Dreams of Hegemony:Do you want to be a citizen of

the empire?

Sylvania Teach-In 11/19/02

War on Terrorism: Where are we headed?

S. Rowan Wolf, Ph.D.

PCC - Sociology

Definitions

Hegemony - leadership or dominance, esp. that of one state or nation over others

Imperialism - the policy and practice of forming and maintaining an empire in seeking to control raw materials and world markets by the conquest of other countries, the establishment of colonies, etc.

Empire – 1) supreme rule; absolute power or authority; dominion 2) government by an emperor or empress

IAO Logo from DARPA Latin says “Knowledge is Power”

A Helping Hand

Augusto Pinochet – Chile 1973-90

Ferdinand Marcos Phillipines 1965-86

Anastasio Samoza Nicaraugua 1967-79

For Dictators

Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi Iran 1941-79

Mullah Mohammed Omar leader of the Taleban who refuses to have his picture taken

AND

Saddam Hussein – President of Iraq 1979 to the present

Foreign Aid

The U.S. ranks 22 (last) among developed nations in foreign aid giving .1% of our GDP compared to Denmark who is number one giving over 1 %.

This was changed slightly in 2001 with our $600 million contribution to stabilize Pakistan after Sept. 11, 2001 which brought us to .11% - still last.

Source: Global Issues (from the OECD web site) http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp

Same old thing?

• Globalization - was ushered in by Bill Clinton (though the wheels were set in motion by George Bush Sr. With his “New World Order”).

• Vietnam was perpetrated by both Democrat and Republican Administrations.

• Bringing the Taleban to power was part of a long process that included every President since Reagan.

But there is something new

• It is a shift from being A world leader to being THE world leader - a leader that brooks no competition.

• It is a shift from at least tacit cooperation and willingness to abide by international agreements, to blatantly stating that those agreements do not apply to us.

The Rules are Not for the U.S.

The Geneva Convention does not apply to us

Source: “Photos of Hooded Terror Prisoners Rekindle Debate.” Toronto Globe & Mail. 11/9/02 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1109-04.htm

Afghan prisoners being transported on a military C130 aircraft

Nor do these

• Nuclear (and non-nuclear) proliferation does not apply to us.

• Bans on biological and chemical weapons do not apply to us.

• Agreements to not engage in preemptive military attacks do not apply to us.

Going… going…

• The right to free speech

• The right to peaceful congregation

• The right to privacy

• The right to know what our government is doing

Gone?

• The right to equal protection under the law

• The right to protection from illegal search and seizure

• The right to protection from unlawful detainment

• The right to legal counsel

• And for many, the right to vote.

Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) leaked to the public in March 2002 and the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) a related report

National Security Strategy of the United States of America – 2002 released September 20, 2002

HJ Res 114 – Use of Force Against Iraq – 10/16/2002 Became Public Law No: 107-243.

Nuclear Posture Review

• NPR Findings and the QDR • The following slides are from “Findings of the Nuclear

Posture Review January 9, 2002” written by the Defense Department for Congressional presentation

Security Environment

A

B

Goals

A

B

C

D

E

Army's Secret 'People Zapper' Plans

Antony Barnett 11/3/02 Observer/UK

Britain has been involved in secret talks with the United States over the development of so-called non-lethal weapons, including lasers that blind the enemy and microwave systems that cook the skin of human targets.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1103-03.htm

Capabilities

A

B

C

Total Information Awareness SystemsOut of DARPA – Run by John Poindexter

You Are a SuspectWilliam Safire 11/14/02 – NY Times

“If the Homeland Security Act is not amended before passage, here is what will happen to you:

Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database.“”

Safire continued

“To this computerized dossier on your private life from commercial sources, add every piece of information that government has about you — passport application, driver's license and bridge toll records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors to the F.B.I., your lifetime paper trail plus the latest hidden camera surveillance — and you have the supersnoop's dream: a "Total Information Awareness" about every U.S. citizen.”

