September 14, 2001 The Bill Comes Due By Gerald Horne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Some economists have argued that what has made the fabled U.S. economy what it is today is easy credit: buy now, pay later. In light of the tragic and horrendous events of 11 September, it is also possible to say that this kind of philosophy sheds light on this terrible tragedy. For amidst the hour piled upon hour of bloviating and commentary on radio and t.v., one stubborn fact has gone unnoticed: those who are being accused of perpetrating this crime, e.g. the Saudi, Osama bin Laden, were not only among the closest allies of the U.S., but -- as well -- were essential to the prior historical epoch, the Cold War, that the events of 9-11 are destined to replace. These "allies" were relied on heavily but that reliance has come with a price and the time may be nigh to pay. The famed actor and director, Orson Welles, put it best when seeking to explain why organized crime plays such a large role in the entertainment industry (yet another subject that has evaded the attention of so many of our contemporary analysts): "A group of [moguls] finance a group of gangsters to break trade unionism, to check the threat of Socialism, the 'menace' of Communism or the possibility of democracy.....When the gangsters succeed at what they are paid to do, they turn on the men who paid them....[The] puppet masters find their creatures taking on a terrible life of their own." For during the 1980s the U.S. participated in the largest 'covert' operation of its history -- perhaps of all time -- the destabilization of the left-led regime in Afghanistan, a regime bolstered by the then USSR. As Dan Rather is beamed into living rooms nationally, pontificating about the horrors of these bombings, I wonder if he recalls when he was smuggled into Afghanistan to broadcast hyperbolically favorable stories about the same "freedom fighters" who now -- miraculously -- have become "terrorists"? As he sheds a tear about the thousands of lives lost in the U.S., I wonder if Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor under Jimmy Carter and a major architect of the Afghan 'covert' action, recalls his being photographed infamously with these 'freedom fighters' with an assault weapon in his grubby paws aimed at Kabul? As is well known, the U.S. helped to recruit tens of thousands to flock to Afghanistan, particularly recruits from the Islamic world. Hundreds of millions of dollars were poured into this effort and it is from this seething cauldron of conflict that bin Laden arose, not to mention those who are now destabilzing Algeria and wreaking havoc in an arc of instability that stretches from North Africa to the South Pacific. Sadly, one can count on one hand -- perhaps one finger -- those (particularly among African-Americans) who uttered a word of opposition to the Afghan 'covert' action as it unfolded, though those tax dollars would have been better spent on hunger and homelessness. Most were cowed by the reigning anticommunism which mandated avid support or muteness in the face of anything that was deemed anti-Soviet. Fundamentally, the U.S. helped to stoke right-wing nationalism -- including what is called 'Islamic fundamentalism' and 'Christian militias' -- to undermine not only left-led regimes but even bourgeois democratic governments. Recall the pivotal 1980 election that catapulted Ronald Reagan into the White House. Recall what former Columbia University Professor, Gary Sick, referred to as the "October Surprise," i.e. the newly installed Islamicist regime in Iran supposedly agreed with the GOP aspirant to delay the release of U.S. hostages in their country, so as to undermine the candidacy for re-election of then President Jimmy Carter. Then the hostages were released as Reagan took his oath of office in January 1981, which helped to propel the belief that the Iranians were frightened of retribution from Reagan and this fear prompted this release; this misbelief was expanded to include the notion that militants internationally were now afraid of the big, bad U.S. now that the GOP right had come to office. This stoked even more chauvinism on these shores. Then the Reagan Administration and the militant right-wing clerics in Teheran collaborated to eviscerate jointly the left-wing Tudeh Party opposition in Teheran, not least because they were seen as being close to Moscow. Those who doubt the collaboration between right-wing nationalism and the U.S. should re-examine the now forgotten 'Iran-Contra' scandal, an elaborate scheme that involved the U.S. simultaneously sending millions to Iran, while passing on tens of millions of dollars in arms to the hated "contras" in Nicaragua in an attempt to destroy the Sandinista government. Hence, if George W. Bush carries through with his stated desire to wage war on those who helped to boost his party into power, he will find shortly he will have to reconfigure the GOP -- not to mention some of his erstwhile allies. The pundits are correct that added pressure will be placed on Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the seedbed of right-wing nationalism in the Islamic world, but this can only serve to assist those who Washington has pledged to strangle -- leftist opposition forces in these unstable nations. Israel may receive a short term boost from these events as more understanding may be shown in Washington for its struggle against Palestinians. But