Confrontational Politics A garden wall torn down,rampant haven, leapt over, scaledand rebuilt higher shields roses preaching how to kill; the guttural signs of life Terrorism can be considered to be acts of desperation, protests of conditions created by those in power, and imposed upon others who lack real power and suffer from the frustration of having little or no part in the decision making process. Their frustration may be so great that they are willing to sacrifice their lives or their liberty to promote their cause, a cause that has no chance of being realized unless desperate measures are taken. Terrorism thus represents a cry in the wilderness by a downtrodden people, fueled by the anger that results from repeated defeat. The September 11 attacks, the suicide bombings in Israel and now the suicide bombing in Iraq presumably represent such acts of desperation. Foolish leaders believe that power can and should be used to force a subjugated people to conform to the will of the powerful. False promises are often made to facilitate conquest. George W. Bush has now started two unjust, illegal wars. His assumption evidently was that the military might of the United States' armed forces would guarantee the success of his mission. The stated purpose of that mission was to prevent further acts of terrorism.
The war in Afghanistan was specifically designed to allow the capture of Bin Laden while the war in Iraq was meant to weaken Al Qaeda and destroy the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. However, Bin Laden was not captured, Al Qaeda is stronger than ever, and no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. The outcome in both defeated countries was the imposition of unwanted foreign rule on a proud people.
Afghanistan was once a self-sufficient country that exported to other countries half a billion dollars worth of agricultural products including fruits, nuts and grains. The country was famous for its pomegranates, dried fruits, soft-shelled almonds and pistachios. In the aftermath of the war, none of these products are being produced in amounts that allow export, and, in fact, they must now be imported. War and drought have turned the country into a nation of subsistence. A single agricultural product is now exported in quantity from Afghanistan, and this one product is exported illegally. It is opium. After the U.S. led coalition defeated the Taliban late in 2001, the earlier Eden of fruit trees, vineyards and grain fields were left a wasteland. Conquest depended on a scorched Earth policy. Prior to the war, four-fifths of the population had lived in the country, but the loss of agricultural potential caused massive population migration from rural areas to Kabul and other Afghanistan cities. U.S. aid has not been forthcoming; the Bush administration has reneged on almost all of their promises. Struggling farmers who cannot support themselves by any other means have turned to the cultivation of poppies for opium production. In fact, the harvest of poppy gum, the raw material for heroin, reached the staggering figure of more than 4,000 tons in 2002 - enough to supply most of the world's addicts. The situation in Afghanistan is presently so gloomy that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a warning that "long-term agricultural development in Afghanistan is under threat unless urgently needed donor funds are provided" (L.A. Times, May 31, 2003). Is the U.S. providing these funds? The answer is an emphatic "NO". Instead, Italy and other developed countries, working with the FAO, are trying to provide the aid falsely promised by the Bush administration. Today, Afghans feel at a loss because their country is in a state of chaos. Banditry soars, the country is near anarchy, and terrorism is rampant. Water engineers, mine clearers, and humanitarian workers are needed, but the U.S. forces have abandoned the people of Afghanistan in their attempts to subdue repeated terrorist attacks in Iraq. The net result is that Afghanistan is spiraling out of control, becoming a narco-mafia state, a haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. Conditions in Afghanistan represent a major setback in the "war against terrorism". Disillusionment plays into the hands of militants who strive to force the withdrawal of U.S. forces, forces which purportedly cost the U.S. taxpayer 900 million dollars per month! Almost none of the 3 billion dollars in promised aid for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes has been forthcoming. It is no wonder that increasing numbers of Afghans feel nothing but contempt for America. Barbara Stapleton of the Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief noted: "U.S. military antiterrorist forces conduct crude searches, bursting into homes, offending cultural sensibilities. It's a crude way of dealing with a highly sophisticated and very intelligent people" (L.A. Times, August 4, 2003). While terrorism has flourished in the face of U.S. military occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, at least we can feel safe at home in America. Or can we? In addition to continuing threats from international terrorist groups, local groups of U.S. citizens are apparently beginning to feel intense frustration resulting from the Bush administration's actions. Bush and cohorts have been unresponsive to the views of Americans regarding the environment; their frustration is evidently heading to actions that are not that dissimilar from those used in the Middle East. Let's take a quick look at what Bush has done to environmental legislation (see "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore, Penguin Books, 2002). Bush and his administration have:1. Cut funding for research into renewable energy sources by 50%,2. Cut funding for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks by 28%,3. Revoked laws giving government the power to deny contracts to companies that violate Federal laws, environmental