Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Rebadging the war on terror

Britains, for a couple of years now, have been calling for the ‘war on terror’, although at the start the majority were calling for an even more "aggressive" foreign policy to combat international terrorism”.

Now the Church of Scotland has resolutely rejected the 'war on terror' language being used in some political quarters in the ongoing discussions on the future of Pakistan. The Kirk’s rejection of a ‘war on terror’ discourse came in a New Year's Eve message arguing that the priority for Pakistan now must be the restoration of "credible democratic institutions and the establishment of an independent judiciary."

The Guardian newspaper had a different take: Ditch the 'war on terror' to win hearts and minds Other western leaders should persuade the next US president to join them in ditching for good the language of the "war on terror" which helps Islamist extremists promote the "clash of civilisations" they want.

Failed Policy

To my mind it all still smacks of rebadging, something I’m surprised Bush&Co haven’t done already. They have been quick in the past to rename bad policies in an effort to make them palatable. A new name will not fix the problems of continuing this obscenity.

For a start, it never was a war; that is nothing more than a handy bit of marketing jargon. There has never been a comprehensive strategy to wage this fictional war. The supposed war has never been given any parameters or defined aims.

Rather than subdue any potential terrorist threat the policy actually stirred up the danger. More than that it has served to undermine our democratic and civil rights, and that is in all the countries that joined in this outrage.

Dismantling the structure built around this fake war, returning the rights we had in our respective countries is not going to be easy. But this exercise in cynical political posturing must go.

Terrorists are criminals, pure and simple. There are laws to deal with people who commit crimes. Have you noticed how often these terrorist laws are now being used to catch good old fashioned criminals?

Let us get rid of this in sanity and return to the rule of law.

5 comments:

enigma4ever said...

Buuuuuut I am confused, I mean these Terra Laws worked so well for Mussolini.....wel, until they hung him.....


Really good post...boy you are on such a roll....

D.K. Raed said...

Well, I seem to recall Rumsfeld or Cheney trying to rename it "The Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" ... or some such tongue-twister. Bush could never remember a phrase like that. So War on Terra it is! But it's only a name, the game is quite different. It's a game for power & control of the world's resources, by any means necessary. A game that the bush-criminal gang knows so well.

Oh how they all laughed at Kerry for commenting that rather than a war, it should more properly be a global police effort. Silly man, thinking he could stop war profiteering, a time-honored tradition that america may have only come lately to, but we are fast-learners & not content to let anyone outdo us at greed.

In other news: you know I don't follow sports, but even I couldn't fail to notice an Aussie broke Evel Knieval's old motorcyle-jumping record in Vegas on New Years. Robbie Maddison, over 300-ft. Daredevil or idiot?

Cartledge said...

Enigma, I love that oh so dry sense of humour. You can get arrested for that you know…

I’m just trying to figure how I can get things rolling here so that our new, ‘sensitive’ government can be convinced to take a lead in this issue. How many appeal court embarrassments do a government need before it backs off these unlawful concepts?
Must be time to produce a public bullshit alert.

And d.k. I am not the slightest bit impressed that we can produce morons as well as any other country. When he went back for seconds I almost willed a miss.
But then I have the noble game of cricket to occupy me at the moment. It sort of puts most other sporting ventures in the shade.

pissed off patricia said...

Anything the bush administration names turns out to be just the opposite. Clear sky for example.

The "war on terror" was created as an excuse for bush to have presidential war powers. Of course it is a war that can't be won so as long as he can claim it, he can use that power.

You are absolutely right, terrorism is a crime and certainly not a reason or cause or excuse for war, but it's worked for him so far. It has given him cover to do things no president should ever have the power to do.

Cartledge said...

Great to see you Pop and thank you. My thinking, given the leaders of our non-USA countries have adopted this monster we need to start pushing them to ditch it.
They have already abandoned Bush in most other things, but these powers are just too tempting. It's time for the tail to wag the dog.