Psychological Warfare

For the past few weeks one story has dominated our media, yes folks, not the tale of the famous outlaw Jesse James, but the tale of Saudi Arabian terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden. It has been interesting to say the least, if a bit mind boggling. The various shananigans of the U.S showdown with the most wanted man in history have been sensationalised beyond belief, and going by appearances to some extent laughable. We have all been bombarded with the sound bytes, and myriad of newsflashes surrounding the death of OBL.  We have been exposed to the deep seated, if understandable emotions once again which surround this figurehead.  We have laid witness to the outpouring of  American joy at the news of team America's great finale home run !

Yet displays of flag waving and nationalist frenzy on the streets of New York left me pondering and questioning so many things , whilst leaving a rather uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. As I watched them cheering and dancing with glee, and laid witness to the almost euphoric bloodlusty fervour of the crowds who were celebrating this man's death. It smacked of human hypocrisy and political double standards. I was reminded in my minds eye of Islamic fundamentalists which I had similarly seen on our airwaves in the past rejoicing American deaths and burning the U.S flag. The comparisons were surreal to me, yet chillingly similar, even if the situation was different.

Now, I have always had an inquisitive nature and enquiring mind. I do tend to question things, which to me is a positive and healthy thing, but to others may appear a threat, dependant on whether you are a blind follower as I like to call it, or a free thinker . In the western world we are supposed to live in a Democracy, well that is the theory in any case, yet it appears to me that this is not true in practice.

According to the English essayist William Hazlitt :

"in times of tyranny the interests of the people and the interests of the government are separated and the government by nature becomes the main enemy of the people"

In my opinion this has never rung more true than current times , governments are instituted to represent the majority of it's people. The very definition of Democracy is :
" a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (and more or less direct) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self- determination"
(Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy#Opposition_to_democracy).

Following this whole episode, which will go down in history as a blatent if brazen slap in the face of Democracy by America, to pick and choose when, how, and where, to ignore the very foundations of this principle. Opting for their "ends justify the means" policy, and their flavour of the "democratic way", instead of adhering to the fundamentals of Democracy which states every person has the right to a fair trial.

It was Justice Felix Frankfurter, who said :

"It is easy to make light of insistence on scrupulous regard for the safeguards of civil liberties when invoked on behalf of the unworthy. History bears testimony that by such disregard are the rights of liberty extinguished, heedlessly, at first, then stealthily, and brazenly in the end." 

Why was OBL not indicted and brought to trial and given a day in court ? Is this not the democratic way ? You would have thought since he was the big potato in the world of terrorism, he, whom we were constantly told was the brains behind the operation, was killed rather than captured, no ?  I would have assumed that Guantanemo's torture and waterboarding would have been good enough for this guy. Was it not at least owed to the American people to try and find out what this great criminal mind had up his sleeve next ? The great intelligence of our modern world could benefit perhaps? so many oddities which make little sense in this whole shebang .

Furthermore, why are those who question these logical facts, and point out discrepancies as anti-democratic , or question their methods and multiple versions of events being denounced as unpatriotic, enemies of the state or even mentally ill? Is free thought no longer permitted in this Orwellian world we co-habit? Is this the a new kind of Democracy I was never taught at school ? I have read and listened to many accounts from various news channels, websites, social networking sites etc and believe there is alot more going on here than meets the eye !

For starters, nothing about the event has remained constant, Virtually each detail has changed multiple times, first OBL is depicted as a vain man watching videos of himself without sound , why ? who truely cares ? like vainity justifies death...hmmm I must remember that one for future reference :)

The story keeps evolving, as to whether bin Laden’s compound, no longer a luxury mansion, had no internet connection and relied on couriers for communications. The latest version is that bin Laden in fact was online. The Washington line of events claims that the raid delivered into its hands bin Laden’s emails and diary, which, Washington suggests, show an active OBL directing his network of terror to carry out further plots. If bin Laden was online, why did U.S intelligence have to find him by trailing a courier ? on the one hand, the  navy SEALs nabbed OBL’s diary and emails, but left behind all sorts of other documents that allegedly have fallen into Pakistani hands. That OBL had used a woman as a human shield in the showdown, yet later said this was not the case, eh hello ? does nobody else think all of these accounts rather confusing if odd to say the least ?

Navy SEALS left-behind so called documents, which can now serve as a pretext for more disputes with Pakistan. They can also prove another excuse for ignoring Pakistan’s protests about the military operations the US carries out in Pakistan, violating the sovereignty of the country, oh yeah did they forget to mention that this whole operation was an illegal violation of International law ? minor detail I suppose,  let's make up our own rules, rules ? what rules ? 

