Give them Something to Lose

By: Art Jannicelli

April 21, 2004

Recently there has been a large increase in terrorist attacks around the world. The most spectacular of which being the Madrid train bombing. Iraq has become so unstable it is totally unsafe for foreigners to travel without a military escort. The kidnapping of three Japanese citizens was also very important. Every single one of these incidents as horrible as they are from a humanitarian stand point, still deliver a long overdue message… There is a price to appeasing US imperialism and taking US bribes in the form of military hardware and training.

The US policy of providing military hardware and training in return for military or political support is a very dangerous one. Bribes are needed when you are trying to convince someone to do something that they do not want to do for you. Hence, the US is arming people who do not agree with US policy. We have seen this policy backfire more then once, the most graphic example being arming Bin Laden to fight Russians in Afghanistan .

9/11 was a direct result of the US government removing the democratically elected leader of Iran on 9/11/1953 . It was also fueled by US sponsorship of the corrupt Saudi monarchy. Terrorism is not a random act of violence they are retaliations for state sponsored terrorism.

There is a reason why terrorists vote with suicide bombers. The United States is economically invincible; it can run massive deficits for the foreseeable future with no short term consequences (read “Super Imperialism”). Internationally, it enjoys veto power in the Security Council so nothing can be passed that would limit US imperialism. Militarily, the US spends 10x its nearest competitor! It is the largest arms producer in the world by far. It has a dozen more aircraft carriers then anyone else in the world. It is the only nation with stealth aircraft. Together this equates to an invincible empire.

This has enabled the creation of a massive militarism complex in the US . The US knows if it cannot destroy you economically ( Cuba , Libya , Iraq , etc.). It will not hesitate to use violence to promote its agenda ( Korea , Vietnam , Iraq and those are just the well known examples). This goes to the very core of US hypocrisy. The US shoots first and asks questions later… Conversely, while the US reserves the RIGHT to attack anyone. It considers military action and the possession of WMD by any other state or group to be completely illegal. Here we have an omnipotent power that wantonly embraces the use of violence while prohibiting its use by anyone else…

Domestically US citizens make just enough to live paycheck to paycheck and have not seen a raise after cost of living/inflation since before the first oil shock in 1973. American's have just enough not to be willing to confront and risk losing it all. As a result they are easily controlled with a campaign of fear and consumption. Civilians are the only soft targets and if the reaction to 9/11 is any measure, it is a highly effective at forcing a response.

The problem with terrorism though is two fold. One it is always wrong to kill innocents. Who knows who you could inadvertently kill, even allies. Secondly, though the US has the political and military power to retaliate 1000% and more too any attack. Coupled with US militaristic mentality any attack against the US will be met in kind with massive violence.

The real tragedy of terrorism is that neither side sees the futility of violence. Terrorists are just increasing the level of violence exerted upon their fellow Muslims. Conversely, US policy does not see that impoverishing more Muslims breeds more terrorists.

It used to be said during the Cold war that totalitarian governments rise out of situations of decrepit poverty. Well the same can be said for terrorism.

Following the Madrid bombing the Spanish public acted beautifully. They immediately took to the streets and DEMANDED peace and the end of the actions by their government that instigated the attack. The Spanish people made the connection that violence leads to violence and the cycle will not end on its own.

The US government has spent at least 250 Billion on the “war on terror” since 9/11. There are just 3 million Palestinians. What if the US had spent even one billion dollars in Palestine to provide a basic working infrastructure (water and power), rebuilt schools to give children something to do and give them hope for the future. All of these projects should primarily employ Palestinians. What if the US had spent the rest of that money on immunizing every child in the world (UN estimates the cost of this under $200 million). Provided primary education for every child in the world (another 40 billion) and upgraded infrastructure in the 3 rd world to improve water, electricity, and mass transit access. I said earlier that the US public has been cowed into acceptance by giving them something to lose. Likewise, the key to stopping terrorism IS appeasement. If you give every Muslim child hope for the future and their parents hope for the future of their children, support for terrorism could be ended over night. Additionally, since most of the world lives on under $2 a day, it is relatively cheap to improve the lives of these people who are the most likely to be willing to be suicide bombers.

It takes a moral nation to turn the other cheek and do the right thing, and resist the urge to devolve into petty revenge.

People with hope for the future do not wish to jeopardize that future.

The key to stopping terrorism is giving them something to lose.