The Real Terrorism Plot By Ramzy Baroud Al-Jazeerah, August 24, 2006
And yet another menacing terror plot was thwarted 10 August, with the arrest of 24 suspects, all British Muslims. It was an ominous conspiracy aimed at committing "mass murder" on an "unimaginable" scale, British authorities quickly concluded. US authorities hastily joined the action, too claiming a decisive victory over the plotters, thanks in part to the quick thinking of and awesome coordination between US security and intelligence branches. Britain congratulated the US; the US thanked Britain; both saluted Pakistan and its ever-loyal leadership, itself conducting a brutal war against undefined, shadowy groups that emerge and vanish, all too conveniently, and too neatly. Moments after the shocking announcement, as security threat levels reached their peak in the US and Britain, the debate commenced and it relentlessly continues: Why would a British Muslim choose such a destructive path while living in a democratic society, where change, at least theoretically, is possible through peaceful means? The media also sprung into action. Ready-to-serve answers were deftly provided by all the usual experts, instantly infusing more conventional wisdom upon a vulnerable public. Attempts to contextualise terrorism within a political milieu were decidedly torpedoed. Despite years of war that seem to have achieved nothing but "mass murder" on an "unimaginable" scale, no one should dare explain the true roots of terrorism; one may explain why poor neighbourhoods in America yield greater crime rates than others, or why abused children become abusers themselves, or even why US soldiers in Iraq often "snap" and massacre entire families, but terrorism that involves Muslims should not in any way be discussed outside its useful parameters of a misguided generation with a radical interpretation of religion: the Islam that produces "Muslim fascists" as President George W Bush termed it. (More…)
Terror’s immense unbent machine rumbles From end to end of the blast-crested streets Of civilized man like a freshly-filed talon to flesh; And the screeching recoils against the red sky And the plagued ocean smolders. Terror’s depth is roused By lies and the spineless realm Of authority Pointing eastward with a westward hand.
We, insensible spectator, stand open-mouthed To the eagle’s rasp upon our human face; And the snap of the shudder, too slow, Find terror rooted shoulder to shoulder, Glossy eyed, draped in ruin, Panting to soar heavenward And spatter the face of God. .....We can no more this .....Than return to the womb.
The Real Terrorism Plot
By Ramzy Baroud
Al-Jazeerah, August 24, 2006
And yet another menacing terror plot was thwarted 10 August, with the arrest of 24 suspects, all British Muslims. It was an ominous conspiracy aimed at committing "mass murder" on an "unimaginable" scale, British authorities quickly concluded. US authorities hastily joined the action, too claiming a decisive victory over the plotters, thanks in part to the quick thinking of and awesome coordination between US security and intelligence branches. Britain congratulated the US; the US thanked Britain; both saluted Pakistan and its ever-loyal leadership, itself conducting a brutal war against undefined, shadowy groups that emerge and vanish, all too conveniently, and too neatly.
Moments after the shocking announcement, as security threat levels reached their peak in the US and Britain, the debate commenced and it relentlessly continues: Why would a British Muslim choose such a destructive path while living in a democratic society, where change, at least theoretically, is possible through peaceful means?
The media also sprung into action. Ready-to-serve answers were deftly provided by all the usual experts, instantly infusing more conventional wisdom upon a vulnerable public. Attempts to contextualise terrorism within a political milieu were decidedly torpedoed. Despite years of war that seem to have achieved nothing but "mass murder" on an "unimaginable" scale, no one should dare explain the true roots of terrorism; one may explain why poor neighbourhoods in America yield greater crime rates than others, or why abused children become abusers themselves, or even why US soldiers in Iraq often "snap" and massacre entire families, but terrorism that involves Muslims should not in any way be discussed outside its useful parameters of a misguided generation with a radical interpretation of religion: the Islam that produces "Muslim fascists" as President George W Bush termed it. (More…)
Terror’s immense unbent machine rumbles
From end to end of the blast-crested streets
Of civilized man like a freshly-filed talon to flesh;
And the screeching recoils against the red sky
And the plagued ocean smolders.
Terror’s depth is roused
By lies and the spineless realm
Of authority
Pointing eastward with a westward hand.
We, insensible spectator, stand open-mouthed
To the eagle’s rasp upon our human face;
And the snap of the shudder, too slow,
Find terror rooted shoulder to shoulder,
Glossy eyed, draped in ruin,
Panting to soar heavenward
And spatter the face of God.
.....We can no more this
.....Than return to the womb.
Copyright © 2006 mrp / thepoetryman