Naomi Klein - "Bush's War Goes Global"

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0827-08.htm

The Marriott Hotel in Jakarta was still burning when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's Co-ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, explained the implications of the day's attack.

"Those who criticize about human rights being breached must understand that all the bombing victims are more important than any human-rights issue."

In a sentence, we got the best summary yet of the philosophy underlying President George W. Bush's so-called war on terrorism. Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The specter of terrorism, real and exaggerated, has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human-rights abuses.

Many have argued that the WoTtm is the U.S. government's thinly veiled excuse for constructing a classic empire, in the model of Rome or Britain. Two years into the crusade, it's clear that this is a mistake: The Bush gang doesn't have the stick-to-it-ness to successfully occupy one country, let alone a dozen.

Mr. Bush and the gang do, however, have the hustle of good marketers, and they know how to contract out. What Mr. Bush has created in the war on terrorism is less a doctrine for world domination than an easy-to-assemble tool kit for any mini-empire looking to get rid of the opposition and expand its power.

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The talks themselves will be contentious for their content. Mexico, Central and South American countries very much want them to succeed as the platform for bringing changes to what for them are the choking agricultural subsidies employed within the European Union, Canada, and the United States, which nations have so far rejected compromise.

I look upon protest in the US as being considered just fine and even flaunted as evidence of what it pretends are its freedoms ....... just as long as such protest can't make any difference in the way things are done. In contrast, Protests of its citizens here in Mexico tend to be listened to, considered, and affect governmental actions.

Internal protest by foreigners however are something else. The Mexican government is and has been extremely negatively sensitive to the presence of foreign protestors within its boundaries. That falls primarily from its history with the United States. Visitor visas clearly prohibit participation any in Mexican political affairs. Those attempting such engagement are usually removed rapidly from the country one way or another.

Given the Governmental interest in the talks, its stance regarding foreign protesters, and recent history of WTO protests, I fear for what could happen. My hope is that the nation's very strong sincere interest in, commitment to, and behavior regarding human rights alleviate those fears by standing strong through the WTO talks. Vamos a ver.