So, we heard some hopeful talk by Republicans and Republican-types (hi Joe) last week that the arrest of terror suspects in Britain would bring people into the GOP fold again. Well, maybe that’s happening and maybe not. But I’d like to address a meme that Bush used in 2004, and has even raised its head here: that counterterrorism is primarily a military issue, not an intelligence-and-law enforcement matter.
That’s horsehockey. In the US, we don’t have Hezbollah lobbing rockets at civilians from across the border; THAT’S a military problem, as well as a diplomatic one. For us, preventing terrorist attacks and keeping the public safe is primarily about infiltration, monitoring, intelligence-sharing and arrests. That’s what the British did for us. That’s what would have saved us from 9/11, as Colleen Rowley has told us.
Mr. Bush’s campaign in 2004 told us that John Kerry fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the threat. Well, it’s frankly easier to talk about “war” when you’ve got the world’s strongest military (or what once was) at your disposal. And sure, we took out the Taliban … or maybe not. And now, can anyone reasonably argue that military action in Iraq has made us safer from terrorism? That’s a joke, right? So if you’ve got a hammer, every problem is a nail. And we didn’t have good law enforcement before 9/11, but we did have a good military — so we’re in a War.
Bush’s and AG Gonzales’s comments last week struck me as fascinating: There was no cool professionalism, no stiff upper lip, no “don’t panic”, no exhortation to eternal vigilance and courage against our common enemy… none of that old-fashioned stuff which unites and encourages people. The message was: Be Afraid:
[Gonzales]: As we have stated many times before, we are a nation at war. Today’s actions are a stark reminder that the threat is real and that we have a deadly enemy who still wakes every morning thinking of new ways to kill innocent men, women and children, and dreams every night about wreaking the destruction on freedom-loving countries.
With these guys, it’s the Cuban Missle Crisis every day — and they’re trying to cash in on it. How can you trust people to keep you safe when they’re so busy trying to make political hay at the same time? It’s another sign of how deeply unserious and unprofessional this administration is. Hey Alberto: Just do your damn job and spare us the spooky election year BS.
I dont think anyone here can be at all surprised that the Bush et al are (once again) playing the fear card. Fear has served them well, from the fear of 9/11 and WMD to the fear of gay marriage and foreigners and taxes: Fear has defined this administration and fear has been the principal means of perpetuating its grip on power. It doesnt require much of a stretch to see their own fears and the fears of their supporters, particularly the GOP ground troops projected onto the world around them. As long as fear works to motivate, it will continue to be called upon not by the strong, but by the fearful in a desperate yet ultimately futile attempt to control a hostile world
<
p>
FDR has been quoted to the point of cliché, but it is worth repeating that, indeed, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Fear is always choice. I think that the American people may finally, if gradually, be waking up to the myths that have been perpetuated by this administration since 9/11. The spell of 9/11 is slowly fading, despite the best attempts of Bush, Gonzales, Cheney, et al, to invoke it time and again. Unfortunately it seems the fear-spinners themselves are the ones who have become ensnared by their own web of delusion: once constructed it’s hard to escape.
Molly Ivins has a great take on the Republicans’ hyperbolic hijinks.
I think we need to tread carefully when playing the Law Enforcement vs. Military card. As we’ve already seen the Repubs wasted no time in shooting back with the’That’s why we need the Un-Patriot Act, and abolition of FISA and warentless searches and data-mining etc.’ retort. When arguing for law enforcement (the obvious best tool for fighting terrorists), we must also remember to add the caveat ‘within the law and the Constitution’. Otherwise we lose the debate and our civil rights with it.
In the UK with recent comments from Home Secretary John Reid, and a push from police to have wider latitude in what they can get away with.
<
p>
Former British Ambassador Craig Murray has some interesting comments over at CommonDreams….