September 11 - the world changed

September 13th, 2007

By Rowan Wolf

On September 11, 2001 a series of horrendous events happened. Planes brought down two buildings of the World trade Center complex in New York City; the Pentagon was hit; and another crashed in a Pennsylvania field. It was a shock to the systems and psyches of the people of the United States and the world. It has been repeated more times than I can count the “world changed forever.” Personally, I think that is a grandiose claim, but it set in motion a series of decisions and events that continue to the present.

Bush reportedly “joked” after 9/11 that he had “hit the trifecta.” His choices after that event have ruined the lives of millions, and drug the United States into the dubious honor of being a rogue nation.

Six years after the crimes of 9/11/2001, we still have more unanswered questions than those that have been answered. We have a Constitution in tatters and the government engaging in illegal surveillance and detention of U.S. citizens and others. The U.S. stands in violation of a laundry list of breaches of international treaties and agreements. We have two nations in shambles - “bombed back to the stone ages.” We have tens of thousands of civilians dead in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have millions displaced - almost five million in Iraq alone. We have 3,776 U.S. troops dead (by Pentagon count), and at least 27,186 U.S. casualties. At least 122 U.S. service people have committed suicide.

All of this death and destruction, and there is no end in sight. General Petraeus (purportedly speaking independent of the White House) spoke of slow progress, but gave an expected up-beat report. Crocker (U.S. Ambassador to Iraq) was equally positive. Unfortunately, what I heard from their testimony was that by next summer the U.S. should have achieved a return to the conditions of the summer of 2006, which was worse than 2005, which was worse than 2004. In other words, this is not significant “progress.”

To add to the debacle, the world is now facing the fall of Musharraf in Pakistan. This is big news that is not being adequately discussed in the U.S. Musharraf has been an “ally” in the “war of terror” in Afghanistan. His ouster there would be very bad news for the U.S.. Meanwhile, the Taliban is increasingly presenting as the (re)emerging power in Afghanistan. On the other hand we have Bush and the neo-cons trying to manufacture legitimacy for a preemptive invasion of Iran.

Given the current lack of “progress” in Iraq, one has to wonder what “progress” is being pursued.

Somehow it seems to have been forgotten what BushCo. was looking for in invading Iraq. The neo-cons saw Iraq as a potential tabula rasa for a test tube experiment in unfettered capitalism. The resources of Iraq were owned and controlled by Iraq. The utilities and infrastructure were public. One of the first actions after overthrowing Hussein was to start on an across the board privatization of Iraq. This was particularly true of the petroleum resources of the country.

The Bush administration has repeatedly conflated unfettered capitalism with democracy. They have hammered home a meme that pre-dated them, but Iraq was and is the test case. Capitalism is not democracy, and in fact the two are in direct opposition to each other. Under capitalism, the only ones with real voice are those who control enough capital to have a voice. In the U.S. we have seen that the price tag on voice has gotten increasingly dear.

Many in the U.S. are beyond frustration with the Democrats for not making significant progress to resolve the situation in Iraq and bring the troops home. However, the Democrats are using the same yard stick of “progress” that Bush and the Republicans are - namely the private control of Iraq’s oil resources. They are apparently as heavily invested in the privatization of Iraq as Bush has been. However, neither the Iraqi people - nor the Iraqi parliament - are willing to sign over the wealth of the nation. Therefore, no “political” progress. Apparently U.S. “interests” are not served by Iraq controlling its own resources (or infrastructure). Of course, this is a simplistic analysis. A lot of money is being made by some on both endless war and keeping Iraq’s oil off the market.

One might ask if we (or anyone else) is safer now than we were before. By all reports, we are not, and the world is not. Al Qaeda seems to have more diverse and active elements now than before September 11, 2001. There is now an Al Qaeda Iraq that was never there before, and which is enacting violence against both “coalition” and Iraqi civilians. Possible “terror cells” seem to be active in Europe. Turkey is threatening to launch strikes against Kurds in northern Iraq. This would be an attack against Iraq and draw U.S. forces into a conflict with an ally - Turkey. There are rumors of a permanent U.S. base on the border with Iran. That is sure to be a point of contention. Jordan and Syria don’t know what to do with the 2 million plus Iraqi refugees, and the U.S. doesn’t seem to be offering much of a solution to that.

In the U.S., we have had a dramatic restriction/erosion of both Constitutional protections and civil rights. Tests of weapons getting past airport screening systems show big weaknesses in even that basic system. The Coast Guard has spent millions on ships that won’t float and are being decommissioned. Disaster response still seems to be a shambles.

So what do we have for all the cost paid by U.S. citizens, troops and their families, and people around the world? We have a highly intrusive (though apparently not particularly effective) “intelligence” apparatus. We have constructed a private contractor infrastructure that is not only expensive, but economically invested in continuing active war - forever. It has been suggested by more than a few that the massive diversion of resources into private contractors for military and intelligence purposes actually threatens the long - and short - term security of the nation. For example, 70% of the U.S. intelligence budget is going to private contractors.

Six years after September 11, 2001, we have a nation still largely in grief. We have added millions more to the casualty total of grievers - many now also looking for revenge. Revenge not against whoever was behind the events of 9/11/01, but against the United States.

Six years after September 11, 2001 what we do have is what might be expected when revenge is pursued rather than justice. Pain, death, grief and anger. Fear, reactionary decisions, and rhetoric aimed at factionalizing a nation. Our elected representatives need to step back from political and corporate interest and work on sane actions; healing actions; actions which move us all to a better place.

Entry Filed under: NEGATIVE SPACE, RESOURCE WARS, FICTIONAL FREEDOM