Security can be defined as the ability to actively contribute into societys' affairs and sleep at night without fear. Terrorism can easily be defined as a disturbance of this security, whether it be with the fist, gas, grinders or bombers, however it is more difficult to define exactly what a terrorist is. “One persons' terrorist is anothers' freedom fighter”[1]. Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were at some point in time characterized as terrorists, jailed and brutally treated, and now they are glorified as heroes of their nations, freedom fighters against 'state terrorism', the imperial terrorists, the slave traders, the feudal monarchs who viciously demonstrated their power in an endless pursuit of global control. Conveniently after the second world war, the United Nations partitioned off a part of the middle east, Palestine, to the Jewish nation. The creation of Israel was an important tactic in the United States of Americas' military strategy. The conflict between the Jews and Muslims was indeed beneficial to the worlds' biggest terrorist, the United States of America. 'State Terrorism', as it is called, controls what the media does and by doing so tells the world who the terrorists are. We are all told that Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are the terrorists and we believe exactly what the propaganda tell us. Using the media, not only do they blind us with vivid justifications of their spending, they also put on a charade of a fair democratic process. In the theory of elitism, there are only a handful of people in the general population that are capable of governing. As the rich and powerful are the only ones who are able to provide their children with the right education, the elite continue to rule in generations and mock the populus with elections.
Terrorists indeed exploit religion in the pursuit of their goals. After the second world war, Americas' biggest foe was the USSR. With this in mind and the fact that they were heavily dependent on the oil from the middle east, a base in the middle east was essential. It was not possible to launch a rapid attack, in the name of defence, on the middle east all the way from america, whether travelling east or west from america; the middle east region is geographically too far. It is possible to maintain forces in international waters, but then there are the pressures of the other great powers. Conveniently, Israel was created and a large land base right next to the oil rigs with a sea port was created. With Israel, a close ally of America, America could now launch an attack on any of the middle east nations or attack USSR from the west if necessary. The fact that Israel was a Jewish state in the heart of Muslim land, has created animosity for the past 60 years. This suited America, as it provided reason to heavily arm Israel, for peace keeping reasons obviously. The Old Testament preaches “thou shalt not kill”[2], the new testament preaches “love thy neighbour”[3] and “Islam is a religion opposed to violence”[4], however there still is war all over the world. There are tensions within the Russian satellite nations, there are problems within the eastern European states, there is civil war in some of the African regions, but America is not interested. It is selfishly concerned with the conflict of the middle east for its oil. There is a religious war present in the Indian Island called Lanka, but America is not interested in Dilmah. America is heavily dependent on oil and its' hegemony would come tumbling down if the oil supply were to be sanctioned off by the sultans. The toppling of the Hussein government was the wrong thing to do, a terrorist act. It was a breach of International Law, but there was no International police officers with enough power to coerce America to back down with force. There have been rumours that the new League of Nations would bring about a better world, however they too must be 'rational' thinkers and realise the importance of oil. The presence of multiple religious philosophies in the middle east has conveniently provided the worlds biggest terrorists a means of entering the oil rich region and maintaining economic control of the worlds biggest commodity.
Terrorists indeed exploit the media in their pursuit of their goals. The ultimate goal of the United States of America is global hegemony, that is the spread of their capitalistic economic philosophy and dominance of all the markets. This required the containment of communism via military means and intervention in the middle east several times over the last half century. Being a democratic state, the people of America have protested several times over the actions of the government. Local fervor is usually combated with propaganda missions using the media. The war in Vietnam was justified by demonizing the communists with no evidence to backup their claims. Conditions from the USSR and China are never broadcast in western countries, except when they are maliciously fabricated by local governments, in the pursuit of programming the minds of their citizens. Similarly the media brand Muslims as terrorists in order to win over the minds of the populations. In order for the USA to conduct its' everyday business, it is heavily dependent on middle east oil. Without the cooperation of the middle east sultans, America would not be able to maintain its' hegemony over the world as we know it. America needed the support of their people to be able to invade Iraq and gain control over the oil rigs with the use of force. “... they didn't care whether the weapons were there or not”[5], Bill Clinton. Here is an excellent example where terrorists use the media to pursue their own goals; Bush and Blair used the media to create propaganda about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to gain the support of their citizens for the invasion of Iraq under false pretences. “Some years before the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden was already named by the press 'the most wanted man in the world' ”[6]. Realistically, the defendant is not guilty until proven guilty beyond 'reasonable doubt'. Without much knowledge about the reality of the American people, the only exposure to the outside world about American culture is through its music, film and television. If that is any way to judge the nation, there is obviously some animosity between the African American population and the mainstream caucasian population, giving rise to reasonable doubt. Yet, the media, through government 'intelligence' reports, indicate that the culprits are al-quida or/and taliban. Indeed terrorists exploit the media in the pursuit of their goals.
