The extension of civil war tradition in America

(by Ihsan Caralan, Editor, Evrensel Turkish daily, 13 September 2001)

When TV correspondents, commentators, diplomats and intelligence services analysts were describing the extent of the attack in the USA, they were using expressions like  'The biggest terrorist attack in history', 'An attack which will change the world's understanding of the threat and change defence strategies' or 'A symbol indicating that the world will not continue as it is' . When it comes to the question as to who carried out this attack and what was their aim, there are suggestions ranging from some organisation or other in Palestine, the Japanese Red Army, to far-fetched ones such as Osama Bin Laden, with the Taliban or Pakistani Intelligence possibly supporting him.

It is difficult to explain without any hidden intention the connection being made even with organisations and circles who are retired in such a big incident, which may effect the course of the history. In fact, if this attack was the work of a terrorist organisation then it is not actually that important. With some extra technical precautions such future incidents can be prevented. However, if we consider the propaganda about establishing a new world, a new recognition of  the threat ,  a call for uniting around the USA' s strategy of declaring terrorism  the biggest enemy , we can see that the monopolies which rule the world and their forces are using the opportunity created by their terror to get everyone to unite around the US.

Without looking at the role the US plays in the world, the recession it suffers, the history of the USA and its characteristics, one cannot answer terror and terrorism and the question who might have done this attack. If these questions were answered, then those who give the answers will become an extension of US propaganda. The tragic situation that the media in Turkey is drawn into is actually a striking example of this.

The attack America had to face is a result of the role it played in its struggle to dominate the world in the last century.  Whilst playing this role, it had used all types of terrorism and formed and developed private and public organisations functioning with the use of terrorism. Those who sow the wind have reaped a whirlwind.

It is of course puzzling for a power, which has been using its military strength and superiority to terrorise the world and to impose its domination to find it strange that it has been responded to in this way. Furthermore, it is natural that such events occur in response to the plundering of the world based on the policies of globalisation; where the gap between the poor and the rich, the developed countries and underdeveloped countries have widened to such an extent.

When we consider the size of the attack, the equipment and opportunities used in the attack on New York and Washington, anyone who does not want to distort the events, will be of same opinion that without receiving support and planning within the USA this action could not have taken place. Furthermore; although, it is propagated that the USA is the most free, most democratic country of the world, it is also a country in which the harshest and cruelest methods are used towards the opposing classes and within the dominant classes internal conflicts. There is no other democratic country where the assassination of its presidents has become a tradition and where dominant powers in conflict use short cuts to tackle with the barriers before them by killing their presidents: (in 1865 Lincoln, in 1881 Garfield, in 1963 J.F. Kennedy were killed. In 1981 Reagan survived an assassination. In 1964 presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was killed)

Whilst the USA cannot always protect itself from the activities of the groups for whom private and public organisations are developed and fed in order to carry out assassinations and governmental coups in other countries one can say that these military and paramilitary forces will not be used by the capitalist powers in internal conflicts and dealings.

When approached from this angle, this strategy is one of defending the world through terrorist attacks and of course renewing and expanding systems of armament, observation and monitoring for the USA and the world arms monopolies, advanced technology groups, electronic and arms trades working on projects to develop nuclear war heads. This is the equivalent of a war between US monopolies and the world. Everybody witnessed the zealousness and the intentions of these sections of US society during the election of Bush. Because of the new defence strategy many sections of industries will become stronger (in contrast to other countries' arms and advanced technology industries; and in contrast to other countries of the world the USA industry and capital will be in an advantage).

Furthermore, with the advanced countries of the world heading speedily towards a recession, the arms industry has been the most important sector for overcoming capitalist recessions in the last 100 years and for reviving all industries. This shows the importance of the arms monopolies. Now, with the new concept arms and electronic industries will be the engine of all other industries. Consequently, the channelling of public funds to these sections of industry would open up a way of overcoming recession.

