Eric Margolis: Why West is Losing.

[reprehensor]

Why West is Losing

Three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, America's politicians and media continue to gravely deceive the public about the so-called war on terrorism.

Now the definitive book on terrorism has appeared that should be mandatory reading for every thinking person. It's called Imperial Hubris: Why The West is Losing the War on Terror.

The cover simply identifies the author as "Anonymous," but he's already been widely identified in the American media as Michael Scheuer, a senior terrorism analyst for the CIA.

It is unprecedented that a serving CIA officer was allowed to publish a book, one that is clearly a dramatic rebuke to the neoconservatives who drove the U.S. into two wars.

more@link

[wurzel]

1. We are "solving" problems in 2004 AD the same way we did in 2004 BC.

Yet we call ourselves "civilized".

[Catfight]

2. Exactly, nothing has evolved. We still want a king in charge. n/t

[wurzel]

4. True. Many think we have one.

[airstrip1]

3. Interesting article

I found the following particularly telling

"Honour is still the currency of value in the Middle East, more so than goods and services."

"Blood-links trump all other affiliations or loyalties."

"Honour is why the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden to the U.S., a man they regarded as their guest and a war hero, and why he has still not been betrayed in spite of a $25-million US reward in a nation where the annual income is $147. "

The US ruling elite simply do not get it. They assume that economic value is the only measure of worth. I think that the corporate and political power brokers have got so used to bullying and intimidating their own population via their control of the access to money and jobs that they assume the same tactics are going to work in the Muslim world. The evidence suggests that this is not the case. Worse, whilst the Islamic radicals are able to motivate their own followers, the leaders of the western world appear to enjoy only grudging support. The inability of the US army to recruit sufficient replacements for soldiers at the end of the service just highlights the lack of enthusiasm for the current conflict. People are simply not willing to put their lives on the line for rulers who seem more interested on protecting the interests of the rich rather than the welfare of their own peoples. As you watch the news announcing the next terrorist outrage, the next corporate scandal, the next set of layoffs or the next outbreak of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan what you are seeing is the slow unraveling of US dominance in the world. The process may take decades but the result is inevitable.

[reprehensor]

5. Sounds about right...

Have you heard of Chalmers Johnson? Google 'Chalmers Johnson - bases' and you will have hours of reading that will back up your assertions from a different angle.

Here is a collection of links I have posted over at SmirkingChimp.com

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/viewtopic.php?topic=36999&forum=3&start=0

It's pretty clear to me that Shrub ain't got a clue how to wage his own 'war on terra'.

And that makes the whole world a more dangerous place.

[airstrip1]

7. You mean the author of 'Blowback' and ' The Sorrows Of Empire'

They are on my future reading list.

I need more education on this subject.

[reprehensor]

8. The very one.

I just finished Blowback last month.

Devastating.

Here's a new one:
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0914-20.htm

[newyawker99]

6. Hi airstrip1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: