Introduction

I had been doing a lot of reading about American foreign policy for several years before the dramatic events of 9/11 and so I was keenly aware of the actions of the American government in Third World nations prior to this date.  With the backing of corporations, the government had engaged in countless interventions into the affairs of these countries, usually supporting a dictatorship, such as those in Central America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  In fact, the history of the past century was replete with examples of American corporations fulfilling one of Karl Marx’s predictions, namely that in the name of profit capitalists will search the globe for “markets” and cheap labor.  If the local citizens begin to object and try to “nationalize” their local resources, they would be labeled “communists” and dealt with accordingly, usually with the help of the CIA or the U. S. military, along with some local dictators and hired thugs.

            In one of the best books written on the subject, William Blum summarizes these U.S. “interventions” as the product of four imperatives: (1) “making the world open and hospitable for─in current terminology─globalization, particularly American-based transnational corporations”; (2) “enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of Congress and residents of the White House”; (3) “preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model”; (4) “extending political, economic and military hegemony over as much of the globe as possible, to prevent the rise of any regional power that might challenge American supremacy, and to create a world order in America’s image, as befits the world’s only superpower” (Rogue State, Common Courage Press, 2001, pp. 13-14).

            Among the results of such interventions are millions of deaths, dozens of democratically elected governments overthrown and replaced by hand-picked corrupt local officials, plus growing animosity toward the United States by people all over the world, some of whom have been labeled “terrorists.” 

The standard definition of “terrorism” is interesting.  According to the FBI’s definition, terrorism is “the unlawful use of force or violence committed by a group or individual, who has some connection to a foreign power or whose activities transcend national boundaries, against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (quoted in Blum, Rogue State, p. 32).  The key word in this definition is “unlawful,” since this definition describes many actions of the U.S. government over the years, but we have the power to define what is and is not “unlawful.”  In short, it is unlawful when they do it, but lawful when we do it.  This is one of the prerogatives of being the most powerful and richest countries in the world.  After all, we spend about as much on our military than all the other countries combined!  Another way of putting this is that although we are about 4.6% of the world’s population, we spend as much as the other 95.4% combined. 

Despite this history, the majority of the American people were absolutely stunned when 9/11 occurred.  Shortly after this event, I wrote the following essay, which appeared in the weekly newspaper, Las Vegas City Life.  As events unfolded, I wrote other essays on the subject, starting with the “war on terrorism” itself.  Along the way, I was often viciously criticized and called names, including “commie” and accused of “hating America,” prompting me to comment on dissent in America.