{"id":139234,"date":"2014-09-12T19:34:57","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T19:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=139234"},"modified":"2014-09-12T19:34:57","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T19:34:57","slug":"flimflam-patriotism-obamas-war-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/war-terrorism\/flimflam-patriotism-obamas-war-address\/","title":{"rendered":"Flimflam Patriotism: Obama\u2019s War Address"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Norman Pollack<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/rinf.com\">RINF Alternative News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Is that John Wayne riding toward us, Winchester across his chest, the setting sun as background?<\/p>\n<p>Naw, it\u2019s POTUS surrounded by the trappings of office speaking to the American Nation as Commander-in-Chief, holding aloft the newly-minted banner depicting the geopolitical formula for war, one size fits all\u2013\u201cdegrade and ultimately destroy\u201d\u2013now, paraphrasing Brecht\u2019s Arturo Ui: today, ISIS, tomorrow\u2026 Russia and China (in the play, today, Harrisburg, tomorrow the World, a modest adaptation of you know who). Obama got off to a good start, the predictable \u201cMy fellow Americans\u201d followed by the magical incantation of \u201cfriends and allies\u201d\u2013presented ad nauseam in Washington to cover the US\u2019s leading role in organizing, as typically in the use of NATO, but SEATO not far behind as we look to the future, military action globally through deceptively lessening our footprint\u2013\u201cto degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.\u201d (ISIS\/ISIL, the constant reminder in the media the two are one, the latter adding sophistication\u2013in the know\u2013to the administration in making exquisite distinctions.)<\/p>\n<p>So, off we go into the Wild Blue Yonder, the pitch for airstrikes rather than boots on the ground, what I recently termed, technological fetishism, air power somehow an antiseptic mode of killing which comports with, rather than flagrantly violates, international law, as Obama proudly announces 150+ air strikes already against ISIS (let\u2019s stick with that moniker).<\/p>\n<p>Still the first minute, Obama\u2019s announcement of the catch-all principle that rationalizes (i.e., legitimizes) every form of US action\u2013and has for years, from shock-and-awe saturated bombing to waterboarding to drone assassination to CIA secret prisons, on and on: \u201cAs commander in chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people.\u201d By definition, whatever and whomever we oppose, threatens our security\u2013again ISIS, but Russia a near-second and China down the pike. Time for self-congratulation: we took out bin Laden and presumably vacated Iraq and drew down US troops in Afghanistan\u2013how? Of course, \u201cThanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.\u201d Professionals, conjuring up slide rules instead of deadly missiles\u2013further lingo of antiseptic warfare. But America, don\u2019t sit back, don\u2019t let success go to your head, the very gains of counterterrorism (always confirming the THREAT is out there), while demonstrating our military prowess and superior ideology, should give the nation assurance of not flinching, and rather, staring down, further danger in the knowledge of final victory. America\u2019s enemies are still out there, ready to destroy us. (That\u2019s what counterterrorism is all about, keeping Americans in a state of constant fear so that policies from the massive surveillance of our own people to the related massive expenditures on the military can go unquestioned.)<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, scare the bejesus out of the American public: \u201cStill, we continue to face a terrorist threat. [Read: our very success, which proved not enough, inflates the enormity of the danger facing us.] We can\u2019t erase every trace of evil from the world and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9\/11, and that remains true today. [Emphasize continuity here of policy against evil, also on the very eve of 9\/11] And that\u2019s why WE MUST REMAIN VIGILANT [my caps.] as threats emerge.\u201d Zero in, although the first words, \u201cat this moment,\u201d suggest other threats lay in wait, which facilitates the permanent-war doctrine I refer to elsewhere, and, without mentioning names, Russia and China: \u201cAt this moment the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL\u2013which calls itself the Islamic State.\u201d This is a perfectly constructed scare-tactic and scenario for intervention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich calls itself\u201d\u2013we need friends and allies, chiefly at this point proxies for carrying out operations with American training and weaponry, and thus must divest the Islamic State of its Islamic roots (and blur the \u201cgrievances\u201d which they exploit, which conceivably may be our doing), all this besides the public relations matter of not wanting to offend the Arab-Muslim world which we need to implement Obama\u2019s war plan, despite the hysteria stirred up against it via Homeland Security and counterterrorism. Obama pushes on: \u201cNow let\u2019s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents [some might dispute this, every world religion having its victims, most recently, the invasion of Gaza\u2013through US assistance], and the vast majority of ISIL\u2019s victims have been Muslims. And ISIL is certainly not a state\u2026. It is recognized by no government nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I do not have to apologize for ISIS or ignore or condone its crimes. Regrettably, the argument, however, is self-serving, the reasoning about a non-state as per se outside the framework of international law, and therefore carrying the presumption of being terrorist, is a direct carryover from the US-Israeli paradigm of non-recognition of a Palestinian state and the imputation that Hamas feasts on its own people (hiding in densely populated areas for its rocket attacks, Gazan civilian casualties its own doing). By current standards, ISIS is neither alone nor unique in the commission of atrocities, the bill of particulars easily matched by crimes of the US deftly dismissed as unavoidable collateral damage, Israel, ditto (the recent killing of civilians, including women and children in the shelling of UN schools\/shelters in Gaza), and as for the grisly vicious acts of beheading, the Saudis at the very same time as the ISIS crimes carried out far more. If everyone else were up-and-up, I\u2019d feel better about Obama\u2019s indictment of ISIS: \u201cIn a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists\u2013Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.\u201d Detestable as the acts, the constant drumming of the images into the public mind to sway public opinion toward war (wholly successful, as the polls show) is opportunistic and nearly as obscene.