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January
23, 2003
A
Chauvinistic Farce
Or,
There They Go Again
If
there were any hopes in the past few weeks, what with the
rising tide of antiwar sentiment, that the Empire might turn
back from the brink of invading Iraq, the Emperor’s annual
speech should have dispelled them. Within a few short
weeks, before the weather window closes, there will be war.
Baghdad
via Belgrade
Before
attacking Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999, the Empire bothered
to create a pretext. First its diplomatic observers – actually
intelligence agents – helped a terrorist group stage a "massacre,"
then its top diplomat proposed a "peace
plan" that was in fact a naked land grab in the language
of unconditional surrender. When the Belgrade government understandably
refused, U.S. and its satellites unleashed Hell. But because
it lacked any justification for the attack, the Imperial Alliance
made wild allegations of "genocide" and "humanitarian
disaster." The ongoing
farce in the Hague Inquisition is an embarrassing reminder
of the lengths to which they have gone to transform these
lies into Official Truth.
Now the same
pattern is used on the eve of war against Iraq, only some
portions are no longer necessary. The pretext, for example,
which was to be fabricated by the weapons inspectors, has
failed to materialize. Wild allegations are flying again,
though, and there has even been a threat
of charging Iraqis with "war crimes," such as resisting
Imperial invasion.
Hopes of the
UN somehow stopping the war are also baseless. Any moral authority
they might have had was purposefully demolished in Bosnia,
and died when the first bombs hit Belgrade and NATO got away
with the international-law equivalent of premeditated
murder. After what happened in the ruins of Yugoslavia,
with the entire world watching, the Empire now feels it can
get away with anything, anywhere, anytime. Its leaders have
said as
much.
Up
to Their Old Tricks
While
the general public in Imperial-dominated countries may have
already forgotten 1999, both those running the Empire and
their intended victims have not. When the implausible proposal
of exile
for the Iraqi leader was floated ten days ago, Saddam Hussein
must have thought of Slobodan Milosevic. His constant appeasement
of U.S. demands, from Dayton
to Kumanovo, only brought more demands and new sanctions,
which did not stop even after he was taken to the Hague Inquisition
in chains. Clearly, in Milosevic’s case, trusting the Empire
proved his undoing. Unlike the Serbian people, Hussein seems
to have realized that. What good that will do him, if any,
remains to be seen.
The
'Serbian Model'
If
extracting parallels from the Yugoslav experience seems a
bit far-fetched, how about this Monday’s Christian Science
Monitor, which in a series
of articles openly discusses upcoming "regime change"
in Baghdad in light of previous such actions, specifically
devoting a major portion to Yugoslavia?
Apparently,
Iraq should end up with a similar result as the 2000 "October
Revolution" in Belgrade, if through different, more violent
means. Reading the interviews
with pro-Imperial sycophants and foot-soldiers of the October
coup, it becomes obvious the Empire saw nothing wrong with
corrupting a country’s political process and literally buying
a government it desired. After all, they’ve funded
the terrorist KLA, then claimed it fought for "American
values"…
So it is we
learn of a "a three-year [sic!] campaign by the US and
other Western governments to dislodge the Yugoslav leader
by strangling his country’s economy with sanctions and rocking
it with bombs," an admission of international crime if
there ever was any. Iraq suffered three times as long, though.
Also noted
is the role of "non-governmental" organizations,
such as George Soros’s Open Society and various "human
rights" groups, which were basically fronts for direct
action against their host country.
The Monitor
also mentions in passing the following facts, which have been
known for years yet assiduously ignored by the mainstream
media. Upon reading them, it is not hard to see why:
- "opposition parties
ran all the country’s major towns and cities after municipal
elections in December 1996."
- "Milosevic never resorted
to dictatorial repression of his political opponents at
home."
- "former members of
the fractious 18 party ‘Democratic Opposition of Serbia’
(DOS) [say] US diplomats knocked their heads together until
they formed a cohesive and united coalition."
- "western money funded
the development of Otpor."
Otpor
("Resistance") was ostensibly a student movement
advocating the overthrow of government – but only the Milosevic
government. It was organized and paid by the Empire to do
a job. The Monitor quotes one Otpor leader:
"Eighty-five
percent of our funding came from the United States,"
through bodies such as the National Endowment for Democracy,
the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic
Institute, as well as USAID.
The
article ends with Zarko Korac, now information minister in
Zoran Djindjic’s quisling government, claiming that what brought
Milosevic down was a "death by a thousand cuts."
Well, there’s
a cheerful picture: "democracy" as a product of
political and military action based on ancient Chinese torture.
Truth can come from the mouths of morons! But overall, it
is a chilling admission of how the Empire is determined to
have its way, and – perhaps more disturbingly – how so many
are prepared to help it.
Caracas Copycats
But before
the people of Iraq can dance with joy at the prospect of a
Zoran Djindjic of their very own, it needs to be made clear
that the rest of the world can look forward to such wonders
as well. Just last week, Washington’s patsies in Caracas have
tried to copy the Serbian Model, asking
foreign assistance to force early elections and topple
President Hugo Chavez.
Chavez is by
no means a paragon of virtue, and his socialist economic theories
leave a lot to be desired, but while this describes most world
leaders, he differs by refusing to be America’s busboy. And
because Venezuela supplies over 10% of U.S. oil imports, his
defiance is more than irksome to the Court of St.
Abraham.
Battle Hymn of the Empire
This founder
of Imperial Presidency sheds much light on the belligerence
of today’s Washington. Modern-day worshippers
of a president who shredded the very real Constitution to
save the very abstract "Union" have gone much further
than the man who endorsed total
war against his own people. Lincoln only claimed total
dominion over the United States of America; they claim dominion
over the entire world. Somehow, at some point, America was
anointed with World Leadership, they say, and any and all
who resist it are "in rebellion" against legitimate
authority. Thus, there is no need for justification of further
invasions, as they represent legitimate suppression of rebellions
by the legitimate overlords of the World.
Towards a New Liberty
Whosoever accepts
this theory should know that its end result will be like the
ruins of Yugoslavia: a foul, wretched place, filled with tyranny,
chaos and despair. If this is the choice they are prepared
to live with, so be it. They have been fairly forewarned.
The rest, one suspects, would rather be free.
Well, it’s
high time we be about it.
–
Nebojsa Malic
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