In costume at Fort Hood, Texas
Here I launch a new feature, Five years ago in war.... I intend to keep this "calendar -5" lookback running at least weekly for a good long while. I'll point out key events and quotes in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion, the invasion itself, and the aftermath. More important, I will trace the local response, both my personal response and that of activists in our community who have worked beyond all limits to oppose the insanity in the first place, and then have tried to keep our anti-war profile up over time. It has not been an easy path.
We still have a war going on that since five years ago has ended and destroyed the lives of millions of the Iraqi people while burdening US troops with death, maiming, and long-term stress in ways none of the elite officials or journalists who dutifully carried the messages of war fever ever wanted to report. I cannot say for sure that if mainstream media had listened to us, taken us seriously, not dismissed the huge demonstrations, and better put out the truth about the weapons of mass destruction (known clearly even then), that the war could have been stopped.
What I do know, however, is that the overall effect of the media system is still positive PR for the war and the obfuscation of history. Rarely are Americans reminded how many dead, how many refugees, how much churning of lives our policies have caused. Military solutions still seem to be the only ones taken seriously by the American establishment. The mainline candidates and the rest of the politicians offer little beyond celebration of supposed military accomplishments that are in fact demonstrable disasters. They won't go near constructive critiques or, heaven forbid, unless you're Ron Paul, propose withdrawal of troops and recovery of the now-wasted massive resources the Pentagon consumes.
I'll pick up further discussion of the motivations for this feature later. For now, today's moment in history: a doozy in the annuls of banging the drums of war. Five years ago on the first Friday in January, President Bush visited friendly territory at Fort Hood, Texas, where he found an audience at once more than willing to be pumped up into a war frenzy and also serve as a prop in the image necessary to build public consent for the imperial project.
Under the authority of the "Almighty" Bush portrays the "enemy" as subhuman, ruthless killers requiring the cleansing only the most powerful military in history can do:
For Immediate Release - Office of the Press Secretary
January 3, 2003
President Rallies Troops at Fort Hood
Fort Hood, Texas
Now you're called again into action, to defend America and the cause of freedom in the first war of the 21st century. For this country, and for our friends around the world who love freedom like we do, the stakes are great. The terrorists have shown what they intend for us. And we're not going to forget.
We're not going to forget the fact that they kill without regard for the rules of war. They don't value innocent life like we do. In America, we say everybody is precious, everybody counts. Everybody is equal in the eyes of the Almighty.
That's not the way the enemy thinks. They don't value innocent life. They're nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers, and that's the way we're going to treat them. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: They reach across oceans to target the innocent. They seek weapons of mass murder on a massive scale. The terrorists will not be stopped by mercy or by conscience. But they will be stopped.
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: And they will be stopped by the will and the might of the United States of America. (Applause.)END
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: Our country is in a great contest of will and purpose. We're being tested. In times of crisis, we will act decisively. And in times of calm, we'll be focused and patient and relentless in our pursuit of the enemy. That's what we owe the American people.
We're not waiting for another attack. We can't wait for another attack to employ the full power of America in this cause. We're acting now to protect the American people and to shape a future of peace.
This war, like others, is not going to be won on the defensive. So we're going to take this fight to the enemy.
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: And we're making good progress. We're making good progress. Working with our friends and allies, we have freed the people of Afghanistan from one of the most brutal regimes in the history of mankind. (Applause.)
We enforced a clear doctrine that said if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists -- and the Taliban knows what we meant. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: We've destroyed camps where terrorists train. They're used to be camps, the United States military showed up -- they're not any camps in Afghanistan.
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: We've emptied caves where they hid. See, they used to think they could hide. But you can't hide from the United States of America. You may hide for a brief period of time, but pretty soon we're going to put the spotlight on you, and we'll bring you to justice.
We've cut off millions of dollars that the enemy was using to fund operations. We're working with friends and allies around the world. And we're hauling them in, one by one. Some have met their fate by sudden justice; some are now answering questions at Guantanamo Bay. In either case, they're no longer a problem to the United States of America and our friends. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE. Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: We do not yet have all the terrorists, but they're all on the run. And if they listen carefully, they will hear behind them the mighty footsteps of the United States of America. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: And we're not quitting. We'll fight this war on many fronts, with many tools. Our intelligence operations are tracking the terrorists. We're sharing intelligence with other countries that share our desire for peace. Our allies are keeping the peace and helping us keep the peace in Afghanistan. We're hunting the terrorists on every continent.
