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Merchants of Death, The Politics of
Perpetual Fear
Anthony Wade
Op
Ed News
Wednesday June 6, 2007
As the would-be
presidents continue to polish their messages we begin to see a clear delineation
between the parties. Two nights ago we saw the democrats speaking about
ending the endless war campaign of George Bush, concentrating on our own
problems in THIS country. Talking about long-forgotten priorities such
as healthcare, education and civil liberties. Supporting the troops by
insisting they come home alive.
Then the nine neo-cons and Ron Paul took the stage tonight and presented
the other side. The delusional side. The fearful side. The dark side.
These were not politicians tonight. They were snake oil salesmen, selling
the only product they have left to win elections anymore, fear. I exempt
Ron Paul from the gang of nine, because he was the only sane voice in
the cloud of testosterone in New Hampshire tonight. He was the only true
conservative voice again, talking about less government and a non-interventionist
foreign policy. The only person who seemed to get it; that you cannot
force democracy through the barrel of a gun.
Unfortunately, the remaining candidates were simply merchants of fear
tonight. Desperately trying to cast Iraq as the central war on the vague
concept of “terror”, the death-traders continually tried to
justify this failed war of choice. Playing fast and loose with the facts
and with history, they have again proven that the clear choice in 2008
will be between continuing to have our sons and daughters come home in
body bags or come home alive. Fear is a powerful weapon, wielded skillfully
by the Bush administration for the past six years.
I fearful populace doesn’t stop to think about the decline in education
in this country. A fearful populace doesn’t stop to think about
the disastrous state of healthcare in this country. We forget that this
war was sold to us on lies. That the entire premise of the war is false.
That hundreds of thousands of people are dead because of it. People who
are afraid do not notice when the president decides to ignore over 800
laws as his party stands silent. They are too worried to notice when 9
out of 10 would be presidents think that the treasonous outing of a covert
CIA operative is cause for a presidential pardon.
The gang of nine mocked the democrats for daring to suggest that the Iraq
War needs to end now; the prevailing opinion of an overwhelming majority
of Americans. You want to know all you need to know for the 2008 elections?
While the democrats were talking about your needs as Americans, 90% of
the republican candidates were talking about tactical nuclear strikes
against Iran. That is what you are voting for next year. Do you embrace
the future of this country or cower to the politics of perpetual fear?
For forty years we were told to fear the communists. We had air raid drills,
where children had to hide under their desks, mimicking a nuclear attack
on the country. Communists were evil and hated us because of our freedoms.
Personal freedoms were curtailed, wars enflamed, and Americans died. They
died all for the industrial war machine. Defense budgets skyrocketed and
the deficit ballooned. Things like healthcare and education took a back
seat to the primary ideological struggle of our time. It was such a good
model that it lasted for forty years. Fear reigned supreme and the citizenry
remained controlled. But a funny thing happened on the way through the
Cold War; it ended. The Soviet Union collapsed under the weight of its
own failed economic policies. That’s right die hard repubs, Reagan
had very little to do with the collapse of the USSR. He just happened
to be there when the wheel came around.
The 1990’s were a wasteland for the old-school defense mongers.
Their power was receding, their money was dwindling, and their relevance
and very existence was threatened. Like a cornered animal, they fought
back after 911. They realized they did not have to reinvent the wheel;
they just needed to replace the communist, with the terrorist. It is the
exact same model. You now need to be in continual fear of the terrorist.
What is great about this version of the model is that there is no primary
country to target. It has become a mobile model. It started in Afghanistan
and when we wanted to blow Iraq up; we simply said that was the new front
in this fictitious war. Never mind that Iraq under Saddam hated al Qaeda
and vice-a-versa. Never mind that they had no connection to 911. All we
have to do is invade the country and call anyone who is willing to fight
for their country and insurgent, or a terrorist, and voila, Iraq is the
new central front on the war on terror. It is a war that never has to
end either. Once Iraq is spent, we can shift it over to Iran, maybe Syria.
The truth doesn’t matter because the enemy has no face and no home.
They are a generalized idea. They are a generic concept. They are of some
Middle Eastern descent, or Islamic fundamentalist in nature, or hate our
freedoms like the communists before them.
It is the perfect blueprint for election platforms too. Just mock anyone
who claims the danger is not real. Scoff at the notion that maybe we can
concentrate on THIS country for a change. Trump up any minor incident
to be the impending end of life as we know it. You saw it tonight as the
gang of nine repeatedly referred to the recent JFK and Fort Dix plots;
what I like to call dumb and dumber. The facts surrounding these cases
are eerily similar. Both deal with informants setting up the accused.
Both are dealing with plans that are so far fetched there never was any
danger to begin with and both were trumpeted from the rooftops as proof
that there is a war on terror and that we are “winning.”
Never mind that winning is never clearly defined and when it is the goal
posts simply get moved. Whether it was capturing Baghdad, capturing Saddam’s
sons, capturing Saddam, electing a parliament, Iraqi’s with purple
fingers voting, standing down as the Iraqis stand up, troop surge number
one, or troop surge number two. It doesn’t matter because you can
always change the benchmarks; you can always change what “winning”
means. All nine tonight spoke eloquently about winning, but never had
a clue what winning actually meant because the real concept of “winning”
is the continuation of the war, not the ending of it. It is just fear
on a repeating loop and tonight you met the merchants who would continue
to sell you death.
I pray to God that you are no longer buying it.
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