The 'War on Terror' Scam

      by David MacGregor

      The greatest threat to our freedom today is not terrorism, but what 
governments are doing to counter this perceived terrorist threat.

      Let me say that again. Terrorism is not the real danger we face, it's 
what governments around the world are doing to make us "safe."

      It's a scam because it is based on two lies.

      Lie #1: You are seriously at risk of being killed by a terrorist.

      Now, while this is remotely possible, it's highly unlikely. Based on 
global statistics and what country you live in, you are much more likely to die 
of AIDS, malaria, while driving your car, by being murdered, by a tsunami or an 
earthquake, or by other natural and man-made causes.

      The point is this. You are going to die anyway - so your primary 
objective is to delay this biological eventuality to the best of your ability.

      Most of us accept natural death - as normal. On the other hand, we don't 
want to die early, by accident, of a fatal disease, or by having our lives 
snuffed out by someone else - or something else.

      But we can't lock ourselves in a bunker and hide from the rest of the 
world. We cannot let the fear of some premature death stop us from living now. 
So it comes down to assessing risk and acting accordingly.

      Governments have a vested interest in overstating the risk of you dying 
by a terrorist act. They have a vested interest in creating a state of fear in 
your mind.

      Any "self-respecting" politician will consider it his duty to protect you 
from this danger - and to do whatever is necessary to do this - including 
abolishing your personal freedoms.

      The state thrives on fear. If it's global warming, then the state has 
"plans" - which usually involve infringing on your freedoms. If it's a global 
pandemic, then once again your government has plans in place which would rob 
you of at least some of your freedoms. But it's all done to protect you of 
course!

      The number of people killed by terrorist acts is infinitesimal compared 
to the number of people killed in other ways. So why are we afraid of 
terrorists so much?

      One reason, of course, is that your government is always harping on about 
it - raising the terror alert colour level, or issuing warnings about 
impending, though vague, threats of one kind or another.

      But let's face it. The question you need to be asking yourself is this: 
"What exactly are the odds of my dying at the hands of a terrorist?"

      Life is not risk-free. You have to live your life in the face of constant 
risks. Your job is to assess these on a scale of probability, and act 
accordingly.

      You know that driving a car carries certain risks. But even then, you 
still drive your car. Why? Because the benefits outweigh the statistical risks.

      On the other hand, if everyone who drove a car was to die in an accident 
within one year - I guarantee you'd be walking from now on!

      As I write this, I'm spending a few weeks in Australia. The government 
here has just rushed through new "improved" anti- terror legislation. The 
effect of this is to reduce everyone's freedom - freedom of action, freedom of 
speech, freedom to not be wrongfully arrested and incarcerated. All this in the 
name of "protecting freedom."

      It's such a barefaced attack on individual freedom that even some judges 
are speaking out against it.

      Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, stands up with a straight face 
and says this is necessary to protect Australians - and that the first duty of 
any government is to protect its citizens.

      He didn't mention how the presence of Australian troops in Iraq, or of 
his country's willing, unthinking acceptance of that immoral war, is in fact 
putting Australians in danger. No, don't you know, terrorism has nothing to do 
with the war in Iraq!

      Lie #2: The government can protect you from terrorists.

      This is a downright lie. The UK government could not protect its citizens 
from the London train bombings. The Indonesian government could not prevent the 
Bali bombings. And, dare I say it, the US government was unable to prevent 9/11.

      Sheesh! The government cannot even protect you from burglars and muggers!

      The fact is, the very nature of terrorism - whether by the IRA, the Tamil 
Tigers, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, or any future new group - is to use 
non-standard methods of "warfare".

      Terrorists do not announce their intentions. They do not martial their 
forces en masse and do battle in open fields. They do not wear uniforms. They 
have no ships or tanks - or even buildings. They do not have a geographic 
location, or even a national identity.

      If someone wants to blow themselves up outside your house, who is going 
to stop them? The Americans, with all their thousands of troops in Iraq, cannot 
even stop the terrorism there, so what chance does your local policeman have of 
stopping a terrorist act in your neighbourhood? Next to zero.

      The government cannot protect you from terrorists. But this is precisely 
their justification for all the anti-freedom laws being passed - to ostensibly 
"protect" you.

      Just as in Orwell's 1984, words are being used to distort the truth. The 
"war on terror" is in fact the "war on freedom."

      I repeat: the war on terror IS the war on freedom.

      But it's worse than that. Governments are not only incapable of 
protecting us from terrorists, they are the very CAUSE of terrorism in the 
first place.

      Just think of all the historical examples of terrorism. In every case it 
was some group, fighting some government. Sure, they target civilians, but 
their real enemy is some government. And why is this? Because they claim to 
have been wronged by some some government. They have a grievance against some 
government. They want to secede from some government.

      Terrorists do not have a grievance against Microsoft, General Motors or 
KFC. They do not have a grievance against your local supermarket. They do not 
have a grievance against YOU or your family. They have a grievance against your 
government.

      The IRA had a grievance against the British government. They wanted the 
British out of Ireland. So they waged a terror "war" for ages until it became 
apparent they could not win by military means - so the two parties sat down to 
talk.

      People in the Middle East have a grievance against some governments in 
the west, not because they "hate our freedoms," but because they hate our 
governments interfering in their affairs.

      If they are in our back yard threatening us, it's precisely because our 
governments have been in their back yard for ages.

      Of course, not ALL the West is a target for terrorists, only those 
countries that have been actively intruding on the Middle East. That's why 
countries like Norway or Switzerland are not reporting any terrorist attacks. 
The reason is simple. The terrorists do not have a grievance against those 
governments.

      Political leaders like Bush, Blair and Howard have one thing in common. 
They are all convinced that we can win a war against terrorism - by military 
means. Well, it isn't going to happen. They are not even winning in Iraq, a 
third rate theatre of war if there ever was one. So what chance do they have 
against a global terrorist network?

      Just think about it: These mighty governments and their military forces 
are bogged down in Iraq by a virtual handful of terrorists - or insurgents, as 
they see themselves. If we cannot protect Iraqis from such violence, why on 
earth should we believe their ravings when they say they can protect us?

      They can't. End of story. Which means that all the draconian anti-terror 
legislation can only have one actual result - the destruction of the very 
freedoms we say we believe in and are "defending."

      I don't know about you, but I think it hugely ironic that our "fight" 
against the forces that "hate us because of our freedoms" means we must lose 
those very freedoms in the process of defending them.

      Who will have won this war then?

      No, the "war on terror" is a scam. It's a sham. It's a hoax. It's a 
clever ruse to use fear of the unknown to drive a totalitarian agenda through 
the legislative chambers of so-called democracies in the so-called free world.

      It's a pact with the devil.

      Freedom cannot be compromised. There is no "new reality" that has to be 
accounted for with "new" laws. There is no new situation which warrants the 
destruction of freedom. There is no justification for even the removal of ONE 
basic freedom in the quest for "security."

      Don't be fooled. Stand up for your rights. Oppose the war on freedom.  


               
           November 8, 2005
           

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      David MacGregor runs an information service and publishes a newsletter 
for freedom seekers and aspiring sovereign individuals at www.sovereignlife.com 

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