Republican convention: Panic-mongering in the service of war and reaction

[Triana]

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The profound disconnect between the rhetoric from the convention podium and the social and political reality in America is readily apparent, not only in the streets outside the convention, but in the neighborhoods of New York City, where poverty, unemployment and homelessness are growing.

The Republicans are meeting in a city where nearly one out of every three children is living below the official poverty line and 50 percent of African-American men are without jobs. Social polarization has reached levels unseen in US history, with the wealthiest 20 percent of the city’s population enjoying incomes that are nearly 30 times those of poorest 20 percent. This is the context in which Giuliani mouths phrases about New York being “stronger than ever.”

The attempt to use September 11 to justify the reactionary policies of the Bush administration has provoked growing hostility and skepticism in New York City and beyond. A highly revealing poll—virtually blacked out by the media—was conducted on the eve of the convention, reporting that half (49.3 percent) of the city’s residents believed that at least some members of the administration “knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around 11 September 2001, and that they consciously failed to act.”

The poll, taken by Zogby International, also indicated that a substantial majority was dissatisfied with the official investigations into the attacks and believed that a new probe was required into “still unanswered questions” surrounding the September 11 events.

Clearly, millions of people have drawn their own conclusions: a government that would drag the people into a war based on lies is prepared to do anything. This includes allowing a terrorist attack to take place to provide the pretext for implementing longstanding plans for wars in the Middle East and Central Asia to seize control of the regions’ vast oil resources.

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http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=9193