Pacific Free Press was launched in March 2007 by Dutch-Canadian Richard
Kastelein of V.O.F. Expathos, in the Netherlands along with Chris Cook- CFUV radio journalist and Editor in Chief of Pacific Free Press. Cook is based in , Victoria, British Columbia.
The mission of Pacific Free Press is simple: to dig out nuggets of truth from
the slag-heap of lies, ignorance and witless diversion that has buried
public discourse today. Pacific Free Press provides a new venue for
disseminating hard news and insightful, fact-based analysis of the
harsh realities too often ignored or distorted by the mainstream press.
“People do not forget. They do not forget the death of their fellows, they do not forget torture and mutilation, they do not forget injustice, they do not forget oppression, they do not forget the terrorism of mighty powers. They not only don’t forget; they also strike back.”
Harold Pinter, Nobel Laureate
The central tenet of American foreign policy hasn’t changed since the early 1980s when Secretary of State Henry Kissinger summarized our involvement in the Iraq-Iraq War saying, “I hope they kill each other.” Kissinger’s dictum reveals the basic racial and religious odium which animates the current policy and has become the organizing principle for maintaining the global empire.
Now that the Muslim world has been systematically ravaged from the southern-most part Gaza to the northern tip of Afghanistan, we can see that the application of the Kissinger Doctrine is an effective method for decimating societies where coveted resources are located.
By all accounts, it’s been a huge success.
The policy seems to be working best in Iraq, where provocative counterinsurgency operations have incited a massive sectarian war. The conflict produces an ever-increasing number of civilian casualties many of whom have been killed by other Iraqis. No doubt Kissinger is gratified that his theory is working out so splendidly.
The western media portrays the disaster in Iraq as the natural upshot of years of repression under the former dictator, Saddam Hussein. But, Saddam had nothing to do with the violence which is ripping Baghdad apart. That’s just a way of pacifying the American public so they can go on their Christmas buying-spree without pangs of remorse. In fact Saddam is no different than America’s other tyrant-friends in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. He simply stood in the way of Big Oil’s dream of direct control of Iraq’s resources and created a likely rival for “good friend” Israel.
The violence in Iraq is entirely America’s doing; just follow the
bloody footprints straight to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. There's no need to
look any further.
The Bush team has ignited a firestorm in Iraq which has swept through
the capital and countryside; pitting Arab against Arab, and Muslim
against Muslim. That was the object from the very beginning. Now that
the violence is spinning out of control and could cross borders into
neighboring countries, the grown-up members of the
policy-establishment, like James Baker, are getting jittery and want to
see a change of direction. Baker isn’t bothered by the death and
destruction as long as it is carried out with discretion and doesn’t
disrupt other imperial projects in Latin America, Africa, and Central
Asia. But Iraq has swallowed American foreign policy whole; leaving
Bush little time (or resources) to deal with other urgent matters in
the rest of the world.
The military is over-extended and bogged down, the situation on the
ground is chaotic, and American prestige has taken a beating. The
advocates of “creative destruction” have released the genie from the
bottle and energized the anarchic forces of regional rebellion. Now,
the outcome is anyone’s guess. What is certain, though, is that Bush’s
plan for an endless source of cheap gas and security for Israel has
taken a ruinous turn for the worse.
Israel has a different perspective on the turmoil in Iraq. Olmert has
embraced the neoconservative ideal of “positive instability” and clings
to the notion that toppling foreign regimes and disrupting Arab
countries improves his chances for regional dominance. In fact, just
last week Olmert opined that the war in Iraq has actually been “better
for the safety and security of Israel”. Olmert still believes that
Israel’s imperial aspirations are fortified by attacking and
fragmenting other countries in the Arab world. No doubt, his response
comes as no surprise to anyone in the region.
It’s easy to see how the assassination of Lebanese parliamentarian
Pierre Gemayel fits perfectly with Olmert’s world view. If violence
breaks out between the various Lebanese groups, then the Christians
will serve as a “proxy army” for Israeli interests. What could be
better for Olmert? That means he wouldn’t have to restart the 34 Day
War and risk the lives of Israeli troops. He could just sit back a
watch as his Lebanese neighbors tear themselves apart in a second civil
war and hopefully weaken arch-rival Hezbollah in the process.
No wonder Olmert’s popularity is soaring at 18%.
The Gaza-Solution
American hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Israel’s war
in Lebanon are part of a broader plan for remaking the Middle East to
meet the needs of American oil corporations, banking giants and Israel.
The war on terror provides the thinnest of cover for military
operations which are clearly colonial in nature. The Pentagon makes no
effort to conceal their overall objectives. In fact, Defense
Department’s maps are available to the public which outline the area of
the Middle East and Central Asia as CentCom; the central battlefield in
the global resource war. What more proof does one need that the entire
region is in the gun-sights of the Washington warlords?
The most regrettable part of the current conflict is the way in which
Muslims have been subject to subtle, but deliberate vilification. This
may have more to do with geography than race, but the result is the
same. Muslims never appeared on the radar of public opinion before
9-11, now they are regular targets of right wing, xenophobic tirades
and carefully crafted government fear-mongering.
Coincidence?
Not likely.
Bush and Blair have assured us that “this is not a war against
Muslims”, but neither has done anything to silence the racist abuse
which spews daily from radio talk-shows or from the op-ed pages of
major newspapers. Tom Friedman frequently uses his column to remind us
of the problems which are particular to Islam and which can be easily
overcome by simply complying with the diktats of Washington and Tel
Aviv. Friedman’s annoying paternalism and prejudice is widely shared in
the mainstream media where unreflective buffoons are all-too eager to
blame the victims of occupation, exploitation and corporate vandalism.
