This was, chronologically, one of the first entries in the
dictionary. The word folks comes from U.S. President George
W. Bush's (GWB) first statement after the 9-11 attacks. He called
the hijackers and their associates folks
, which struck my
Canadian mind as friendly, especially considering what they had done
and what he was to say and do about them.
GWB's Axis of Evil
referred to Iraq, Iran and North Korea
(later Syria, Cuba and Libya were added, see
this
BBC article). GWB concentrated on Iraq, for its weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). With the major help of Great Britain and minor
help of a few other countries, GWB overthrew Iraq's government. So
far, more WMDs have shown up in a park in downtown San Francisco
(chemical weapon leftovers) than in Iraq. In fact, GWB's main
accusation against Iraq, that they had WMDs and were willing to use
them against us, applies more to the USA than to Iraq. If you accept
that the U.S. high-tech weaponry is a type of WMD (and this wasn't
put to the test overly by the Iraqi army, which did not fight to the
last man), then the definition is vindicated, even if not all
appreciate its humour. We don't know if the U.S. would use chemical,
biological or nuclear weapons (again), but we do know that they have
them. And what about
land mines, a global tragedy whose toll continues to mount
decades after conflicts are forgotten? Perhaps the difference is that
big countries like to pretend that they're friendly, while small
countries like to pretend that they're dangerous. Dogs do it, why
not countries?
OK, granted that the government of Iraq needed changing, if only to stop the sanctions whose effects were killing thousands of civilians, many of them children, every month. What I've been talking about is the appearance of legality under international law.
What prompted me to write this little essay is the news I read this morning (July 19, 2004) that the CIA is now fingering Iran for the Al Qaeda / Taliban / hijackers caper. You might remember, during the aftermath of 9-11 and then the UN intervention into Afghanistan, that Iraq was always under suspicion for helping the baddies. Puzzled by this, I got out an Atlas and confirmed that Afghanistan and Iraq do not share a border. So if bad guys escaped overground, they must have gone through another country. Iran, with an Islamist government, seemed a more likely ally for the Islamist Talibans than the Iraqi government, which was much closer to a secular state. Not as secular as Turkey, but more secular than Iran. Yet, all that time, it was Iraq Iraq Iraq which was under suspicion.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Iraq was being demonized, and it is not difficult to figure out the source of this and much more disinformation. Now that Iraq as been stabilized, it is Iran's turn. So whenever you hear news, consider the source!
Now, Iran has admitted that they allowed Al Qaeda agents to pass through their country without stamping their passports. That was before the 9-11 attacks. Let's not cast stones against those who cooperate with criminals before they commit their crimes. For example, no international court has charged the USA for providing arms to Saddam Hussein in the days when they saw him as a useful ally against Communism and Islamist Fundamentalism. Nor have the Bush family been charged for their business dealings with the bin Laden family in the pursuit of good old-fashioned wholesome money.
Please don't interpret anything I have written as approval in any way for the government of Iran.
Finally, off-topic, I'd like to add that more people are killed in traffic accidents in India in two days than were killed in the 9-11 attacks. The 9-11 attacks have changed our lives usually often for the worse (e.g., tedious and often misguided security at airports), so in that sense the terrorists have succeeded; they have spread fear. But have the vehicular deaths in India, since 11 September 2001 now (July 19, 2004) over 500 times as numerous as the terrorist deaths, changed our lives even an iota?
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Last modified July 19, 2004