THE RECORD
October 10, 2001
Editor's Corner
A bomb exploded aboard a civilian airliner just
after take-off from Barbados on October 6, 1976.
All 73 persons aboard the aircraft were killed. It
was a terrorist attack. The suspects in the attack
are well known, one has even said that he approved
of the bombing. His name is Dr. Orlando Bosch, he
is suspected of numerous terrorist acts, he has
been convicted of attacking a freighter in Miami
harbour with a bazooka and for sending death
threats to heads of state. He has been described
in the US by former Attorney General Dick
Thornburgh as an "unreformed terrorist." Some 30
countries have refused him entry because of his
terrorist record. In a legitimate war against
terrorism one would think that he is a prime target
to apprehend and bring to justice. So where is he?
According to reports Dr. Bosch is living in Florida
and walking the streets freely, a member of the
Cuban terrorist community in Miami. Bosch, who is
said to have entered the US illegally in 1988, was
set free by President George Bush without
deportation in 1990. Perhaps one would be
considered a cynic to suppose that rather than
justice this had something to do with winning votes
for Jeb Bush among the right-wing Cubans in that
state.
The point of all this is that as bad as the Taliban
are, and the world would be a better place without
them, what we are seeing today as the bombs rain
down in Afghanistan is not a real war against
terrorism. Some have said it is a war for access
to oil and part of a bigger plan that involves
policy in the Balkans and other areas along the
40th parallel. Some have said that it is a example
of irrational US machismo, and others that it is
part of a plan to create the climate for rolling
back civil rights, the list of possible motivations
is extensive. Who knows? What any one with a
critical and functioning mind who has examined
history does know for sure is that it is not simply
a war against terrorism.
If it were a real war against terrorism then
Orlando Bosch would be on his way to Cuba to answer
for his crimes, including the murder of those 73
people on the Cuban airliner, And, if it were,
then the US itself would be examining its own
history over the past 50 years and accepting
responsibility for the terror that it has caused
and its role in bringing us into an era where many
people in the world are willing to support mad men
who fly planes into buildings.
And who are these mad men? Why, they are former
agents of the very same US that is now attacking
them. They were just as evil then when they were
being armed and financed by the US as they are now,
so who is to blame for their rise to power? The
current President Bush likes to spout platitudes
about freedom and liberty and American values, and
about the oppressed people of Afghanistan, but it
is all merely propaganda. Even the dropping of
supplies over Afghanistan is not done out of
compassion but as a military and political
operation to gain an advantage. The actions of the
Bushes, Clinton, Reagan and many before them all
belie the sincerity of GW's pronouncements. They
gave money and arms to people who have no respect
for human rights, to people like the Taliban, the
Saudis, the Contras, the Chilean Fascists and
others. In their compassion and concern for
oppressed peoples they sat by and watched the
Taliban brutalize women, they still sit by and
watch women being oppressed in the societies of
many of their so-called allies including Pakistan.
They are currently backing a faction in Afghanistan
who also has a less than stellar reputation, being
noted by some as thieves and thugs.
President Bush may have his reasons for this war,
but combating all terrorism isn't one of them, nor
is concern for oppressed peoples. He should spare
us the hypocritical rhetoric and level with us for
once.
Jerry West
Copyright 2001, West's International
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