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THE DIRTY BOMB RUSE (12 06 02)
When politicians get in trouble, the standard strategy is
diverting public attention away from an embarrassing issue at
hand, known in media parlance as 'damage control.' This time
it is the revelation that both the CIA and FBI had important
information about terrorist plans to attack the US far in advance
of September 11, 2001 and failed to act on that information.
Instead of close cooperation between these two agencies, there
was keen competition. A positive distraction was badly needed.
Instead of a rabbit, the US Government pulled out a dirty bomb
plotter out of its magic hat and quickly imprisoned him in a
military base. Most major media in the US, Canada and several
European countries used the event as the lead story of the day
(June 10, 2002) without bothering to question the scanty information
provided by US Government sources.
At first it was reported that 31-year-old American, Abdullah
al Muhajir (Born to Puerto Rica parents as Jose Padilla and known
by that name until he converted to Islam), was part of a plot
to explode a crude bomb somewhere in the US that would disperse
radioactive material. It sounded like authorities got the man
just in time or another major catastrophe would have hit the
US. President Bush gloated "we've got him off the street"
and most Americans felt reassured the intelligence sources of
the US had performed exceptionally well in nabbing this alleged
al Qa'ida member. The catch wasn't quite the caliber of Bin Laden
who had been widely predicted to be caught by the US in the weeks
following the 9/11 attack, but Bin Laden disappeared despite
US Government claims they were close to nabbing him.
See: The
Omar-Osama Puzzle
With Muhajir in military custody, being interrogated without
legal representation and shielded from any journalistic prying,
some US Government sources soon were busy backpedalling. Secretary
of Defense Don Rumsfeld conceded Muhajir may never be charged
with any crime even though he has been labelled an 'enemy combatant'
which in effect strips him of many basic rights a US citizen
is normally entitled to. Then it was revealed his arrest was
not the result of clever sleuthing by the FBI and the CIA, but
his name was provided by Abu Zubaydah, a senior Al Qa'ida commander
in US custody who is well known for his intelligence, but not
for his reliability as an information source. Next it was admitted
Muhajir had no bomb materials --nor even basic drawings of a
dirty bomb-- at the time of his arrest. The official US Government
claim is that Muhajir apparently mentioned the idea of making
and exploding a so-called dirty bomb in the US to some Al Qa'ida
operatives in Pakistan.
With November mid-term elections coming up in the US, the ploy
is to keep Americans on edge and on guard with one warning after
another that another major attack is imminent in the US. It is
an effective strategy: if nothing happens the electorate is grateful
that its government has prevented another terrorist attack and
if an attack does happen, the government can claim "we told
you." While the US is quickly developing a siege mentality,
its government is assured of wide public support for providing
safety for its citizens and maintaining law and order. Most Americans
under current circumstances even accept a steady erosion of their
constitutional rights. So long as the scare tactics on the one
hand and government assurances on the other prevail, the Republicans
will triumph over the Democrats in a big way in the forthcoming
elections. There is litlle appetite right now to vote against
the "Commander in Chief" who keeps assuring voters
that he and his government are protecting all Americans in the
best possible way.
In the meantime citizens and foreigners are being detained without
having been charged and may be held indefinitely in contravention
of their legal rights, including the fundamental right of habeas
corpus --their right to be charged or released within a reasonably
short time. Civil rights groups are accusing the US of changing
Mr. al-Muhajir's status from a citizen to an enemy of the State
in order to detain him indefinitely without bringing any charges
against him, meanwhile questioning him in the absence of legal
counsel and isolating him from the news media.
It is not the first time that the Bush administration has been
criticized for its handling of terrorist suspects. Human rights
groups are also critical of the treatment of Al Qa'ida suspects
being held in a military camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It is
important not to misconstrue criticism of the US Government as
a defense for members of Al Qa'ida who are not freedom fighters,
but brutal terrorists motivated and misled by fundamental religious
extremists who indoctrinate their followers to indiscriminately
kill civilians, young or old, to advance their cause (Several
hundred Muslims were killed in the attack on the World Trade
Center). But terrorism does not justify the US Government contravening
its own hallowed justice system nor does terrorism give the government
the right to protect its power base by misleading the public
when that seems politically expedient. History has provided some
valuable lessons in this regard. Here are a few quotes that illustrate
that fact:
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order
to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism
is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood,
just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached
a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has
closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of
the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded
by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader
and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And
I am Caesar." Julius Caesar
"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the
State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or
military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important
for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension,
the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the State." Dr.
Joseph M. Goebbels
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are
being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any
country." Herman Goering
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