See, they're in over 60 different countries. We've got a vast coalition of people bound by this principle: either you're with us, or you're with the enemy; either you're with those who love freedom, or you're with those who hate innocent life. Our coalition is strong, and we're keeping it strong. And we're on the hunt; we're chasing them down one by one.
And, as well, we're confronting the threat of outlaw regimes who seek weapons of mass destruction. Different circumstances require different strategies -- from the pressure of diplomacy, to the prospect of force. Yet, in every case, the resolve of our nation is the same: we must, and we will, protect the American people and our friends and allies from catastrophic violence wherever the source, whatever the threat.
In the case of North Korea, the world must continue to speak with one voice, to turn that regime away from its nuclear ambitions. In the case of Iraq, the world has already spoken with one voice. The Iraqi regime has a duty under Security Council resolutions to declare and destroy all of its weapons of mass destruction. That's what the world has said. That's what the United States expects from Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi regime is a grave threat to the United States. The Iraqi regime is a threat to any American and to threats who are friends of America.
Why do I say that? Well, first of all, the leader in Iraq has publicly proclaimed his hatred for our country and what we stand for. The Iraqi regime has a record -- a record of torturing their own people, a brutal record and a record of reckless aggression against those in their neighborhood.
The Iraqi regime has used weapons of mass destruction. They not only had weapons of mass destruction, they used weapons of mass destruction. They used weapons of mass destruction on people in other countries, they have used weapons of mass destruction on their own people. That's why I say Iraq is a threat, a real threat.
Four years ago, U.N. inspectors concluded that Iraq had failed to amount -- account for large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, weapons capable of killing millions. In last month's declaration, Iraq again failed to account for those weapons.
The Iraqi dictator did not even attempt to submit a credible declaration. We can now be certain that he holds the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council and its resolutions in contempt. He really doesn't care about the opinion of mankind. Saddam Hussein was given a path to peace; thus far, he has chosen the path of defiance.
The fate of the Iraqi regime is being determined by its own decisions. Saddam Hussein knows precisely what he can and must do to avoid conflict. We have made that clear. The world has spoken with one voice.
And even now, he could end his defiance and dramatically change directions. He has that choice to make. We certainly prefer voluntary compliance by Iraq. You see, the use of military force is this nation's last option, its last choice.
Yet, if force becomes necessary to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and enforce the will of the United Nations; if force becomes necessary to secure our country and to keep the peace, America will act deliberately, America will act decisively, and America will prevail because we've got the finest military in the world. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: We are ready. We're prepared. And should the United States be compelled to act, our troops will be acting in the finest traditions of America, should we be forced to act. Should Saddam Hussein seal his fate by refusing to disarm, by ignoring the opinion of the world, you will be fighting not to conquer anybody, but to liberate people.
See, we believe in freedom. No matter what their oppressors may say, the people of Iraq have no love for tyranny. Like all human beings, they desire and they deserve to live in liberty and to live in dignity. America seeks more than the defeat of terror. We seek the advance of human freedom in a world at peace. That is the charge history has given us, and that is the charge we will keep.
In crucial hours, the success of our cause will depend upon you. As members of our military, you serve this nation's ideals and you demonstrate those ideals in your code and in your character. As Commander-in-Chief, I have come to know the men and women who wear America's uniform. I have seen your love of country and your devotion to a cause larger than yourself. I have seen your discipline, your idealism, and your sense of honor. I know that every order I give can bring a cost. I also know without a doubt that every order I give will be carried out with skill and unselfish courage.
Some crucial hours may lie ahead. We know the challenges and the dangers we face. If this generation of Americans is ready, we accept the burden of leadership, we act in the cause of peace and freedom. And in that cause, we will prevail.
Thank you for your service. May God bless you, may God bless your families, and may God bless America. (Applause.)
Brilliant stuff. It worked too well. Little wonder five years later America's swaths of the world appear to be mired in permanent war. But after all that talk of "defeating terror," five years later terror never seems to be defeated.
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