From the standpoint of other people across the
world, the American Empire has three main arms. It has a military arm
(symbolized by the Pentagon), a political arm (symbolized by the Capitol Mall),
and an economic and cultural center (symbolized by the Manhattan).
The people that would fight the Empire are like
fleas fighting an elephant. The United States cannot be militarily attacked or
invaded. Any convoy of ships or aircraft will be annihilated long before it
arrives on our shores. The only way America can be attacked is through a
crippling strike...like a clandestine nuclear submarine attack...or some kind
of guerilla attack which serves as a symbol or contains some kind of
propagandistic value. Only the Soviet Union had the capability for a nuclear
attack by submarine. Everyone else has to look to some other kind of battle
tactic. That means guerilla warfare which when brought to an Empire's domestic shore will be labeled as terrorism.
The Al Qaeda hijackers unleashed a symbolic guerilla
attack. It was like the 1968 Tet Offensive...it really didn't accomplish much
but by stinging the elephant in the eye it got its attention, and more
importantly the public's attention. As Communism was a vehicle for Vietnamese
nationalism and anti-colonialism, an outlet for anger and
frustration....Islamic Terrorism largely recruits from an angry disenfranchised
underclass coming from societies which are dysfunctional, societies often crushed
under the indirect weight of the American Empire. Are the Americans putting
their boots in their faces? Often not directly, but through political and
corporate proxies...yes. And the people in these places realize it.
Since then there have been many others who have
joined the movement and don't fit the profile. But it must be remembered that
the majority of people picked up in recent years by the FBI are not genuine
homegrown terrorists but stupid people that have been entrapped. Most of them
would have never actually done anything but when goaded on by undercover agents
they press a button to a dummy bomb, are shackled and paraded on the evening
news. The Law enforcement community gets a feather in its cap, the
military-industrial complex justifies its existence and the political powers
gain more capital because the public is once again scared. And our so-called
'liberal' media accepts and promotes this misleading Establishment narrative.
After 11 September, Americans were frustrated and
angry with the lack of outrage in the Islamic world. Many who would not
sympathize with the Salafism of Al Qaeda seemed unwilling to absolutely condemn
Bin Laden. Why? Because it's not really about Salafism...it's anti-Western Imperialism.
Though many Muslims wouldn't want to live next door to Bin Laden they couldn't
help but admire the fact that he alone stood up to the giant, stung the
elephant in the eye and humiliated it.
It's logical for these people to think...ah, maybe
now the average American who is part of the system will question the whole
model, the Empire? Maybe they'll realize that their Imperial Machine is killing
people and destroying cultures all around the world? Maybe they'll stop and
reassess what they've been doing and start to back off?
It would be logical but it shows that Bin Laden and his
entire ilk grossly misunderstand the American psyche. Non-self examination and a
robust self-righteousness are built into our social DNA. We're right and we're
good, full stop. Even when our public schools are willing at times to paint the
American past in a dubious light, they’re still promoting patriotism, the
military, and the same Establishment narrative.
11 September 2001 provided a platform, a vehicle for
the visionaries of the American Empire. They had their raison d'être. They had
their Pearl Harbor for a new generation, the cataclysmic event they wrote about
in the 1990's which would enable and empower them to initiate this agenda. The
American Empire did not back off in response to the terrorist attacks. In fact
it aggressively expanded and has used this paradigm-shift to expand into other
realms. It's trying to ride this wave into the Asian and Africa spheres as
well.
Don't be fooled by the recent calls for military
cuts. They're only looking at cutting back to levels maintained before the Iraq
War escalation. Even the 'trigger' cuts which would come about if the budget debacle
isn't solved would only take levels back to pre-2001. What Obama is proposing
are 'cuts' only in a technical sense. Cuts which only undo the massive increase
under Bush. The military machine continues to grow, and not fast enough for
American Conservatives. The American military establishment is far and away the
largest employer in the entire world.
