Slashdot Mirror
One Year After September 11
One year ago today, at 9:12 eastern, we posted
World Trade Towers and Pentagon Attacked amidst the events of that day. Since Slashdot is really just a discussion site, I felt the most appropriate way to handle this anniversary is to simply do just that. I hadn't read those stories since the day it happened, and I really am at a loss for words. But I'm sure many of you won't be. And thanks to OSDN for turning banner ads off for the day.
a so-called "war" on Afghanistan, despite no real proof's ever coming out that Afghanistan was really involved in the Sept. 11th attacks;
a looming "war" with Iraq, for no apparent reason other than that GWB doesn't like Saddam Hussein;
a $50B increase in military spending in the US, an increase which by itself alone is more than the military budget of any other country in the world;
a steady erosion of US civil liberties and rights, including the imprisonment without due process of two American citizens on spurious charges (Lindh and Padilla) as "enemy combatants";
an extraterritorial concentration camp for unfortunate POWs in Guantanamo Bay;
the odious phrase "regime change" and a resurgence in the belief that the US has the right to effect such changes worldwide by dictatorial fiat, military force, or covert operations;
a steadily worsening situation in the Middle East, particularly involving Israel, Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, possibly because of the eschatological beliefs of the US government's three major players;
a "perpetual war for perpetual peace" bred out of (as far as I can see) a revenge mentality and a refusal to accept the last death. (As Martin Luther King said, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.");
the US's disregard for international criminal courts (such as the ICC, to which the US is opposed) and the rule of law shifting from tacit assumption to formal policy, making explicit the seeming belief of US policy-makers that there are two sets of rules: one for the US and one for everyone else.
Well, if these are the results of a reasoned, intelligent, and graceful response, I'd hate to see the results if they just decided to act out of nationalistic fury...
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
To the people who lost loved ones: all the best and I hope you'll find the strength to move on.
That aside, the whole thing is getting on my nerves. I'm living in The Netherlands, Europe and our press tends to show us different news than what's just on CNN. And there is a lot more to tell than the 'We are the best' stuff, aired on CNN and other patriotic channels.
- Widows of foreign workers who died in the massacre on 9/11/2001, will be deported out of the country. Because they were allowed to stay in the USA due to their husbands job, because that husband is dead now, the widows have to leave... pronto. Excuse me?
- Remember all the innocent people still in jail, ONE YEAR after the disaster, without a trial. At least 500 men are still held in custody without a trial or accusation that they committed a crime and that they will be trialed at a later date. Nothing, they are just held into custody. No offence, but isn't that the same system 3rd world dictators use to keep the people doing what they want? It's definitely NOT part of any reasonable definition of 'democracy' and 'freedom'.
- The CIA hasn't found any evidence against Saddam Hussein concerning Al Quayda. Remember: the laws the USA government pushed through congress after Sept. 11th, were for the war on terror (which is understandable). However, using these same laws, the current USA government is trying to use sept.11th and the results of that horrible crime to go after Saddam. You might think: "I don't care what reason they use", but that's the beginning of the end: if a certain government with a lot of guns (the USA) starts to dislike another government, it shouldn't result in instant war, there should be a certain control in place. That's now gone, due to the US PATRIOT act and other shabby laws.
There are a lot of countries where people suffer due to the crimes committed by the governments of these countries, however the USA doesn't do a damn thing about THAT, like a lot of countries in Africa. (except selling guns of course). Let sept.11 be a landmark of how bad foreign policy can turn out and let it be a starting point to work on a solid WORLD where people understand eachother, instead of just kill whatever isn't compatible to a certain christian-right-wing policy cooked up in the white-house.
Never underestimate the relief of true separation of Religion and State.
Hmm.
1. England didn't give a shit. Plus you try fighting a war on the moon with no political support, with the Chinese on the other side - that's pretty much the situation the English were in, logistically.
2. Oh, so it was America alone against the Japanese? No.
3. Iraq is lied to about America's desire to fight a war in the Middle East, and based on those lies invades a country they'd never have touched had they not been lied to.
4. America gets a bloody nose from 19 people armed with pocket knives. Half the world silently cheers.
Let me add some
5. America tries to assassinate Fidel Castro. For no good reason. Several times. And fails.
6. America installs puppet Government in [Nicaragua | Grenada | Afghanistan | etc]. America wonders why the world doesn't trust America.
7. 1960s-70s, America overestimates its own ability to win a war without political backing in Asia. North Vietnamese inflict humiliation
8. 2002, America invades Afghanistan. Thousands of innocent civilians are killed, hundreds of foreign nationals are tortured and held without trial or rights, the very freedoms Americans are so passionate about defending get reduced and removed.
9. 2002 America underestimates yet again how much the rest of the world hates their cultural imperialism and self-centred outlook.
10. 2002, America fails to invade Pakistan, India, South Africa, China, Russia, England, France and several other countries known to have weapons of mass destruction. Arab nations query why Iraq in particular are so special?
11. 2002, America continues to support Israel, despite many documented abuses of human rights, possession of weapons of mass destruction, continued oppression of their own people.
Please, stop telling that America is so great. America is every bit as stupid, selfish, jealous, paranoid and incompetant as any other country. And it's considerable more brutal, repressive and intolerant than many.
To stay on topic: I dont want to remember the 11th September 2001 attack on the world trade center especially. I don't appreciate the flood of tv and radio programs about it. I don't comply with the media attempts to engender a national feeling of mourning about it.
I would support someone suggesting 'Lets spend a few minutes remembering all the innocent people in Afghanistan that died, were injured and maimed, and have their lives ruined, by the pointless American activities in that region, and indeed lets spare a few thoughts for the unfortunates in Iraq who'll be next against the wall'.
One single terrorist attack on US soil. Many thousand in the rest of the world. Many of those thousands committed by or on behalf on America. Don't fucking tell me who's innocent.
~Cederic