Monday 12 May 2003

World War IV

Has it arrived?

by Justin Raimondo


As the propagandistic fervor on American television reaches a crescendo of triumphant self-righteousness, and our noble centurions gather at the gates of Baghdad, ready for the final assault, the battle-cry of the neocons is heard above the din: "On to Damascus! Go for Teheran!" Speaking at a UCLA forum sponsored by "Americans for Victory Over Terrorism" and the campus Republican geeks, Bill Clinton's former CIA director, James Woolsey, declared that "the United States is engaged in World War IV, and that it could continue for years." If you thought the first three (including the cold war) were pretty horrific, you ain't seen nothin' yet:

"This fourth world war, I think, will last considerably longer than either World Wars I or II did for us. Hopefully not the full four-plus decades of the Cold War."

Who, then, is the enemy in this coming world conflagration? Nothing less than the entire Arab world, which Woolsey helpfully breaks down into three sub-categoreis: the Shi'a rulers of Iran, the "fascists of Iraq and Syria," and Al Qaeda. All three, according to Woolsey, have been at war with us, but apparently their efforts were so puny (or subtle?) that we barely noticed. But never mind that, it's a new day and a new way, according to Woolsey:

"As we move toward a new Middle East over the years and, I think, over the decades to come ... we will make a lot of people very nervous."

Our war birds love the idea of making us nervous. It makes them feel powerful. And I am nervous, because they are powerful. Woolsey, by the way, is not just some has-been ex-official turned neocon hack. As CNN reports,

"Woolsey has been named in news reports as possible candidate for a key position in the reconstruction of a post-war Iraq."

That an extremist pining for a new world war is being seriously considered for the job of American viceroy in occupied Iraq is the final proof that the neocons have won – and that we have good reason to be nervous. Their program – enunciated well before 9/11 – of an all-out American war on the Arab world is now U.S. policy. That Iraq is going to be used as a forward base for future military operations I have no doubt. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has recently issued a new broadside against Syria, complaining of their alleged aid to Iraq, although other administration officials say Rummy's playing fast and loose with the facts. Amid rumors of Iranian "infiltration," Rumsfeld's direct warning to the "Badr Brigade," and the "high priority" the administration puts on stopping Iran's purported bid to join the nuclear club, it seems that Teheran, too, is in for some "liberation."

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