Nancy Thomson
We are told our world would never be the same after September 11. On the local level changes revolve around long lines at the airport and as yet unrecognized Constitutional revisions. Nothing similar to victory gardens, saving the smashed tin cans or the gas rationing of World War II.
Those domestic war efforts are way out of date. Electronic advances have changed the face of war. Enemy cells may be operating right here, on OUR soil, as well as overseas. Therefore surveillance of EVERYONE'S phone fax and bank accounts is necessary in order to catch the terrorists. This is just a small part of the Patriot's Act (Terrorist legislation)
World War II found the population united against the Axis, Germany, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Italy and Japan. Whoops, Germany and the USSR had a falling out and so the US started subsidizing the communist /socialist war machine as they "came over to our side." Next came the "cold war" with the communists so our funding stopped. The USSR became "Russia" the KGB took on a different name, and the Berlin Wall came down. Once again billions of US taxpayer dollars, under the auspicious of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank found their way to Russia. By this time there was so much corruption in this "socialist Democracy" that most of the IMF money wound up in the Swiss bank accounts of the Russian elite.
In 1971 China was weak and President Nixon decided to " Play the Chinese card against Russia." The President was convinced there was a Chinese/Russian split that he could exploit. James Angleton, Chief of counterintelligence, advised Nixon against helping China. The President's belief was partly based on a 1969 "border war" between the two communist countries. Later it was proved this "war" was a set up. (1) Russia had pulled a ruse. Unable to build up China's economy herself, Russia fooled the US into doing it. This was the beginning of our helping China become a world power. The US had already done the same for Russia.
During the cold war the US and its European allies instituted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO.) The purpose of this military arrangement was to act as a buffer against Russian aggression. Actually NATO was a subdivision of the UN. From the beginning the UN had plans for a standing army but without the participation of our country, the army couldn't exist. Since (at that time) we wouldn't allow our military under UN control, NATO was a first step to get the US involved in what would be an international army.
NATO was strictly a defensive force as originally devised. The whole purpose of the coalition changed when NATO troops invaded Yugoslavia. With NATO and UN troops interlocking, the whole expedition became an OFFENSIVE operation. Of all things, Russia (representing the enemy against whom NATO was formed) became one of the "peacekeeping" forces patrolling the Kosovo area. The Kosovo operation created a schism within the Republican Party. Republican Senator John McCain urged Clinton to escalate the campaign and send in ground troops.(2) Other international interventionists were Henry Kissinger, Senators Richard Lugar, Charles Hagel, Bob and Elizabeth Dole (Mrs. Dole was a candidate for President) Those opposed to using US ground troops included, Pat Buchanan, Representative Tom Campbell, Dan Quayle, and Representative John Kasich. (3)
A global security meeting that was held in Munich, on February 5, 2000 to discuss NATO's handling of Kosovo erupted into angry accusations. Lambasted because of the bureaucracy, and political cowardice, the Europeans wanted a new continental army independent of NATO. Russia and the US clashed which prompted former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Perle to state the West hardly needs advice "from a country (Russia) who is bombing Chechnya into oblivion."(4)
The UN started producing everything from license plates to a new court system and became an occupier in Kosovo, creating great resentment. Yugoslavians now find they are under UN control in what was supposed to be an uninvited short term untangling of ethnic problems
Kosovo was about oil and subjecting an independent county to international control. So we have a repeat of circumstances brought about by the war on terrorism.
Again the UN is the overseer involved in all aspects of decision making. This time we have aligned ourselves with communist China, Russia and terrorist Arab nations. China has sold missile technology to Iran, and Pakistan (one of our coalition members) China also sold nearly 400 metric tons of chemicals used in the production of nerve gas, according to a report by Bill Gertz of the Washington Times. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Robert Einhorn, said China has become the number one supplier of conventional weapons to Iran. Pakistan has received from China a ground-to ground missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and magnets to produce fissionable material necessary to create an atomic bomb. (5)
Our partner Russia has also sold advanced air -defense systems to Iran and weapons to Libya. While we supply Israel with US made warplanes Moscow arms brokers sell weapons to Israel's enemies. (6)
Russia has finessed us before. Every country in our coalition is exacting some ransom from us. Russia wants the US to ignore the warring on Chechnya (forget our objections and ignore past statements by Perle) The Russians need help in improving their economy. As a guest recently in Texas, Putin mingled with capitalists attempting to lure investments in Russia's oil fields. There are vast gas, oil and coal reserves in Russia but they need US expertise to extract it. Just imagine we could be dependence free of Arab oil and be dependent on Russian oil instead! Besides Russia is "reforming" so as to join the World Trade Organization. A US citizen living in Moscow is president of Russia's Tyuman Oil Company. To come full circle, NATO is considering adding Russia to its membership.
History just keeps repeating itself. The same men who wanted to enlarge the war in Kosovo want the same thing, only more so in the Arab world. John McCain and Henry Kissinger have "mentioned" that the US should consider using nuclear weapons in Afghanistan if it proved superior to the bombing campaign. (8) Bush, meanwhile is being pressured by Richard Perle (who now advises this administration) and others to include Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Iran on our war list. A rather strange situation considering Iraq now has a seat on the UN Security Council.
There is something terribly wrong with this picture. There are no friends or enemies just a continual progress toward conquering in the name of internationalism. This once free country has aligned itself with a host of rogue nations in another undeclared war. The present and past are so merged that only the names of the countries are changed.
If only we had heeded the statement of the wisest man this country ever produced. George Washington warned us that Europe would always be at war. He advised the new country to remain neutral.