Blog For Arizona

War critics astonished as US (chicken)hawk admits invasion was illegal

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal-- Richard Perle, chief theorist of chickenhawkery, admited that the pre-emptive self defense justification for attacking Iraq was in contravention of international law. He maintains that the moral case for invasion outweighed adherance to the law, which would have required the US "to leave Saddam Hussein alone".

I do so prefer my war criminals to be honest about their crimes; it makes them vastly easier to prosecute. Unseemly obsfucations, cheap forgeries, and rickety assertions are just so unbecoming of the grand new fasc-imperialist order.

I always find amusing the incredulity of many liberals when faced with the assertion that America faces a fascist revolution from within the right wing of the GOP. But the trappings, methods and ideology of fascism emerge more clearly every day. The suggestion is not uncommon. Perhaps the seeds of fascism lie dormant in the soil of every industrialized nation possessing a sense of national destiny or a special role to play in history. There comes a malign alignment of economic, social, or security crisis, nationalism, and historical amnesia (or possibly just a sense that OUR special mission will protect us from error) and before you know it, a sly politician is steering a course for the authoritarian right of the political economy.

All 14 characteristics of Umberto Eco’s matrix of ur-fascism apply to today's America. It may not indicate that fascism has fully metasticized through the body politic, but some radical surgery will be required to effect a cure. The key elements that incubate the illness are, oddly enough, democracy, a sense of national mission, a love of spectacle, and the existence of a powerful and politically active corporate sector. Democracy is vital to encourage the broad participation in the fascist enterprise. Fascism is not just a clique taking power, that is authoritarianism, the sickness requires a broad popular appeal and support to qualify as fascism. Nation mission is how the normal, common sense strictures of morality and ethical limits are overcome; the goal of the nation becomes so overwhelmingly critical that normal limits and ethical boundaries are not allowed to apply. For America that goal is the spread of democracy and civilization (what else could be the opposite of terror but civilized behavior?). We Americans love a show, from the rudest parade, the the most garish sporting event, the most violent boxing match, the most theatrical wrestling match, and the most soporific television misery-serial, we are a nation who cannot get enough spectical. Bush and his clique know how to provide; landing on aircraft carriers, lecturing from atop a tank, always with seried rows of supporters, if uniform if possible, and always before a backdrop which repeats the mindless message of the day over and over, and always framed perfectly for the camera; the spectical's real audience. Never has the corporate sector be more politically influential and active. The corporations practically write the laws and pass them. If the key GOP politicians with real power in Washington were subject to truth in advertising laws, they would be branded with dozens of corporate logos, wearing t-shirts declaring their ownership, and properly be paid by the giant corporations who own and operate them, rather than at the expense of the state. Saddest of all, so would many of the Democrats.

Eco's 14 criteria show how deep the rot has run:

(1) The cult of tradition; there is no better way to argue for the legitimacy of your actions in today's America than to appeal to the memory of the Founders and the idea of "traditional values".

(2) The rejection of modernism; the Conservative movement's hostility to modernism in art and culture is manifest in the Right's "culture war". Conservative intellectual's favorite pastime is attacking modern culture and berating the "liberal media" and liberal thinkers for abandonment of "traditional values"

(3) The cult of action for action’s sake; better a stupid and misdirected action than no action - a good summary of this Administration's post-9/11 security policy. Thought and reflection is emasculation, action is a virtue in itself.

(4) The idea that dissent is betrayal; I don't really need to justify this one, do I? The examples of this theme are voluminous. Just Google it if you don't believe me.

(5) Fear of difference, or racism; the GOP is the party of Strom Thurmond. Enough said.

(6) The appeal to individual or social frustration; The entire Southern Strategy is wrapped around exploitation of such frustrations.

(7) Obsession with conspiracies, along with xenophobia and nationalism; Clinton had Vince Foster murdered and was dealing coke out of the Governor's mansion in collusion with the CIA, didn't he? Our current relations with the rest of the world are an elegant proof of GOP xenophobia and nationalism.

(8) The message that the enemy is at once too strong and too weak; Note the media spin on Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein when and as convenient for policy making.

(9) The idea that pacifism is collusion with the enemy, and that life is a permanent war; Peace protestors were characterized as Saddam sympathizers. The world is constantly described by the GOP as a dangerous place, full of peril, to justify the GOP's defense agenda including increasing spending greatly with no credible enemy on earth.

(10) Scorn for the weak; Think about how the GOP would have us treat the poor, the ill, the old, the young, the unlucky and those no longer of use to them if they had their way. Their entire economic platform stands upon a crush heap of society's weakest.

(11) The cult of heroism; Jessica Lynch. Enough said

(12) Machismo, or transferring the “will to power onto sexual questions”; Bush landing on the Lincoln, his flight harness improperly buckled, his package slamming against the camera.

(13) The belief that individual rights are subordinate to the unity of the state, and that fascism “has to oppose ‘rotten’ parliamentary governments”; Minority groups haven't rights. The Democrats have no right to block GOP judges. The minority of the population has no right to protest. People haven't rights unless the majority tells them so, thus the Unconstitutionality of the Patriot Act is irrelevant. The State needs more power to prosecute a failing War on Terror and so the tools of Patriot II must be smuggled through in unvetoable bills as tiny riders, instead of being democratically debated and decided through our "rotten Congress" where opposition to the majority might prevail.

14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak, the language of propaganda; this Administration never says anything substantive. It is always using allusions, ellisions, glittering generalities and neo-logisms. It is perhaps the most propagandistic Administration in history. Take for instance just one word. Terrorist. A terrorist is one who targets civilian populations with violence for political ends. However we now have "terrorists" in Iraq shooting at our soldiers. Last time I looked at the rules of war uniformed combatants were fair game. Yet all foriegners who resist the designs of the the GOP regime are now labeled "terrorists" on a regular basis.

To a greater or lesser extent all 14 of Eco's criteria fit the United States under Bush. Can you comfortably claim to be sure you are not right now living in a fascist state knowing this? We have already invaded one nation without justification, and for deliberately obscured reasons. The camps are already built. The doctrine by which citizens may disappear without a trace is already written. The plan by which terrorism will be fought using the armed forces, on our very soil, in our very midst, and in our very homes and businesses, stands ready for the President's order. We do not stand on the brink of a revolution in the nature of our government: we have long since steped over the threshold.

The German's decent into a nightmare was due to their failure to resist their own seduction and be critical of everything their government was doing. Evil doesn't often arrive with grand plots and florid gestures, rather it sneaks into each of our lives through tiny capitulations, as the subject of seemingly harmless compromises, and using endless self-justification to cover its tracks.

What can you do about it? Resist. Reject. Renew.

Resist belief without reflection. Reject explanations that are offered to you by the government. Renew your commitment to replace the GOP regime with a government that is transparent, respectful of our rights, and responsible to the people.

posted by Michael Bryan @ 11/21/2003 02:13:00 AM