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The Circle Of Fear
Jamil Matar Al-Hayat 2004/07/21
The coming few weeks might carry atypical developments that might be quite dangerous. Secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge talked about that possibility of new terrorist attacks against the U.S. on its homeland, as the electoral campaign is nearing its peak. Analysts' interest in secretary Ridge's statements might not only be because of the dangers of Ridge's warning, but also because of the dangers of what he might be aiming at.
The presidential campaign in the U.S. is going towards a direction that does not serve the Bush administration. Nothing in the atmosphere of the electoral campaign indicates that the results of this campaign are determined in favor of one candidate over the other; however, the gradual decline in Bush's popularity is persistent. The first main reason is because the successive series of lies that were revealed regarding the American foreign policy especially towards Iraq. It is true that the American public opinion especially during the time of the elections shows no interest in foreign policy; yet, the decline of the American credibility as a leading state in the international community affected directly the average American citizen and it made foreign policy a major concern as opposed to all other issues. Many circles in the U.S. especially those surrounding the White House lea by Karl Rove, the strategic planner for George Bush's campaign, are concerned about the decline of Bush's popularity. I think that Karl Rove and other Republican leaders are hoping for two things to happen in order to save the President in his electoral campaign.
The first is the improvement of monthly economic indicators in a tangible manner. Indeed these economic indicators are improving although in a slow manner. The second matter that can help Bush in preventing further decline in his popularity is a perilous development regarding terrorism. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is the victory of the American military outside the U.S. with the direct help from Arab and Islamic countries in Bush's war on terror such as the arrest of Zawahiri and Zarkawi. I don't expect and I don't think that Washington is waiting for the total eradication of terrorism in the coming 15 weeks. In other words, there is a difficulty in imaging the persistence of this dominant crew over Washington without the continuation of terrorism.
In my opinion Bush's government will focus its efforts in the coming weeks on escalating the campaign of freighting the American public opinion. Bush's strategic planners for his reelection campaign will focus their efforts in order to maintain this status of trepidation and they will work on intensifying it gradually. Bush's staff has realized the importance of spreading fear among the American public in order to achieve their goals. Most of them know that in a democratic system it is difficult to attain the support of the ordinary citizen for foreign aggressive policies. Indeed members of this staff were not able to convince the American citizen of their expansionist goals, except though the instigation of fear.
The process of instigating fear started even prior to the events of 9/11 in a political campaign against Arabs and Muslims and terrorism in the Middle East. The "neoconservatives" used the events of 9/11 as proof that Islamic terrorism is the source on the international scene that threatens the Americans and their interests outside the U.S. This is why it should be confronted with a direct military invasion or occupation. Following 9/11 they claimed that there is a relationship between terrorism and Iraq and they also claimed that Saddam Hussein and his regime posed a direct threat to the American people. In other words, the fear factor was an important dynamic in the plan of Iraq's invasion and had it not been for it, Iraq would not have been invaded.
This radical group created a circle of fear inside the U.S. Nevertheless, the fear outside the U.S. bounced on the American citizen and Washington answered quickly by legislating laws and undertaking certain procedures that changed life in the U.S. The beginning was with the invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq. Both invasions were enough to incite fear among the Arab and Islamic governments and to infuriate religious ethnic and national sentiments.
If another attack on the U.S. and on its people occurs, Karl Rove will be unperturbed regarding the reelection of President Bush. If such an attack really takes place it will lead to the maximum level of fear in the U.S. This will drive the American voter to vote in favor of the present situation. However, such an attack might result in more dangerous repercussions as opposed to the events of 9/11. The American public will then be ready to support their government if it chooses to mobilize its troops and invade other Islamic states. I would like to ask if this group has the intention of invading Iran for example if an attack against the U.S. occurs.
I hope that the aggravation in the campaign of inciting fear on the American citizen and the possibility of another terrorist attack on the U.S. in addition to the recent publication by Samuel Huntington under the title "Who are we" is a mere coincidence. Huntington in his new publication raised the issue of the individual American's fear for reasons other than terrorist attacks and that is the massive wave of immigration to the U.S. from Mexico and other countries in Latin America. Huntington calls this new threat the Catholic and Hispanic invasion of the U.S., and he warns that if this threat continues it will destroy the Protestant Anglo-Saxon culture, which is the American culture. Huntington published a book 10 years ago, The Clash of Civilizations, and at that time he warned of the Islamic ideology, Palestinian rights and Afghanistan. If these issues congregate they will compose a bomb that will explode. Today we are can still see its shrapnel flying across the world.
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