Why would the SEALs leave behind so many precious documents? I don't recall that attending stupid club was part and parcel of training for this american elite club ! First, they kill for no reason other than ordered to, the mastermind who could have revealed the world of terror; then they depart, leaving terror records behind. Some could and will argue that this is typical of US government incompetence. So how did such an incompetent government even find bin Laden? ok ok I know it only took nearly a decade ..the oddities just continue to stack up and up, yet the majority of the american public seem to lap it all up without question. We even heard people on newsflashes saying ' yes I believe it was the right thing to do, I trust my president, I believe my government and stand by country ' as if to question any detail is somehow an exhibition of disloyalty and anti-patriotism. What has become of free thought and educated debate ?

The fact that we were presented with a death without a corpse and that Washington has no explanation for why an unarmed, undefended Bin Laden, who was the Big cheese when it came to valuable terrorist information, was murdered and not captured. All in all, seems more than unbelieveable to the rational and logical mindset.  This all smells more of psychological warfare on the American public and the  global village who allow themselves to be manipulated by the current status quo. Hello world! wake up and smell the coffee!

President John F. Kennedy himself once said :

“Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment– the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”–but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.”
(JFK-The President and the Press: April 27, 1961)

The truth of what really happened I guess we will never know. It is a well known fact that the navy seal belief enshrines the motto : 'Admit to nothing, Deny everything, and make counter-acusations' perfect display of this in operation here. What an inconvenient truth it is that dead men can't talk in this case. The whole event if you look at it with a questioning mind seems totally presposterous, mind games at their finest. On one hand, they are shouting that he deserved what he got, then in the next breath, they claim showing respect for his 'Muslim burial' by wrapping him in a cloth and chucking him in the ocean(which is not a muslim tradition), give me a break already, are the american majority really that brainwashed, or dare I say stupid ? All indications point to such, they are definitely being treated as such.

The new weapon of mass destruction are not nuclear warheads or missiles but Psychological warfare , perpetuated by the US federal government. Both a deliberate, and systematic effort to psychologically condition the American people into accepting the war on terror as a justified war, and the attack on their freedoms as reasonable and good. Using mass media and the great technological advances of our 'brave new world' as a mouthpiece for their politically motivated propaganda, is working a dream really.  I would go as far as to say that just as Hitler exploited propaganda, and various mediums to manipulate the populace and frighten the world into submission. Similarities of technique today can be witnessed when it comes to the mass media of the emerging totalitarianism exhibited by the U.S state and western world. OK before you say it, I am not saying the US federal government is the same as Hitler, but the motivation is still the same, control .

The famous psychoanalyst Joost AM Merloo said about Hitler that:
" he kept his enemies in a state of constant confusion and diplomatic upheaval. They never knew what this unpredictable madman was going to do next. Hitler was never logical, because he knew that was what he was expected to be. Logic can be met with logic, while illogic cannot–it confuses those who think straight. The Big Lie and monotonously repeated nonsense have more emotional appeal in a cold war than logic and reason. While the enemy is still searching for a reasonable counter-argument to the first lie, the totalitarians can assault him with another.on their own people. "

This propaganda model is not disimilar to what we have been privvy to lately in US politics. As in any relationship, it all comes down to trust, do you trust your politicians? I believe on close examination of history, this cannot be the case, for men in power have and always have had a propensity towards corruption. How can humanity survive this vicious cycle of violence and vengence ? for violence begets violence. How can mob rule be democratic ? How can this way of thinking ever give rise to peace ? how can we distinguish what is representative of good and evil when we behave just as bad as our enemies and seek to justify our actions in the name of the good of society as a whole?

Democracy should always be upheld no matter what ! Will history tell the story of a western culture founded on Democracy ? founded on the equality and the value of it's people that eventually destroyed itself because they just could not reconcile their differences and unite for the common good ? We should be beacons of light and lead by example, representative of what is right and not seek to set ourselves up as an absolute law, for if we seek to destroy our enemies in the same fashion through violence, and celebrate death, I ask you how are we any different than our enemies ?

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. … Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ( Ref : Wikiquote)

Break the cycle of violence, stand up and be counted, stand for peace, send a message out to our governments and world leaders that we are sick and tired of war, be the change you want to see in the world.

I will leave you with a quote from a wise man of peace who has suffered much injustice throughout his lifetime, who is an inspiration to us all.

"We should not seek revenge on those who have committed crimes against us, or reply to their crimes with other crimes. We should reflect that by the law of karma, they are in danger of lowly and miserable lives to come, and that our duty to them, as to every being, is to help them to rise towards Nirvana, rather than let them sink to lower levels of rebirth." - Dalai Lama.