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Democratic Voices


May 29, 2003

EMOTIONALISM, LOGIC, AND TERRORISM

Terrorism is a violent, ancient political tactic somewhat like War. Terrorism is not a political movement or an ideology. This unholy tactic is used by political movements or rogue nations to promote specific goals. Terrorism is not an enemy. It is a tactic employed by an enemy. Our problems in defense, national security, foreign policy, civil liberties and a whole litany of domestic problems begin with this basic error in logic.

Defining the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by a radical Islamic movement as a “War on Terror” or “War on Terrorism” was a brilliant political move by the Bush Republicans. It was and is a disaster as an approach to evaluating the threat we face or how to deal with the threat.

We need to make our nation safer from terrorist attacks by Islamic radicals. The attack created fear and did damage to our sense of security. The Bush republicans have exploited this fear and used the insecurity to promote political goals that are totally unrelated to terrorism.

Policies like more tax cuts for the wealthy, weakening laws against polluters, keeping government actions secret, limiting civil liberties, packing federal courts with Republican militants and generally promoting a Far Right Wing/ Corporate political agenda after obtaining the White House in a widely criticized manner in the 2000 elections had the Bush Republicans in a steep decline before the September 11th attacks. Instead of abandoning the failed policies to win the 2002 Congressional elections, the Bush Republicans deliberately exploited the emotional reactions of these terror attacks to retain power. They are still pursuing their political agenda and this tactic.

The Bush Republicans are making us feel unsafe to obscure their unpopular domestic agenda. Their approach to the Islamic radical threat has failed to make us safer. The Bush Republican actions have made us less safe from terrorism and added many other negative elements to American life.

The US Patriot Act has taken away our basic civil liberties that were guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. The Bush Administration has police state powers under this falsely named law. It is now legal for Bush to take an American away in the middle of the night- no lawyers, no court hearings, no informing your family, no limit to the time you spend secretly jailed, no rights at all! If the Bush Administration declares you to be an “enemy combatant”, any American citizen who leaves the USA can be killed. There is no court hearing where you can defend yourself against being declared an “enemy combatant”. The Bush Administration can declare anyone an “enemy combatant”. The Bush Administration wants to give Ashcroft the power to strip any American of their citizenship. The US Patriot Act provides a legal basis for a Bush Republican dictatorship. It should be immediately repealed.

Giving more powers to government is not the correct approach to effectively fighting the threat of Islamic radical terrorist. We need more competent leaders in government. The Bush Administration had enough power and information to have prevented the September 11, 2001 attacks. They were simply incompetent and distracted by unpopular domestic goals like tax cuts for the wealthy and promoting the Oil Industry political agenda. It is no wonder that Congressional investigations into the attacks were obstructed by Bush Republicans. Bush Republicans are still keeping their failures and incompetence secret from the American people by keeping the results of the Congressional investigations classified. Keeping the Bush Republicans in power makes Americans more vulnerable to attacks by Islamic radicals.

Islamic radicals hate America because of the actions of our government and large corporations. They do not hate us for who we are. That conclusion is emotional nonsense, not logic. This emotional nonsense was the Fox News, Right Wing Talk Radio and White House excuse for not admitting their policy mistakes. It helped them win the 2002 congressional Elections. It also caused us to continue making bigger and bigger policy mistakes. It made us less safe.

Pursuing and Oil Industry agenda in Afghanistan and the Middle East was the number one foreign policy mistake we made as a nation before 9/11. After 9/11, the Oil Industry remained in control of our foreign policy concerning Afghanistan and the Middle East. The Bush Administration is completely controlled by the Oil Industry.

Iraq was an Oil Industry issue. Iraq was not a terrorist threat to the US. Iraq was not an ally of Islamic radicals. Iraq did not have large supplies of Weapons of Mass Destruction or the will to use them against American targets. The Weapons of Mass Destruction charges were based on focus groups instead of facts. These were false charges used by the Bush Republicans to seize control of Iraqi Oil. We can see the payback to Bechtel and Halliburton in huge contracts by the Bush White House. These companies were huge campaign contributors to the Bush political machine.

Bush Republicans emotionally conditioned the American public to accept false accusations that Saddam Hussein was a threat to America. They stated that Oil was not an issue. The Legal stockpiles of bacteria and viruses were not secured by the Bush Administration during the invasion. Legal Stockpiles of radioactive materials were not secured. Both were in known locations and reported internationally. These were not secret stockpiles. They were looted and probably some of them are in the hands of criminals or terrorists. The Bush Administration secured the oilfields in Iraq.

Islamic radical terrorist likely obtained the germs or radioactive materials needed to use Weapons of Mass Destruction in terrorists attacks against America because Bush invaded Iraq. Can we continue to let the Bush Republicans control our national security? I think it is unsafe to do so.

Opponents of the Iraq Invasion said it would probably create more Islamic radical terrorism. We are experiencing exactly that situation. It is time to replace our failed leadership starting with George W. Bush. We will all be much safer with the Bush Republicans out of power.

Sincerely,
Stephen Crockett
Al Lawrence
Co-hosts: “Current Affair” News Talk Program
WEKR 1240 am radio
(931) 433-3545



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