What QDR and NPR Signal

• Movement to an offensive posture – preemptive use of military and weapons

• Development of new nuclear capabilities• Utilization of smaller forces in rapid

deployment environment• Preemptive use of nuclear, biological, and

chemical weapons (as well as “conventional” arsenal and new weapons)

QDR – NPR Signals Continued

• Creation, enhancement, and blending of intelligence capability

• Maintaining unassailable military preeminence

NPR Names Enemies

Russia China

North Korea Libya

Syria Iraq

Iran

This is what war leaves

Birth defect caused by depleted uranium warhead

For related article see “Iraqi Cancers, Birth Defects Blamed on U.S. Depleted Uranium” - Larry Johnson 11/12/02 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Warmongering” “Lunacy”From:Bush’s Nuclear Lunacy, Daily Mirror (UK) 3/11/2002

• British MPs joined the outcry after a leaked Pentagon report revealed contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against China, Russia, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria and Libya. The secret policy was denounced as warmongering "lunacy".

• Alarmed officials from Moscow to Tehran warned that the "power crazy" President, buoyed up by the successful campaign in Afghanistan, could plunge the world into chaos. British politicians said the strategy threatened the stability of the NATO alliance.

New DirectionFrom: Bush Developing Nuclear Policy of Striking First, Wa. Post, 6/10/02

• The Bush administration is developing a new strategic doctrine that moves away from the Cold War pillars of containment and deterrence toward a policy that supports preemptive attacks against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

• One senior official said the document, without abandoning containment and deterrence, will for the first time add "preemption" and "defensive intervention" as formal options for striking at hostile nations or groups that appear determined to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States.

National Security Strategy of the U.S.A. - 2002

• Use of military force preemptively and unilaterally

• “Open” societies to benefits of our political and economic systems

• “Free” markets and “free” trade

Use of military force preemptively and unilaterally

• Reiterates NPR doctrine

• Six out of eight of the action areas detailed in the report relate directly to military

“Open” societies to benefits of our political and economic systems

• Outreach to developing world

• Energy security

“Free” markets and “free” trade

• Support “development banks” including the World Bank and the International Development Association

• Increase US development assistance

• Open societies to commerce and investment

• Export biotechnology to strengthen agriculture

H.J. Res 114 - Public Law No: 107-243 Use of Force Against Iraq

• Authorizes the use of our military against Iraq (and possibly others) – At the President’s determination– Preemptively without direct action on the part

of Iraq– Unilaterally without allies or the UN– Without further approval from the Congress

Public Law No: 107-243 leads to:

• Loss of constitutional rights at home• Withholding of information from Congress and

the public• Actively promoting an aggressive military stance

and signaling a willingness to strike without provocation

• Congressional authority given to the President to decide to go to war (in Iraq or anywhere else related to the “war on terrorism”

Is this Hegemony?• Government secrecy• Total surveillance• Abandoning international cooperation for

assertion of absolute power• Economic and political control of other nations• Willingness to assert power through use of

weapons of mass destruction• Concentration of power into the hands of one

party and one man.

AND

• Our direction is racist

• Our direction is sexist

• Our direction is hegemonic

Picture courtesy of PCC student Emily Pollard from the 10/5/02 peace march in Portland

Good Sources of Information

UN report of history of nuclear agreements Document 1490 – May 19, 1994 available at http://www.globalsecurity.org

Web Sources on Nuclear Posture Review http://www.wslf.org/nukes/npr.htm

Portland Peace March 10/5/02 pictures by Emily Pollard http://www.strangechord.com/mine/photo/rally/rally16.html

Rowan Wolf’s Web Site http://spot.pcc.edu/~rwolf

Backup information

Sec. 3 continued• (b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION.—In connection

with the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) to use force the President shall, prior to such exercise or as soon thereafter as may be feasible, but no later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that—– (1) reliance by the United States on further

diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (A) will not adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq or (B) is not likely to lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq;

Sec 3 continued

• (c) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.—• (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.—Consistent with

section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.

• (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this joint resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.

Sec 4

• SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.• (a) REPORTS.—The President shall, at least once every 60 days, submit to the

Congress a report on matters relevant to this joint resolution, including actions taken pursuant to the exercise of authority granted in section 3 and the status of planning for efforts that are expected to be required after such actions are completed, including those actions described in section 7 of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–338).

• (b) SINGLE CONSOLIDATED REPORT.—To the extent that the submission of any report described in subsection (a) coincides with the submission of any other report on matters relevant to this joint resolution otherwise required to be submitted to Congress pursuant to the reporting requirements of the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93–148), all such reports may be submitted as a single consolidated report to the Congress.

• (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—To the extent that the information required by section 3 of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102–1) is included in the report required by this section, such report shall be considered as meeting the requirements of section 3 of such resolution.

Picture courtesy of PCC student Emily Pollard from the 10/5/02 peace march in Portland