Is the war on terror for real?

[Ape]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1327904,00.html

What do you guys think?

[Mik]

Nope. It is a collage of lies and misconstrued facts held together by ejaculatory spatters of semi-truth. Its purpose is to free us from thought and responsibility, and to slowly acclimate the population to militarization and the fall of democracy. The executive branches of governments have over the past 40 years or so gained power superposition vis-a-vis the legislative and judicial. It is a cause for worry. Bipartisan systems have resulted in the fusion of party interests under corporate benefactor banners, so you still get the illusion of choosing a beverage, but they're only carrying Pepsi and Coke. [/rant]

[Crazyhorse]

Yes, for a long time there has been panic in western governments that the main sources of oil in the first half of this century would be controlled by muslim states. There is nothing like oil (or a shortage of it) to make western leaders panic. While there was plenty in the North Sea and in Texas, then there was no problem, but supplies are dwindling, and countries like China are being forced into capitalist expansion by western companies who want to grab the profits and then do a runner before the country collapses. This means that demand is far greater than western allies oil fields can supply.

The panic would not be quite so great if the muslim oil states were run by western friendly governments (i.e. those puppets imposed by the CIA), but islamic militants are not stupid, unlike western governments. The militants know that because of corporate greed and successive administrations riddled with oil and arms company placemen to make sure policy is directed towards maximising company profits, the west has failed to develop alternative sources of power which are available. The money that could have gone into developing solar and tidal power has gone through rich, fat businessmens digestive systems.

So, the militants just need to take and keep control of the oil rich Middle East states. Of course, this cannot be allowed to happen, so the brain dead western leaders have to invent a worldwide threat in order to keep arms demands high and at the same time make sure that only administrations which are west-friendly can be allowed to run Middle Eastern states. What better way, than to fill the western media with horror stories of terrorist cells operating unknown in all western cities, just waiting to blow us all up?

Unfortunately, they made one fatal mistake. Their propaganda about the capabilities of the terrorists was so pathetic that only the thickest of the thick could possibly be taken in, which is what the leaders of many western governments were. Unsurprisingly, the general public are nowhere near as brain dead as their leaders, and now the truth is beginning to unravel.

[RDJay]

I have to disagree that the worldwide terrorist threat is "invented" "propaganda". Certainly, it has been used for propaganda purposes, but the threat itself is very much real. These guys will kill us at their first opportunity.

We do need to be afraid, and we do need to deal with it head on. But it will not work to try to outgun them; we have to outsmart them. And, most importantly, those of us who have zero tolerance for the political killing of innocent civilians need to stand up and get in the faces of those conservative ideologues (on both sides of this new "war") who are willing to kill in order to remake the world in their image.

Call us what you want--liberals, moderates, progressives--but we are the ones who have just about wiped out slavery, genocide, human rights violations, and tyrannical autocracies; we can do the same with terrorism.

This threat is global; therefore, the effort to combat it must be global, It is obvious that the Bush administration is only making the situation worse, and is never going to work hand-in-hand, as partners, with the other democracies.

Kerry should be afforded the chance to try. I am optimistic that he will be able to smooth ruffled feathers and bring everyone back to the table...which is the right place to be! For, despite what the war mongers may say, it is ideas we need right now, not money or boots on the ground.

(And, congrats, Crazyhorse, for your 1000th post!)