Pursuit of criminals in Iraq and Afghanistan is not a war

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/pursuit-of-criminals-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-is-not-a-war/1388389.aspx

The United States declared war on terror after September 11, 2001. We joined, immediately. Yet, properly speaking, one can go to war against a nation or a people; but not a bunch of criminals. Nonetheless war was declared and words are powerful. Elevating the pursuit of criminals into a war meant it was easy to move on to genuine wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Tony Blair and John Howard are no longer in office. The inauguration of the new US president in January will present an opportunity to stop the nonsense of calling this a war, and to start calling it what it is, the pursuit of criminals. The highly respected New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has written that ''September 11 amounts to World War III the third great totalitarian challenge to open societies in the last 100 years''. Equating the fight against terror to World War I or World War II is highly dangerous nonsense. Over 10 million people died in World War I, and over 50 million in World War II. So far, fewer than 5000 people have died in terrorist attacks since 2000. Friedman argues that Islamist militant groups pose a more serious threat to the US than did the Soviet Union in the Cold War, because the threat of terrorism erodes the trust that underpins an open society. Trust has been undermined, but it is primarily the actions of the US, British and Australian governments in legislating away basic civil liberties that have undermined it. The argument that September 11 changed everything is hysteria propagated by the US Government.

It's not a war for oil. Well, it is but it's much bigger than that. It's war for corporate profit. It's not about terrorists or freedom or Democracy or any of that shit. It's corporate profit plain and simple.

Once again, I ask that everyone read 'The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klien. Our corporate masters have been doing this since the 50's and all the reasons they pile up are meant to mask the fact that it's all about corporate profit. Even the financial mess we are in right now is part of the same plan.

The torture, the war on unions, the destruction of the middle class, the Halliburton detention camps they are building in the U.S. It's all part of the plan.

It's a plan that isn't working so well in Iraq and, if enough of us take the time to educate ourselves, it may not work here but they are sure trying.

Indeed. Here here. K&R.