September 11, 2001: When the Chickens Came Home to Roost

As should have been expected, after spreading so much methodical bloodshed all over the world, bloodshed returned to the United States mainland on September 11, 2001. The death toll was about 3,000, only 0.1% of the 3,000,000 Vietnamese killed by US aggression. The number of casualties from the attacks on September 11th was also much lower than the over 30,000 children who died from starvation and easily curable diseases on that exact same day. For those who only value American lives, keep in mind that over 7,500 Americans suffered cigarette-related deaths that same week. (Yet Philip Morris has never been the target of US bombing raids.)

This is not to devalue the American lives lost on September 11th. It was a horrible incident. All human lives are equally precious, but it is important not to single out September 11th, when so much death and destruction exist in this world, often brought upon by the United States. It is important not to use the loss of innocent lives on September 11th to justify the taking of many more innocent lives!

Some very angry people backed the retaliation on September 11th. Just read any interview with Osama Bin Laden that took place before the attack. They were angry at the United States for its support of authoritarian and brutal regimes. They were angry at America’s continuous intervention to block any movement towards democracy and economic development, especially in Third World countries. They were angry at America for supporting Saddam Hussein (enemy of Bin Laden and the Wahabs) through the worst of his atrocities, including gassing the Kurds (something Bin Laden brought up constantly). They were very angry at the US for its continued genocide on Iraqi people through bombing and sanctions. They were angry at the US for its relentless economic, diplomatic, and military support for Israel and its invasion and occupation of Palestine.

The people who organized the attack on September 11, were completely counterproductive in their goals. America is now even more paranoid, intrusive, and violent than before. The US was given a reason to destroy Afghanistan that the people would cheer for (unlike its previous Afghan interests of heroin, oil pipelines, and Soviet subversion).

Even though so-called "terrorists" are violent, self-destructive, and counterproductive, most of them are rational human beings. They are concerned about social, political, or religious injustice, and are willing do whatever it takes to battle against such injustices, even if it requires giving up their own lives. It’s good when people dedicate their lives to opposing atrocities and injustice. It’s not good when they turn towards violence out of feelings of hopelessness and desperation.

Now America has a vague new "evil" to make its public fear: "terrorism." This was the answer to the prayers of many corporations with defense contracts, military personnel, and politicians who feared that irrational spending on military would fade after the decreased fear in the previous "evil" of communism. These warmongers can now justify an endless, bloodthirsty, "moral" quest to wipe out any human beings viewed by the US as "terrorists" or those who "harbor terrorism."

The behavior of the media was consistent. From the constantly repeated videotapes of the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center to David Letterman’s formulation of opinions based on absolute ignorance, the media led the cry for revenge. The media also refused to look into why America is the target of hatred and violence. Any such questions were quickly dismissed as the media zombies proclaimed, "Terrorists hate our freedom and democracy." No one ever asked why countries with more freedom (such as Canada, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, etc.) have not been targeted by terrorists.

During the war the media blatantly ignored the countless thousands of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, but dedicated hours to the deaths of Marine pilots who died in helicopter accidents. (By the way, doesn’t it seem like most American casualties in recent wars primarily result from accidents or "friendly fire," not involving "the enemy"?)

"President" Bush repeatedly called the September 11th attacks "cowardly." The hypocrisy of this statement is quite obvious. Dropping bombs on millions of civilians in Southeast Asia, killing mostly women and children, while comfortably hovering in the sky above is truly "cowardly." Dropping a single atomic bomb to kill 100,000 people in Hiroshima is certainly "cowardly." Training, arming, and funding Central American contras and death squads to carry out massive gruesome bloodshed in order to protect US economic interest is "cowardly." Using unmanned drone aircraft to bomb the women and children of Afghanistan is absolutely "cowardly."

Nearly all Americans have forgotten the fact that these people who are called "terrorists" are the same exact people that President Reagan called "freedom-fighters." (see previous Afghanistan section) Most Americans are completely unaware that the Taliban came to power with CIA funding and advising.

Most Americans are unaware of the advanced warnings of the attacks and the suspicious behaviors occurring around September 11th. They aren’t aware that in 1996, Abdul Hakim Murad confessed plans to hijack planes and crash them into buildings. They aren’t aware that shortly before September 11, 2001, FBI agents warned their superiors that Al Qaeda was planning kamikaze style attacks on New York and Washington D.C. They don’t realize that according to law, there should have been Air Force jets scrambled at 8:15 AM that morning (30 minutes after the hijacking began) instead of launching at 9:35 AM after the damage was done. They don’t realize that "President" Bush personally asked Democratic Leader Tom Daschle to limit Congressional investigation into the events of September 11.

