| 1. |
Look who's dying now.
As usual it's some of the poorest people in the world
who are being targeted for bombing. So-called 'smart'
bombs are about as smart as Bush, and Afghanis are already
pulling the bodies of their children - or their parents
- from the rubble. Meanwhile, the UN estimates that November
will see 3-4 million Afghanis facing death from starvation
because aid packages can't get through until the bombing
stops. Bush's answer? Dropping food parcels as well as
bombs. Assuming people could retrieve food parcels from
one of the most heavily landmined areas on earth, they
would still be nowhere near enough to feed the starving
refugees for even one day. Afghanis have endured years
of continuous civil warfare and a vicious, oppressive
regime. Let's bomb 'em. |
|
| 2. |
Most terrorists don't live
in caves.
They live in big houses where they've been co-ordinating
their worldwide terrorist networks for years. Western
governments have been sponsoring death squads and terrorist
regimes all over the world. Terror is an essential part
of the continuation and expansion of global capitalism.
Everyday, people die in their thousands because of lack
of food, adequate shelter or healthcare. Countless others
lead hollow lives of drudgery and boredom, all hope of
real happiness and freedom crushed by work. If bin Laden
is a terrorist - and he is - then so are Bush, Blair and
the other members of the coalition. |
|
| 3. |
Osama bin framed?
It turns out that George and Tony aren't even really sure
who was behind the September 11th attack. The published
dossier of 'incontrovertible evidence' has been called
'almost worthless from a legal point of view' (Guardian,
5.10.01). All the evidence appears to hinge on the fact
that the terrorists responsible were 'associates' of Osama
bin Laden. Associates? What does that mean? The Taliban
actually agreed to extradite bin Laden to Pakistan, where
he could have faced a court to determine whether he would've
been sent to the USA. But, hey, we're not going to let
minor details like truth and justice get in the way of
the war against an abstract noun. |
|
| 4. |
We are all terrorists now.
The sad fact is that governments all around the globe
have been jumping up and down with glee at the opportunities
for repression that the war on terrorism represents. Wanna
get rid of that annoying dissident who's been telling
people some of your dirty little secrets? Easy, call him
or her a terrorist and almost everyone will cheer as you
crush the evil menace. Witness how eagerly Israeli PM
Sharon (himself responsible for the massacre of Palestinian
refugees in Beirut, amongst other career highlights) rushed
to compare Palestinian leader Arafat with Bin Laden. Marvel
at how Italian PM Berlusconi and MP Claire Short have
linked fundamentalist terrorists with the anti-capitalism
movement. Internal security departments in England and
the US have already been given new powers to monitor phone
calls, faxes and e-mails. There's talk of the introduction
of ID cards, and it looks like they're going to start
with asylum seekers. The September 11th atrocity is being
cynically manipulated by governments to justify further
reductions of our basic rights and liberties. |
|
| 5. |
Oil be damned!
This war is not about an attack on our 'democracy'. It's
not about an attack on our 'freedom'. Like most wars,
it's about greed and expansion. Afghanistan lies on the
proposed route of a pipeline that would transport oil
from the resource rich countries of Central Asia (which
have a combined, untapped oil reserve estimated at $2,000
billion) to the energy hungry Asian Pacific economies.
And who do you think are the major investors in this endeavour?
Bush's chums in the oil industry, of course. Companies
like Unocal, Total, Chevron, Pennzoil, BP and Exxon
the same people who have spent the last twenty years telling
us that climate change is a myth while blocking any moves
to wean ourselves from our fossil fuel habit. It's all
connected, if you know where to look. |
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