by Robert W. Barker

Since 9-11, our collective awareness of the west's vulnerability to such vile terror attacks has evolved into the number one fear in America, but is it worthy of such lofty heights in our list of troublesome world problems?

International terrorism kills an exceptionally small number people every year, yet it is our biggest trepidation and an enormous drain of funds - as well as the main focus of all US government security goals. One's chances of dying from lightening strikes are very comparable to the rate of death in terrorist acts internationally. Nonetheless, the biggest expenditure in the American budget is for fighting, scrutinizing, and addressing the illusive Terror.

Americans' concern over another 9-11 has turned out to be unrealistic, exaggerated, and beyond the pale of reason. For instance, if we had one 9-11 event every three months for the next five years, our chances of being a victim of one is 0.02%. Astronomer Alan Harris estimates at the present rate of terror acts, our chances of death from global terror is about 1in 80,000 -pproximately the same as being hit by an errant asteroid.  Here in the USA,we have developed an overblown sense of trepidation, and turned reactionary to the extreme.

Terrorists and our contributions

Initially, we must not overlook the fact that we trained and equipped Osama's original Mujahideen in Afghanistan - so we helped to create this new enemy.

Second, we armed many insurgents in Iraq by losing track of weapons by the hundreds of thousands and explosive - enough to have roadside bombs for hundreds of years, {380 Tons lost in one early conflict event} so in this way we have enabled the terrorist.

Third, our policy of reactionary unilateral wars, secret prisons and torture have driven us into the abyss of Global perceptions and caused an increase in recruitment for Islamic Terror.

Fourth, we have paid the Taliban and other terrorist groups for favors for years now, and recently we have inadvertently given Sunni terrorists in Lebanon funds.

That signature terror event in Sept. 2001 has driven a response and expenditure to our system far out of proportion to the actual threat. In fact, our fear of the terrorists has killed many more and caused far more damage then the actual terror events. We pay for this fear through misdirected bellum that was meant to confront this Islamic threat; negative world perceptions of the USA, over-spending for security and a flawed policy resulting in increased recruitment of even more terrorists. Our fear and past policy has exacerbated this problem, and we have swallowed the terrible terror pill - and it is eating at our guts daily.

The economic cost of this overreaction has driven the USA into deep debt; to China, Japan and the World Bank. We spend 10 billion every month in Iraq, and that is not the only funds outlay that has resulted from our ingested trepidation. Millions of lives altered, hundreds of thousands killed and wounded, dead and maimed humans are never accountable in dollars.

Furthermore "we are fulfilling the agenda of the Terrorists" by the exact action we have pursued, Osama bin laden personally, stated that: "fear, alarmism and over reaction" suit his terrorist agenda perfectly.

These damaging consequences are what the terrorists seek to accomplish yet they cannot do this on their own; so we oblige them with this trumped up fear reaction. Osama's stated goal is to "drive America to bankruptcy through over reaction," and it is working. The 9-11 attacks estimated cost to Osama and his Islamic extremists was about a half million dollars, yet the cost to repair and revive for the USA is approximately 500 billion dollars and quickly growing. And recently we hear that the combined wars on terror will ultimately cost over two trillion dollars.  We are draining our blood and flaunting fiscal responsibilities in the war on Terror.

What drives this out of proportion reactionary apprehension?

Our own personal and national "insecurities" and the profit driven corporate terror machine, combined to keep this well-oiled expensive trepidation extant. The major reason this terror threat has gained such momentum, is the "Terror Industry" or the "Fear profit" factor.

Risk entrepreneurs, politicians, terror experts, media, federal bureaucracy, the Pentagon or the military industrial machine, all add to the American recipe of insecurity from terror.

Creative Alarmist

These Creative Alarmists and our propensity for war have us collectively involved in a scam of massive proportions.  Corporations that profit from insecurity are growing at an alarming rate.  War contractors like Halliburton and Bechtel, conflict based contract financiers like the Bush-bin laden families' venture called The Carlyle Group, and the far-right owned Blackwater - as well as numerous other corporations - also profit from this war on terror. We should not fail to mention the regional and political considerations, as Israel and the Saudis are both benefiting from this so-called war on terror in Iraq, as well as and other places.

This newfound Terror Industry has become a thriving breathing entity that will not easily back away; the Beast of Bellum is addicted to the tension and the profits it engenders. Promoting fear is good for the war profiteers because an alarmed public, overwhelmed by fear, is malleable - and an easy target group.

For another Straussian Neo Con stated goal is to convince the public to relinquish civil rights in order to gain the illusive security the fearful population seeks. Politician Alarmist like Richard Lugar of Indiana proclaimed "existential" threats, from Islamic terror. Columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote the terrorist are a threat to "civilization itself" now how is that for journalistic hyperbole?

