If
deceptions about terrorism go unchallenged, then the threat will continue
until it destroys us.
The truth is that none of our thousands of nuclear weapons can protect
us from these threats. No Star Wars system no matter how technically advanced,
no matter how many trillions of dollars are poured into it, can protect
us from a nuclear weapon delivered in a sailboat or a Cessna or a suitcase
or a Ryder rental truck. Not one weapon in our vast arsenal, not a penny
of the $270 billion a year we spend on so-called defense can defend against
a terrorist bomb. That is a military fact.
As a retired lieutenant colonel and a frequent lecturer on national security
issues, I have often quoted Psalm 33: "A king is not saved by his
mighty army. A warrior is not saved by his great strength." The obvious
reaction is, "Then what can we do?" Is there nothing we can
do to provide security for our people?"
There is. But to understand it requires that we know the truth about the
threat. President Clinton did not tell the American people the truth about
why we are the targets of terrorism when he explained why we bombed Afghanistan
and Sudan. He said that we are a target because we stand for democracy,
freedom, and human rights in the world.
Nonsense!
We are the target of terrorists because, in much of the world, our government
stands for dictatorship, bondage, and human exploitation. We are the target
of terrorists because we are hated. And we are hated because our government
has done hateful things. In how many countries have agents of our government
deposed popularly elected leaders and replaced them with puppet military
dictators who were willing to sell out their own people to American multinational
corporations?
We did it in Iran when the US Marines and the CIA deposed
Mossadegh because he wanted to nationalize the oil industry. We replaced
him with the Shah and armed, trained, and paid his hated Savak National
Guard, which enslaved and brutalized the people of Iran, all to protect
the financial interests of our oil companies. Is it any wonder that there
are people in Iran who hate us?
We did it in Chile. We did it in Vietnam. More recently, we tried to
do it in Iraq.
And, of course, how many times have we done it in Nicaragua and all the
other banana republics of Latin America? Time after time we have ousted
popular leaders who wanted the riches of the land to be shared by the
people who worked it. We replaced them with murderous tyrants who would
sell out their own people so the wealth of the land could be taken out
by the likes of Domino Sugar, Folgers, and Chiquita Banana.
In country after country, our government has thwarted democracy, stifled
freedom, and trampled human rights. That's why it is hated around the
world. And that's why we're the target of terrorists.
People in Canada enjoy democracy, freedom, and human rights. So do the
people of Norway and Sweden. Have you heard of Canadian embassies being
bombed? Or Norwegian, or Swedish?
We are not hated because we practice democracy, value freedom, or uphold
human rights. We are hated because our government denies these things
to people in Third World countries whose resources are coveted by our
multinational corporations. That hatred we have sown has come back to
haunt us in the form of terrorism and in the future, nuclear terrorism.
Once the truth about why the threat exists is understood, the solution
becomes obvious. We must change our ways. Getting rid of our nuclear weapons
unilaterally if necessary will enhance our security. Drastically altering
our foreign policy will ensure it.
Instead
of sending our sons and daughters around the world to kill Arabs so
we can have the oil under their sand, we should send them to rebuild their
infrastructure, supply clean water, and feed starving children. Instead
of continuing to kill hundreds of Iraqi children every day with our sanctions,
we should help Iraqis rebuild their electric power plants, their water
treatment facilities, their hospitals, and all the things we have destroyed
and prevented them from rebuilding.
Instead
of training terrorists and death squads, we should close the School
of the Americas [Ft. Benning, GA.]. Instead of supporting insurrection,
destabilization, assassination, and terror around the world, we should
abolish the CIA and give money to relief agencies.
In short, we should do good instead of evil. Who would try to stop
us? Who would hate us? Who would want to bomb us? That is the truth the
American people need to hear.
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