Source: WashingtonPost.com Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301613.html Title: "Terrorized by 'War on Terror'", by Zbigniew Brzezinski Date: March 25, 2007 Refreshing, I suppose, even if a tad cliche at this point: The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves. The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare .... .... Constant reference to a "war on terror" did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue .... .... The culture of fear is like a genie that has been let out of its bottle. It acquires a life of its own -- and can become demoralizing. America today is not the self-confident and determined nation that responded to Pearl Harbor; nor is it the America that heard from its leader, at another moment of crisis, the powerful words "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"; nor is it the calm America that waged the Cold War with quiet persistence despite the knowledge that a real war could be initiated abruptly within minutes and prompt the death of 100 million Americans within just a few hours. We are now divided, uncertain and potentially very susceptible to panic in the event of another terrorist act in the United States itself .... .... Where is the U.S. leader ready to say, "Enough of this hysteria, stop this paranoia"? Even in the face of future terrorist attacks, the likelihood of which cannot be denied, let us show some sense .... WashingtonPost.com I suppose one of the reasons such notions seem cliche is that we hear of them so much. What confuses me, though, is a certain disconnection: has our cultural cynicism become so shallow that the mere fact of repetition invalidates something? Or is there a valid assertion that some things bear repeating, since they are relevant to potential solutions to the persistent problem at hand, and ignoring them in favor of obviously less potent offerings gets nothing done? I think this goes beyond conservative and liberal. After all, there are people among liberals who are equally as partisan and hypersensitive as the folks over at FOX News. We call them by various names according to their philosophical identification, and they do have their own news outlets. (Why is it that the real "liberal media" is never the focus of the "liberal media myth"? How is it that among liberals, we keep our most boisterous, vociferous, and confrontational groups on the fringe while conservatives bring theirs front and center? Oh, I suppose the latter answers the former.) Anyway, I digress. Resist terror: Be not afraid!
The biggest joke there is that the US is inflicting its War of Terror on to the world, like an escaped inmate from the asylum in the grip of a schizophrenic hallucination who thinks everyone he meets is out to get him and kills them in anticipation.
Tiassa: "Where is the U.S. leader ready to say, "Enough of this hysteria, stop this paranoia"?" Dennis Kucinich John Murtha Ned LaMont Charlie Rangel Ron Paul, James Leach, John Hostettler, Constance Morella, Amo Houghton, and John Duncan Jimmy Carter
samcdkey: Last I checked, there was hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of Moslems who want to kill us and many more that accept, tolerate, and somewhat aid those.
Tiassa: Brzezinski is the master of the strawman. The War on Terror being a "war on a tactic"? He knows full well that the term means "a war on Islamic terrorist groups". Not only can guerilla groups be defeated, they can be crushed underfoot. The -chief- purpose of government. -Chief- is to protect its citizens. Above all else, that is its duty. Accordingly, being obsessed is proper.
Prince_James: "Last I checked, there was hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of Moslems who want to kill us" Where did you check?
Supporting dictators and funding militants is hardly the route to protecting citizens.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
samcdkey And you can prove this unequivocally? It may be the best way at that point in time. And now you believe what Zbigniew Brzezinski has to say, one of the architects of the Vietnam War.
Anyone who thinks murder is the way to improve society needs to visit Auschwitz to see where that kind of thinking can take a person.
First off: White Snake was an excellent band. Secondly: SamCDKey: What do you call making charity funds for suicide bombers?
heh none of these people have any chance. they hold little or no credibility. people wouldn't trust them to tell what time it was.
the real question is: do you believe there is a threat of terror. so y'all dont think so? i mean without squabbling about what the word actually means... i mean, "shit blowing up in public places by some Islamists" is a pretty good definition at least for argument's sake i think there's a very real threat... even in Canada where there were some arrests but statistically speaking it's highly unlikely something will happen to *me* (knock knock knock) which would make me not afraid.
The warrrr on terrrror?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Whoever heard of Iraqi terrorists before the WoT? Its the greatest charity fund organised by the Americans, a trillion dollars worth.
SamCDKey: Saddam Hussein did. That is why he gassed the Kurds and sent tens of thousands to the rape and torture chambers, or threw them bound and gagged off buildings.