"Homeland security cannot be had on the cheap," proclaimed Joe Lieberman; yet it seems it is not attainable on the expensive either.

Where's the Beef?

With all this lament and forewarning about the serious nature of Terror one would think borders and ports would be primary issue against Terror entering the USA. Yet we still have porous borders and vulnerable ports, if we are serious about this so called threat why not start there? And of course there was the recent debacle suggesting that we turn over Port authority to Abu Dubai an Arabic country with terror ties. Go figure this, the very Neo Cons that ratcheted up the fear promoted these Arab controlled ports for the USA. Then these naive Neo Cons lament when the public bolts from the idea, why because they forgot about the backlash of anti Islamic sentiment they engendered, for they know its mostly a ruse.

Airport security has supposedly improved, although many of the changes have been ineffective or silly, and inconvenience passengers more then terrorist; nonetheless they are at least trying to sure up this area.

(Article Continues Below)

Terror benefits more than corporations

Church congregations see a larger attendance in times of insecurity resulting in additional funds in the coffers. TV evangelists rave on about Islamic terror to gain a boost in ratings from the profit-laden dread; Americans often seek solace in Gods house.

Ethnocentric congregations shiver in fear as the manipulating ministers spew apprehension and hatred of the Islamic people. Much the same as the extreme Clerics in Islam feed the attendance to the local Mosque's fright of the West. Dogma aimed at higher profits or power from spreading hate and mistrust through religions doctrine and teachings.

Fear and war fetch massive defense spending approvals from Congress, it gets those public officials that preach its tenants elected, it brings new contracts for the manufactures of war and peace machines and opens doors for civilian contractors, food purveyors, security workers, water sellers, OPEC and petroleum prices get a boost from insecurity.

Media companies sell more newspapers and magazines, ratings get a boost on TV and Radio terror experts are paid for opinions, National concern and collective angst pays and everyone except the American taxpayers make out.

Who pays for this trumped up terror? You do, in more ways then one.

We are inundated with key phrases or trepidation language to keep our focus on the terror ball, "Weapons Of Mass Destruction," "Homeland Security" "Terror alerts," "The War on Terror", "Mission Accomplished" "Shock and Awe."  The color-based terror alerts are utilized most often in Federal electoral cycles, we all know they're "crying wolf."

The Patriot Act and other rights diminishing legislation are only considered "tolerable" by some due to our collective insecurity; we will do anything to alleviate this overblown apprehension. And this so-called "Patriot Act" we all know the liberty minded founders would likely find very unpatriotic.

Putting this "war on terror" in proper context is nearly impossible as the alarm is deeply ingrained in our collective souls. Statistically and realistically we are in far less danger then during the cold war or WWII or almost any period in history, yet we feel far more insecure.

I mean the Nazis had a gigantic war machine willing and able to take over any country in their way, the Soviets had missiles pointed at us with nuclear warheads attached that could end mankind. I can recall climbing under my desk in grade school and practicing for an atomic bomb attack on the USA, from the Soviet bad guys, even then I knew the desk would not help much.

Yet a just a few radical Islamic Terrorist with little power can bring this giant to its knees. Oh of course they have a lot of help from the Neo Con fright promotion machine and its entire population of slumbering sheep whose eyes are filled with FOX News and the Murdock promoted Fox Terror.

Not one united modern army, no real weapons of mass destruction, no nukes just a few Islamic extremists with marginal powers at best; their only real power is the reactionary fear we provide.

It is real, just overblown

One could never say Terror is not a threat, oh contraire, it is a threat, but blown way out of sink with reality.

And there are far better ways to handle terror then bellum in the desert and increasing abhorrence of our US terra firma generated by reactionary tactics. Our fear feeds the terrorist movement and our over reactions and bad foreign policy augments the motivation for the Terrorists.

PNAC think tanks taken us to the brink

Following the Cold War many of these Neo Con Straussian fear mongers lost their focus, they were fixated on Communism. Their very reason for living, the Communist boggy man was gone, this upset the fear industry and paranoid extreme right, after all whom might they point the war horse at now? Who would be the enemy they needed to keep America in a state of freight and ready to fight, after all right is nothing without might.

So they gazed around our world for another favorite cause celeb to build tension and feed their war machines, and alas Islamic Terror reared its ugly head. Although a much weaker enemy the very nature of their attacks on civilians is far more frightening to many Americans then a real threat to the world like for instance the Nazis. Our two jobs a day to keep up, and our deep addiction to the cushy life style, combined with watching the dysfunctional Malibu starlets go wild or American Idol drama, serve to ferment a brew that inhibits our understanding and comprehension of the over reaction to terror.

