A Simple Question of Semantics?

(Good stuff in here – promoted by JulieWaters)

On this Memorial Day Sunday, as “Rolling Thunder” aggressed upon the peace and quiet of my little town, my thoughts turned inevitably to a peeve I’ve nursed since September 11, 2001.

Why did the Cheney administration immediately characterize those attacks as “acts of war” rather than horrendous criminal activity?  And, of course, the rhetoric didn’t change even after it was learned that they  were masterminded not by a sovereign state, but by a syndicate of wealthy thugs operating out of Saudi Arabia.

To this day, even though most people now agree that the war in Iraq was a mistake,  few say the same of the war in Afghanistan.  But there it is, nonetheless; plain as day.  Instead of organizing an international  manhunt for Osama Bin Laden under the auspices of the FBI, the CIA and Interpol,  Cheney and company ratcheted-up the war rhetoric and called out the army.  And we, the people, bought it, hook line and sinker, as if it truly was a “holy” war.    Of course, as is always the case, we were fed a sympathetic subtext about the repression of women.  We were going to “liberate” them, as we forcibly democratized a country most of us could barely find on the map.

Somehow, we are still buying the line that the war in Afghanistan was a “just” war.  Even Obama seems to think the only problem with that war was Bush’s short-attention span.  I suppose, if I were in Obama’s position, I might be tempted to view things this way, too.  After all, there doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid escalation there, other than to simply throw up our hands, admit that (with the best of intentions) we did a VERY bad thing; and then go home and try to explain to a lot of grieving families why their sons and daughters were needlessly sacrificed.  There is no happy ending here.

And it’s no good dressing it up as an act of chivalry on behalf of the women of Afghanistan.  Look at how briefly the inroads to female empowerment lasted after the U.S. turned its attention elsewhere.  That’s because no genuine cultural change had occurred.  Those cultural changes have to happen from within; and I firmly believe that we have only succeeded by our interference in setting back the cultural evolution that would have inevitably, if slowly, led to female empowerment in Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East.  Cultural evolution is a product of sustained peace and prosperity, neither of which has been furthered by American intervention.  In a peaceful world, with advancing technologies drawing everyone closer together, women would have chosen their own time to seize the reins of self-determination.  But with our big clown shoes, we marched in and made a hash of things.

So, this Memorial Day, when CNN crows about their interactive global map of American dead in Iraq and Afghanistan, as if it’s election night in the afterlife; I can’t help wondering what would have happened if Bush had just called 9/11 a crime, without all the flag-waving and hyperbole.

Don’t even get me started on the first Gulf War!  

About Sue Prent

Artist/Writer/Activist living in St. Albans, Vermont with my husband since 1983. I was born in Chicago; moved to Montreal in 1969; lived there and in Berlin, W. Germany until we finally settled in St. Albans.

4 thoughts on “A Simple Question of Semantics?

  1. Well, for one, if these fiascos had not happened, a lot of big corporations would be that much poorer.  

  2. Worriedinvt,

    I share your outrage (?) as to how 9/11 was handled.  Not long after we decided that Afghanistan was responsible for the attacks (ignoring the mountains of data implicating Saudi Arabia), I was walking into my local bank to make a deposit.  The teller was watching the news on TV and commenting on our modern “good war”.  My reply was that this day was the greatest day of shame for me.  A nation that promotes international law, rule of law, and a respect for human life (not to mention always advocating a peaceful resolution to international conflicts), suddenly decides to take a criminal matter and turn it into a causa belli for war on a third world country.  No police, no international pressure, just war.  The teller at the window was in shock.  We didn’t attack Al Quaeda.  We didn’t end terrorism.  We toppled a fundamentalist regime which is now making a comeback and inserted a puppet regime (memories of the Soviet invasion, and that ended well.)

    Even today, just righting the above causes many to lose their temper.

  3. Why did the Cheney administration immediately characterize those attacks as “acts of war” rather than horrendous criminal activity?

    I thought the same. I remember seeing a bumper sticker that came out after 9-11 “Justice not revenge.” I thought that was the right response. I didn’t understand why the U.S. didn’t seek out help from all our allies, including Iran AND the Taliban. They were all willing to help the U.S. find Osama bin Laden, but the U.S. had other motives.

    And it’s no good dressing it up as an act of chivalry on behalf of the women of Afghanistan.  Look at how briefly the inroads to female empowerment lasted after the U.S. turned its attention elsewhere.  That’s because no genuine cultural change had occurred.

    And this is not about liberating Afghani women. Not only have many situations not changed for Afghani women, but the Taliban instituted repressive changes and rules when they took over in 1996. The U.S. and the Clinton Administration did nothing except pay lip service to the Taliban. Groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were all over the issue and the Clinton Administration and did nothing. The same policy was in place when Bush took over and still nothing. Then came September 11th and all of a sudden the U.S. took an interest in their livelihood. It’s not about liberating Afghani women. Let’s get that straight. They’re using it as an excuse to transform Afghanistan, which will never happen. They’ll overthrow Karzai et al when American troops leave. Just like every other military excursion they’ve led.  

Comments are closed.