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Is American imperialism international terrorism? |
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Written by Xiuhcoatl
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Mar 10, 2006 at 02:57 PM |
Is American imperialism international terrorism?
By M.A.Hussain
Source: Humiliate America
In order to answer the question, we need to know what imperialism and
terrorism means. The concept of imperialism has been clearly defined in
Webster dictionary and that definition will suffice here. But no
dictionary can give a comprehensive definition of the phenomenon of
terrorism because no one wants a mutually agreed definition of
terrorism. Hundreds of books have been written and thousands of
articles have been churned on terrorism by the intellectuals, writers
and experts of all shades of opinion working for research institutions,
political parties, governmental and non governmental organizations. But
still we do not have a definition of the phenomena of terrorism.
There have been debates and conferences to arrive at mutually agreed
definition of terrorism but that has proved to be an exercise in
futility. While everyone condemns terrorism it has different meanings
to different people. There are disagreements about who the terrorists
are and what terrorism means. Someone’s terrorist is said to be others
hero. The diversity of the opinion on the subject is such that some
people even celebrate publicly use of brutal violence over unarmed
civilians perceived to be their political enemies and the others view
terrorists (state and non-state actors) as their saviors.
American State Department defines terrorism as "premeditated,
politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets
by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to
influence an audience".
The definition reveals a militaristic mind-set of American State
Department. It calls civilians as “non-combatant” targets. Al Qeeda
leaders are using the same language for American civilians (obviously
both American state and Al Qeeda do not recognize separation between
civil society and state). This definition does not tell us about the
“the political motivations” of the terrorists, the conditions which
give rise to terrorism and about “the audience” the terrorists are
trying to influence. According to this definition, terrorism is
“usually intended to influence an audience” means that the terrorism is
a “political statement” a protest communication rather than a military
threat. America does not treat terrorism as a political problem to be
resolved politically and American people do not try to understand
“political statement of Sept 11” in proper perspective. The definition
also does not cover state terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism and
international terrorism unleashed by nation states as instrument of
their foreign policy, as form of low intensity warfare and as
instrument of governance. We will come to this definition later to
prove that American imperialism is nothing but international terrorism.
Here we will begin with a very simple definition of terrorism.
“Terrorism is use or threat to use of violence or coercion by man over
man”. This definition makes almost every violent act as an act of
terrorism whether it is crime, war, insurgency, riots, pogroms,
massacres, murder, genocide etc. The definition seems to be too
inclusive and simple.
Let us differentiate organized violence from un-organized violence and
define terrorism as use or threat to use has organized violence or
coercion by man over man”: This definition excludes unorganized
violence like riots, murder etc committed by mobs or individuals from
our definition.
Now our definition seems to be more precise. There is an explicit
relation between organized crime and terrorism. In fact terrorism is
more a form of organized violence against civil society by state as
well as non-state actors than criminal disobedience to state authority.
Like organized criminal gang the terrorists commit bank robberies,
indulge in kidnapping for ransom, extortion, drug trafficking, illegal
arms trade to sustain their criminal disobedience to the state (in case
of state and state sponsored terrorism, a terrorist or rogue state
indulges in all kinds of illegal trade and activities).
However there is one problem with this definition. Although the
terrorism and organized crime has similar modus operandi but there is a
fundamental difference between the two, while as the former is
politically motivated but the later is apolitical.
Now let us narrow down our definition and define terrorism as
politically motivated organized crime. This makes a capitalist class,
its army, police and state apparatus, as politically organized class
working against civil society (and humanity) as a terrorist outfit.
(Particularly an authoritarian states, which looks like an organized
criminal gang working against civil society and indulging in all such
activities).
In fact terrorism is built-in capitalist social relations under which
man exploits man and an organized capitalist class tries to exercise
unilateral control over civil society and allocations of resources:
social, cultural, human and material. Under capitalist social relations
a social class lives at the cost of other social classes and subjugates
vast majority of people and imposes a regime of rights and privileges,
rewards and punishment by establishing power relations under its
domination.
The capitalist state has no moral superiority over terrorist outfits.
Both claim to represent civil society but actually they only represent
a segment of it. The capitalist state’s response to terrorism is
seemingly directed against terrorists but in practice it goes against
civil society. It is not only a terrorist who indulges in
indiscriminate and disproportionate and unpredictable violence but the
state too kills people who themselves have no connection to with
terrorists.
Terrorism even in periphery of present day world is a global phenomenon
and needs to be understood in global perspective. Terrorism anywhere in
the world may be triggered by a specific local socio-economic situation
(which is a local manifestation of global situation) or so-called
historical wrongs, but it is a local response to a global situation
facilitated by intervention of global and regional players of
discontent management game.
