All They Know Is War

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

I remember reading a story in the New York Times magazine, in October of 2004 about terrorism and John Kerry’s view on it.

Kerry had a far different view of what should be done to counter terrorism:

But when you listen carefully to what Bush and Kerry say, it becomes clear that the differences between them are more profound than the matter of who can be more effective in achieving the same ends. Bush casts the war on terror as a vast struggle that is likely to go on indefinitely, or at least as long as radical Islam commands fealty in regions of the world. In a rare moment of either candor or carelessness, or perhaps both, Bush told Matt Lauer on the ”Today” show in August that he didn’t think the United States could actually triumph in the war on terror in the foreseeable future. ”I don’t think you can win it,” he said — a statement that he and his aides tried to disown but that had the ring of sincerity to it. He and other members of his administration have said that Americans should expect to be attacked again, and that the constant shadow of danger that hangs over major cities like New York and Washington is the cost of freedom. In his rhetoric, Bush suggests that terrorism for this generation of Americans is and should be an overwhelming and frightening reality.

When I asked Kerry what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he displayed a much less apocalyptic worldview. ”We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance,” Kerry said. ”As a former law-enforcement person, I know we’re never going to end prostitution. We’re never going to end illegal gambling. But we’re going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn’t on the rise. It isn’t threatening people’s lives every day, and fundamentally, it’s something that you continue to fight, but it’s not threatening the fabric of your life.”

This analogy struck me as remarkable, if only because it seemed to throw down a big orange marker between Kerry’s philosophy and the president’s. Kerry, a former prosecutor, was suggesting that the war, if one could call it that, was, if not winnable, then at least controllable. If mobsters could be chased into the back rooms of seedy clubs, then so, too, could terrorists be sent scurrying for their lives into remote caves where they wouldn’t harm us. Bush had continually cast himself as the optimist in the race, asserting that he alone saw the liberating potential of American might, and yet his dark vision of unending war suddenly seemed far less hopeful than Kerry’s notion that all of this horror — planes flying into buildings, anxiety about suicide bombers and chemicals in the subway — could somehow be made to recede until it was barely in our thoughts.

Remember?  Remember when Bush said he didn’t think the “war on terror” could ever be won?  Remember when he and Cheney were running around on every talk show and media newshour one could think of, telling Americans we should live in fear, that it wasn’t just probable but inevitable that we would be attacked again?

I remember it very well.

I remember after 9/11 being astonished at the notion that bombing Afghanistan would be the correct response to bin Laden’s terrorism.  And, of course, even that bad idea was made worse in practice, and to this day bin Laden is at large.

Going to war in Iraq was a surreal exercise in raw power by the few over the many.  There were those of us who knew this even before the 2000 selection, that this crew of criminals were intent on taking and maintaining power for power’s sake, and going to war preemptively fit that pattern very well.

Over one million Iraqi citizens dead.  Millions made into refugees.  A culture destroyed.  Osama bin Laden still free.  Afghanistan reverting back to Taliban rule.

A generation of American servicemen and women used dishonorably by a bogus Commander in Chief and his sychophantic generals and their lackeys.  Almost 4,000 dead.  Tens of thousands maimed.  Thousands homeless after their return “home.”

All of this because this misAdministration of traitors care only for power, retaining power, and using power to hurt others, whether fellow citizens or those from other countries.

Our privacy as citizens destroyed as their secrecy and “executive privilege” grows.

They know only one way and that is destruction, brute force.  There has been virtually no accomplishment by this misAdministration, none.  Each and every issue receives the same violent response, from the destruction of New Orleans to the destruction of Iraq.

It is clear that Mister Bush, Mr. Cheney, Ms. Rice and Mr. Rumsfeld never had any intention of trying to stop terrorism, trying to capture Osama bin Laden.  Their only intent was to gain power for themselves and their friends and destroy anyone or anything that got in their way.  I’m sure historians will come up with fancier explanations.  I am not a historian.

And they are continuing in this mad pursuit.  They want to go to war with Iran.

And what is the response of our elected representatives?

They are holding firm on not reauthorizing FISA.  Well that’s a good thing.  But it’s not near enough, and we all know that.  While they have been invading the privacy of American citizens, they have also been holding their own decision-making top secret, even to the point of what they eat for dinner, I don’t doubt.

Impeachment?  We know they belong behind bars.  Bush.  Cheney.  Rumsfeld.  Rice.  Gonzalez.  So many more, so many.

And our candidates for President — not one has said a word about this kind of urgent need for accountability.  Not one.  Which is why I don’t give a rat’s ass about the 2008 Presidential election.  There has been no leadership and with the exception of too few folks like Kucinich and Wexler, there will be no leadership on this.

Our country has committed the crime of a preemptive war against a country who did not attack us.  Those in power in our country have committed countless crimes against American citizens and against humanity.

All they know is war.  All they know is power.  And until we hold them accountable and show the entire world this is not to be borne, they will continue to wage war and gain power.  If they are not held accountable it will not matter who becomes President in November of 2008.

All they know is war.  All they want is war.  Always.

Year six.  And no end in sight.