Monday, August 15, 2005
Global Jihad
It goes without saying that I am no fan of the Bush administration, but every now and then they slip up and actually tell the truth. You may not have heard but the Global War on Terror is over - America is now engaged in a Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism (G-SAVE). While that makes for a cute acronym - and Washington loves acronyms - it is an interesting choice of words with some very specific implications.
Struggle. Why did they choose the word "struggle" out of all of the words in the lexicon? Is it that they are so unfamiliar with Arabic that they didn't know that it is the literal translation of the Arabic word "Jihad?" Or is it possible that they intentionally used that wording to give the appearance that Mullah Rumsfeld was issuing a fatwa declaring a Global Jihad? Between this administration's cluelessness and its arrogant disregard for every and anyone who is not part of their clique, I could see either possibility being true. Is there anything worse than an arrogant idiot?
Violent Extremists. This is clearly for domestic consumption. It is supposed to conjure up images of the 9/11 terrorists, the Madrid and London bombers, and the Iraqi insurgents. You know, those people. Rag-heads. A-rabs. Sand Niggers. Get the picture? There is no small amount of racism in this frame - BushCo wants Americans to consider those people as a threat to suburbia. I'm just waiting for the story to break where some blond White woman is abducted and killed by "violent extremists" - you know its coming - because Americans won't tolerate anyone defiling a pretty White woman, especially those people.
But let's flip the script for a second, because I really do think that they have captured the essence of this conflict in their "new and improved" title. You see, global terrorism is nothing more than a global struggle against violent extremism. "Shock & Awe" was by definition violent extremism - extreme violence that was supposed to shock and awe those people into submission. The indigenous people are struggling against those who have perpetuated this violence against their brothers and sisters and they are receiving support from around the globe. It is indeed a global struggle against violent extremism.
This is not limited to Iraq. America has been about the business of "opening" markets across the globe through gunboat diplomacy for centuries, as in, "Open your markets to our products and services or we'll bombard your country with our weapons of mass destruction." Commodore Perry was one of the most famous in that regard, but Major General Smedley Darlington Butler probably explained it best - war is a racket.
So what we have is indigenous people struggling against the violence perpetuated by extreme nationalists and crony capitalists who in turn struggle against the violence perpetuated by those who would use any means necessary to force Western capitalists' influence out of their homelands. It is truly a Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism, no matter which side is yours. Like the old saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Struggle. Why did they choose the word "struggle" out of all of the words in the lexicon? Is it that they are so unfamiliar with Arabic that they didn't know that it is the literal translation of the Arabic word "Jihad?" Or is it possible that they intentionally used that wording to give the appearance that Mullah Rumsfeld was issuing a fatwa declaring a Global Jihad? Between this administration's cluelessness and its arrogant disregard for every and anyone who is not part of their clique, I could see either possibility being true. Is there anything worse than an arrogant idiot?
Violent Extremists. This is clearly for domestic consumption. It is supposed to conjure up images of the 9/11 terrorists, the Madrid and London bombers, and the Iraqi insurgents. You know, those people. Rag-heads. A-rabs. Sand Niggers. Get the picture? There is no small amount of racism in this frame - BushCo wants Americans to consider those people as a threat to suburbia. I'm just waiting for the story to break where some blond White woman is abducted and killed by "violent extremists" - you know its coming - because Americans won't tolerate anyone defiling a pretty White woman, especially those people.
But let's flip the script for a second, because I really do think that they have captured the essence of this conflict in their "new and improved" title. You see, global terrorism is nothing more than a global struggle against violent extremism. "Shock & Awe" was by definition violent extremism - extreme violence that was supposed to shock and awe those people into submission. The indigenous people are struggling against those who have perpetuated this violence against their brothers and sisters and they are receiving support from around the globe. It is indeed a global struggle against violent extremism.
This is not limited to Iraq. America has been about the business of "opening" markets across the globe through gunboat diplomacy for centuries, as in, "Open your markets to our products and services or we'll bombard your country with our weapons of mass destruction." Commodore Perry was one of the most famous in that regard, but Major General Smedley Darlington Butler probably explained it best - war is a racket.
So what we have is indigenous people struggling against the violence perpetuated by extreme nationalists and crony capitalists who in turn struggle against the violence perpetuated by those who would use any means necessary to force Western capitalists' influence out of their homelands. It is truly a Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism, no matter which side is yours. Like the old saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
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