by Paul Craig Roberts
The most important casualties of September 11 are respect for truth and
American liberty. Propaganda has replaced deliberation based on objective
assessment of fact. The resurrection of the Star Chamber has made moot the
legal protections of liberty.
The US invasion of Iraq was based on the deliberate suppression of fact.
The invasion was not the result of mistaken intelligence. . . .
If fact played any role in the decision to continue with this war, the US
would not be spending hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars to provide
recruits and training for al Qaeda, to radicalize Muslims, and to destroy
trust in the United States both abroad and among its own citizens.
American casualties (dead and wounded) of this gratuitous war are now
approximately 20,000. . . .
There is an even greater cost of the war--the legal system that protects
liberty, a human achievement for which countless numbers of people gave
their lives over the centuries. The Bush administration used September 11
to whip up fear and hysteria and to employ these weapons against American
liberty. The Orwellian named Patriot Act has destroyed habeas corpus. The
executive branch has gained the unaccountable power to detain American
citizens on mere suspicion or accusation, without evidence, and to hold
Americans indefinitely without a trial.
Foolishly, many Americans believe this power can only be used against
terrorists. Americans don't realize that the government can declare anyone
to be a terrorist suspect. As no evidence is required, it is entirely up to
the government to decide who is a terrorist. Thus, the power is
unaccountable. Unaccountable power is the source of tyranny.
The English speaking world has not seen such power since the 16th and 17th
centuries when the Court of Star Chamber became a political weapon used
against the king's opponents and to circumvent Parliament. The Star Chamber
dispensed with juries, permitted hearsay evidence, and became so reviled
that "Star Chamber" became a byword for injustice. The Long Parliament
abolished the Star Chamber in 1641. In obedience to the Bush regime, the US
Congress resurrected it with the Patriot Act. Can anything be more
Orwellian than identifying patriotism with the abolition of habeas corpus?
. . . In the US today nothing stands in the way of the arbitrary exercise of
power by government. Federal courts have acquiesced in unconstitutional
detention policies. There is no opposition party, and there is no media,
merely huge conglomerates or collections of federal broadcasting licenses,
the owners of which are afraid to displease the government.
. . . . To press its fabricated case against Iran's alleged weapons of mass
destruction program, the Bush administration is showing every foreign
diplomat it can corral an hour-long slide show titled, "A History of
Concealment and Deception." Wary foreigners are reminded of the
presentations about Iraq's WMD and wonder who is guilty of deception, Iran
or the Bush administration.
Now that the war in Iraq has established that US ground forces cannot
easily prevail against insurgency, the Bush administration is bringing new
military threats to the fore. The neocon orchestrated "Doctrine for Joint
Nuclear Operations" abandons the established doctrine that nuclear weapons
are last resort options. The Bush administration is so enamored of coercion
that it is birthing the doctrine of preemptive nuclear attack. . . .
The Bush administration has abandoned American principles. It is a Jacobin
regime. Woe to its citizens and the rest of the world.
FULL TEXT
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[Paul Craig Roberts served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the
Reagan administration.]
