Retribution for Years of US War Crimes in the Middle East will be Swift and Ugly.
author: Lawrence J. Maushard
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Disaffected and disconnected youth who are nonetheless disgusted by violent US power plays - the only form of foreign policy they've ever known - will respond to Bush's final solution by the means Americans know best. In addition to another endless war in the Middle East, a pall of burning cities at home is destined to be the administration's parting gift to the nation.
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"BURN BUSH, BURN!" -- THE 21st-CENTURY UPGRADE FOR A REVOLUTIONARY CALL
Retribution for years of US war crimes in the Middle East will be swift and ugly.
The spectre of retribution is haunting America - retribution for war crimes, systematic torture and public indifference.
Much of the world was able to forgive the United States for its previous crimes against humanity in Vietnam where at least 3 million died at the hands of US forces. That forgiveness was based on the obvious and never-ending actions of millions of Americans who came out against their government's war. The world saw how a large portion of the public, with clarity and commitment, set itself in opposition to LBJ's and then Nixon's illegal, immoral and unjustified war on Southeast Asia.
The difference in 2008 is the world can plainly see the staggering lack of active public opposition to continued US war crimes in the Middle East. In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq more than five years ago, millions of Americans did actually, for a time, hit the streets in opposition to Bush and Cheney's war. But once the occupation settled in, and even after news of US atrocities and torture became commonplace, mass opposition rallies and civil disobedience actions petered away to nothing more than largely ignored and ill-attended candlelight vigils marking the invasion anniversary.
No matter what the recent polls say, or the primary votes for Obama indicate, the vast majority of Americans either agree with the years' long occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan (Support the Troops!), or, more importantly, they simply don't care.
That indifference, however, may not last much longer. In fact, retribution for US war crimes will originate here at home as opposed to arriving in the form of another 9/11-type incident carried out by foreign nationals. The first phase of war crimes retribution will materialize when Bush and Cheney and Rice and Gates decide to finally overplay their hand and pull the trigger on Iran before the much-anticipated end of this deranged administration.
You don't have to be a visionary pundit or a foreign policy expert to understand the US and Israel are preparing an attack on Iran. Ever since the Bush-Cheney invasion of Iraq, those claiming to be in the know have been warning international observers that the American military is about to drop its other shoe on the second leg of the Axis of Evil. But now even the isolationist American public can't help but be shocked and/or awed by the latest round of threats from Washington and Tel Aviv directed squarely at the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Let's not be coy about this. If only Israeli planes attack Iran, it will be with the full support and assistance of Washington. IDF bombers would have to fly through US-controlled Iraqi airspace, and Tel Aviv does nothing in the realm of international military action without American approval.
As most everyone expects, the coming attack on Iran is certain to start a firestorm of violent reactions across the Middle East: Iraq to Palestine, Egypt to Jordan, Syria to Lebanon, Pakistan to Afghanistan.
But one of the first ugly consequences of an attack on Iran will be an outbreak of violent protests in cities across America, the likes of which haven't been experienced since the Rodney King Riots in 1992. Back then 53 people were killed, 2,000 injured, and more than 10,000 arrested as arson and other property damage reached $1B. National Guardsmen, US Marine and Army convoys rolled down California's highways to deploy on LA streets before order was restored.
As noted, a decade later protests broke out across the nation when the US launched its invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The epicenter of those demonstrations was San Francisco where more than 1,000 people were arrested and "total anarchy" reigned in the downtown district, according to police officials.
Other major US cities, especially those on the West Coast like Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, experienced chaotic mass demonstrations not seen since the Vietnam era. Portland residents still find it hard to forget the nonstop televised disorder as 10's of thousands of protesters rambled through the streets on Friday March 21, 2003, gridlocking downtown and blocking several major bridges, while splinter groups staged repeated jaw-dropping sitdowns in the middle of Interstate 5. Some black bloc marchers famously knocked down a police officer foolishly attempting to halt one angry column.
Fast forward to 2008. When Washington and Tel Aviv forces cross into Iranian air space, raining (nuclear?) death and destruction from the West, the likes of which Persia has not experienced since Alexander burned Persepolis, a hardened core of US militants is going to make a determined stand. The vast majority of those anti-imperialist protesters will be peaceful, but enough of them will be setting fires, smashing windows, and battling cops - at least for a few hours, maybe a few days - that a disproportionate response from over-aggressive militarized riot police will no doubt turn American urban centers into domestic war zones.
No need to worry about foreign terrorists following US troops home. No, the homegrown forrmer
revolutionary mantra "Burn baby, burn!" is going to get an all-new 21st-century upgrade: "Burn Bush, burn!"
Disaffected and disconnected youth who are nonetheless disgusted by violent US power plays - the only form of foreign policy they've ever known - will respond to Bush's final solution by the means Americans know best.
In addition to another endless war in the Middle East, a pall of burning cities at home is destined to be the administration's parting gift to the nation. Retribution for years of US war crimes in the Middle East will be swift and ugly.
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Lawrence J. Maushard is a journalist and author living in Portland, Oregon. More of his work is at www.maushard.com.
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The reality of Indigenous resistance is terrifying colonial squatters all over Turtle Island - payback for war crimes, biological warfare, and the continuing hatred of all colonial citizenry.
The colonial squatters all over Occupied Turtle Island arrogantly boast about being a proud citizen.
What are you proud of? Being liars, sneaks, murderers and cowards.
The colonial squatters on Occupied Turtle Island can continue to puff themselves up and pat themselves
on the back while foolishly believing they will continue to occupy Indigenous lands.