The eighty- percent of humanity is competing against each other over
20% of resources of the world while as 20% of people have captured 80%
of world resources. All conflicts in the world are in essence
manifestations of the hidden war going on between 80% of humanity and
20% individuals. The people living in terrorist hit areas do not
understand this mother of all battles and fight a partial struggles
which are doomed to fail.
But here we will not call a capitalist state a terrorist state:
if it is legitimized by peoples consent.
if state authority is limited by written constitution and
if the people enjoy civil rights including right to freedom of press and expression.
Unlike democratic capitalist state, the terrorists enjoy unlimited and
absolute authority and unilateral control over the life and property of
the people. Our definition rightly labels totalitarian and
authoritarian governance as a form of terrorism. A totalitarian state
can rightly be called a terrorist state.
There is a little problem, national wars, genocide and massacre which
are also forms of politically motivated violence also come under this
definition as form of terrorism. Hence we need to discern motivation
and political agenda of terrorism and differentiate it with other forms
of organized violence in our definition.
The primarily political motivation of non-state terrorism, state
terrorism and international terrorism is that it strives to impose
social order (power structure) or regime of rights and
privileges(rewards and punishments) in favour of particular castes,
communities, races, nations, classes and sex (in case of international
terrorism, it is striving to extend state authority beyond its national
boundaries through violent means).
In order to fight rival ruling class, rival regime or multi-lateral
world order, a terrorist, a rogue state and international terrorist
(like America) polarize civil society (or international community)
between the two hostile camps: either be with them or be with us and
who are not with us are with them. They do its with systematic use of
violence or intimidation (or through imperialist policy of sanctions,
war and clandestine military or intelligence operations) of their
political adversaries (even against those whom they claim to represent)
by irresponsible, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force
(including WMD as America did in Afghanistan and Iraq). Real essence of
terrorism hence is that it polarizes society (or international
community) in order to impose social order or world order
(restructuring international power relations) by violent means under
its dominance.
Now we got the following definition: Terrorism is use or threat to use
of politically motivated organized violence (including use of WMD and
“pre-emptive” unprovoked violence) which strives to polarize civil
society or world community and to hold unlimited, absolute and
unilateral control over civil society or multi-lateral, multi-racial
and multi-ethnic world bodies in order to establish and defend social
order or world order by re-structuring power relations among social
classes, nation states and trade blocks, within a state or between
nation states by state or non-state actors.
Thus there are three kinds of terrorism: non-state terrorism, state
terrorism and international terrorism. We will take up these separately.
Chararcteristcics of terrorism
FEAR: Terrorism (state terrorism and international terrorism) thrives
on public fear and sense of insecurity induced by unpredictable,
irresponsible and indiscriminate violence by both state as well as
non-state actors. And in case of international terrorism it is fear of
barbaric use of hi-tech war machine(including WMD), sanctions and trade
blockade, covert military and intelligence operations by international
terrorists like American imperialism against rival states.
By killing those in power terrorist’s acts reveal vulnerability of
state authority, the aim is to inspire people against state. By
resorting to brutal violence and repression inducing fear state exposes
the impotence of civil society and terrorists to challenge its rule. By
destroying cities of underdeveloped countries American imperialism
tries to “shock and awe” its rivals who aspire to form a power block
against America.
The terrorism and state terrorism (including international terrorism
like American imperialism) do not only terrorize common people they but
also terrorize their own rank and file and their own people (as America
ruthlessly crushed anti-war protesters). They enforce strict discipline
and exact obedience from their own members and their own citizens
(American administration recently passed law i.e, Patroitic Act which
curtails civil liberties of its citizen and go against the rights of
Asian and African immigrants). The so-called “security forces” deployed
to contain terrorism themselves feel insecure and have to live under
fear. The fear of working class (even if declared “clinically dead” by
all capitalist clinicians practicing all over the world) and emergence
of rival world power challenging American hegemony haunts American
imperialism even after dismantling Russian power block.
The fear is a great weapon for terrorism and source of their
motivation. It is with systematic use of force and through active
intimidation and threats creating fear in the mind of people and hatred
against state that turns a gang of terrorists into majority. It is
indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force and intimidation and
curtailment of civil liberties by state that manifests its weakness and
inability to contain terrorism. And the state transforms terrorism into
discontent management exercise.
Politically weak Actor: The sense of insecurity and fear are the
manifestations of military, economic, moral and social weakness of
state as well as non-state actor. International terrorist America
suffers from degradation of its traditions, economy, society and
culture. America strives to globalize and liberalize whole world but it
is reluctant to globalize and liberalize its society and economy. The
“white power” in America feels under siege by Asian and African
immigrants. American society is deeply divided and was badly in need of
a common enemy, “God fearing” Osama obliged them and now Islam is
declared enemy of American imperialism. America as a global power is
frequently challenged by emerging world powers like France and China.
