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Killing people on behalf of a foreign
regime
Hornberger’s
Commentary
05/10/05 - - The metaphorical war
on terrorism is becoming more like the metaphorical war on drugs
every day. U.S. officials proudly and excitedly announce arrests
or killings of big
suspected terrorists, just as they have proudly announced the
arrests or killings of big suspected drug dealers for the last
30 years.
Each new arrest or killing in both wars immediately gives rise
to much-ballyhooed announcements about the tremendous progress
that is being made in the wars. Such announcements, in turn, give
rise to ever-increasing calls for renewed dedication in winning
the wars, followed by, of course, calls for more increases in
government spending so that the wars can finally be won, once and
for all.
Unfortunately, all too many Americans blind themselves to the
fact that their very own government’s policies, especially the
wars on drugs and terrorism, are the root of the problems. In
fact, the consequences of both wars produce the very results that
are then used as the rationale for waging the wars even more
fiercely.
Consider the U.S. military’s killing of some 100
insurgents in Iraq yesterday — or “terrorists” as the
U.S. government calls foreigners fighters who enter Iraq for the
purpose of forcibly ousting the current regime and replacing it
with another regime, except when the U.S. government does it, in
which case the foreigners are called “freedom fighters.” Now
that an “independent, democratically elected” regime exists in
Iraq, U.S. forces are effectively acting as its police force. How
can U.S. killings on behalf of the new Shiite regime in Iraq not
engender anger and hatred against the United States regardless of
the motivations that U.S. officials claim to have in providing
“order and stability” for the new Iraqi regime? Surviving
family members and friends of the dead don’t care about the
motivations of U.S. officials — all they care about is that U.S.
troops are thousands of miles from the United States killing
people on behalf of a foreign regime. Ironically and perversely,
U.S. officials proudly proclaim that the killings of such
insurgents show that the feds are making progress in the war on
terrorism, which, not surprisingly, means renewed dedication to
winning the war on terrorism, which, not surprisingly, means
increased budgets for the military-industrial complex.
The same holds true in the much-vaunted, 30-year-old war on
drugs. DEA Chief Karen Tandy cites massive
drug seizures as evidence that the DEA is “making
progress” in the war on drugs. But after 30 years of drug
warfare, only a died-in-the-wool government drug warrior, one who
makes a nice government salary fighting the war on drugs, would
consider massive drug seizures as evidence of progress. And of
course, the massive drug seizures mean renewed dedication to
winning the war on drugs, which, not surprisingly, means increased
budgets for the drug-war complex, including those like Tandy whose
salary depends on the continuation of the war.
Unfortunately, all too many Americans continue to put their
blind faith in the feds and their beloved wars, believing that
federal officials, like pagan gods, know what’s best for the
American people and are only acting in their best interests. What
we need in this country is a great awakening, in which the
American people realize the fake, false, and destructive bill of
goods they’ve been fed by the feds. That will be the day when
Americans cause our nation to change course away from empire and
perpetual war and move in the direction of liberty, peace,
prosperity, and harmony.
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