Hunting 'Terrorists' and the Expansion of Kill Lists Means Perpetual War

by Gary D. Barnett

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An article appeared recently in the "National Security" section of The Washington Post titled: "Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill list." This is a misleading title to be sure, because it becomes quickly obvious that the intent of this article is to justify the government’s drive toward continuous war. That of course is the aim of the government, the military, and all those corporate sponsors who are dependent on war for their very survival.

Those interviewed for this article according to the editor’s note include "dozens of current and former national security officials, intelligence analysts and others." This is not an unbiased selection of "experts," nor is it a who’s who of those who adhere to the non-aggression principle. The picture presented is from the perspective of the government, and is completely sympathetic to the government’s agenda of theft, murder, and mayhem.

The Obama administration has been secretly developing what is called the "disposition matrix," which is a supposed new way to identify those "terrorists" who are to be targeted for assassination. One aspect of this new technology is the ability to use "sealed indictments and clandestine operations." Are there any who believe that using secrecy and clandestine operations is a new government strategy?

According to the Post article: "U.S. officials said the database is designed to go beyond existing kill lists, mapping plans for the disposition of suspects (emphasis mine) beyond the reach even of American drones. Less visible is the extent to which Obama has institutionalized the highly classified practice of targeted killing, transforming ad-hoc elements into a counterterrorism infrastructure capable of sustaining a seemingly permanent war."

The reasoning here is obviously not only to keep assassination (murder) lists secret, but also to allow the government to add many more names to its kill lists for many years to come. Senior officials at the White House said that there is "no clear end in sight." What this means in real terms is that the government is setting up its "justification" for unending war.

The so-called "War on Terror" is simply government code for perpetual war. There is no real or stated enemy, there is no geographical limit for aggression, there is no current threat, nor has there been an attack by any country on the U.S. mainland. Therefore, there is no valid reason for war. But has there ever been, with the possible exception of the American Revolution, a valid reason for any war in U.S. history? I think not!

The "War on Terror" is different than other unwarranted wars, because it is a war against the unknown, a war with no defined enemy. Instead of one or more countries being targeted by the U.S., the entire world, including our own country, has now become the battlefield.

There is much evidence to support that al Qaeda, the government’s catchall term for terrorist, has been virtually eliminated, and even the despicable Defense Secretary, Leon Pannetta, said as much in the past. But without that false bogeyman, the government’s drive for perpetual war would have to come up with a new enemy feared enough by the American sheep to keep them docile and compliant. Instead, the government, with full support from its complicit media, now claims that al Qaeda is establishing new roots all over North Africa and the rest of the Middle East.

The U.S. is currently prosecuting its wars of occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq. Through the use of killer drones, funding for military operations and training, supplying weapons and intelligence, implementing harmful sanctions, and other interference, the U.S. is currently aggressively involved in Libya, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, Algeria, Mali, Egypt, as well as in other countries. This is in addition to CIA and FBI covert operations in other parts of the world.

Never ending war is certainly the "health" of the state. Without continuous war, at least in the minds of those in government and corporate America today, economic chaos would result. In reality, the economic pain would be short lived, and would mainly affect those bottom-feeding companies dependent on unholy wars for their existence. These companies that survive only due to taxpayer-funded welfare, are in the end a drain on real production. These fascist government/corporate partnerships bring massive amounts of money to these companies, and of course these same companies support monetarily those politicians responsible for doling out multi-billion dollar defense contracts.

Companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrup Grumann, General Electric, and many others, feed at the trough of war for profit. Arms sales alone in 2010 were over $235 billion for the 25 largest defense companies, and that number is higher today. Total defense spending each year is well over a trillion dollars, and continues to spiral out of control. The plunder by the U.S. empire of other country’s natural resources helps to enrich oil and mining companies; this at the expense of the citizens of other nations. This is big business, and with this much money involved, powerful alliances are created; brutal alliances that have no sympathy for the mass human suffering they cause.

U.S. government sponsored war has become the primary profit center of defense companies, energy companies, and large financial conglomerates, among others. These companies run the government, not the other way around. U.S. sponsored war has become the driving force behind the massive growth of government. It has allowed that same government the ability to gain tyrannical power due to the people’s unadulterated fear of non-existent enemies from afar.

Expanding the policy of indiscriminate killing by assassination, all without any benefit of just law, will serve initially to create more imagined enemies in the eyes of frightened Americans, but the end result will be the creation of real enemies in the future. This is the method currently being used by the State to expand its wars. This is nothing more than planned murder for the sake of profit and power achieved at the expense of all of us.

What now is common practice, and in many cases codified into law, things like indefinite detention, torture, assassination, and rendition; all without any due process, are accepted as normal by the American citizenry. Continuous wars of aggression, maiming, murder, and the slaughter of innocents are everyday occurrences. The United States government and its military industrial complex are little more than bloodthirsty assassins addicted to war and plunder. They are a force without limits in their drive to rule the world, and there is no apparent will by the American people to stop them!

The United States government and its military have become the most prolific and brutal terrorists on earth. The so-called "War on Terror" is really a "War of Terror." No country commits more violence against civilians for political gain than the U.S., and that is the essence of terrorism. If this madness is not stopped, history will rightly define this nation state of America as the scourge of mankind!

October 27, 2012

Gary D. Barnett [send him mail] has been a financial advisor for 25 years, and now resides and works in Lewistown, Montana. Visit his website.

Copyright © 2012 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

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