I'm not sure how brilliant Bin Laden was. If he
hoped America would back down he was wrong. If he hoped America would escalate
and the escalation would push the Middle East beyond the breaking point...he
was right. However, he may have also inadvertently self-destructed.
The Arab Spring has been fueled by democratic grass
roots people-power and at present many are lamenting the ascendancy of various
Islamic parties across the Middle East. This is problematic. America can't
preach the intrinsic value of democracy but then continue to tell other people
they're voting wrong and are thus giving America a right to corrupt their
democracy. This will only lead to more extremism and instability.
But secondly Americans really stumble over the word,
"Islamic". Islamic doesn't mean Al Qaeda. These are people reacting
against forced secularization and Westernism being both imposed and culturally overrunning
their country. American Corporations and pop-culture are ubiquitous across the
globe. We see the ‘values’ angle when it comes to movies and music but we don't
tend to see it when it comes to McDonalds and Starbucks. It's there too. It's
about a lifestyle, attitudes about money and possessions, and it's also about
temptation...
To many America is an attractive whore that beckons
to people. People all across the world wrestle with both desire and revulsion.
It's like looking at Lady Gaga. She's repulsive as she writhes about on the
floor, but there's a part of you in your flesh that wants to look and watch,
even if it's just a sort of repugnant fascination. That's America. Oh, and when
we tie America in with Christianity as our Presidents often do...to the rest of
the world Lady Gaga becomes a symbol of Christian culture. Wonderful witness.
The problem isn't to eliminate Lady Gaga. She'll go away soon enough on her
own. The problem is that we shouldn't be identifying our Imperial culture with
Christianity.
Many of the Islamic parties if morphed into American
Christian terms would be akin to Focus on the Family. They're trying to
emphasize things like family and societal values. They're Islamic but they're
not Salafis. They are Sacralists but they're not like the Crusaders and the
Inquisition.
The Christian Right is Sacralistic and Dominionist
but there's a difference between James Dobson and Rousas Rushdoony. Dobson
doesn't want to eliminate religious minorities, he just wants them to be second
tier. He wants laws that favour Christianity. Theonomists would close down
mosques, deport dissidents, execute heretics and outlaw dissent. That doesn't
market well and they frequently lie to others and perhaps themselves when it
comes to these issues. But if you read their writings and think about what
they're saying, it's pretty clear. They laugh at the suggestion their view
would necessitate a type of Inquisition to hunt down and expose heretics, but I
take it as axiomatic... power will resort to extremism to maintain itself. When
their pseudo-theocracy began to collapse, inquisitorial powers would become
mandatory.
Both camps operate on the wrong side of the
Sacralist line, and certainly Dobson's type can be hijacked by the other
camp...that's a legitimate concern...but they're not the same.
The Islamic parties in Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey are
more like Dobson. They are trying to steer their countries against Western
cultural influences nor do they want rulers who act as Western proxies. This
does not mean they want to crash jet airplanes into buildings in American
cities.
This is the irony in all this. If Bin Laden hoped to
galvanize the Islamic world, he did, but they're largely rejecting his vision.
If Bush hoped to promote Wilsonian democracy at the point of a sword, he
failed...but he so destabilized the region a grass roots impulse has indeed
developed....largely built on rejecting the Pax Americana Bush hoped to expand.
Rather than expand the American archipelago of allies and proxies, he empowered
them and en masse they're rejecting the American Imperium.
Here's the danger. Will the American Empire leave
these countries alone and let them find stability on their own terms? Will they
allow the Islamic parties to fail and be voted out, or to reach social and
political compromise and take a more moderate tact? Or, will the Americans
intervene both overtly and clandestinely and further agitate the situation?
Will they turn to brutal proxies and bombs to enforce American policy? If so,
then a new generation of young angry men will find an outlet in the narrative
and nihilism of Al Qaeda or whatever group is on the stage by then.
Bin Laden and Bush have both failed...and for the
moment that's a cause for celebration.