in the long run many in the US will come to recognize that Israel's flouting of U.N. Resolutions concerning Palestine is no more than a breeding ground for frustration and anger -- and recruits into the armies of militant right-wing nationalism. China, which worked hand in glove with the US in Afghanistan, Southern Africa and other hotspots, is trapped in a contradiction of its own making. So-called 'Islamic fundamentalism' has found something of a welcome in restive Western China, which has been targeted by Beijing for massive new investment and development; of course, this 'fundamentalism' was nurtured by China's anti-Soviet maneurvers in Afghanistan. Now China is tempted to continue its relations with the medievalist Taliban in Kabul -- supposedly a new development deal was just inked with this odious regime -- if only to keep Washington focused on anything besides China itself. The U.S. ruling elite to this very day is continuing its disastrous romance with right-wing nationalism. In the southeastern nation of Malaysia -- one of the Cuba's closest friends and a prime granter of development aid in Southern Africa -- Washington is now covertly backing the so-called 'Islamic Fundamentalist' forces of PAS against the progressive nationalism of Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammed. In Central Asia, Washington's policy of detaching Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from the orbit of Russia -- a policy that is a holdover from the Cold War -- again only serves to assist the forces of right-wing nationalism the US is allegedly now at war with. Criticism should also be accompanied by self-criticism and there's plenty to go around, particularly among African-Americans where we have our own militant right-wing nationalist forces, as the event of mid-October 1995 exemplified. Interestingly, these forces only began to flower in the mid-1950s, coincidentally when progressive figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Shirley Graham Du Bois and Paul Robeson were coming under fierce attack in a global pattern that mimics what has occurred in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Iran and elsewhere. As we bask in the justifiable after-glow of our historic participation in the Durban anti-racism conference, we should ask ourselves why our participation in the prior two U.N. sponsored anti-racism conferences was so sparse, though the question of apartheid and hatred of Africans was much more at center-stage then than at this year's gathering. That issue set aside, it is clear that Black support for the Democratic Party should also be reassessed, as this party -- according to the 14 September NEW YORK TIMES -- is about to take a dive and back the White House's unworkable 'National Missile Defense' scheme to the tune of billions of dollars, though the assault of the World Trade Center shows this scheme is not only lacking in feasibility but is also not practical. Many Blacks and many in labor too back the Democrats on the grounds that they are blocking the rise of the right; but as the Democrats vote in Congress to give Bush a virtual blank check to fight an ill-defined 'terrorism' globally, it is apparent that the Democrats do not block the rise of the right -- they meekly enable it. The events of 11 September involved some of the most significant bloodletting on these shores since the battle of Antietam during the Civil War. Then, the question was whether this nation could exist "half-slave" and "half free". The U.S. has encouraged fascist like practices globally (recall that 11 September also marks the anniversary of the US sponsored overthrow of the socialist Allende regime in Chile and its replacement by the fascist Pinochet), while seeking to maintain bourgeois democracy at home -- with an unhealthy dose of quasi-fascist practices directed at "minorities". It is now clear that this approach may no longer be tenable: the pundits are correct, the page of history has turned but not necessarily in the way they describe. The crackdown on civil liberties augured by the events of 11 September not only show once again how militant right-wing nationalism continues to replicate itself like an out-of-control computer virus but, also, the old practice with which some had become so comfortable -- bourgeois democracy at home coupled with quasi-fascist practices against 'minorities' and outright fascism abroad -- may now be untenable. In the meantime a key task of progressives is to frontally assault the rising tidal wave of persecution against Arab-Americans: this has become an important frontline in the struggle against this latest iteration of a "New World Order". This targeting of Muslims and Arab-Americans has grave implications for all those concerned with 'racial profiling.' Yet, no progress will be made on any front until we recognize the symbiotic relationship that has existed to this point between militant right-wing nationalism globally and the GOP. Whether this tragedy of 11 September was perpetrated by the 'venture capitalist' of right-wing Islam, bin Laden or 'Christian militias' or even the Israelis (a recent charge by the Iranian clerics), it all stems from the same source: U.S. nurturing right-wing nationalism, at home and abroad. The bill has come due, the times of easy credit are drying up, it is time to pay. Copyright (c) 2001 Gerald Horne. All Rights Reserved. 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