We allow others do our civic thinking for us and we are the victims of the motivations of fear. Following 9-11, Bush told us to be very afraid but alleviate the insecurities by doing the shop till you drop dance. His answer to fear is to become constant zealous consumers, not active citizens.  We are blind, befuddled, frightened, little spending children - that type sure makes for better citizens in this fear based Neo Con world.

Our sense of ethics was never as high as we idealistically envisioned, yet today they are practically non-existent. Lies repeated and cover ups replete with onerous alibis and favors to lobbies create the political scene in this present administration. We have learned to accept many lower moral stands in this high exclaiming moral administration, official torture, death of habeas corpus, secret prisons with no charges no hearings, or Fourth Amendments privacy rights damaged by millions of wire taps on American citizens is the new norm. Just say the magic words "Enemy Combatant" and all rights are gone and your ass is in Gitmo.

Collective insecurity brought us to this nightmare in the desert called the Iraq war, an ongoing quagmire that drains our funds and precious blood, our fear keeps us under the thumb of dominating men willing to destroy the USA in order to reach their agenda of perpetual war.

Dichotomies galore

Recently Mr. Bush claimed that if Iran were able to develop a nuke it would mean WWIII. I am not sure how he came to that conclusion, yet I would not doubt it here.

Nonetheless, let us look at our eschewed position and the so called ally Pakistan, she has the nuke now, she is full of radical Islamic Wahhabiest and she is under the tenuous control of a government brought to power by a military coup d'état. If any thing happens to the General Musharraf we may be looking at some real problems from the Pakistanis, yet we are wasting time and money in Iraq.   

President Bush grew rather offensive and used the "fear factor" over the questioning of his new pick for attorney general Mr. Mukasey.

He wailed that any Senator who insisted Mukasey give legitimate answers to their questions is- get this now- "Soft On Terrorism." This is more of the magic words that get us all fired up in fear, say "Soft on Terror" and you have the attention of the American people.

Seems that water boarding is torture to everyone but Mr. Bush and the Neo Cons, we all know it, but poor Mr. Wukasey needed to be briefed before deciding what torture was in the Neo Con interpretation of the term. We prosecuted Japanese after WWII for water boarding and now we have to ask if its moral legal or ethical?

The mainstream media never explores Mr. Bush and his Terror family connections. The Carlyle Group, a bin laden, Bush, Saudi families ventures, are tied together to make defense contracts pay and George and the boys send them many new ones. Another anomaly is the Bush friends Saudis themselves following 9-11 State Department investigations into terror funding found the Saudis gave more to Islamic Terror then any other nation on Earth.

And of course most the terrorist on that fateful day were Saudis, and Osama is a Saudi, yet no axis of evil for the Bush friends.

Solutions

When a nation spends trillions on an enemy that is illusive and not in command of organized military, it takes a different kind of strategy.

More intelligence, deeper infiltration, increased peaceful negotiations, an aggressive reaching out for cooperation to the fence setters in the region and far less bad policy like wars that cannot be justified in term of Terror.

Terrorism is an idea not a country nor a political position; extremists are on a holy jihad and as such can only be beaten by a better idea, and democratic government is an improved system over the repressive systems that permeate the middle east. Yet guns cannot drive liberty, democracy must be volunteered or it will fail.

A disturbing trend has emerged amongst establishment "Media" types who are raising the same radical talking point ad nauseam, calling the global truth movement "anarchists" or violent individuals, who may be aiding terrorists.

The right wing pundits like O'Reilly or Limbaugh are literally praying for another attack in America so they can blame peaceful activists who are consistently probing for the truth and causing consternation among the Media's paranoid right wing pundits. The truth scares these people like nothing else.

We need an American jihad for the people

The definition of the word Jihad is "to shake off," to rid ones self or people of a faulty system or low morals and I say its time we had a "shaking off" in the USA. Let us shake off the Neo Con plan to subvert the globe, lets shake off the terrorist by using proper tactics, lets shake off the apathy in the USA and become active engaged citizens.

Most importantly lets shake off the FEAR and Ethnocentric attitudes and face our problems with guts like the potent philanthropic country we can be.

If you enjoyed this post, please make a donation to help keep this website active:

Click Here for the Free Populist Party Newsletter

Robert W. Barker [send him email] is a writer, professional photographer and travel aficionado from Eureka Ca. His work is carried on many web sites around the globe, a first novel recently copyrighted in the library of Congress, is soon to be published.

More Articles from Robert Barker