The following was posted to me from someone in the Mt. Shasta area. To be sure, it's gonna make GT put 5 stars beside my name at the top of her list and make Abner H. see red! <ggg>
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Hi Folks,
Why do people hate Americans? Why is America a prime target for terrorists? Most Americans don’t know and don’t feel the need to know.
Way back in 1998, an American veteran of the futile Vietnam War and a true humanitarian, voiced his concern and this article that he wrote then, should be made compulsory reading for all those who seek to understand why America is under attack.
Hermes3/777
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The following is the article written by Robert Bowman in 1998.... for your discernment.
Robert Bowman flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam. He is presently
(1998) bishop of the United Catholic Church in Melbourne Beach, FL.
Originally printed in The National Catholic Reporter, Oct. 2, 1998.
The "Security" Charade
by Robert Bowman
If deceptions about terrorism go unchallenged, then the threat will
continue until it destroys us.
The truth is that none of our thousands of nuclear weapons can
protect us from these threats. No Star Wars system no matter how
technically advanced, no matter how many trillions of dollars are
poured into it, can protect us from a nuclear weapon delivered in a
sailboat or a Cessna or a suitcase or a Ryder rental truck. Not one
weapon in our vast arsenal, not a penny of the $270 billion a year we
spend on so-called defense can defend against a terrorist bomb. That
is a military fact.
As a retired lieutenant colonel and a frequent lecturer on national
security issues, I have often quoted Psalm 33: "A king is not saved
by his mighty army. A warrior is not saved by his great strength."
The obvious reaction is, "Then what can we do?" Is there nothing we
can do to provide security for our people?"
There is. But to understand it requires that we know the truth about
the threat. President Clinton did not tell the American people the
truth about why we are the targets of terrorism when he explained why
we bombed Afghanistan and Sudan. He said that we are a target because
we stand for democracy, freedom, and human rights in the world.
Nonsense!
We are the target of terrorists because, in much of the world, our
government stands for dictatorship, bondage, and human exploitation.
We are the target of terrorists because we are hated. And we are
hated because our government has done hateful things.
In how many countries have agents of our government deposed popularly
elected leaders and replaced them with puppet military dictators who
were willing to sell out their own people to American multinational
corporations?
We did it in Iran when the US Marines and the CIA deposed Mossadegh
because he wanted to nationalize the oil industry. We replaced him
with the Shah and armed, trained, and paid his hated Savak National
Guard, which enslaved and brutalized the people of Iran, all to
protect the financial interests of our oil companies. Is it any
wonder that there are people in Iran who hate us?
We did it in Chile. We did it in Vietnam. More recently, we tried to
do it in Iraq. And, of course, how many times have we done it in
Nicaragua and all the other banana republics of Latin America? Time
after time we have ousted popular leaders who wanted the riches of
the land to be shared by the people who worked it. We replaced them
with murderous tyrants who would sell out their own people so the
wealth of the land could be taken out by the likes of Domino Sugar,
Folgers, and Chiquita Banana.
In country after country, our government has thwarted democracy,
stifled freedom, and trampled human rights. That's why it is hated
around the world. And that's why we're the target of terrorists.
People in Canada enjoy democracy, freedom, and human rights. So do
the people of Norway and Sweden. Have you heard of Canadian embassies
being bombed? Or Norwegian, or Swedish?
We are not hated because we practice democracy, value freedom, or
uphold human rights. We are hated because our government denies these
things to people in Third World countries whose resources are coveted
by our multinational corporations. That hatred we have sown has come
back to haunt us in the form of terrorism and in the future, nuclear
terrorism.
Once the truth about why the threat exists is understood, the
solution becomes obvious. We must change our ways. Getting rid of our
nuclear weapons unilaterally if necessary will enhance our security.
Drastically altering our foreign policy will ensure it.
Instead of sending our sons and daughters around the world to kill
Arabs so we can have the oil under their sand, we should send them to
rebuild their infrastructure, supply clean water, and feed starving
children. Instead of continuing to kill hundreds of Iraqi children
every day with our sanctions, we should help Iraqis rebuild their
electric power plants, their water treatment facilities, their
hospitals, and all the things we have destroyed and prevented them
from rebuilding.
Instead of training terrorists and death squads, we should close the
School of the Americas [Ft. Benning, GA.]. Instead of supporting
insurrection, destabilization, assassination, and terror around the
world, we should abolish the CIA and give money to relief agencies.
In short, we should do good instead of evil. Who would try to stop
us? Who would hate us? Who would want to bomb us? That is the truth
the American people need to hear. |
