Terrorism will never rid the world of terrorism
Posted in Of The People by R Lee Wrights on February 6th, 2008 by Ed Lewis
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
- Gandhi
How one might wish the American people use a bit of logic and common sense in interpreting actions being taken by the US Government and, hence, the American people. Because, no matter how you cut it, the bottom line is that whatever the federal government does, the world sees it as reflecting the will of the American people. Possibly not all world citizens see it this way -bin Laden who has stated repeatedly his vendetta is not against the American people but, instead, the American government - but most.
Imagine that whatever state you live in was suddenly subjected to bombings by a foreign country. The justification was that your state was hiding a criminal the foreign country was looking for in order “to bring the criminal to justice.” The crime that had been committed was that a building in the attacking nation was bombed and many innocent people were killed.
The attacker claimed it knew the offender was in your state and that your state was intentionally hiding the offender and was thus subject to any act the foreign nation deemed necessary, including declaring war against your state until the offender was given up or killed.
War is never declared against your state. Dozens of innocents, however, are killed by the bombing and, then, by ground forces sent in to flush out any who might be affiliated with the alleged offender.
As truth slowly outs (and it is, slowly but surely as it always does), it is found there isn’t any evidence that the alleged offender was responsible, nor that the location of the alleged offender could be pinpointed even before the actions began. Therefore, random bombings of location were undertaken - but for what reason??? To flush out the offender or something else?
How would you perceive this? How would the other states around yours perceive it?
Would not the tendency be to react forcibly against the foreign nation?
We must consider what terrorism is. By definition, terrorism as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is, “The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.”
The key we must consider is the “unlawful use.” What is lawful use of force against another nation? Let us consider what is lawful use of military forces in other lands by this nation. Force may only be used in a foreign nation if war is formally declared. The Congress of the United States (not the president) may declare war but ONLY when we have been attacked or our shores and people threatened by a specified foreign power.
That’s it. Military personnel cannot constitutionally be used in conflicts between other nations or in nations with internal conflicts. It is not within the power of Congress to do so. Presidents cannot make law nor declare war nor order deaths of people. Such acts are not within the powers given by the people. Therefore, without a declaration of war made by Congress, any attacks made by this nation against other nations are acts of terrorism. Just because we are the united States of America, does the definition change for us, that any force we wish to use is lawful? Not according to the dictionary; not according to the Constitution; and, most important, not according to God since all people have the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Thus, we would perceive the attacks by the other nation against our state as acts of terrorism. The attacks may be for what seems a good cause but when it comes to actions potentially possible of creating, and possibly being driven to, a third world war, there had better be exact declarations against exact nations and none of this arbitrary “Let’s attack them next since back in ‘69, they supported that Islamic terrorist, old what’s his name that now leads Country X.”
Would the other states of which your state is a part of join in your actions against the foreign nation? Would they perceive the foreign power as having the “right” to bomb your state killing innocent people who had nothing to do with the offences, even if proof
revealed that the alleged offender had indeed been the instigator? Would that really matter if you saw your child blown to smithereens - an eyeball here, a hand there, his/her partial head some place else?
Or, would the other states begin getting behind the people of your state and helping to attack the foreign power laying waste to your state?
Whether one can relate this to the ongoing situation may be determined by the degree of blindness one has to the atrocities committed by the US Government. Millions have now been killed without declarations of war (Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Kosovo, Grenada, Honduras, Tripoli, Afghanistan (in the 80s when the CIA was helping establish the Taliban government and training terrorists such as bin Laden), Iraq (ever since Bush the 1st held the throne), Afghanistan again under Bush the 2nd, and through multitudes of other military/subversive activities conducted in order to change governments and/or policies in other nations.
How will other Muslim countries perceive - or begin perceiving - hundreds of innocent civilians killed by US bombing of Afghanistan? How would you?
The old saying that violence begets violence will once again be proved true. The people in the US Government must know this and, yet, they continue interfering in other nations. Why?
Is it to protect our freedom and way of life? This isn’t likely since the process in all wars, conflicts, and subversive tactics have been to gradually deprive American citizens of their constitutional rights. Indeed, the results have been invariably that portions of the intent of the Constitution is essentially suspended or voided and never allowed to surface again. Government assumed powers it simply does not have and people let them in the name of emergencies and crises.
The US Government has been committing highly visible terrorism against Muslims since 1991 (actually before this but dummied down America never became aware of the Middle East until just before and during Desert Storm so this date was selectively used by the writer). The very fact that it has our people unconstitutionally (and against God) occupying Muslim Holy Land is terrorism by definition. Then, there are the million people killed by the constant bombardment of Iraq with missiles and air strikes, along with the untold huge numbers indirectly killed because of sanctions against the country.
It is public knowledge worldwide that the US Government supports Israel. The Muslim world sees the support the US Government gives Israel. Israel is using horrendous acts of terrorism against Palestine. Thus, how can a government be taken at its word to be interested only in ridding the world of terrorism when acts of terrorism are selectively condoned and/or financially supported, including when the US spent billions training bin Laden and other Muslim “freedom fighters” during the Russian attempt to control the government in Afghanistan?
As far as the people of Afghanistan are concerned, it is an attack against them or their government, which could rightly be considered as “terrorism.” It is estimated that a million Afghans have already fled their homes and a few hundred civilians killed. Will they perceive the cause - the bombings and all - to be justified; that the US Government is conducting a lawful war? Or, will it be perceived as an invasion of their country with the intent of forcing American values (false since government rarely behaves morally or ethically) and Christian beliefs upon them? How would you perceive being driven from your home by a foreign power bombing all around your town - and sometimes hitting it instead of some alleged “terrorist occupied” target?
How about their neighboring Muslim countries? How will they perceive the actions of the US Government?
Well, Folks, you can think as you will - according to some woman (sorry, not enough respect for her to remember her name) in Congress, it is the only freedom left - it is your right (at this time but only if you keep your mouth shut about certain activities of the current “war against terrorism”). We are being pushed into a world conflict but it won’t be World War III because Congress will not properly declare war against a nation. The conflict, just as with all since war was declared against Japan, will be on the whim of whoever sits in the oval office and the powers that control the office.
Of course, the people could force the issue, that the evidence be produced and, in the mean time, all Americans returned home leaving other nations free to resolve their own problems. Then, when the perpetrators of 911 are clearly identified (Six of those accused of high jacking the planes are known to be alive and well - American Free Press, Christopher J. Petherick - www.americanfreepress.net), then proper action (arrest for trial) in conjunction with the government of the nation proved to be the current residency of the persons responsible can be taken.
Any actions other than this are unconstitutional and, hence, un-American and have nothing to do with “defending our shores,” our unalienable rights, and, hence, freedom.
Ed Lewis is a columnist at Liberty For All. Contact Mr. Lewis at ofthepeople@cvalley.net.