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Where is the speech heading? Obviously, to place the American Homeland under threat, subtly, not directly, but by indirection, which is just as effective. First, the well-worked theme of protecting US embassies and the like, but then the jump to America: \u201cSo ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria and the broader Middle East, including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies.\u201d In fact, the vaguer, the better, leaving the threat amorphous, ready to pounce\u2013and if the evidence is not forthcoming (not for want of trying), manufacture it, like Saddam\u2019s WMD as justification for invading Iraq. Thus, nip ISIS in the bud before American recruits come back to haunt us: \u201cOur intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners, including Europeans and some Americans, have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.\u201d This also puts friends and allies on notice to get into line.<\/p>\n<p>By now, Obama is on a (propaganda) roll. Frighten Americans, yet reassure them that by giving POTUS a blank check he will summon military power to vanquish all foes. \u201cI know,\u201d he goes on, \u201cmany Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight I want you to know that the United States of America [when the full title is laid out, an old speechwriter\u2019s trick, time to run for cover] is meeting them with strength and resolve.\u201d This is followed by a litany of action\u2013already taken (!): \u201cLast month I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then we\u2019ve conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory.\u201d So much for Republican criticism; so much for Obama the vacillator, indifferent to democracy and freedom: \u201cThese strikes have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.\u201d The Leader of Determination, deserving our trust, the White House image factory at work to fit the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>I can hear fife and drum in the background slowly rising to a crescendo (my perfervid imagination) as he announces the battle plan. We have an obligatory cautionary note to underplay American involvement: \u201cBut this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves. Nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have done in recent days.\u201d Sweet reasonableness itself, making all action okay. Horns added, along with mixed chorus, Star-Spangled Banner still barely audible, as Ives might have it, the sales pitch for America leading a Crusade of Freedom against Evil: \u201cSo tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will LEAD A BROAD COALITION [my caps.] to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear: We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The plan is simplicity itself: comprehensive, sustained, a full court press, ignoring borders, the world America\u2019s (terrorist-laden) oyster, to be opened up by any means possible. \u201cFirst, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists.\u201d Not just \u201cprotecting our own people and humanitarian missions,\u201d but \u201chitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense.\u201d Cymbals clash: \u201c\u2026I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria as well as Iraq.\u201d Fireworks, people standing: \u201cThis is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.\u201d The rest is anticlimax, nuts-and-bolts effectuation of the Mighty Confrontation. \u201cSecond, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground.\u201d Troop deployment, of course \u201cto support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment.\u201d Same in Syria, where \u201cwe have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition,\u201d accompanied by a plea to Congress \u201cto give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters.\u201d (In this regard, Assad must go.)<\/p>\n<p>Finally, third and fourth, same old, same old\u2013 increased counterterrorism programs and humanitarian assistance. \u201c\u2026 we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks,\u201d and \u201c\u2026 we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who\u2019ve been displaced by this terrorist organization.\u201d Wouldst the same assistance be rendered to innocent civilians displaced\u2013and worse\u2013by ourselves and friends and allies. Consummate workmanship of the national-security team, each implicated in some aspect of the behavior characterizing ISIS, perfecting the art of intervention: \u201cSo this is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners.\u201d E.g., \u201calready, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq, sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition, sharing intelligence and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian [?] aid.\u201d And Kerry is traveling throughout the Middle East shoring up support. Obama in quintessential mode\u2013proxy fascism put in the best possible light: \u201cThis is American leadership at its best: We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.\u201d The one-two punch, provide the airpower and rally others to fight on the ground and in other capacities, \u201cthe approach,\u201d he continues, \u201cI outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America\u2019s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>The peroration to Obama\u2019s Gettysburg Address\u2013here a bit of nostalgia to rally the people, an old-fashioned medley of Over There, Anchors Aweigh, and the Caissons Go Rolling Along\u2013he unashamedly rings the charges on the theme of America\u2019s greatness, first reminding us of what we have recently gone through: \u201cMy fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression.\u201d No matter, we are the stronger for it, America being \u201cbetter positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.\u201d We\u2019ve got unmatched technology companies and universities, thriving industries, energy independence in the near future, businesses having \u201cthe longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history,\u201d not least, exactly what the people want to hear, \u201cI see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every day [presumably on the golf links], and that makes me more confident than ever about our country\u2019s future.\u201d Ditto our record abroad. Salute, rev up the engines, America is on its way.<\/p>\n<p><em>Norman Pollack\u00a0has written on Populism. His interests are social theory and the structural analysis of capitalism and fascism. He can be reached at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:pollackn@msu.edu\" target=\"_blank\">pollackn@msu.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norman Pollack RINF Alternative News Is that John Wayne riding toward us, Winchester across his chest, the setting sun as background? Naw, it\u2019s POTUS surrounded by the trappings of office speaking to the American Nation as Commander-in-Chief, holding aloft the newly-minted banner depicting the geopolitical formula for war, one size fits all\u2013\u201cdegrade and ultimately destroy\u201d\u2013now, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-139234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"category-war-terrorism"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}