[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jei) writes: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:17:53 -0500 > From: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: James Bovard On Fighting Terrorism, Saving Tyrants > > Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 23:21:08 -0800 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: Jim Bovard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Matt - Fighting Terrorism, Saving Tyrants > > Matt: > Thought you might enjoy this bouquet for the war on terrorism. > take it easy, > Jim > > USA Today January 10, 2002 > > Don't bed down with tyrants to fight terrorism By James Bovard > > President Bush recently declared: "So long as anybody's terrorizing > established governments, there needs to be a war." Bush rightfully > sought international support for the campaign to put the al_Qaeda > terrorist network out of business. But the war on terrorism threatens > to become a license for tyranny. The United Nations is concerned that > an expansive call for governments to crack down on terrorism - a crime > that is not clearly defined - is spurring a surge of oppression around > the world. Los Angeles Times writer William Orme detailed some of the > ways governments are exploiting the new war to repress their citizens: > > The Cuban government, as part of its war on terrorism, added a new law > allowing the death penalty for anyone who uses the Internet to incite > political violence. > > Zimbabwe's war on terrorism includes a proposal to criminalize any > critical comment about President_dictator Robert Mugabe. > > Syria bragged to the U.N. that financial support for terrorists > was effectively curtailed by the absence of any private banking > system or independent charities, Orme reported. In other words, a > government that totally destroys freedom expects to be applauded as an > anti_terrorist superstar. > > Bacre Waly Ndiaye, a chief U.N. human_rights officer, recently > complained: "In some countries, non_violent activities have been > considered as terrorism, and excessive measures have been taken to > suppress or restrict individual rights, including the presumption of > innocence, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture, privacy > rights, freedom of expression and assembly, and the right to seek > asylum." > > Many of these complaints, in fact, apply to the actions of the Bush > administration. A new law decimates individual privacy by giving the > FBI the de facto right to vacuum up practically anyone's e_mail. > Permanent resident aliens who publicly criticize the U.S. government's > war on terrorism can be banned from re_entering the United States. > Some have floated the suggestion that permitting the torture of > suspects could help avert future terrorist attacks. And Bush's > executive order for military tribunals threatens to bring unsavory > aspects of Third World "justice" to American shores. > > A myopic focus on private_sector criminals risks giving a green light > to more dangerous government abuses. A core fallacy of the war on > terrorism - as opposed to attacking and destroying al_Qaeda - is that > terrorism is worse than anything else imaginable. Unfortunately, > governments have committed far worse abuses than al_Qaeda or any other > terrorist cabal. > > Official murderers Mass murder was the most memorable achievement of > some 20th_century governments. The Black Book of Communism, a 1997 > scholarly French compendium, detailed how 85 million to 100 million > people came to die at the hands of communist regimes in the Soviet > Union, China, Cambodia and elsewhere. In Death by Government, R.J. > Rummel declared that some 170 million people were killed in one of > "the myriad ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless > citizens and foreigners." > > By raising terrorist attacks to the pinnacle of political evil, the > war on terrorism implicitly sanctifies whatever tactic governments use > in the name of repressing terrorism. But, in the long run, people have > far more to fear from governments than from terrorists. > > Bush's labeling of attacks on any "established government" as > a justification of counterterrorism ignores the fact that some > governments are little more than criminal conspiracies against > their victims. The United States was created as a result of popular > uprisings and attacks on an established government that was far less > oppressive than many current regimes in Africa and Asia. > > The Bush administration must find a way to fight terrorism without > sanctifying tyranny. The word "terrorism" must not become an > incantation that miraculously razes all existing limits on government > power. The fact that governments such as Syria and Zimbabwe can > justify their oppression by invoking the war against terrorism is an > embarrassment to anyone who both opposes terrorism and favors human > rights. > > James Bovard is the author of Lost Rights (St. Martin's Press, 1994) > and Freedom in Chains (St. Martin's, 1999). > > http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/2002/01/10/ncguest2.htm > > ********************************************************************** > Subscribe to Freematt's Alerts: Pro-Individual Rights Issues > Send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words > subscribe FA on the subject line. List is private and moderated > (7-30 messages per week) Matthew Gaylor, (614) 313-5722 ICQ: > 106212065 Archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fa/ > **********************************************************************