Terrorism is the political violence of the weak who lack either the
military strength or the popular support to engage the political
adversaries in more intense forms of political violence like civil war
or armed insurgency. As an international terrorist like America takes
care in selection of its target while ignoring challenges posed by its
rivals like China, Russia and France. As Indian writer has rightly said
the height of the depth of Arab impotence can be measured by George
Bush’s power very easily. Bush is as potent as Arab governments are
impotent. The two are directly related.
Information war: Terrorism as a form of political communication makes a
terrorist act a political statement which needs to be read and
understood. As a form of political violence terrorism is unique in its
reliance on media participation and the propaganda values of the
terrorist act of violence. It seems a terrorist commits acts of
violence to make headlines in the media and to direct international and
national attention to their cause. Otherwise the terrorist acts are
having no military and strategic values.
Terrorism is not war of the bullets and bombs it is an information war,
which is played through media. Terrorism is a form of protest
communication and it functions as agenda setting and consents
engineering tool. That is why the terrorist violence is media friendly
violence purported to attain political objectives by killing innocent
people having little or no connection to the political problem or
grievance which has triggered terrorism. Unlike non-state terrorism,
state terrorism is media unfriendly. A terrorist state uses terroristic
methods (as discontent management exercise) to exact obedience to its
rule and attempts to conceal such acts of repression from the media.
However both non-state and state terrorism uses media selectively to
support its cause. The state uses government-controlled media or
embedded journalists to defeat terrorists in information war and to
stop terrorists to set political agenda. Non-state terrorists oblige
“terrorism friendly“ journalists and who so ever dares to go against
them risks his life. The slaughter of Daniel pearl by non-Pakistani
Wahabi terrorists is an example. Likewise international terrorists like
America deliberate and intentional targeted non-embedded journalists
covering war in Iraq, while CNN, BBC, FOX and MSNBC gave covering of
Iraq war from firing side.
The terrorist state refuses to understand terrorist acts as political
statements and it turns its governance more brutal and curtails of
civil liberty of its citizens in the name of national security. It is
true of international terrorists like America which refuses to read
Sept 11 that shredded American invincibility into pieces by a few Arab
tribals belonging to Al Qeeda. Instead American state destroyed cities,
massacred civilian population which had no connection with Al Qaeda or
terrorism.
Ideology All absolutist, Authoritarian, fascist and totalitarian
ideologies, left or right, ca be used for thought control and
motivational inducement to the people. It is sad that now the concept
of democracy is being used as an edify to scuttle freedom of its own
people and to subjugate 3rd world countries by American imperialism.
Premeditated: The terrorism is a barbaric game which at the same time
is political, economic and cultural; played by a weak political actor
at making power struggle or social conflict more indiscriminate and
unpredictable. Thus forcing state to react to is moves. The acts of
terrorist violence are being planned in advance before seeking a
pretext, which seems to trigger it. It may be War on Afghanistan or on
Iraq or pogrom of Indian State of Gujarat, these are all pre-planned in
advance. It is a characteristic of all organized crimes that these are
pre-planned by the perpetrator.
Conspiratorial: Terrorism like any organized Crime is conspiratorial
and opaque. No one knows who controls, fund and supports the act or
when a terrorist is going to unleash the terror. Every thing is kept
secret.
Non-state terrorism
Terrorism even in periphery of present day world is a global
phenomenon. It may be triggered by a specific local socio-economic
situation (which itself is a local manifestation of global situation)
or so-called historical wrongs but it is a local response to a global
situation facilitated by intervention of global and regional players of
discontent management game.
The transition from feudal to capitalist social relations means the
development involving a massive redistribution of political and social
power in the vertically and horizontally stratified humanity (between
nation states and within nation states, between and within the classes,
castes, communities and races, ethnic groups) which results in the rich
in the rich nations, the rich people in the poor nations, the rich
among the weaker sections of society become richer, and the poor
nations in the rich nations, the poor in poor nations, poor of the
weaker sections of the society become poorer. This churning is going on
at the global and national levels between the economic, political and
social forces.
Within the developing countries this churning creates chaos and conflicts. The factors like:
* the decaying of the traditional mode of existence and lack of rural
development, development involving a massive redistribution of
political and social power in the society (capitalist development),
* failure to develop capital intensive high technology industry which
needs massive material and manpower development and R&D and
* shrinking of the market,
makes the emergence of a new industrially developed nation almost
impossible. It results in the political and economic ruin of a vast
population particularly the pre-capitalist classes. It retards the
social mobility of the intermediate classes and they appear drifting
towards the lower starts of the society. Thus these classes seek their
vain-salvation in secessionism and armed insurgencies. They resort to
terrorism, turn to fundamentalism and other ideologies or simply
express their anger and resentment during the pogroms of this or that
kind. As the decaying of the capitalist system at world level is
reducing the already shrinking world into a bloc of nation states and
re-allocates its dwindling wealth and resources among these; it causes
war, chaos and terrorism, everywhere in developing countries.