laws, and workplace safety standards,4. Opened up National Reserves to logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling,5. Broken a campaign promise to invest 100 million dollars per year in rainforest conservation,6. Pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol agreement on global warming, an agreement signed by 178 countries,7. Rejected an international accord to enforce the 1972 treaty banning germ warfare,8. Cut 500 million dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency's budget,9. Abandoned a campaign pledge to regulate CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming,10. Canceled the 2004 deadline for automakers to develop prototype high mileage cars,11. Prohibited the use of Federal aid for international family planning, and most importantly,12. Appointed environmentally unfriendly people to important positions in the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Republicans spent over 200 million dollars more than was available to the Democrats to achieve a majority in both Houses of Congress in the 2002 election. Industrial campaign contributors to the Republican Party are now reaping their rewards. There is no longer a balance of power in the U.S. government. What is taking place is exactly what the founders of the Constitution most feared. White House-supported legislation that is detrimental to American citizens and the rest of the world now flies through Congress and becomes law. We have the closest thing to totalitarian government that has ever been known in America. It's worse than the communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era, worse than the dishonesty of the Nixon era, and much worse than the stupidity of the Reagan era. And what's really pathetic is that most Americans don't even know what's hit Ôem. What are the consequences of the actions of a totalitarian government that represents a small interest group? Terrorism! In the August 23rd 2003 issue of the LA Times, Times staff writers Li Fellers and David Rosenzweig tell the story of an action group called the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a secret group of radical environmentalists. In their editorial they describe events that took place in the San Gabriel Valley. ELF struck four car dealerships and several individual car owners, setting fire to a Chevrolet dealership in West Covina, CA, and destroying or defacing dozens of Hummers and other SUV's. Many were painted with the word: "polluter". Militant ELF members claimed responsibility for these actions saying they intend to "take the profit motive away from polluters". ELF targets vehicles with poor fuel efficiency that contribute the most to global warming. They point to the government's repeal of strict emission standards and claim quite correctly that the Bush administration has intentionally set back efforts to clean up the nation's air. The Hummer H2 gets only 11-12 miles per gallon. ELF is not so much an organization as a name used by frustrated environmentalists who believe that even criminal action is justified to protect the environment. ELF claims to have inflicted more than 200 million dollars of damage in North America, targeting those who profit from actions that cause destruction of life on the planet. Not only car dealers, but many other types of polluting industries have been hit. ELF has abandoned traditional forms of protest because their aims are not only to change altitudes, but also to directly combat people who are "enemies of the Earth". They believe that many people are motivated only by profit because their aims are impervious to reason. As of 2002, 26 FBI field offices had pending investigations involving ELF. James Jarboe of the FBI noted that shutting down ELF and related groups has been difficult because they have little hierarchical structure. It's a grass-roots movement involving individuals acting on their own. "Despite all our efforts, law enforcement has a long way to go to adequately address the problem of eco-terrorism" he said. The FBI noted that ELF is just one of a growing number of terrorist groups in the U.S. that focus on various themes including civil rights, the environment, and the use of nuclear power. The ELF website states that their three primary goals are:(1) "To cause as much damage as possible to a given entity that is profiting from the destruction of the natural environment for selfish purpose."(2) "To educate the public on atrocities committed against the environment."(3) "To take all necessary precautions against harming the Earth's inhabitants." We find that since Republicans took control of Washington, American society has become increasingly polarized. The rich are getting richer, and the poor, poorer. The Bush administration has pushed through tax cuts that give 1% of Americans 43% of the benefits. Forty years ago the average CEO's made about 20-fold what was the workers in their companies made; now that ratio is 1000! Selfish right wing extremists are in control, and they value the power they are exerting over the average American. Worse, the Bush administration disregards the advice of scientists and experts in all areas of environmental protection, satisfying the greedy thirst for campaign contributions. Civil rights, social equality, and concern for future generations have been thrown to the wind. It is no wonder that Americans have resorted to civil disobedience and confrontational tactics. Since our government has conducted illegal activities including invasion of two foreign countries and demonstrated blatant disregard for international law and the United Nations, it has in effect, legitimized terrorism, the one force it claims to oppose. We have a long ways to go before we can restore rational democracy to America. But the enemy is clearly defined, and we have a battle worth fighting. The principles on which American society have always been based, and the future of our planet are the stakes.