National decay starts at the heart, and spreads like cancer

Larry Kummer, Editor

12 years ago

Summary: As our War on Terror grows ever-larger, it becomes more difficult to distinguish the two teams. Our enemies increasingly are insurgents fighting tyrannical governments. Our allies are allies of Iran or (and) jihadists. And we use terrorism. Think of this as evolution. The New America slowly emerges from its cocoon, but we prefer not to see its hideous form.

“The double-tap suicide bombing was as insidious a terrorist tactic as they came — not only were innocents targeted, but first responders, individuals trained and equipped to save lives, were placed inside the indiscriminate crosshairs of two large improvised explosive devices.”
— Jihad in Brooklyn by Samuel M. Katz (2005). This term has appeared in US government-sponsored reports (eg “Underlying Reasons for Success and Failure of Terrorist Attacks: Selected Case Studies“, by the Federally-funded Homeland Security Institute, 4 June 2007). We’re doing the same thing in Af-Pak, attacking rescuers after responding to our initial attacks.

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
— Aphorism 146 in Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil (1886).

“A spoiled saint, a Pharisee, or an inquisitor makes better sport in Hell than a mere common tyrant or debauchee.”
— Letter 23 from Uncle Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood

Contents

The evidence
The machinery we built after WWII still works
The first evidence, so vehemently denied by the US government
For more information

(1) The evidence

No fair observer can deny the evidence, now overwhelming, that the US has become a terrorist nation. We have adopted the methods of the terrorists we fight. This is yet another accomplishment of bin Laden on 9/11, a small attack (as battles go) that decisively changed the course of a great nation — away from the path that had brought it both renown and success. Sending it off into the darkness of constant war and barbarism, probably eventually landing in the trash along with the many others that adopted evil methods to spread their control over other peoples.

As usual, Glenn Greenwald starkly states the ugly truth that we refuse to see:

As usual, US policies justified in the name of fighting terrorism – aside from being rather terroristic themselves – are precisely those which fuel the anti-American hatred that causes those attacks.

The reason for the silence about such matters, and the reason commentary of this sort sparks such anger and hostility, is two-fold: first, the US likes to think of terror as something only “others” engage in, not itself, and more so; second, supporters of Barack Obama, the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, simply do not want to think about him as someone who orders attacks on those rescuing his victims or funeral attendees gathered to mourn them.

That, however, is precisely what he is, as this mountain of evidence conclusively establishes.

Here are a few of the many articles describing one form of US terrorism done in the name of “homeland security”: attacking rescuers (aka first responders):

“Obama terror drones: CIA tactics in Pakistan include targeting rescuers and funerals“, Chris Woods and Christina Lamb, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 4 February 2012
“CIA ‘revives attacks on rescuers’ in Pakistan“, Chris Woods, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 4 June 2012
“Unrestrained savagery“, Glenn Greenwald, Salon, 7 August 2012 — “In Yemen, Al Qaeda bombs a funeral of someone it killed days earlier. How can Terrorist monsters do this?”
“US drone strikes target rescuers in Pakistan – and the west stays silent“, Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian, 20 August 2012 — “Attacking rescuers – a tactic long deemed by the US a hallmark of terrorism – is now routinely used by the Obama administration.” This is typical Greenwald, a collection of devastating evidence — which American will ignore.

(2) The machinery we built after WWII still works

Perhaps America’s greatest contribution to the world were the international institutions created after WWII to preserve peace and create justice between nations. Although disowned by America and only infants, they still survive. Slowly they turn their sights upon our actions. Unfortunately they have good reason to do so.

“If it is true, he said, that “there have been secondary drone strikes on rescuers who are helping (the injured) after an initial drone attack, those further attacks are a war crime”.”
— Christof Heyns (Prof Law, U of Pretoria and the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings), at a June 2012 conference in Geneva (source: The Guardian)

Ben Emmerson, a leading London barrister and UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, said America is facing mounting global pressure over its use of UAVs and he is preparing a report for the next session of the Human Rights Council in March. The issue, he insists, will “remain at the top of the UN political agenda until some consensus and transparency has been achieved”.
— From “US ‘should hand over footage of drone strikes or face UN inquiry‘”, The Independent, 20 August 2012 — “The UN special rapporteur on human rights to urge establishing a mechanism to investigate such killings”

(3) The first evidence, so long ago — so vehemently denied by the US government

Video of 12 July 2007 attack by US apache helicopter on rescuers in Iraq, released by Wikileaks in 2010. WikiLeaks has a website at which you can see the full 38 minute video.

Background from “Video Shows U.S. Killing of Reuters Employees“, New York Times, 5 April 2010 — Excerpt:

The Web site WikiLeaks.org released a graphic video on Monday showing an American helicopter shooting and killing a Reuters photographer and driver in a July 2007 attack in Baghdad. … On the day of the attack, United States military officials said that the helicopters had been called in to help American troops who had been exposed to small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in a raid. “There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force,” Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for the multinational forces in Baghdad, said then.

But the video does not show hostile action. Instead, it begins with a group of people milling around on a street, among them, according to WikiLeaks, Mr. Noor-Eldeen and Mr. Chmagh. The pilots believe them to be insurgents, and mistake Mr. Noor-Eldeen’s camera for a weapon. They aim and fire at the group, then revel in their kills.

“Look at those dead bastards,” one pilot says. “Nice,” the other responds. A wounded man can be seen crawling and the pilots impatiently hope that he will try to fire at them so that under the rules of engagement they can shoot him again. “All you gotta do is pick up a weapon,” one pilot says. A short time later a van arrives to pick up the wounded and the pilots open fire on it, wounding two children inside. “Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle,” one pilot says.