War on Terrorism:

The Bush Troika´s war on terrorism reached first base after installing a new government
in Afghanistan. One of the poorest and most defenseless countries on earth has been
bombed into rubble by a megalomaniac superpower that can see no limits to its rights of
domination. The country that harbors more Southern American terrorists, executioners
and dictators than anyone else in the world has shown us all what happens when others
harbor wanted men! What has been achieved if we look beyond Bush's clichés,
Pentagon's hype and Rumsfeld´s and Ashcroft´s rhetoric? Is the world any safer? Have
the suspected evildoers been brought to justice? Has it been a "just war"? Are there less
people who hate or dislike the western powers?

The good news is: The Talibans are ousted. American oil companies will be able to build
that pipeline and the new ruler Karzai have old ties with Unocal and supports the scheme
as do others in the new interim(?) government!!!

The bad news is: Between 40,000 and 60,000 innocent civilians, already oppressed by
their government in Afghanistan have been killed according to independent studies.
Millions more refugees have been created and the starvation has increased due to stopped
relief deliveries before winter was setting in. The final death toll may rise to 3 million.

The same government that was helped to power by CIA and Pakistan´s secret service in
-96 now has been defeated and other known crooks, gangsters and opium sellers,
responsible for the death of maybe 50,000 civilians when last in power, have again taken
power, for some time or indefinitely remains to be seen.

Large parts of the infrastructure in Afghanistan have been bombed into oblivion as have
Red Cross buildings and important depots. Unexploded cluster bombs will cause carnage
for generations.

Some thousands of brainwashed Taliban soldiers, most of whom had no knowledge

whatsoever of any terrorist actions outside Afghanistan, have been killed. A few hundred
lower level commanders have been captured and will be questioned.
The main "enemies" and raison d étre of the "war", the monster, evildoer, fanatic (etc),
Bin Laden and his sidekick Mullah Omar, suspected (but not convicted) of atrocities and
certainly no friends of capitalism, are not to be found even after levelling the topography
of parts of the country and their whereabouts may be any place in the eastern parts of the
world. The "smoking them out" seems to need a lot more time and fuel.

A very small number of US servicemen have died or suffered wounds. The number is
probably not higher than it would be had they gone on with normal service training and
driving forth and back to their homes.

The war has stirred up more unrest in the sensitive Kashmir region and indirectly led to
near-war between India and Pakistan. It has also whipped up anti-western feelings and
caused the moderates in many countries to come down on the "wrong" side of the fence.

The war has set a dangerous precedence for international violence and legitimates various
countries to use their military to hunt and wipe out opposition groups that can be pressed
in under the "terrorist" label even if their cause is just.

New laws have been passed in US that dilute or make a mockery of some of America´s
most cherished Amendments and introduces military tribunals as a means to deal with
suspected terrorists. The interpretation of who is "terrorist " or what "aiding or abetting"
them means seems to be left for the military or Rumsfeld to decide and might even be
stretched to include Greenpeace and WTO protesters.

The mainstream media in US have given up all pretence of objectivity and truth and act
by and large like propaganda tools for the regime in the same way that Pravda used to
sing the praise for the Soviet leaders.

The military cost for US and other countries involved in the "coalition against terrorism"
probably amounts to what it would cost to eliminate starvation and a lot of the suffering
in the world.
A president who came to power by questionable means and was considered a moron
internationally is recieving support to the level that editors who question him can be fired
or recieve hate-letters. A secretary of defense, who has declared that US must have world
hegemony, shows himself as a super hawk willing to bomb a string of defenceless
countries not toeing the line. An attorney general talks like a dictator and threatens those
who try to defend open discussion.

US has shown the world that its own brand of state terrorism is allowed and works. And
it still refuses to extradite the Union Carbide-boss wanted by India as responsible for the
catastrophy in Bhopal that killed 5000 people. Or the large scale CIA-connected terrorist
living peacefully in Florida while wanted by Haiti for deadly terrorism to the tune of
1000 people. Or Henry Kissinger, proven to be responsible for the fascist state coup in
Chile that led to the murder of democratically elected Salvador Allende and subsequently
the deaths of thousands by orders of Pinochet. Or all those others enjoying Florida
sunshine with the blessings of the White House after their bloody handiwork in
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Chile, Panama, Cuba, Peru and Colombia
have become closed chapters in the book. The western hypocrisy is staggering!

And we seem to be approaching only first base! Where will it all end? When will the
bombs start falling on Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, North Korea and Iran
(they already fall on Iraq, regularly like clockwork).

WHAT COMES THEN.....? WHO IS NEXT....?