Thursday, September 6, 2007

[1757 - Marquis de Lafayette, Revolutionary War General, born in Auvergne, France]

[1814 - USS Scorpion is captured by the British on Lake Huron]

[1860 - Jane Addams, social reformer, pacifist, Nobel laureate, born in Cedarville, Illinois]

[1902 - Morgan Beatty, reporter, journalist, born in Little Rock, Arkansas]

Terrorist Appeasers

President Bush has publicly admitted that for years the CIA has been running a number of secret prison camps in order to torture accused terrorist captives. In a desparite effort to save his presidency, the President and Vice President have also attempted to label those who oppose such practices, and condemn their failed foreign policies, and criticize their bungled Iraq War execution as pre-World War II fascist appeasers.

The analogy between the rise of fascism that led to World War II and the current rise of militant Islamic extremists is a flawed one, but one facet of it does appear to be correct. The regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito, played on public fears and nationalism to whip their people into war. Seizing on the tragedy of 9/11, that is precisely what the current administration of the United States did in order to launch the invasion of Iraq. Just as Hitler marched into Poland, so the Bush administration marched into Iraq with bogus claims of a threat (and a spurious link between the Saudi terrorists who actually did the 9/11 attacks and Saddam Hussein who had nothing to do with it). Just as Hitler and his henchmen set about creating the Gestapo and the SS, so the Bush administration has created clandestine commando units within the CIA and Department of Defense to do its bidding. Just as Hitler created secret prison camps to murder and torture those he called the inferior races, so the Bush administration has created its secret torture camps for Muslims and other scapegoats.

We need to stand up and speak out against these new age fascists before they do to this country what Hitler did to Germany. On the other hand, we could just sit back and follow these chicken hawks into a new conflict with Iran, just as the German people allowed themselves to be led to the slaughter like so many cattle.

William's Whimsical Words:

Heil Bush?

to Summer 2007

to Almanack Main Page