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A Different Kind of War
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Alpha-Omega
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Jul 30, 2003 16:53 PDT
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Quote of the Week
"Why not go to war just for oil? We need oil. What do Hollywood
celebrities imagine fuels their private jets? How do they think their
cocaine is delivered to them?"
—Ann Coulter at CPAC,
January 31, 2003.
A Different Kind of War
By Jim Moore, Editor
It's enough to make us think we're living back in the 1950s - the days
of backyard fallout shelters and the specter of nuclear war hanging over
our heads.
This week, America's war fever has reached a frenzy, with top
government officials saying they would give Saddam Hussein until this
weekend to leave, then shortening it to 48 hours.
NATO is falling apart, much to the glee of Hussein and Osama bin Laden,
who have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in driving a wedge
between America and its allies.
Britain released an "intelligence" report outlining Saddam's evils ...
but it turns out to have been stolen (that means without permission)
largely from a student's thesis, published months ago.
What can we believe? What is truth and what is propaganda?
The only "truth" we can count on is that Americans are being terrified
out of their wits, rightly or wrongly, and being conditioned for
"spectacular" attacks as early as Wednesday, just the day after I write
these words.
Things are happening now at a dizzying pace, and are clearly careening
out of control.
Privately, we can only hope we're not being lied to - as Lyndon Johnson
did to launch the Vietnam War with the infamous Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution.
For those who are too young to remember, Johnson declared that US ships
were under North Vietnamese attack in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast
of Vietnam. He used to gain near-unanimous Congressional approval to
launch a war that turned into an American disaster. Only one Congressman
was brave enough to vote against it - Sen. William J. Fulbright, if my
memory serves me correctly. As it turned out, the so-called "attack"
never happened. It was all a lie, covered up for decades.
Now, as then, a growing anti-war movement has been spawned. Yet, now as
then, the majority of Americans support their Commander-in-Chief.
Really, what choice is there?
The fact is - there is an unprecedentedly dangerous threat of
terrorism. The events of September 11, 2001 did, in fact, take place.
Just how and with what encouragement or disinterest by America, we may
not know for another 20 years, if ever.
One thing is clear: Osama bin Laden and all of his ilk succeeded. They
have destroyed American democracy and civil liberties. We now live in a
subtle, vague police state in which we are all being watched, under the
heaviest surveillance this nation has ever seen. We have all become "the
enemy."
Big Brother knows what books we read at the public libraries, what
books, magazines and newspapers we buy with our "debit cards." All of
our medical records must now be turned over to Uncle Sam; doctors who
refuse face prison and huge fines. We are being told to prepare for
forced vaccination of drugs that, many say, are as bad or worse than the
disease. We are being told from the highest levels of the White House to
"be careful what you do and what you say." What "freedom" we have is
mere illusion, granted at the whim of Homeland Security and the Total
Information Awareness Program.
With a media more consolidated and less free than ever in our history,
we are not being told the truth. The nation's major media is now under
the control of only ten corporations, and the Bush administration is
moving swiftly to focus that power in even fewer hands.
We are told that we must give up our freedoms in the name of public
safety - for "the public good." I wonder whether Washington, Jefferson,
Adams and the other Founding Fathers would agree.
And are any safer? This morning, USA Today carried a major article, at
the urging of the White House, telling us that as we brace for new and
more horrendous attacks, we're pretty much on our own. Government cannot
and will not protect us.
"Families should choose two meeting places, one near home and one
outside the neighborhood, in case members can't reach one another during
a disaster. They also should choose a contact person who lives out of
state who can relay messages if local phone networks are jammed or out
of service. And they should prepare disaster kits for their home and
cars," the Department of Homeland Security urged on Monday.
"`The USA has only one firefighter for every 280 people and one police
officer for every 385 people. That means that in an emergency, most
people ''are going to be on their own for possibly 48 to 72 hours,' says
David Paulison of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)."
Q: What's the most important item in a disaster kit?
A: A battery-powered radio (with extra batteries) so you can listen to
instructions from authorities.
Q: What else should be in a kit?
A: At least three days' worth of water (one gallon per person per day),
canned and other non-perishable food, over-the-counter medicine and
regular prescription medicines. Flashlights. A non-electric can opener.
Diapers and baby food. A wrench, if needed, to shut off utilities.
Copies of important documents, such as wills, deeds, bank account
numbers, insurance papers and immunization records in a fire- and
waterproof container. Duct tape and plastic sheeting.
Q: What are the duct tape and plastic sheeting for?
A: If authorities tell you to stay in your home during a chemical or
biological attack, seek shelter in an internal room or basement and turn
off all ventilation, including heating and air-conditioning units. Use
the plastic and tape to seal off doors and windows. This will help
prevent lethal agents from seeping into your home.
Q: If there has been an attack, should I try to leave town or stay
home?
A: Follow any evacuation instructions from authorities. In an attack
involving biological, chemical or radiological weapons, however, it
generally would be safer to stay home. Authorities say trying to flee
might only expose you to dangerous agents or leave you caught in
traffic.
Q: What if I've been directly exposed?
A: Seek immediate medical help. If none is available, try to
decontaminate yourself by removing all clothing (with scissors, if
possible, to avoid contact with eyes and mouth), gently washing your
face and hands and blotting other contaminated areas. Don't scrape or
rub affected skin.
Q: What should I do in a radiological attack?
A: Seek shelter below ground and stay there until told otherwise. If
you're caught outside, lie on the ground and cover your head.
Q: Is the government telling only residents in New York City and
Washington, D.C., to prepare for attack?
A: New York and Washington are particular targets for al-Qaeda, but
officials are telling all citizens to prepare.
Q: Why did it take 17 months after Sept. 11, 2001, to urge people to
prepare for another attack?
A: Information about disaster preparedness was available on the
Internet and in government offices well before the Sept. 11 attacks. But
most people haven't read it. Officials decided that the latest terrorism
alert warranted asking the news media to pass on the message that people
should prepare.
Q: Are U.S. officials worried about causing panic?
A: Yes, and they say that they do not mean to scare people with the
warnings. They say they just want people to learn how to survive an
attack.
FEMA has a 100-plus-page manual, Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen
Preparedness. It is available at www.fema.gov/areyouready/. The American
Red Cross (www.redcross.org) and state and county governments also have
disaster-preparedness information.
Since the Gulf War of 1990, when Iraqi forces threw up their arms in
quick surrender and quickly crumbled, we've operated under the illusion
that this will just be a ho-hum repeat, over and done with in a few
days.
But this just may be a different kind of war. For one, much, if not
most, of the world is aligned against us - even former allies such as
France and Germany. In World War II, the French caved in and worked hand
in hand with Adolf Hitler. Some say they are doing the same thing all
over again.
Further, the US does not have the support of the Muslim (Moslem) world
as it did in 1990. What then was clearly a response to a naked act of
aggression by Hussein (even though he received tacit encourgement from
the US ambassador), this time it's clearly a global religious war ... a
powder keg that could quickly explode into the long-feared Armageddon of
ancient prophecy.
This morning, Saudi Arabia's leading Muslim cleric warned frenzied
visitors to Mecca that the goal of America was to wipe out the Muslim
religion. Truely, the populations of both sides are being subjected to
the wildest propaganda imaginable.
We no longer know whom or what to believe. Because we are Americans
first, we want to believe our own leaders. If we have mistakenly placed
our trust in lies and deceptions, surely, one must say "God help us
all."
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