Where Are the "Terrorists?"

"When you hear a threat which is "probably" made by bin Laden, just remember that he's "probably" dead.

Also think about who benefits from your believing he's alive."
-http://whatreallyhappened.com/osama_dead.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3uag5wZ4mI

Westerners have been blind to the real causes of "terror", and have simply given terror a face--The diabetes-afflicted man by the household name of Osama.Bin.Laden. The Bush-Cheney administration (after cutting some family ties) gave middle America a face to spit on, step on, put fire to, in its brash, boorish response to the 9/11 attacks. And somehow according to Benazir Bhutto (bless), who was recently coincidentally assassinated (after numerous other suicide attacks and threats), Osama's been dead for a while now and she states it matter-of-factly (in a Robert Frost interview--I have it posted above and in my facebook posts) as though it's common knowledge in the Middle East.

What a shocker. We live in this Western bubble where we suffer from lack of diversity in news, and hey, wouldn't you guess it? A large proportion of Pakistan and most other middle eastern countries don't have access to the same "caliber" of news that we are so greedily accustomed to (the filtered, store-bought kind). What was old news to them is shocking for us. And they would probably be equally shocked at how ignorant we are (blame the media).

It is very difficult to put into words what I feel so passionate about, what I want you to feel passionate about. This is our world, we live here, we have family in these places, your friends may have family in these places, it doesn't matter-- we have an obligation to humans of any kind. How, to any respectable person, does it feel fair to kill in response to killing?

I am also reminded briefly of the period in time when 9/11 occurred and how difficult it was to admit that I was partially Paki/Afghani/Indian/Persia

n when I had classmates asking if my last name was linked to any terrorists?? And forget being proud of my heritage in the day and age when I was only 15 years old and the towers went down...Sacranie's statements goes for all of terrorism, when he declared after the attacks on London, “the real victim of these bombings is the Muslim community of the UK [and the rest of the world].” And of course (not that I concede to this notion 100%, but to a fair degree) most of these ignorant ideas of the entire Islamic (which grows to encompass any brown person, even though there are a multitude of other religions practiced in the middle east and Pakistan, depending on who you're talking to) world are rooted in family trees, history, religion, what-have-you.

It's not hard to see what's really causing all the fear that lives in the heart of Americans. As if it isn't bad enough seeing propaganda like "we will never forget," bits and pieces of the world trade center (which still--6 years later--sits as a depressing pile of rubble that acts as a monument to the war on terror) lying around, and constant radio/subway station/etc ads and warnings reminding all good citizens to report suspicious activity, on a DAILY, HOURLY, MINUTELY BASIS.

say in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks were fresh in people's minds, when people believed that a "war on terror" would avenge the lives of the lost (omg, like, why didn't I think of that! blood for blood-- always a fair trade in the mind of men), that finding Osama Bin Laden would bring peace and democracy to Afghanistan>Iraq>Iran>>>>>>? when in 2003 Bush is quoted as saying that Osama Bin Laden is not his priority and that he don't really care where Bin Laden is at the moment (probably because he's dead!).

OR

My fellow Americans, we put the blame on this one guy but yuh see, we didn't realize just how many guys are claiming to be Al Qaeda or Taliban (whatchamacallit) running around these days in black turbans and eyeliner who are willing to blow themselves up just because they feel oppressed...and those mountains--don't let em fool ya! They look pretty but they sure are big and cave-ridden and hopeless in real life. Not that I've ever been there or anything, but I've sent over the country's finest young men who have no idea what this war is really about, or what [insert middle eastern country about to be attacked here] is like. I mean, even I don't know what it's really about. I mean, what I mean to say is that I mean business, and that's the oil business, which is America's business. And if that business fails, America fails, and then the world fails and, well, we don't take failure very easily here in the Oval office.

Yes, I can totally picture Bush uttering these exact words (if he hasn't already) with Cheney on his right cringing at the malady he is attempting to control. Poor Bush, his hair has gone completely white as a result of his presidency.

Even the White House allows transcripts from press conferences to be available right away?? We are living through a historic period of time. I'm always arguing about what exactly gives humans the idea that they are so sacred, so intelligent, that whomever is in charge will admit a sinful human to heaven but would never think twice about animals or plants in those terms? As if they are our servants or underlings. We forget that they are our beginnings and our nourishment. And the answer has always been the same: because humans have the ability to think about their own mortality (and invent religion to deal with our mortal "terror"), because only humans could create this (wonderful?) world that we live in today with inventions like virtual reality (because, well, real reality isn't good enough, duh).

If we are so intelligent, if we are so deserving, how can we not find solutions to problems that beg and grovel at our feet? The glitter and booze and TV and movie stars are nothing but distractions from much bigger problems that it seems we are too weak, or too scared, or too JADED by politics or the Past or personal experiences, to face.

I find it hard to believe that there is some master scheme to all this war nonsense, or that Bush had it all planned out, or anything like that, even if he is Cheney's puppet. Cheney is a man who initially failed in educational institutions, but knows how to wield power. Of course I can just hear all the videogame-guzzling/power-worshipping/gun-wielding/politic-savvy guys or girls who say, "what else matters" or "idealism doesn't apply to politics। the glass is half empty and there's nothing we can do about it so let's go drink a beer and forget about it " This is as straightforward as it gets, folks. If you have been doing your economics homework, the "war" hasn't been very profitable at all, in response to the many ridiculous claims I have heard. The next two or more American generations will face a huge debt, and I won't go into an economics lesson just yet, but seriously, hysterical how vivid our imaginations are. America's own citizens have been completely neglected for the past 6 or so years. Education and health care are more expensive than ever, crime is rising, and what-else-more-need-I-say. Except that OF COURSE the US chooses sides in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, one of the most controversial issues of our time, and ignores the pleas from Palestine that are echoed in the 9/11 attacks.

So take all this, put it in your hand. Hold it close to your face, hold it away from your face, close one eye, close the other, and see how it all comes together for you. Bhutto is dead, and with her death came news that Osama has been long dead. America has attempted to keep him alive in order to strike fear in the common heart, in order to justify a war personified by Bin Laden. Think again, who benefits from you believing he is alive?

Peace n love,

Danielle