Democratic Talk Radio - Democratic Voices Column: Ending The War On Terror Myth

April 13, 2004

Ending The “War On Terror” Myth

The so-called “War On Terror” is a dangerous myth that is undermining American national security. This myth is a deliberate creation of the Bush Administration and their political allies. It has been very useful in promoting the Corporate Agenda of the Bush Republicans. Their fellow travelers in the Corporate Media have helped promote this intellectually dishonest way of looking at the threat posed to America by the Bin Laden terrorist organization.

First of all, “terror” is an emotion and should not be confused with an actual organization of terrorists. This “terror” theme is useful if you want to promote unrelated goals but ineffective in actually responding to the real threat posed by the Bin Laden organization. The term first used by Bush operatives was the “War on Terrorism.” This was equally dishonest because terrorism is a tactic used by terrorist. It is as absurd to have a war against a “tactic” as it is to have a war against an “emotion”.

The deliberate distortion of language helped the Bush Administration take us to War in Iraq. These writers believe it was one of the main reasons the term was chosen by the Bush Administration. The climate of fear created by the 9-11 attacks was continued and heightened by the language chosen by the Bush Administration. Unrelated policies from tax breaks for the wealthy to the Invasion of Iraq have been promoted by the Bush Republicans under the guise of fighting the “War ON Terror.” American citizens were manipulated into supporting the Right-Wing Corporate political agenda of this White House although this agenda was in no way related to the 9-11 attacks.

The Bush-Cheney team spread the lesser myths about Iraq by falsely linking Saddam Hussein to the 9-11 attacks. We now know that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were mortal enemies. Both were anti-American but only the Bin Laden organization posed a threat to the American Homeland. We have diverted huge military and financial resources away from the threat posed by the Bin Laden organization by invading and occupying Iraq. The Bush Administration was not paying enough attention to this threat before 9-11 and is still not truly focused on the Bin Laden organization. Before 9-11, they were largely focused on missile defense, tax cuts for the wealthy and packing the courts with Right Wing judges. Currently, they are focusing too much attention on Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy and packing the courts with Right Wing judges.

The first focus of the Bush Administration should be the threat posed by the Bin Laden organization. Those were the persons responsible for killing 3,000 Americans in the 9-11 attacks. We should continue to aggressively wage the military campaign in Afghanistan. The next greatest threat to America is the exporting of jobs by large American corporations because this trend undermines our long-term ability to fund the fight against the Bin Laden terrorist organization. We need to stop using the term “War On Terror” because it is worse than useless. It is clouding our judgment when we need to clearly see the reality of the threats we face. It is time for the Bush Republicans and their fellow travelers in the Corporate Media to stop playing politics with the language of national security!

Column written by Stephen Crockett and Al Lawrence (hosts of Democratic Talk Radio which is nationally syndicated on the ieAmerica Radio Network). You can hear them via the Internet several days a week from 2-4pm Central at http://www.ieAmericaRadio.com. You are invited to visit the Democratic Talk Radio site at DemocraticTalkRadio.com. They can be reached by mail at: 7A Planville Drive, Fayetteville, TN 37334. Reach DTR by phone at 931-438-1500 or 443-421-0287.

Sincerely,
Stephen Crockett
Al Lawrence
Co-hosts: “Current Affair” News Talk Program
WEKR 1240 am radio
(931) 433-3545