Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz saw first hand the risk of the policy that he helped to fashion. Baghdad is starting to resemble Jerusalem with reoccurring bombing on a scale that scatters any myth that Iraq is improving. As the colonial occupation continues, reminders of why the U.S. is garrisoned in the Middle East are becoming all too frequent. Does any public official ever learn or will it take the franchising of the Rashid Hotel on domestic soil to drive the point home?
Normal Americans are subjected to a countless bombardment of rhetoric that the justification for a permanent war on terror is once again proven with each car explosion. Since the dust has settled from the removal of the World Trade Center, the planning for rebuilding on that site proceeds, while little effort is addressed as to the fundamental reasons why the events of 911 became a nightmare. The tragedy did not just befall those who perished, but extends to every citizen who fears for the future of their country and the well being of their families.
Mainstream conservatives have succumbed to a “silence syndrome”. A serious national debate on the merits of a foreign policy that has turned most of the world against our country has never taken place. The enemy from within are protected while any foreigners that objects to imperial invasion are placed in the same lot as suspected terrorists. The price of continued upheaval is never seen as a result of flawed reasoning and failed objectives. All we get is that there is no point in understanding why they hate us, they just want to kill us and destroy our way of life.
If this nonsense really had merit, a mature society should have the courage for concerted self reflection. Despite efforts from those who believe that the conscience of our Republic demands a methodical re-evaluation in the role of international nation building, the cries of defending our national interests is all we get from government officials. The case for concrete benefits for average taxpaying citizens has never been made.
The only justification that comes out of the mouths of establishment supporters is that the administration, (under either party) is under attack and deserves the support of the populace. Are dissenters only talking among themselves or have the vast majority just stopped thinking for themselves? Paranoia is a condition of suspicion, distrust and fear. Should we really be more afraid of future attacks or are our apprehensions far more realistic that further interventionism is the root cause of the turmoil that is of our own making?
How long will it take to grow tired of endless deployments? How many Americans need to be sacrificed to prove that we are less secure because of those involvements? It seems that the test for sanity has been reduced to mere resignation – acceptance of official policy. Patriotism doesn’t require surrender of your common sense. As the intensity level for defending internationalism increases, the frequency and severity of indigenous peoples resistance will be brought closer to our door step. Why are people so reluctant to concede that the costs of empire are far too high to justify?
Bringing back Wolfowitz in a body bag would only rejuvenate the hawks for revenge. The arrogance of power is only surpassed by the abandonment of morality. Our mission as a nation is to be an example of a country committed to liberty. Exporting a free society to cultures who find it repugnant is the height of nihilism and self delusion. Yet, that is the cornerstone that supports the policy of infinite involvements, incessant internationalism and guaranteed global revulsion for the United States.
Can the Wolowitz’s who make policy, abandon their devotion to a deceitful cause and convert to an American First viewpoint? Surely, such a change could be possible, but the prospects are unlikely. Near death experiences don’t seem to effect elites that fashion the dogs of war. Future targeting of government officials and their families will become the next escalation in the madness. Reprisals when there is no dread of your own death are useless. Fear provides the fuel for public anxiety, while legitimate security measures are rejected because of the commitment to reinvent the globe under the banner of the world community.
President Bush sealed his own fate when he appointed the likes of Wolowitz to his administration. Only a lamebrain would support a pro Israeli agenda over the interests of our own people. When the post 911 history is written, if the planet survives that long, the sages will identify that America was betrayed by her leadership, as the people slept. The pain of terrorism is inevitable, and will soon be felt within the beltway. The recent lesson that North Korea has demonstrated, is that rewards come to those who blackmail the powerful. Threats of killing their policy makers will produce more results than a division of Republican Guard. Taking a few of them out might be better than weapons of mass destruction.
Just note what the national response will be when the media covers one of their funerals. The hype for additional retaliation will be the eulogy. The next heightened cycle will commence, as a renewed draft will be presented as the solution for the manpower drain. Republicans blindly follow their president as he takes the country into the depths of the eternal hatred that is the Middle East culture. Democrats just want to regain power, but will never reverse the core policy that sanctions the paranoia. Accepting a reduced status for the United States is too great a price to pay for a reduced burden for our people . . . The bombers have an endless supply of bombs. Removing the Wolfowitz’s from access to policy is the solution, eliminating him will just move a Richard Perle into his office. Paranoia may well become a way of life!
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”