For his inauguration, George W. Bush essentially declared war on much of the world. He did so, of course, without using that word; today's sociopathic heads of state are well-tutored in the art of rhetoric. Here are some relevant bits from today's declaration of universal war, interspersed with a few observations and translations into unadorned language:
[I]t is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture [unless we are doing active business with them], with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world [a goal that will clearly require armed military interventions, given the number of tyrannies out there, and even discounting those we are presently doing business with]
This is not primarily the task of arms [though it is, admittedly, a task of arms], though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary....[including "defending" ourselves and them when there is no actual threat, as in Iraq]
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. [Get ready for a lot more bloodshed! And don't be wimpy about it!] America's influence [read: military might] is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed [who are not killed or slaughtered by the invading forces], America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people from further attacks and emerging threats [i.e., make-believe threats, or threats visible to no one other than Bush & his bestiary of madmen]. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify [as we did with Saddam] the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong [unless we do business with you], and freedom, which is eternally right.... [In other words, it will now suffice as a pretext for military invasions that the country we are invading is not on the side of eternal rightness, of which the U.S. is the arbiter]
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world [i.e., you are now being warned]...:
The rulers of outlaw regimes [i.e., Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Venezuela et al.--but not Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, et al.] can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God [whose instrument is the United States], cannot long retain it.
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people, you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice and America will walk at your side....[Don't do as we say, and we will attack you]
All Americans have witnessed this idealism [i.e., the invasion of foreign nations and the toppling of their governments], and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character. [In other words, brace yourselves to be drafted.]
Very dark days lie ahead for humanity. On the most charitable (and implausible) interpretation, the talk about freedom is genuine. Even so, the idea that a single country would take it upon itself to "free" all those countries ruled by tyrannies would promise a global holocaust and bloodbath of unimaginable proportions.
On the more realistic interpretation, the talk about freedom is pure rhetorical pretense: the nation that enthusiastically supported tyrants and butchers in Indonesia, in Guatemala, in the Philippines, in Iran and Chile and Brazil and the list goes on; the nation that, today, does business with tyrants and monsters in the Central Asian Republics, in Saudi Arabia, in Pakistan, and elsewhere; this nation's profession of a commitment to "freedom" is a worldwide joke--a particularly sick joke coming from an Administration staffed by many of the architects and servants of the horrors just noted.
This is the most lunatic public address by a leader of America I can recall in my lifetime. That Bush gave this as his inaugural address portends disaster. Tyrannies may or may not be toppled in the years ahead, and they may or may not be replaced by new tyrannies, as has often happened in the wake of U.S. aggression. But what is a certainty is that if the Bush Administration acts on these threats, then, as in Iraq, tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) will be killed, crippled, wounded, and then thrown to the cruel mercies of decimated nations riven by religious and ethnic rivalry and more bloodshed, as in Afghanistan and, as seems increasingly likely, in Iraq. That is what "freedom's cause" means to the madmen who now rule the United States.
UPDATE: Thank you Fafblog! And Palast is good on this topic too!
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