Glenn Davis: Who Are The Real
Fascists?
A BUZZFLASH READER
CONTRIBUTION by Glenn
Davis
There has been a lot of talk recently by certain
government officials about the threat that "Islamic fascism" poses to the
world.
The underlying strategy behind this dubious
rhetoric, is to make a comparison between this supposed "Islamic fascism,"
and the European fascism of the 1930s that preceded World War
II.
By doing this, they hope to scare the American
public into believing that unless they embrace a foreign-policy of
preemptive warfare, a Nazi-like power grab by "Islamic fascists" will be
forthcoming, wreaking great destruction throughout the
world.
But a closer look at recent world events, and an
examination of what fascism actually is, reveals that it is the United
States that poses the real threat to democracy and world peace, having
recently morphed into a fascist state itself.
Fascism, in a nutshell, is a particular form of
authoritarian government in which big-industry merges with the
state.
Benito Mussolini, the fascist Italian dictator
whose name is synonymous with the term, went so far as to say that:
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism, because it is a
merger of State and corporate power."
With the quid pro quo relationship that exists
between our American government and big-business, who could argue with a
straight face that this is not precisely what we have in America
today?
Just consider, for one example, the relationship
between Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton. As a government
official in the early 90s, Cheney helped arrange lucrative contracts for
Halliburton and its subsidiaries by having them perform services for
troops, such as cleaning and cooking, that used to be performed by
enlisted men and women themselves. He was subsequently made CEO of
Halliburton, putting his net worth into the tens of millions of dollars.
When Cheney came back into power as Vice President, he pushed hard for the
invasion of Iraq, and Halliburton has profited immensely as a result of
its military-industrial contracts there.
That is a fine example of fascism at
work.
Combine with this the recently expanded,
unconstitutional governmental powers implemented domestically at the
expense of individual rights. For example, the secretive warrant-less
wiretapping program, or the arrest, and indefinite detention of people in
denial of their constitutionally guaranteed due process rights. As well,
there are vigorous attempts to permanently establish the president as a
leader that can operate outside of the law.
Add to this America's aggressive, militaristic
foreign policy, designed to achieve what many of our current leaders have
described as "benevolent global hegemony" (world domination), and it then
becomes clear that the United States has become a fascist, authoritarian
state, hell-bent on empire. It is this recent change in our government,
and not inadequate intelligence, that explains America's invasion of Iraq
under false pretenses.
And, as to Islamic extremists and their hatred of
America, a U.S. State Department report revealed the true cause of their
anti-American sentiment: U.S. foreign policy.
There is indeed a global ideological movement
taking place among Muslim peoples today. But it is not the result of any
fascist ideologies. Rather, it is a resistance movement that is a direct
reaction to the fascist-driven imperialism of the 21st century United
States, now racing to seize control of Middle Eastern gas and oil by
force, and attempting to reshape the region to its (and Israel's)
liking.
So don't fall for the ruse that is "the threat of
Islamic fascism."
In truth, it is the fascism of the current United
States government that must be stopped by the American people. If not, it
will bankrupt the country expanding the death and destruction it has
created in Iraq to other parts of the world, and destroy what's left of
the constitution at home.
"Fascism - A system of government that
exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the
merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent
nationalism."
--American Heritage Dictionary,
1983
Glenn
Davis |