Most Americans are unaware of the Bush and Bin Laden partnership. They don’t know about George W. Bush heading Arbusto, an oil company partly financed by the Bin Laden family. They don’t know about the Taliban’s visit to Texas in 1995 to arrange Unocal pipeline plans with Halliburton, Inc. (Vice President Dick Cheney was the CEO.) They don’t know about how George and Barbara Bush stayed at the Bin Laden palace in Saudi Arabia during visits. Most Americans are unaware of "President" George W. Bush sending a plane to escort Bin Laden family members out of the US immediately after September 11th, despite the FBI’s objections.

Most Americans are unaware that "President" George W. Bush gave the Taliban $43 million in May 2001 (announced by Secretary of State Colin Powell on May 17), less than four months before the attacks in America. The $43 million was given as a gift, even though Washington was completely aware of the oppression caused by the Taliban and the Taliban’s links to past American attacks. Yes, American tax dollars funded the attacks that killed 3,000 Americans. The hypocrisy of George W. Bush declaring an eternal war against those who "finance terror" is indisputable. If Americans truly want to hunt down the "financers of terror" and those responsible for 9/11, they need to target the White House and Pentagon.

News coverage showed footage of Iraqis and other people, many of them children, celebrating in the streets after the events of September 11th. Americans were disgusted by this and couldn’t understand how these people could be celebrating. Imagine that you are an Iraqi child. Your father was forced at gunpoint to join Saddam’s army. He was shot dead by US planes while surrendering. Your mother was killed by a cluster bomb. All your siblings were infected with cholera, because of the contaminated water that resulted from US bombings of treatment plants. There was no way to treat your siblings, because US sanctions blocked out the needed medication. Your siblings all die. If one day you found out that US military and economic centers were attacked and damaged, there’s a good chance that you would celebrate with others in the streets.

On August 15, 2002 it was announced that about 600 family members of September 11th victims filed a trillion dollar lawsuit against the Sudanese government, Saudi officials, banks, and charities for supposedly funding the attacks on September 11th. First of all, it was "President" George W. Bush who gave a gift of $43 million to the Taliban in May of 2001. Maybe this lawsuit should be made against the Bush Administration. Secondly, if family members of the victims of American violence were to file lawsuits of equal monetary value per victim, the amount would be in the quadrillions. (See the tens of millions of victims listed in "America’s Greatest Hits" and Section 2) There isn’t enough money in the entire world to pay such a settlement.

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."
- Mahatma Gandhi

The US did of course get its vengeance, but the primary victims were the people of Afghanistan who had nothing to do with the Taliban and were victims of it. An estimated 3,767 civilians were killed in the first 9 weeks alone. (The Progressive, February 2002) On October 16, 2001, US Navy planes bombed six food-filled Red Cross warehouses in Afghanistan. In one attack that took place on November 30 and December 1, 2001, the US bombed 3 villages 25 miles south of Jalalabad (a territory controlled by allies and anti-Taliban forces). On December 30, 2001, the US struck the village of Niazi Kala, killing about a hundred civilians, mostly women and children. According to the UN, "unarmed women and children" were "chased and killed by American helicopters," "as they fled to shelter" or "as they tried to rescue survivors." Another publicly known incident occurred on July 1, 2002 when the US bombed a wedding party, killing 48 and injuring over 100.

In addition to the thousands of civilians who were bombed in their villages, millions were affected by the embargo on food (which lasted 3 weeks) and the imposed restrictions on food and supplies that followed. The "New York Times" reported that 7.5 million people in Afghanistan were in great need of a loaf of bread during the winter of 2001-2002. As if the hunger wasn’t bad enough, many got to experience freezing temperatures without proper clothing or shelter.

An interesting obsession that developed shortly after the "War on Terror" began was the anthrax scare. It was on the cover of magazines everywhere, and Americans were freaking out over the whole affair. The amazing thing is that there were only a few anthrax related deaths during the period, yet so many Americans were scared as hell. Over 1,000 Americans die everyday from cigarette-related causes and over 80 are killed everyday by guns. If Americans are going to freak out about anything, shouldn’t it be over cigarettes and guns? Cigarettes killed more Americans in 10 minutes than anthrax did during the one month scare.

