{"id":187,"date":"2003-09-07T17:57:14","date_gmt":"2003-09-07T17:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"0"},"modified":"2006-09-28T12:08:19","modified_gmt":"2006-09-28T12:08:19","slug":"the_truth_is_out_thereway_out_there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/?p=187","title":{"rendered":"The Truth Is Out There…Way Out There"},"content":{"rendered":"

Browsing Norman Geras’ excellent blog<\/a>, I was referred to a Guardian column by leftist UK MP Michael Meacher that manages to approach Hollywood standards of integrity in speech (“Hello,” he lied<\/i> being the classic example). <\/p>\n

Meacher explains it all for us<\/a>. It’s titled This war on terrorism is bogus<\/b>, and contends that the 9\/11 attacks gave the US an ideal pretext to use force to secure its global domination. Go read it now, and then come on back for some comments.<\/p>\n

“Massive attention has now been given – and rightly so – to the reasons why Britain went to war against Iraq. But far too little attention has focused on why the US went to war, and that throws light on British motives too. The conventional explanation is that after the Twin Towers were hit, retaliation against al-Qaida bases in Afghanistan was a natural first step in launching a global war against terrorism. Then, because Saddam Hussein was alleged by the US and UK governments to retain weapons of mass destruction, the war could be extended to Iraq as well. However this theory does not fit all the facts. The truth may be a great deal murkier.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We now know that a blueprint for the creation of a global Pax Americana was drawn up for Dick Cheney (now vice-president), Donald Rumsfeld (defence secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld’s deputy), Jeb Bush (George Bush’s younger brother) and Lewis Libby (Cheney’s chief of staff). The document, entitled Rebuilding America’s Defences, was written in September 2000 by the neoconservative think tank, Project for the New American Century (PNAC).<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Go read the actual document here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The PNAC blueprint supports an earlier document attributed to Wolfowitz and Libby which said the US must “discourage advanced industrial nations from challenging our leadership or even aspiring to a larger regional or global role”. It refers to key allies such as the UK as “the most effective and efficient means of exercising American global leadership”. It describes peacekeeping missions as “demanding American political leadership rather than that of the UN”. It says “even should Saddam pass from the scene”, US bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will remain permanently… as “Iran may well prove as large a threat to US interests as Iraq has”. It spotlights China for “regime change”, saying “it is time to increase the presence of American forces in SE Asia”.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that the earlier document is unsourced by Meacher; it appears to be from the 1992 Defense Planning Guidance, excepts of which can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meacher then goes on to discuss the current document:<\/p>\n

The document also calls for the creation of “US space forces” to dominate space, and the total control of cyberspace to prevent “enemies” using the internet against the US. It also hints that the US may consider developing biological weapons “that can target specific genotypes [and] may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool”.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I especially love the last part, which if true would convict the U.S. of a genocidal policy (which we’ve discussed ad nauseam here<\/a>; interesting to note the reference in a serious document which I believe we all missed at the time). Unfortunately, the document doesn’t remotely say that. What it says instead is:<\/p>\n

Although it may take several decades for the process of transformation to unfold, in time, the art of warfare on air, land, and sea will be vastly different than it is today, and “combat” likely will take place in new dimensions: in space, “cyber-space,” and perhaps the world of microbes. Air warfare may no longer be fought by pilots manning tactical fighter aircraft sweeping the skies of opposing fighters, but a regime dominated by long-range, stealthy unmanned craft. On land, the clash of massive, combined-arms armored forces may be replaced by the dashes of much lighter, stealthier and information-intensive forces, augmented by fleets of robots, some small enough to fit in soldiers\u2019 pockets. Control of the sea could be largely determined not by fleets of surface combatants and aircraft carriers, but from land- and space-based systems, forcing navies to maneuver and fight underwater. Space itself will become a theater of war, as nations gain access to space capabilities and come to rely on them; further, the distinction between military and commercial space systems – combatants and noncombatants – will become blurred. Information systems will become an important focus of attack, particularly for U.S. enemies seeking to short-circuit sophisticated American forces. And advanced forms of biological warfare that can “target” specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report is obviously dealing with the environment U.S. force planners will have to respond to, not the one they will necessarily create. Nowhere in the document does it contemplate a U.S. effort to develop biological weapons; just to respond to their use by others.<\/p>\n

He goes to on explain that the 9\/11 attacks must have been deliberately accepted by the Bush administration as a lever to move U.S. and world opinion to accept the coming Middle East war.<\/p>\n

I tend to avoid the more conspiratorial side of the web, but for now, I’ll just box this claim as a “Bush Knew” claim and set it aside. He explains the theory that Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor, and then says:<\/p>\n

Similarly the PNAC blueprint of September 2000 states that the process of transforming the US into “tomorrow’s dominant force” is likely to be a long one in the absence of “some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor”. The 9\/11 attacks allowed the US to press the “go” button for a strategy in accordance with the PNAC agenda which it would otherwise have been politically impossible to implement. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let’s go back to the document:<\/p>\n

Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor. Domestic politics and industrial policy will shape the pace and content of transformation as much as the requirements of current missions. A decision to suspend or terminate aircraft carrier production, as recommended by this report and as justified by the clear direction of military technology, will cause great upheaval. Likewise, systems entering production today – the F-22 fighter, for example – will be in service inventories for decades to come. Wise management of this process will consist in large measure of figuring out the right moments to halt production of current-paradigm weapons and shift to radically new designs. interests or that of its allies in space or the “infosphere” will find it difficult to exert global political leadership.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Meacher’s world, it sounds deadly and sinister, In reality, it sounds like the kind of disclaimer analysts make continually (ceteris paribus<\/i> – if everything stays the same).<\/p>\n

His explanation for the war is simple. It’s all about the oiiiiilll…we want Iraq for the oil and gas, and we want Afghanistan for … the pipeline. <\/p>\n

On one hand, he’s right…a stable Middle East is an important guarantor of a stable world economy, and in fact that alone is enough to give the West a strategic interest there. But I’ll point out the obvious fact that Saddam was willing to sell all the oil he could to anyone, and certainly would have welcomed U.S. interest in exploiting his resources for cash to build more palaces. There are much more economical and effective ways of guaranteeing a supply of oil from people who want to sell it to us than invading them.<\/p>\n

He concludes:<\/p>\n

The conclusion of all this analysis must surely be that the “global war on terrorism” has the hallmarks of a political myth propagated to pave the way for a wholly different agenda – the US goal of world hegemony, built around securing by force command over the oil supplies required to drive the whole project. Is collusion in this myth and junior participation in this project really a proper aspiration for British foreign policy? If there was ever need to justify a more objective British stance, driven by our own independent goals, this whole depressing saga surely provides all the evidence needed for a radical change of course.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Personally, I’d start at the next by-election. He’s an embarrassment to the U.K. and to the left in general. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Armed Liberal systematically dismembers leftist UK MP Michael Meacher for his recent Guardian article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}