Terrorists indeed exploit the democratic processes in the pursuit of their goals. The whole charade of the free world with their right to vote is nothing but a sham. The educated elite would not in their right minds let any 'John Doe' run for the presidency and win with the majority vote. “Fascist regimes in Spain, Italy and Germany ruthlessly suppressed all 'enemies of the state', such as political opponents, communists, Jews, and others”[7]. Whether the government be called a democracy, republic, monarchy or a communist regime, the elite rich and powerful rule, and they rule with the iron fist. Any possibility of a political dissident, 'state terrorism' is used to suppress the opponent, using all the advanced arsenal available, that is torture through nerve gas and the like. The charade of the democratic process is used to maintain peace within the nation. People like to think that they are a free people, free to choose their government, as opposed to the ruthless authoritarian/totalitarian states of China and Russia. By Deluding the populus with the notion that they are living in a democratic nation and have a fair say in politics, the governments are able to go about their business of global control. The majority of the population of a country would not want to send their children, husbands, brothers or fathers to war for no reason, especially one to maintain global superiority. That was the main factor contributing to the beginning of the WWII. The population of Germany were conditioned to thinking that they were better than the rest of the world and should dominate and control the world. The elite of America at present think along those lines and are prepared to wage wars to prove it. Those that control America would not allow an average Joe to enter the political arena and cause disruption with radical thoughts of peace through diplomacy without warfare. Also, to be fair to the educated elite, it might not be possible for the general lay public to be able to govern effectively. The elite, with all their higher education are already making a pretty good mess of it, how could it be possible for the average Joe to run a government? However, the western world has its roots built upon classical liberalism and should provide the opportunity for every citizen to run for government. The absence of the opportunity, is the exploitation of the fair democratic process in order to pursue their own goals.
Security has been defined as the ability to conduct everyday activities and sleep without fear, while terrorism is actuated when people are threatened and have to live in fear. Terrorists tactics vary from the common fist to the more advanced gases, grinders and bombers. The media will have us believe that terrorists are the highly sophisticated stone throwers, whereas the good guys are the ones that maintain diplomatic relations by grinding teeth under anaesthesia. Religion, media and democracy are nothing but a silly charade to keep the ignorant occupied. Religion is just a small topic of the subject of Philosophy. Religious philosophy, of which there are a few to keep people occupied, are not to be taken too seriously, just as the big bang theory. There is the old testament, the new one, the koran and some fables in India, however there is also Greek mythology which comes with the same credibility as the other stories. The grandest of grand terrorists, the Americans, have managed to exploit religion to their benefit. The inhabitants of Israel read the old testament and the their neighbours, the inhabitants of the oil regions, read some other book titled the koran. This difference in 'religious philosophy' caused some strife between the inhabitants and gave opportunity for the Americans to set up base in Israel, and so the exploitation continues. Then there is the media, who realistically speaking are nothing more than an arm of the government when it comes to reporting on sensitive political matters. They may claim freedom of speech, but they are restrained and parrot what they are told, or else! When it comes to war, the government are quick to use the media to display images of terrorist activities from the other side in order to gain support. They claim intelligence, however the only weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of the G8, while the middle east try to battle their way out of the aftermath of the second world war. As for the democratic processes, it can all be summed up in one word, a 'charade'. The minority elite control governments and will not let loose of their tight grip. Since the beginning of political thought, when socrates was forced to drink the hemlock because of his dissidence, governments have used violence to suppress their citizens. Only the elite, the rich and powerful, the upper class, the aristocracy, the land and arms owners are able to govern, with terror, the iron fist, if need be. In summary, governments, the legal mafioso, like the governments of Pakistan or America (with the so-called war of independence in the late 18th century), where gang leaders who take over by force, who have access to large armies and arsenal, are the real terrorists and exploit religion, media and the democratic processes in the pursuit of their goals.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Bingley, R., “Terrorism”, Harcourt Education, U.K., 2004
- The Old Testament
- The New Testament
4. “Cutting Edge: Blair at War”, SBS, Tuesday 2nd September 8.30pm
5. Innes, B., “International Terrorism”, Amber Books, Malaysia, 2003
[1] Bingley, R., “Terrorism”, Harcourt Education, U.K., 2004
[2] The Old Testament
[3] The New Testament
[4] Innes, B., “International Terrorism”, Amber Books, Malaysia, 2003
[5] “Cutting Edge: Blair at War”, SBS, Tuesday 2nd September 8.30pm
[6] Innes, B., “International Terrorism”, Amber Books, Malaysia, 2003
[7] Innes, B., “International Terrorism”, Amber Books, Malaysia, 2003
