First, a stipulation: The Sept. 11 attacks on New York
City and Washington were almost certainly instigated
and carried out by the forces of religious fascism, who
alone bear the responsibility for this atrocious crime.
We hope readers will excuse the stupefying
obviousness of the above declaration, which wastes
their precious time by repeating common knowledge.
Unfortunately, in these dicey days you can't be too
careful; there are legions of cranially constricted poltroons out there -- some of them in the
corridors of power -- who regard anything other than slavish bellowing in praise of the
Dear Leader to be an act of treason or an apology for terrorism. Therefore it's necessary to
issue these tedious disclaimers to avoid being ranged with "the bad guys" in the
increasingly cartoon version of reality being foisted upon a shaken world.
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Friday, Oct. 5, 2001. Page VIII
Global Eye--Speech Impediment
By Chris Floyd
First, a stipulation: The Sept. 11 attacks on New York
City and Washington were almost certainly instigated
and carried out by the forces of religious fascism, who
alone bear the responsibility for this atrocious crime.
We hope readers will excuse the stupefying
obviousness of the above declaration, which wastes
their precious time by repeating common knowledge.
Unfortunately, in these dicey days you can't be too
careful; there are legions of cranially constricted poltroons out there -- some of them in the
corridors of power -- who regard anything other than slavish bellowing in praise of the
Dear Leader to be an act of treason or an apology for terrorism. Therefore it's necessary to
issue these tedious disclaimers to avoid being ranged with "the bad guys" in the
increasingly cartoon version of reality being foisted upon a shaken world.
Or as Humphrey Bogart once said, in a
not-altogether-dissimilar situation: "My, my, so
many guns around town these days, and so few
brains."
So just to make it clear: the Global Eye stands on
the side of democracy -- you know, that system
where countries are led by those who actually
receive the most votes from the electorate -- and
for liberty, law, tolerance, justice, mercy and truth;
just like the "good guys." The Global Eye is against
tyranny -- you know, where countries are ruled by
leaders who weren't chosen by the people, like
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan and that place
between Canada and Mexico -- and against
oppression, censorship, injustice, terrorism (of both
the state and "privatized" varieties) and religious
fascism in all its manifestations, from the perverted
Islam displayed Sept. 11 to, say, the genocidal
Christian Fundamentalism of General Efrain Rios Montt, whose Guatemalan regime killed
tens of thousands of people during its Reagan-backed reign in the 1980s.
Of course, examples from almost every religion under the sun could be offered in this regard
-- and yes, from atheistic ideologies also, to again restate the painfully obvious -- but you
get the idea. Now, having made the abject profession of loyalty and all-around
good-guyness currently required for the exercise of free speech, can we move on?
Question of the day: Who benefits most from the looming "war against terror"?
Leaving aside, of course, the intangible benefits that will accrue to us all if Mr. Bush fulfills
his vow to "rid the world of evildoers" and "eradicate terrorism" -- stirring promises
somewhat undercut by his own secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who says
eradicating terrorism "sets too high a threshold," while adding that, basically, the rest of the
world can go hang: "What we are attempting to do is to assure that we can prevent people
from adversely affecting our way of life.'' If the evildoers hit Cairo or Kuala Lumpur next
time, then that's OK.
Mr. Bush's desire to lift arms-sales restrictions against U.S.-declared sponsors of
international terrorism such as Syria and Iran also seems strangely at odds with eradicating
terrorism and evil -- but no doubt the grand strategy behind giving weapons to those who
give weapons to those who murder in cold blood is part of the super-duper "secret war"
that will remain forever hidden from our delicate sensibilities. Or as one top Pentagon
planner admitted last week: "We're going to lie about things." Old news, perhaps, but the
candor is refreshing.
Then again, maybe releasing the spigot on arms sales to all and sundry is not so strange
after all, when considering the question of who benefits. For as The Wall Street Journal
reports, some of the biggest financial profits of the new overt-covert conflict will flow to
two famous families much in the news these days: the bin Ladens and the Bushes.
The Saudi-based bin Laden family conglomerate, from which the estranged Osama received
a $50 million inheritance before falling out over his predilection for blowing up
representatives of the family's Western business partners, is intricately tied to the Carlyle
Group, a little-known but immensely powerful investment firm stocked with old
Reagan-Bush hands -- including the old hands of George Bush Senior.
Carlyle deals in "private equity": buying and shuffling companies in hush-hush trading -- "a
high-end business," says The New York Times, "open only to the very rich." Like Old
George, who sits on the Carlyle board and rakes it in from the sweetheart deals his
comrades cut with their old pals in governments around the world. For Carlyle prefers
companies that are state-regulated; two-thirds of its $12 billion in investments are in --
wait for it -- defense and telecommunications companies. Regulated firms, you see, are
more amenable to profitable intervention by well-lobbied government officials. None of that
"free market" malarkey for these boys!
The Group even put l'il Georgie on the payroll in 1990, when the wee lad was at a loose end
before God called him to higher office. Dad found Junior a featherbed on the corporate board
of Caterair, an airline-catering company and Carlyle subsidiary.
Carlyle is now one of America's largest defense contractors, "owning companies that make
tanks, aircraft wings and a broad array of other military equipment," The New York Times
reports. And that means boffo box office when the bombs begin to fall. Even before the
attacks, Carlyle Chairman Frank Carlucci, a former Reagan secretary of defense, was
jawboning his successor -- and old college classmate -- Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of
Carlyle-backed weapons, including the aptly named "Crusader" heavy tank.
The bin Laden group has plowed millions into Carlyle aerospace firms -- the rockets' red
glare means lots of long green, don't you know -- and now the cash registers will be ringing
from the Persian Gulf to Kennebunkport. No wonder George Senior has twice made the
humble hajj to bin Laden HQ in Jeddah.
So yes, it's true: The Sept. 11 attacks were the work of religious fascists, who alone bear
the responsibility for that atrocious crime. But the wise man knows how to turn unexpected
adversity to his own advantage. Or as Dear Leader Junior put it just the other day: "Through
my tears I see opportunity."
