Blowback, A Sad Ending or Ominous Beginning?

If you have been following this blog thus far and you find yourself wondering, why does this matter today, than this post might help clear things up. Though each of my previous blogs had direct consequences and results from the actions which were occurring at the time, today's blog can be identified of the summation of those actions in our current time.

Decades of U.S. involvement in countries around the world had not only ravaged the American reputation, but also drained the coffers. The rise of the conservative party would do nothing to put a damper on looming economic disaster, and even worse, would spawn radical factions of the party whom would drive the U.S. deeper into an ever deepening hole. Even when Democrats briefly wrestled control of the White House from the Republicans, nothing was down to stop the snowball. "...the Clinton administration squandered the promised peace dividend in a new wave of military spending...The greatest pressure for increased military spending came from a single minded group of neoconservatives, spearhead by William Kristol and Robert Kagan, who, in 1997, formed the Project for the New American Century."(1) The PNAC was formed by an A-list of prominent republicans whom had presided over Washington politics for the past decade, and they would soon come to the peak of power when they would be placed into cabinet and secretary positions under George W. These same people would be behind the ignorant insistence of military spending on missile defense, even while red flags were waving a warning in the brewing storm of terrorism fueled by Cold War policies of the United States.

It is important to understand that the democrats do not have their hands clean in the problems we are now encountering, though it is an easy assumption to make with who has been in control of the country for most of the past 30 years. Most everybody whom is reading this blog today has lived through(or perhaps still living in) the economic depressions or recessions of the 2000's, including the house crisis caused by the unchecked banking practices of the biggest firms in the nation. It is no surprise that Oliver Stone, director of Wall Street - a commentary on the excess spending of the 1980's made a sequel in 2010, this time in response to the shady practices of big banks and Wall Street. You can look back into history and examine some of the policies which helped exacerbate this type of spending, or even peel open the cover of the smooth spoken Obama camp whom helped empower this corporate corruption after they helped sponsor his record breaking campaign fundraising. Some of those whom contributed funds to the campaign were "...Wall Street funders with deep pockets, like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Skadden Aprs, and Morgan Stanley. Also high on the list of Obama contributors were General Electric and other defense contractors..."(2) So remember, you can thank ALL of Washington for the production of these great films.

IMDB

IMDB

It is hard to fathom the type of corruption which exist today in the upper echelon of American society, but hopefully the foul play and corner cutting which has plagued the American economy does not spell the doom of the nation. "The good news is that we do have the means to restore a high-wage economy. The remedy has several dimensions. All have more to do with the political power to make the right choice than with laws of economics..."(3)

However serious the American economic woes may be, there have been much more explosive repercussions. American involvement, particularly in the middle east, during Cold War crusades lead to ill feelings in the Islamic world. Particularly by Al-Qaeda, "...an extremist organization committed to driving the United States and its allies out of the Muslim world...", lead by Osama bin Laden whom was part of the CIA "netherworld" during the US involvement in Afghanistan when they helped arm and train militants to fight the Soviets. (4) Bin Laden's rallying cry would be to drive the United States out of the Middle East.

 Despite billions of dollars in military spending, America suffered the most devastating attack on her homeland since Pearl Harbor. Though heart wrenching, this was not the first instance of a new Jihad on the west. U.S. military bases, embassies and military institutions had been targeted through out the 90's, as well a first attempt on the World Trade Center in 1993 which saw a truck bomb blow up in the lower levels of the garage. It is particularly worrisome when you combine the knowledge of past acts of terrorism with the consistent denial of the threats presented to President Bush prior to 9/11. As we know, this attack would be drive the United States deeper into the Middle East, so beginning the war on terror. A war which has piled on trillion dollar debts which we will paying down for many generations to come, though the human cost has been and will be incalculable. The first stage saw Afghanistan 'bombed back to the Stone Age' in pursuit of Al-Qaeda and the supportive Taliban.(5) Afghanistan would later become the launching point for a return trip to Iraq. This return trip to Iraq would be the handiwork of the PNAC, the leading members audaciously selling the war with lies and misinformation. Saddam Hussein, once the recipient of U.S. arms and chemical weapons, would not survive his second war with the United States. Though coined as another U.S. victory, thousands of Americans gave their lives in an a region which resented their very existence, "One highly placed U.S. official noted, 'Iraq is now Jihad Stadium, It is the place for fundamentalists to go now, it is their Super Bowl, where you go to stick it to the West... there are an infinite number of potential new players'"(6).

A narrative which was running parallel to the wars unfolding in the desert, were the gross injustices being committed at home and in facilities ran by the United States. Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib would be the poster children for American torture and inhumane treatment. Waterboarding, a World War Era II technique would join the high-tech U.S. arsenal in its war against terror. "The damage done to the United States' international reputation was incalculable. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., confided  'No position taken has done more damage to the American reputation in the world--ever' than Bush's torture policy."(7 ) At home citizens rights were challenged in the Patriot Act, and the debates over privacy still rage in the media and in congress. Internet users face extra scrutiny after the massive WikiLeaks release in 2011.

We now face the consequences of past and present American Empire every day, most recently the bombings in Boston. Countless shootings and an ever growing number of suicide attacks oversea's often no longer make the front page of the newspaper, and we seem shocked when an event such as Boston occurs, the lessons of the 90's and Al-Qaeda seem lost. It must be recognized that a new atmosphere now exist, one in which the Arab Spring signals a new global attitude, rather than Cold War triumphalism. I hope this blog provided an important history lesson which perhaps may allow you to look into these selected events in a new light, or perhaps more importantly allow you to shine that light on other events in history, or events that have yet to occur.  

On the topic of having a short memory, I found an article regarding PNAC member 'Scooter' Libby's felony conviction in regards to his actions of exposing a CIA agents identity in his crusade to push America to war in Iraq. I suppose risking the safety of an American's life and the integrity of CIA operations is a forgivable offense in Washington. It makes you fear for the future. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/bob-mcdonnell-scooter-libby_n_2786526.html

1 - 490 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)

2 - 551 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)

3 - 408 Griffith, R., & Baker, P. (2007). Major problems in american history since 1945: Documents and essays. (3rd ed.). Boston: Wadsworth.

4 - 488 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)

5 - 507 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)

6 - 530 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)

7 - 510 Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012)