship with powerful Islamic fundamentalist influence in the state security apparatus.
The apparently random madness of Bush's "terrorist" and "terrorist allies" hit lists--which not only target states and movements he claims are linked to Islamic fundamentalism but also are aimed at genuine popular revolutionary movements--including the People's War in Nepal--can only be understood this way: "The terrorists" and their "enablers" are whoever pose an impediment to the interests of U.S. imperialism--in particular in the strategic region of the Middle East. -www.rwor.org-
Spc. David Qualls
David signed up for the National Guard "Try One" program. Is it one year, or 28.5 years? The correct answer is 28.5 years, his separation date is now the same as Emiliano Santiago, Christmas Eve 2031 !
Under siege in the form of a scandal that has so far led to the indictment of Vice President Cheney's right-hand man, and facing fire from both the public and ruling class critics over the war in Iraq, Bush set out to rally support for the "war on terror" in October. In similar speeches given to the National Endowment on Democracy and to military spouses, Bush demanded a retooled "war on terror" with no boundaries, no deadlines, and no limit to the sacrifices people will be called on to make.
Mass-murdering ex-bomber pilot Senator John McCain, who has complained that Bush isn't selling the "war on terror" properly, applauded this speech for telling people that the forces the U.S. is fighting in Iraq "are the same guys who would be in New York if we don't win in Iraq."
Some Bush critics called the speeches a distraction or diversion from "real issues" at home or abroad. That's not at all the case. The speech, in fact, is a broad, escalated, re-tooled call for a very real open-ended, and endless war on the world.
Other critics correctly pointed out that the speeches repeat the same old lies about why the U.S. invaded and is occupying Iraq. The speech even invokes again, for instance, the lie that the 9/11 hijackers came from Iraq.
But again, there is something much worse and more dangerous reflected in Bush's speech.
Bush's speech is not just a defense of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Far from that. It is a call for much more war, against many more targets--some named, some "to be named later." It is a call for much more sacrifice on the part of Americans who will send their children to kill and die to "stop terrorism."
When are we pulling out of Iraq? Don't ask me, Bush warns his audience. Wrong question. Wrong framework. Instead, he demands, compare the "war on terror" to the great struggles of the "civilized world" against Hitler, and especially the "cold war" against the former Soviet Union.1 Don't count the bodies in thousands, Bush demands. Don't count the costs in billions. Don't ask me which countries we will invade before this is all over.
This war, Bush tells the troops (both nearly literally in the case of his address to military spouses, and more broadly in terms of his support base and ruling class critics), a global battle between good and evil. One that will last--as Dick Cheney put it--"for generations."
THE PRESIDENT LIKES TO SEE HIS FACE HERES A PICTURE U SHOULD ALL LOOK AT CLOSELY 2035 AMERICAN FATALITYS + OVER 26931 IRAQI CITIZENS
DETROIT NOV 2. MOBILIZATION TO DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME!
o yea and this fucking chest pain its getting old fast-i feel like someone broke my ribcage again but in the top center instead of the side--- oww. o and i want to sleep but thats never gonna happen-