#85, January 23, 2002
It's hard to tell who is winning the
war on terrorism. It's too little like football, too much like whack-a-mole.
There are no distinct front lines, and, as we are learning in Afghanistan, the
taking of territory does not necessarily advance you to victory. The terrorists
fight a guerilla campaign aimed not at capturing cities, but at cultivating
fear. Successful defense is defined by an absence of fear, the presence of
normality.
Thus, in the weeks and months
following 9-11, the news media was filled with examples of what would mark a
victory for the terrorists. Some were personal: "if you cancel that
vacation to Venice, the terrorists win." Others were the political:
"if Congress doesn't pass this bill, the terrorists win."
Combine this psychological aspect of
the war on terrorism with the immense emotions release by the terrorist attack
and you have an unprecedented opportunity to manipulate the public.
Regrettably, that opportunity is being pushed to the max by the interests of
greed and paranoia. Right wingers in the Bush administration and Congress are
using the terror war to give more wealth and power to fewer and fewer people.
This is not only going to increase fear and suffering in America and the world,
but in many cases, ironically, leave us more vulnerable to terrorism. Let's
look at what they're trying to hide behind the smoke of the World Trade Center:
Tax cuts for the rich: the
Republican economic stimulus (read "war profiteering") legislation
gives $25 billion in immediate tax rebates to large, profitable corporations
like IBM, GM, and GE, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. That's twice as
much as it gives to 37 million low-income families. Forty-one percent of the
new tax cuts go to the richest 1 percent of taxpayers, while only 7 percent
goes to the bottom 60 percent. Texas energy corporations, including Enron, make
out especially well. For people on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder, the
growing fear of hunger and disease is far greater than fear of anthrax.
Terrorists win.
Fast track trade legislation: This
allows Bush to make trade agreements that could not be amended by Congress.
Republican House Speaker Hastert said "This Congress will either support
our president, who's fighting a courageous war on terrorism, or it will
undercut the president at the worst possible time." By further enabling
trans-national corporations to suck profits from developing nations at the
expense of the poor and our biosphere, "Fast Track" would increase
the suffering that sustains terrorism. Terrorists win.
Campaign finance corruption:
whatever happened to the McCain-Feingold bill? Until we get mass-money out of
politics, our country will continue it's drift from democracy toward
plutocracy. Terrorists win.
Attack on civil liberties: Attorney
General John Ashcroft told opponents of his "Patriot Act," "Your
tactics only aid terrorists." But the ACLU considers it overkill, giving
law enforcement agencies nationwide "extraordinary new powers unchecked by
meaningful judicial review." 9-11 is giving Ashcroft the cover to launch a
Nixon-style crackdown on healthy dissent, like WTO protests. Terrorists win.
More nuclear weapons: The post 9-11
Congress approved $8 billion for Star Wars, as if it could stop terrorists.
Worse, the President's decision to abandon the ABM Treaty not only threatens to
re-start the offensive nuclear arms race, but puts the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty at risk, getting nukes in the hands of unstable
nations. Terrorists win.
Dangerous energy: The Cheney/Kenneth
Lay energy plan shuns decentralized, renewable sources, such as roof-top solar.
Combining these technologies with an aggressive efficiency program, we could
have our energy independence and our wilderness, too. Instead, our energy
supplies will be concentrated in huge, easily attacked pipelines and power
plants. And we'll have toxic waste diseases, and global warming giving us
floods and famines. Terrorists win.
If this is how we'll respond to his attack, Osama will have done far more damage than he expected. But I believe Americans are wise enough to see through the smoke, and not let this money and power-grab pass for patriotism. Then America, and the whole world, wins.