9/11 was a really, really big event, but it was not devastating. Not
even close.
But another substantial attack here, particularly one involving wmd's,
will be that: devastating.
Why?
Because we unleashed our most powerful non-nuclear response to 9/11 -
and it didn't work. It didn't work in terms of catching the leader of
the gang who pulled it off, and it didn't work to establish authority
in the ME. That invasion is not only a total failure, it has set a stage
that invites another attack. We are more hated today then we were on
9/11 and we are knee keep in war already.
How will we respond to another attack? Suppose it involves a new-name
gang of people extracted from a bunch of countries - what are we going
to do then, nuke the entire world?
Had we not been duped into that invasion in response to 9/11, had we not
allowed PNAC/neocon philosophy to spring full force into action, we'd
still have the perception of the mightiest military in history and in
the world, we'd still have friends, and we'd still speak with
righteousness. But those powers are degraded now. Also diminished is
respect, the worst thing that can happen to a living thing, be it a
person or a state. Without respect, you're ignored even if you're right.
Without respect you lose dignity, and without dignity you cannot stand
among those with it. Our stature in the world is diminished now, and
that means things like when we do get more involved with the UN, we'll
have less clout. If means that instead of growing acceptance for
American Standards in so many areas, other countries will move to fill
the gap. China, for example, almost certainly isn't going to look so
much up to MS as down. Germany, long renowned for engineering skills,
can easily step in to set world-wide engineering standards, including
software, such as the highly regarded SAP product. Our closest friend
and ally, Britain, now looks at us with doubt and suspicion.
Now I hear that James Baker is being brought in to provide a way out of
the mess we're in. Listening to him on TV, I hear him saying that we've
got to not move forward from where we are, and to leave the past alone.
Totally wrong answer! The truth is that we have to come to terms with
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth - and then we can
go forward.
From what I can see, Baker is avoiding words like PNAC and neocon, as do
most of the other published critics. Everyone in print and on the TV
wants to talk about some other angle. This is wrong because it avoids
the heart of the riddle: the philosophy, the attitude that brought about
the invasion and jerked us into the quicksand of misguided war.
Jung clearly and carefully explained that the past, the present and the
future are inextricably bound and dependent on each other, that
continuity is unavoidable, that attempts to cut the chain are futile at
best, psychologically destructive at worst. While we do have the ability
to bury the past in our unconscious, we're only burying something that
will fester and need to be extricated in the future, because burying it
doesn't make it go away. Consciousness is achieved by bringing the light
of day into the darkness of the unconscious - not by burying more stuff
into it!
Now, maybe another attack is unavoidable, but it seems very clear that
we should at least be doing our very best to stop such a thing from
happening.
While the neocon mindset has us busy building walls, our real enemies
are laughing their asses off. Ask yourself this question: "If I wanted
to, could I deliver a package to Washington undetected?". Someone might
say "But Big Brother already sees everything, so it can't be done", but
again the real enemy just laughs. Just how many real-world examples must
be presented to make this point perfectly clear?
So, no, Mr. Baker, don't even think about burying the past. You need
quite the opposite, to come to terms with the philosophy that brought
about that invasion - because only then can you stand up to it. And only
by standing up to it can you show the world that yes, we were duped, but
we're come to terms with it. People are not unsympathetic to those who
see when they wrong, but grossly so when lies are perpetuated.
The ringleaders that made that invasion happen need to be brought to
trial for what they did. Only then will justice be served; only then can
we excise ourselves of the errant philosophy that says "might is right"
and "the ends justify the means", and only then can we put Humpty-Dumpty
back together again and resume life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
Let's re-group and try the "lead-by-example" approach. The warmongers
shouted the longest and the loudest, and got their way. But now look at
what they've done to see how very wrong they were.
Bill