When we look at these developments what has happened in the USA strengthens the view that it is linked with clashing of interests of the monopolies within USA, who are gathered around Bush. Of course we should not come to a conspiracy theory that Bush and his supporters has planned this attack. On the contrary it would be more realistic if it was perceived as supporting interest groups, various fractions of the intelligence organisation, racist organisations and the international connections of these organisations and perhaps individuals who have some kind of ideology who were either hired or subcontracted by an organisation. Undoubtedly another important part of the problem is the planning of an international terror campaign based on finding the powers who were behind the incident. Now the innocent people and nations of the world are worried about America using this incident to conduct brutal attacks on various countries and imposing terrorism as an American policy on everybody. As a matter of fact by using this latest incident the US has declared as a target   terrorists and the countries protecting the terrorists. Therefore, the US has included all the groups and countries which oppose America' s world hegemony in the concept of terrorists according to this definition. Therefore, it can attack any country it wants to under the cover of stopping or deterring terrorism. This is the real terrorism which we should be frightened of and opposed to. Otherwise, the terror of a group or an underdeveloped country is only temporary and in the long run will have no value. However, even the administrators of the countries, which might be the target of American terrorism, are being swept along by the environment created by US and are making statements supporting its policies.

What do you know about Afghanistan?

Looking at the scenes presented on the screens, one get the impression that Afghanistan is a country with not a single trace of vegetation, where all the people are hungry, destitute, and dirty! There seems to be no machine functioning, no building standing, no person producing! No city, no music, no art and no literature.

When these scenes are watched you think that the bombs, which will be dropped down on Afghanistan, a country that is already demolished anyway, will not destroy anything other than a handful of bandits. They already deserve this, so let them die!

All the TV stations, newspapers, statistics that are trumpeting for the American imperialism wants us just to accept it in this way.

The reality of a country does not lie in the deliberately distorted pictures of it. Let's look at the history, the long, very long struggle for life, waged by the people who have been living on the soil of that country, the culture they have created, the self-esteem that they have. Perhaps we should look at the people who have been resisting with determination for thousands of years against being used as a "gateway", despite all the negativities who remain standing against the attempts of eradication and oppression and who have a political stand.

Archaeological findings show that at the time when people who lived in Anatolia, where starting agricultural production -- often thought to be the first in the world, the domestication of seed was achieved in Afghanistan. Just like Anatolia, which we praise a lot, Afghanistan has also been a gateway for tribes where cultures from Middle-East, Central-Asia, Northern Asia and Far East have met and blended. That barren geography, those wild mountains, rocks on which no grass grows is the geography of a country where millions of people, with their minds, brains and cultures no less advanced than anywhere else are trying, with labour and confidence, to turn it green and make it habitable.

The imperialist propaganda is doing everything in its power to show the Afghani people as uneducated, unenlightened and untalented. They are trying to make us forget that it is the same people as the Taliban who dynamited the great Buddha sculptures in the Bamiyan Valley also constructed these sculptures. We believe that those who weave the Afghan carpets, for which the rich are ready to pay as much in gold as the carpets weigh, those who create the Afghan Melodies can have the same mentality as those who banned the breeding of birds?

Those watching the scenes would almost believe that there has been no advancement of civilisation, culture, or politics in the history of Afghanistan.

Forget about everything else, but in the history of Afghanistan there was someone called Emmanullah Khan: in the whole of Asia and Europe such a progressive king has never been. Emmanullah Khan was a patriot, a decisive anti-colonist, and a reformist, devoted to his people. The first country to recognise the workers-peasants republic in Russia was the country he was administrating. His father Habibullah Khan was assassinated because he refused to take part in the WW I in alliance with England. Emmanullah took over, taking the first constitution formed after the National Liberation in Turkey as an example, and he formed a constitutional kingdom. He declared Afghanistan's complete independence. He developed close links with countries like USSR and Turkey, which were resisting imperialism at the time. He recognised the suffrage for women. He worked in order to prevent Afghanistan from being used as an instrument of others and turn it into a free and independent country. In a letter to Emmanullah Khan, Lenin stated that a continuous diplomatic relation formed between the two great nations will bring wide opportunities for mutual assistance against the attacks of the foreign plundering powers directed towards the freedom and existence of both nations.  However, Emmanullah Khan had to leave his country when Kabul was occupied as a result of a revolt of a reactionary tribe provoked by the English and led by the famous bandit leader Bacce-i Sakov.

Afghanistan has not only witnessed the fight of the colonialists or imperialists, but also of the advanced social forces and the reactionary. Although long-lasting wars, coups and political massacres have led to the liquidation of the most of the advanced forces of Afghanistan, the enormous destruction caused by the imperialist attacks and Taliban reactionaries will also prepare the conditions for the revolt of this great nation again.

This is because, despite all the attempts to conceal and the lies, there are people producing and working in Afghanistan; there are human beings in Afghanistan!

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