If Muslims believe that the war on terror is actually a war against
Islam; it’s because all the facts point to that conclusion. Sober
leaders in the foreign policy establishment should carefully consider
the implications of this strategy before continuing down this path.
Waging a culture war against one and a half billion Muslims who occupy
the lands where we get our vital resources does not auger well for our
long-range interests. America’s economic viability is held together by
a webbing of pipelines, tankers, oil platforms and oil facilities. All
of these are vulnerable to the attacks of terrorists, guerillas,
dissidents or disgruntled enemies of the empire.
Are we prepared to fight them all?
A “war of civilizations”; is the misguided progeny of neoconservative
fanatics. Their plan is now writ large across the entire region so
everyone can see that the US-Israeli war is actually directed at
Muslims alone.
This is a huge mistake for which we will all pay dearly.
The war on terror is the greatest public relations swindle of all time.
Just look at a map!?! We’re not fighting terror; we’re repositioning
military assets to control crucial pipeline routes and oil fields. The
administration’s objectives are as plain as day to anyone who knows the
least bit about landlocked supplies of oil and natural gas in Central
Asia and 60% of the world’s oil in the Middle East. If American
industry controls these reserves they can control China’s growth,
maintain US military superiority, and force the world to use the
debt-plagued greenback into the next century.
Unfortunately, America’s ongoing aggression requires a scapegoat; an
unwitting victim that they can demonize and portray as a imminent
threat to U.S. national security.
Muslims.
Now we have Muslim-only gulags scattered across the planet where every
imaginable method of torture is employed with complete impunity.
We topple their regimes, shame their women, defile their holy book,
train their repressive security-forces, incite violence between their
religious sects, bomb their cities and mosques, and jail anyone who
appears the least bit suspicious.
If we are not “at war with Muslims” then why is the concertina-wire
still stretched around Ramadi, Tal Afar, and Falluja? Why the Madras’
still being bombed in Northern Pakistan? Why is Abu Ghraib still
overflowing with prisoners? Why are Muslim scholars still refused entry
into the United States and Muslim civilians kept off airplanes? Why
does right-wing radio still flood the air-waves with their racist bile
and anti-Islam vitriol?
And why does the United States still stubbornly refuse to condemn
Israel’s criminal attacks on the Palestinians, like last week’s bombing
of Beit Hanoun where an entire family was butchered in their sleep?
Why?!?
Bush’s plan for Muslims has been clear since he assembled his
flagship-gulag at Guantanamo Bay and presented it as the main icon of
the new world order. If Bush wants to prove his sincerity, then he
should release Gitmo’s inmates and order the facility be bulldozed into
rubble. It is an abomination that should offend anyone with a trace of
decency.
We know Bush’s plan for Muslims, because it is identical to that of his
ideological-twin, Olmert. They both believe that the final solution to
the “Muslim problem” lies in the Gaza Model.
The Gaza Strip is the world’s largest prison camp containing 1.5
million Palestinians. They are limited in their movements and have no
reliable access to food, medical aid, clean water, electricity or
employment. They do not control their borders, air space, roads or
coastline. And, even though their elected officials have none of the
powers that are normally associated with national sovereignty, they
have been under constant siege by Israeli forces that aggressively
destroy any nationalist movement which operates beyond Tel Aviv’s
control.
Israel claims the absolute right to kill, detain, abduct or torture
anyone it sees fit without providing any means for a legal defense.
They show the same disdain for Palestinian human rights as they do for
the 60 separate resolutions passed by the United Nations. Israel does
as it pleases.
Nothing about the Gaza “open-air” detention facility is accidental.
It’s a model that has been meticulously developed over 39 years to
create a permanent state of imprisonment for the “undesirables” who
have legal title to the land. If we look across the Middle East into
Central Asia, we can see that the same fundamental principles for
subjugation are being applied to Muslims throughout the region.
The Gaza Model is the logical corollary of Bush’s war on terror. It
provides a means for dealing with the people in resource-rich lands who
stand in the way of America’s corporate-political expansion. At its
core, it is a strategy for “pacification” through segregation,
containment and brutality. These are the grim requirements for
America’s continued dominance into the next century.
The war on terror is fueled by belligerence, deception and unrelenting
aggression against innocent people in their own countries. It is
terrorism pure and simple.
Bush will deny this, but it is true just the same.
You're right, Mr. Pinter written by Jimmy Montague,
November 29, 2006
I've known since all this started that Uncle Sam's real goal in Iraq and Afghanistan was to gain strategic and tactical leverage for use in the larger war he plans against China and Russia. An American force in that region, with state-of-the-art airpower and plenty of oil to fuel it, can run right up the ass of either Russia or China. Along with American forces in Korea and on the Rhine, Uncle Sam will be able to fight a two-front war against either of his Great Antagonists. Knowing that he lacks manpower, Sam now works hard at luring NATO forces into the swamp he has created. I think of the Axis force that the Russians finally broke at Stalingrad. The 21st Century is shaping up to be the most violent in all of history.
Writings 
“People do not forget. They do not forget the death of their fellows, they do not forget torture and mutilation, they do not forget injustice, they do not forget oppression, they do not forget the terrorism of mighty powers. They not only don’t forget; they also strike back.” 
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