Nebojsa Malic
Balkanizing the World
What Empire Wants
If there were any hopes in the past few weeks, what with the rising
tide of antiwar
sentiment, that the Empire might turn back from the brink of invading
Iraq, the Emperor’s
annual speech should have dispelled them. Within a few short weeks,
before the weather
window closes, there will be war.
Baghdad via Belgrade
Before attacking Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999, the Empire bothered
to create a
pretext. First its diplomatic observers – actually intelligence agents
– helped a terrorist
group stage a "massacre," then its top diplomat proposed a "peace plan"
that was in fact a
naked land grab in the language of unconditional surrender. When the
Belgrade government
understandably refused, U.S. and its satellites unleashed Hell. But
because it lacked any
justification for the attack, the Imperial Alliance made wild allegations
of "genocide" and
"humanitarian disaster." The ongoing farce in the Hague Inquisition
is an embarrassing
reminder of the lengths to which they have gone to transform these
lies into Official Truth.
Now the same pattern is used on the eve of war against Iraq, only some
portions are no
longer necessary. The pretext, for example, which was to be fabricated
by the weapons
inspectors, has failed to materialize. Wild allegations are flying
again, though, and there has
even been a threat of charging Iraqis with "war crimes," such as resisting
Imperial invasion.
Hopes of the UN somehow stopping the war are also baseless. Any moral
authority they
might have had was purposefully demolished in Bosnia, and died when
the first bombs hit
Belgrade and NATO got away with the international-law equivalent of
premeditated
murder. After what happened in the ruins of Yugoslavia, with the entire
world watching,
the Empire now feels it can get away with anything, anywhere, anytime.
Its leaders have
said as much.
Up to Their Old Tricks
While the general public in Imperial-dominated countries may have already
forgotten
1999, both those running the Empire and their intended victims have
not. When the
implausible proposal of exile for the Iraqi leader was floated ten
days ago, Saddam Hussein
must have thought of Slobodan Milosevic. His constant appeasement of
U.S. demands,
from Dayton to Kumanovo, only brought more demands and new sanctions,
which did not
stop even after he was taken to the Hague Inquisition in chains. Clearly,
in Milosevic’s
case, trusting the Empire proved his undoing. Unlike the Serbian people,
Hussein seems to
have realized that. What good that will do him, if any, remains to
be seen.
The 'Serbian Model'
If extracting parallels from the Yugoslav experience seems a bit far-fetched,
how about
this Monday’s Christian Science Monitor, which in a series of articles
openly discusses
upcoming "regime change" in Baghdad in light of previous such actions,
specifically
devoting a major portion to Yugoslavia?
Apparently, Iraq should end up with a similar result as the 2000 "October
Revolution" in
Belgrade, if through different, more violent means. Reading the interviews
with
pro-Imperial sycophants and foot-soldiers of the October coup, it becomes
obvious the
Empire saw nothing wrong with corrupting a country’s political process
and literally buying
a government it desired. After all, they’ve funded the terrorist KLA,
then claimed it fought
for "American values"…
So it is we learn of a "a three-year [sic!] campaign by the US and other
Western
governments to dislodge the Yugoslav leader by strangling his country’s
economy with
sanctions and rocking it with bombs," an admission of international
crime if there ever was
any. Iraq suffered three times as long, though.
Also noted is the role of "non-governmental" organizations, such as
George Soros’s Open
Society and various "human rights" groups, which were basically fronts
for direct action
against their host country.
The Monitor also mentions in passing the following facts, which have
been known for
years yet assiduously ignored by the mainstream media. Upon reading
them, it is not hard
to see why:
"opposition parties ran all the country’s major
towns and cities after municipal
elections in December 1996."
"Milosevic never resorted to dictatorial repression
of his political opponents at home."
"former members of the fractious 18 party ‘Democratic
Opposition of Serbia’ (DOS)
[say] US diplomats knocked their heads together
until they formed a cohesive and
united coalition."
"western money funded the development of Otpor."
Otpor ("Resistance") was ostensibly a student movement advocating the
overthrow of
government – but only the Milosevic government. It was organized and
paid by the Empire
to do a job. The Monitor quotes one Otpor leader:
"Eighty-five percent of our funding came from the United States," through
bodies such as
the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican
Institute and the
National Democratic Institute, as well as USAID.
The article ends with Zarko Korac, now information minister in Zoran
Djindjic’s quisling
government, claiming that what brought Milosevic down was a "death
by a thousand cuts."
Well, there’s a cheerful picture: "democracy" as a product of political
and military action
based on ancient Chinese torture. Truth can come from the mouths of
morons! But
overall, it is a chilling admission of how the Empire is determined
to have its way, and –
perhaps more disturbingly – how so many are prepared to help it.
Caracas Copycats
But before the people of Iraq can dance with joy at the prospect of
a Zoran Djindjic of
their very own, it needs to be made clear that the rest of the world
can look forward to
such wonders as well. Just last week, Washington’s patsies in Caracas
have tried to copy
the Serbian Model, asking foreign assistance to force early elections
and topple President
Hugo Chavez.
Chavez is by no means a paragon of virtue, and his socialist economic
theories leave a lot
to be desired, but while this describes most world leaders, he differs
by refusing to be
America’s busboy. And because Venezuela supplies over 10% of U.S. oil
imports, his
defiance is more than irksome to the Court of St. Abraham.
Battle Hymn of the Empire
This founder of Imperial Presidency sheds much light on the belligerence
of today’s
Washington. Modern-day worshippers of a president who shredded the
very real
Constitution to save the very abstract "Union" have gone much further
than the man who
endorsed total war against his own people. Lincoln only claimed total
dominion over the
United States of America; they claim dominion over the entire world.
Somehow, at some
point, America was anointed with World Leadership, they say, and any
and all who resist it
are "in rebellion" against legitimate authority. Thus, there is no
need for justification of
further invasions, as they represent legitimate suppression of rebellions
by the legitimate
overlords of the World.
Towards a New Liberty
Whosoever accepts this theory should know that its end result will be
like the ruins of
Yugoslavia: a foul, wretched place, filled with tyranny, chaos and
despair. If this is the
choice they are prepared to live with, so be it. They have been fairly
forewarned. The rest,
one suspects, would rather be free.
Well, it’s high time we be about it.
Your
opinion |