Most know about Bush and the Weapons of Mass Destruction that weren’t there (although most states around Iraq had several types of them), the administration knew this, but wanted Iraq, not just Afghanistan. We are known with the lies to the world, even at the UN, that US media dutifully reported without questions attached in a form of patriotic sense of duty. I won’t spend a single word further to explain the charade that went on.
What the administration had already done public is common knowledge, with curves of terror-danger from yellow to red, “the war on terror” “Wanted dead or alive”,”The Axis of Evil”, Mushroom Clouds” etc.
In “Against all enemies” by Richard Clarke, a lot explain what went on the inside of the white house on the day of 11.September 2001, after the attack against WTC and Pentagon had taken place. He writes:
“I walked into a series of discussions about Iraq. At first I was incredulous that we were talking about something other than getting Al Qaeda. Then I realized with almost a sharp physical pain that Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were going to try to take advantage of this national tragedy to promote their agenda about Iraq. Since the beginning of the administration, indeed well before, they had been pressing for a war with Iraq.”
The Neo-Cons now had their “Pearl Harbor” from their publication: “REBUILDING AMERICA’S DEFENSES Strategy, forces and Resources for a New Century”. The publication of the work used to be available from their Project for the New American Century (PNAC) website, but now it’s closed for the public, and available only at alternative websites, keeping it online. (Here’s a PDF version of the document)
What had made is controversial is that so many from this thinktank were part of the Bush-Cabinet and a comment in special in their publication brought about a lot of attention to these people that among other things wanted to increase militarily spending massively, just as in the Cold War, but that their plans would be a slow one, if they wanted to bring the change they wanted:
“…the process of transformation,
even if it brings revolutionary change, is
likely to be a long one, absent some
catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a
new Pearl Harbor. Domestic politics and
industrial policy will shape the pace and
content of transformation as much as the
requirements of current missions.”
So 911 was not a tragedy for the Bush-Administration, but an opportunity for their plans of the American interests in the energy-rich Middle-East, their massive increase in military-spending and all the other things the PNAC document clearly describes. Now they only lack the downfall of Iran for a complete domination of gulf-oil, and there talk about WMD have been going on since the 90’s.
Richard Clarke write further about Bush:
On September 12th, I left the video conferencing center and there, wandering alone around the situation room, was the president. He looked like he wanted something to do. He grabbed a few of us and closed the door to the conference room. “Look,” he told us, “I know you have a lot to do and all, but I want you, as soon as you can, to go back over everything, everything. See if Saddam did this. See if he’s linked in any way.”
I was once again taken aback, incredulous, and it showed. “But, Mr. President, Al Qaeda did this.”
“I know, I know, but – see if Saddam was involved. Just look. I want to know any shred-”
“Absolutely, we will look-again.” I was trying to be more respectful, more responsive. “But you know, we have looked several times for state sponsorship of Al Qaeda and not found any real linkages to Iraq. Iran plays a little, as does Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, Yemen.”
“Look into Iraq, Saddam,” the president said testily and left us.
Rumsfeld said to Clarke that there were “better targets” to bomb in Iraq, then Afghanistan.
*
So these public relation/propaganda events went splendidly during the Bush Jr. cabinet.
And so they did during the earlier Bush Sr. with his own propaganda to incite a justification for the war against Saddam in Kuwait.
This testimony for example:
Was a fake one, actually done before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus by the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador, well trained by public relation firm Hill & Knowlton, where a 1$ study revealed that such stories about incubators and dead babies would be effective to gain support for the war. And so they was.Hill & Knowlton is estimated to have been given as much as $12 million by the Kuwaitis for their public relations campaign.
Saudi Arabia was also presented with manipulated satellite photos, showing a massive build up of Iraqi forces along the Saudi border, something that gained an well placed airfield to bomb the Iraqis. Though there were no Iraqi troops along the Saudi border. Later, when compared to a Japanese surveillance satellite it showed that the US map had been manipulated.
The Highway of Death – the complete destruction of the Iraqi army burned, retreating from Kuwait.
The “Gulf War Syndrome” veterans could have been were exposure to depleted uranium, a toxic waste, having a very dense surface, having become popular in the bunker buster bombs and in other forms of munitions, for example used by tanks. It should be known that this was a health hazard. At least Iraq can be said for sure having been covered by tons of this toxic waste in the second gulf war, that cause birth defects etc.
Various Latin-American politicians have been deposed of, and dictators put in their place, to “protect from the Communist enemies” for example. Even the small Caribbean island of Grenada (with communists to blame I think) was invaded simply because it was building a new airport and got aid from Cuba.
Chavez today have been deposed of, but got back due to massive popular control and had Public Relations campaigns against him, even accusing him of killing civilians – something the US backed politicians obviously approved of, it soon became evident, since the speech condemning the acts was recorded the day before the actual incident where Chavez supporters were shot in this Coup attempt.
Vietnam started by a false report about Vietnamese patrol boats firing torpedoes, along with the theory of the “domino effect” where the whole of Asia would become communist if Vietnam was defeated. The torpedo boats that didn’t fire, McNamara admitted later, in a documentary about himself, then an old man.
The first and perhaps the second world war was started by propaganda. In WW1 the ship Lusitania where sunk by German submarines that on advance that any ship with war material would be sunk. Lusitania did indeed carry such material, along with passengers, but the public was told that the passenger ship with thousands of civilians had been torpedoed by “The Hun”, as the Germans became known as eventually. This incited the neutral USA, promised by President that had would never send American boys to die in foreign wars, something that changed drastically, to eventually almost becoming a crime to doubt the war or show defeatism. This changed both America, from being independent, inward-leaning, to eventually policing the world.
All other similar events in Indonesia, all over South-America, Africa, Indonesia etc. is something I’ll get back to, also updating everything this far written and illustrated – this is my second blog today…
The Clash of Civilizations 