Robert S. McNamara, "Apocalypse Soon,"
Foreign Policy, May/June 2005
Enver Masud, "Iraq War: 'Supreme International
Crime'," The Wisdom Fund, June 29, 2005
Julian Coman, "Now America Accuses Iran of
Complicity in World Trade Center Attack," Telegraph, July 21, 2005
Eric S. Margolis, "9/11,
Iraq, Katrina. Enough is Enough," ericmargolis.com, September 12, 2005
Al Gore, "American Democracy is in Grave
Danger," Associated Press, October 6, 2005
Barton Gellman, "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny: In Hunt for
Terrorists, Bureau Examines Records of Ordinary Americans," Washington Post,
November 6, 2005
[Once trumpeted as one of the Justice Department's significant triumphs
against terrorism, the case targeting the so-called "Detroit sleeper cell"
began less than a week after the attack on the World Trade Center. It was
only after a jury convicted two men of supporting terrorism that the
flimsiness of the government's case became clear.--Peter Slevin, "Detroit 'Sleeper Cell' Prosecutor Faces Probe:
Grand Jury Considering Indictment for Misconduct," Washington Post, November
20, 2005]
Paul Craig Roberts, "The Grave Threat of
the Bush Administration," CounterPunch, November 28, 2005
Elaine Cassel, "Trashing Every
Principle of Constitutional Law: A Government Game of "Gotcha" with Jose
Padilla," CounterPunch, December 1, 2005
[The former professor, Sami al-Arian, a fiery advocate for Palestinian
causes who became a lightning rod for criticism nationwide over his vocal
anti-Israeli stances, was found not guilty on eight criminal counts related
to terrorist support, perjury and immigration violations.--Eric Lichtblau,
"Not Guilty Verdicts in Florida Terror Trial Are Setback for
U.S.," New York Times, December 7, 2005]
[For 35 years, James Wedick had been a star at the FBI. When his former
colleagues prosecuted a suspected terrorist, he came to the side of the
defense and was branded a traitor. . . .
Down the road on Highway 99, the feds had busted up an Al Qaeda sleeper cell
in Lodi--Mark Arax, "The Agent Who Might Have Saved Hamid
Hayat," Los Angeles Times, May 28, 2006]
[Become an informant and regularly report to the FBI on what his Muslim
friends in San Francisco were saying and doing. In exchange, he would get
back his green card. He could resume his education, bring his Moroccan wife
to America, and pursue his dream of buying a car, moving to Sacramento and
becoming an engineer.--Peter Waldman, "A Muslim's
Choice: Turn U.S. Informant or Risk Losing Visa," Wall Street Journal,
July 11, 2006]
Tom Hays, "Post-
9/11 Detainee Returns to His Life," Guardian, August 17, 2006
[Padilla's lawyers are arguing that he is not fit to stand trial because he
has been driven insane by the government.--Naomi Klein, "The
US psychological torture system is finally on trial ," Guardian,
February 23, 2007]
[In December, 2005, al-Arian was acquitted on the most serious charges and
on those remaining; the jurors voted 10 to two for acquittal. Because the
FBI wanted to make further charges, al-Arian's lawyers told him to make a
plea that would end any further prosecution. Arriving for his sentence,
however, al-Arian - who assumed time served would be his punishment,
followed by deportation - found Moody talking about "blood" on the
defendant's hands and ensured he would have to spend another 11 months in
jail. Then prosecutor Gordon Kromberg insisted that the Palestinian prisoner
should testify against an Islamic think tank. Al-Arian believed his plea
bargain had been dishonoured and refused to testify. He was held in
contempt. And continues to languish in prison.--Robert Fisk, "The true
story of free speech in America," Independent, April 7, 2007]
[My father, a Palestinian professor named Sami Al-Arian, was arrested over
four years ago on trumped up terrorism charges and submitted to a
prosecution over the course of six months that bordered on the farcical.
Though he was ultimately acquitted by a jury of the most serious charges
against him, the Bush administration has prolonged his imprisonment
indefinitely.--Laila Al-Arian, "My Father, 9/11 Scapegoat," Huffington Post,
April 23, 2007]
[The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of
self-interest for himself, his family, and the future of his country to
resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism
means obedience to the state. Resistance need not be violent, but the civil
disobedience that might be required involves confrontation with the state
and invites possible imprisonment.--Ron Paul, "On
Patriotism," antiwar.com, May 24, 2007]
George W. Bush, "
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten
Stabilization Efforts in Iraq," White House News, July 17, 2007
[The award-winning documentary, US vs Al-Arian, shed new light on the human
cost of the trial: the Al-Arian family's struggle with pain and uncertainty
as a loved father and husband was taken from them, and their efforts to
maintain their unity as a family in the face of crushing odds.--Zainab
Cheema, "Beyond the Lens of
USA vs Al-Arian," Muslim Link, January 4, 2008]
