But of course, as one might expect, the rulers of the world have spun this event to their militaristic ends, bent on world domination as they are. Let me be clear that I don't support the tactics involved in the spectacular terrorist attacks of this morning. But I think that understanding the situation is important. That is, there are very, very good reasons why the US government is despised throughout the world. There are reasons why people would be driven to commit such acts. There are reasons why martyrs exist. They are created daily on the streets of Baghdad by the US government (and it's junior partners in crime, most notably Britain). Yesterday and today, the US government is by far the biggest terrorist organization the world has ever known. The annihilation, through bombings and trade embargoes, of millions of people, and total destruction of the infrastructures of countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Yugoslavia, are unparalleled acts of terrorism. In the case of Iraq (the decimation of which was what radicalized Osama Bin Ladin), the genocide (yes, genocide) is ongoing.

You certainly won't hear GW, Blair, or Tom Brokaw saying it, but if the violence in New York is not going to be repeated, the solution (quite obviously to me and most other leftists) does not lie in further militiarization or any step-up of the security state. The US government must stop starving and killing the people of the world. The US cannot continue to politically, economically and militarily dominate the world with impunity. What happened today was reprehensible. It was also inevitable.

I find myself particularly afraid for my Arab-American friends (or anyone else with a sufficiently Mediterranean complexion). There will now be a stepped-up battle for the hearts and minds of the people of our country. The corporate/government elite will spin things their own way, to serve their own purposes. They will vilify the left, vilify Muslims, try to divide the people in many ways and use this as an excuse to crack down on the movement, just as they have in the past in other crises. It seems to me that we must be clear about who are the world's biggest terrorists, what kinds of conditions create martyrs (IMF austerity measures, decimation of countries by the USAF, etc.), and, of course, whoever is responsible, the Arab people, Arab-Americans, Muslims, etc. are not our enemies. (So many of the people of the Arab world are, however, some of our government's biggest victims. For more on the effects of the on-going US-led war against the people of Iraq, go to www.nonviolence.org/vitw.)

OK, so that's my rant for now. Here are some more thoughts on the subject in the form of lyrics.

Yours,

David Rovics

International terrorists are scheming

They want to bring the planet to it's knees

They're hiding in their bunkers and they're plotting

With bombs and guns and biological disease

Any means to reach their ends is worth pursuing

If lives are lost then that's the way it goes

It's the game of world domination

The stakes are high as everybody knows

International terrorists are flying in their jets

Looking for the city they want to hit today

For all of the injustice in the world

They are going to make somebody pay

They'll make sure their people will support them

Through the use of their powerful cartel

If you are to prosper this is their decision

Whether you will starve or else live well

And the international terrorists are busy

Trying to win your heart and mind

They're making news and writing press releases

So that you can have your thoughts defined

And they say that they're the voice of reason

And they want to keep the world free

And they will vilify, disappear and torture

Anyone who would dare disagree

The international terrorists are many

Every color, size and shape and height

Some are only small and local bullies

Content to bomb a building in the night

While some are in each pocket of the world

Looking for a nation to attack

They're training in their bases somewhere near you

And they're flying in the skies above Iraq

The IMF is the name of their cartel

And CNN's their propaganda arm

And if they don't brainwash and starve you into line

They'll make damn sure all your people come to harm

They'll decimate and carpet-bomb your country

With a million mercenaries and machines

Striking fear into the people of the world

The US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines

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