When asked about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X stated, that it was simply a case of ‘chickens coming home to roost.’ On September 11, 2001, quite a few more chickens paid the United States a little visit.
Today, America is solidifying the return of many more chickens. However, next time these chickens may not be as charitable as they previously were. Instead of attacking major military centers and financial centers they may choose shopping malls, subways, or any other place they see fit. One may call this a form of blowback, the unintended consequences of military actions, but I prefer to call it common sense.
While the U.S. is currently engulfed in its imperial crusade around the world some interesting developments are occurring which may lead to severe ‘blowback.’ It is almost five years since the United States invaded and occupied Iraq. America has already suffered 26,540 casualties from hostile military actions and has killed an estimated 655,000 Iraqi civilians. This figure does not include the 500,000 Iraqi children who died as result of the sanctions imposed on the country or the consistent bombing campaign throughout the 1990s.
The Iraqi resistance has effectively ruined the United States’ credibility overseas. The U.S. has no real options left in Iraq, at least from an imperialist perspective. The current national debate focuses on pulling the soldiers out of Iraq, pulling them back to a defensive position, or initiating a form of blitzkrieg on the capitol. All of these options are avoiding the core problem. What has changed and is not understood is that people are no longer afraid. They can be bombed, shot, invaded, humiliated, and occupied, but they can no longer be intimidated. Terror only works when people allow themselves to be terrorized.
This damage of credibility is evident in places other than Iraq. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has risen up and may effectively expel the Western occupiers. In Palestine, the people made the mistake of practicing democracy and they voted against the Western backed, corrupt Fatah government, placing the Hamas movement in power. The Hezbollah movement in Lebanon has defeated Israel in its latest invasion and may become the primary powerbroker in that country. Iran has growing influence and has risen to international prominence. The main Algerian Islamist group, the Salafist Group of Preaching and Combat, has recently joined the Al Qaeda movement. In Somalia, the Islamic Courts are also waging war against a Western-backed Ethiopian invasion.
American citizens and other Westerners must realize that these developments are leading to an imminent catastrophe. The majority of the world is now refusing to be attacked, threatened, and occupied. September 11, Madrid, and the London bombings should show Americans – and the West – that their privilege is over and they are no longer immune to the violent acts they commit all over the world.
Westerns should also refrain from asking arrogant questions like, ‘Why do they hate us?’ The answer to that question has always been clear. American policy and their tax money is bringing that heroic revolutionary, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s dream to fruition, ‘We could look into a bright future should two, three, or many Vietnams flourish throughout the world with their share of deaths and their immense tragedies, their everyday heroism and their repeated blows against imperialism, impelled to disperse its forces under the sudden attack and the increasing hatred of all peoples of the world!’
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