Terrorism only results in turning these states into the killing fields.
The harvest of which can only be reaped by the discontent-managers --
local, national and international. It also results in a massive
displacement of the population (which is never rehabilitated) and
intimidation and annihilation of the liberal elements within the
communities and social groups involved in waging war against state. The
struggles by the people (living outside the capitalist social
relations) against the state are doomed to failure and these ultimately
result in their abject surrender to the same state they are fighting
against.
The terrorism (by state and non-state actors) also takes birth: * when
new class emerges and is denied its position in power structure
commensurate with its economic, cultural and social power.
* when a class society cannot be run democratically based on negotiability of class interests.
* when new social classes emerge and are denied its position in power structure of society.
* When socially defunct traditional power elite and politically
marginalized classes or factions of the same class contending for power
turns violent and unleashes an armed class struggle with the active
help of rival foreign power.
* When peaceful dissent is brutally suppressed. When power sharing political apparatus and institutions fail.
Usually terrorists come from social classes which are politically
defunct unable to capture state power through non-violent means or
civil war or armed insurgency either because of lack of social base or
domination of capitalists power elite at home or dominant imperialist
powers supporting the ruling class at international level,
State Terrorism
One of the characteristics of a terrorist situation is that it
makes state to react. Thus terrorism always create conditions for
counter terrorism. When state governance becomes criminal, oppressive,
destructive and anti-social for whatever the reason, it evokes a
reaction against itself in form of terrorism which invites counter
terrorism and in the end both strengthen each other. Terrorism achieves
nothing except to bring on a host of repressive measures to combat it.
The separation between society and state, state and government
vanishes. The rule of law, if there is any, is replaced with unlimited
and absolute authority. The state uses violence against its own
subjects. Thus a state becomes a terrorist state.
When a state uses violence and terrorism in the territory of a rival
state as an instrument of its foreign policy that is called state
sponsored terrorism. In fact there is nothing like indigenous terrorism
most indigenous armed struggles are sponsored covertly or overtly by
rival states.
When a political outfit has ideology and social base and motivation to
go for criminal disobedience to its own state, even it knows it cannot
win civil war or insurgency. The neighboring state rushes to sponsor
such movement. Even small fourth rate states like Nepal which face
resistance in their own state pokes its nose in neighboring state,
Bhutan. While terrorism is seemingly against a state at the same time
it becomes a cannon fodder or mercenary or stooges of the rival state.
As mentioned, non-state terrorism is a criminal disobedience to the
ruling class and a class struggle for domination of civil society by a
rival class, which politically and militarily weaker than that of the
ruling class. In order to defeat criminal disobedience to class rule
both polarize whole society between two hostile camps. Both declare
explicitly that those who are not with us or with them. Both take high
moral grounds and speak of justice, peace and moral values. Both call
each other an evil to be wiped out. By the acts of their rival they
seek justification of their own acts. Under these conditions common man
has to prove his loyalty five times a day towards state.
Non-state terrorism, state terrorism, state sponsored terrorism and
international terrorism are the names given to the same process, the
process of decadence of capitalism as a world system and drifting of
humanity to barbarism by all of these forces.
International terrorism
We know there is a community of nations, with week and strong nations,
there are international relations and so-called multi-cultural,
multi-lateral, multi-racial and multi-religious international order.
What we do not know is that there is international terrorism too. Any
nation state that puts criminal disobedience to international law and
global governance whether by sponsoring terrorism or by waging war, is
a terrorist state or put it mildly as rogue state. Let us call it
international terrorism.
A terrorist state uses violence, covert military and intelligence
operations and war (we take war as national terrorism) as instrument of
foreign policy and strives for unilateral control of multi-cultural
world bodies in order to restructure international relations under its
dominance and to extend its control beyond its national borders. By
this definition America becomes an international terrorist state.
By its own definition also America is an international terrorist state.
American covert military and intelligence operations and war are
premeditated and conspiratorial. American aggression on Afghanistan and
war on Iraq was planned much earlier than “God fearing” Al Qeeda turned
America unfriendly terrorist out fit. American expended million of
dollars to befriends Saddam loyalists and supported all clandestine
operations for physical annihilation of Saddam Hussein. So much so even
now we have some Saddam loyalists serving American occupation forces in
Shiite dominated areas. America targeted non-combatant civilians,
violated all international convention during war against Afghanistan
and Iraq. American forces killed children and wives of Al Qeeda in
Afghanistan. America has history of unleashing genocide of civilian
populations. |
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