On December 11, 2001 after seeing the Taliban’s fall and the eventual capture on the horizon, President Bush stated that "rogue states" would be targeted next, and said the following:

"America’s next priority in the war on terrorism is to protect against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them... The authors of mass murder must be defeated and never allowed to gain or use the weapons of mass destruction... Rogue states are clearly the most likely source of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons for terrorists... We cannot accept and we will not accept states that harbor, finance, train or equip the agents of terror. Those nations that violate this principal will be regarded as hostile regimes."

It’s astonishing that so few Americans see the hypocrisy. When Bush describes "rogue states," he is describing America. America is most guilty of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. America is the number one source of weaponry for terrorists. America harbors, finances, trains, and equips "the agents of terror" more than all other nations combined.

Shortly after his declaration against "rogue states," Bush announced that the United States would violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Bush made this decision, despite global opposition to doing such, especially from China and Russia.

The Patriot Act (the "anti-terrorism" legislation) and other repressive measures were rapidly established following September 11th. The Patriot Act alone blatantly violates six amendments of the Bill of Rights addendum to the US Constitution. The 1st Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech, right to assembly, and right to petition are violated. The 4th Amendment’s issue of probable cause is violated, along with its prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure. The Patriot Act violates the 5th Amendment’s guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law by allowing indefinite incarcerations without a trial. The 6th Amendment’s guaranteed right to a speedy and public trial is violated. The 8th Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment is violated. The 13th Amendment’s prohibition of punishment without conviction is also violated. The Patriot Act also opens the door for the FBI to have total access to any personal data and the CIA to target Americans for surveillance. It appears that the soldiers who "fought and died for our freedom" did so in vain, since America’s own politicians are taking the "freedoms" away.

Not only does the Patriot Act cancel out America’s own Bill of Rights, it also violates international law. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrests, detention, or exile," and "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing."

After September 11th over 1,200 people, mostly Arabs and Muslims, were rounded up by the FBI and INS and kept in detention. Many of these people were detained on the basis of no evidence at all and without contact with a lawyer. The government refused to reveal the identities, nationalities and whereabouts of the detained people. Many of them disappeared from their family and friends without a trace. Mohammed Gondal was imprisoned for 125 days, without being charged with any crime connected to terrorism. Iqbal Tihar spent over two and a half months in jail, without any charges. Nacer Mustafa spent 67 days in the Federal Detention Center before being released. These are just three of over 1,200 human beings, many of whom are still unaccounted.

"They who can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin (1759)

The fearful masses have happily surrendered their civil rights and constitutional protections after September 11th, thinking that their government will protect them from the "monsters" it has created, funded, and motivated. People are being detained without evidence and are found guilty until proven innocent (if they ever get the chance to present such proof). The Justice Department expanded its authority to eavesdrop on attorney-client conversation, eroding more rights. Freedom of speech is also a thing of the past. Anyone expressing discontent with America is subjecting themselves to social scorn, government surveillance, and possible detainment. There have even been teachers chastised and suspended for presenting nonviolent, alternative views in media and political classes. Some, such as Dr. Sami Al-Arian (a computer engineering teacher fired from the University of South Florida), have been fired for expressing their views outside of the workplace.

At the beginning of 2002, "President" George W. Bush proposed the largest military increase in two decades. This increase adds $48 billion to the already astronomical annual military budget. This increase alone is larger than any other country’s military budget, with the exception of Japan. Before adding $48 billion to the amount spent on military every year, Bush:
- Cut $39 million from federal spending on libraries. (This happened one week after Laura Bush started a national campaign for libraries.)
- Reduced the Community Access Program by 86%. The Community Access Program coordinates care for people without health insurance.
- Cut funding for the Girls and Boys Clubs of America programs in public housing by $60 million.
- Cut $15.7 million from programs dealing with child abuse and neglect.
- Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.
- Attempted to eliminate "Reading Is Fundamental," which gives free books to poor children.

The pro-war patriots have a hard time seeing any alternatives to violence. The worst thing about all this is that so many people are obsessing about the American deaths on September 11th, but they aren’t doing a damn thing to stop the continuous deaths of more civilians. Haven’t the tragic events of September 11th taught them how precious life is? Why do they demand policies that will slaughter more innocent lives, instead of doing what they can to save children dying right now, at this very moment?

As shown earlier, the US has been supplying and empowering "terrorists" all over the world: the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, General Suharto, Roberto D’Aubuisson, the list goes on and on. The best way to reduce terrorism in this world is to stop participating in it. This is something that the US politicians have trouble comprehending, as they choose to escalate terrorism instead. They choose to terrorize foreign soils and continue to create, train, and fund armies that will carry out acts of terrorism. They choose destruction over construction. They choose war over peace. They choose hate over love.