In today's Washington Post, Zbigniew Brzezinski makes a empathic case for the results of the phrase 'War on Terror' being counter productive and of a deliberate effort having gone into the construction of the phrase itself.
The 'War On Terror'as a phrase, is part of the effort by the administration to drive fear (False Evidence Appearing Real)[my personal definition] into the nations fabric. It has reduced our freedoms and has done so in ways that will be hard to reverse.
Mr. Brzenski speaks better for himself so on the flip I will post a few paragraphs for those that haven't done the free registration at WaPo. This is an important column and I urge all to read it.
The opening statements are strong and, in my opinion, accurate.
The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. Using this phrase has actually undermined our ability to effectively confront the real challenges we face from fanatics who may use terrorism against us. The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves.
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To justify the "war on terror," the administration has lately crafted a false historical narrative that could even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By claiming that its war is similar to earlier U.S. struggles against Nazism and then Stalinism (while ignoring the fact that both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were first-rate military powers, a status al-Qaeda neither has nor can achieve), the administration could be preparing the case for war with Iran. Such war would then plunge America into a protracted conflict spanning Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and perhaps also Pakistan.
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We are now divided, uncertain and potentially very susceptible to panic in the event of another terrorist act in the United States itself. That is the result of five years of almost continuous national brainwashing on the subject of terror, quite unlike the more muted reactions of several other nations (Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, to mention just a few) that also have suffered painful terrorist acts.
These are a small portion of a much more powerful article. Please take the time to read a circulate it.
