Seven Oaks Magazine.

Since the War on Terrorism has begun, it has developed a vague logic and a justification of its own, and many of us have lost track of all the reasons given to us for why this war is being fought. Yet we do know that the London bombings are a direct consequence of this so-called War on Terrorism and of the life and struggles of those living under occupations across the Third World, particularly in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Violence -- in all its seemingly disdainful forms -- is largely informed by social context rather than a mere product of one “culture” or “religion”. The British government cannot avoid its responsibility for these terrible attacks, which are a consequence of its support for war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The anger that has led to these attacks has its roots not in American or British freedom and democracy (as we are told); instead it has roots in the absolute opposite -- the government’s commitment and historical record of colonialism, military and economic terrorism, and occupation. How dare Bush and Blair speak so boldly and hypocritically of terrorism when their own regimes have consistently used terror, torture, extrajudicial killings, bombings to kill democracy and continue an illegal occupation? Undoubtedly, the violent policies of state and corporate terrorism are greater both in scope and degree. This new fight, the war against terrorism that has been launched, is actually very old. The invocation of colonial and racialized British identities -- the “us versus them” -- has previously led and will continue to lead to barbaric crusades in defence of so-called Western civilization.

At the same time, the colonial hypocrisy repeats itself in the public consciousness just as it did after the September 11 attacks. There is little moral dignity in condemning the London bombings without advancing a vociferous condemnation of the terrorism of the western world. Media sound-bytes that tell us that “We are all Londoners” and that “You felt what the Londoners felt”. But how many Londoners feel what we feel? Do they feel the pain of all the children in Iraq who have died from the US-imposed sanctions? How about a moment of silence for Palestinians who now for 50 years have been living in refugee camps? How about flying the flags at half-mast for the 30,000 deaths in Chile; 75,000 people in El Salvador murdered by U.S.- backed death squads; 30,000 in Nicaragua; 150,000 killed and 50,000 disappeared in Guatemala after the 1954 CIA-sponsored coup; over 2 million killed in Vietnam; and 200,000 in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks. All the stories and histories never written in textbooks, the unmarked graves and the nameless children. Entirely expendable. And we are all left speechless once again.

Many political commentators have stated that terrorism does not stem from poverty, despite Blair’s claims. However, political and economic terrorism are hard to separate. For example, the military occupation of Iraq is directly linked to the neo liberal policies rammed down the throats of the puppet Iraqi government. Neo-liberal policies that have pushed unemployment up across the Third World, destroyed social services, privatized and corporatized our land, our water, even our dreams. The occupation of Third World and Fourth World lands leads more readily to the expropriation and commodification of resources. So yes, the London bombings stem as much from military occupation and political domination as it does from corporate globalization. However, the state and corporate nexus that results in gross social and political inequality and unbelievable rates of poverty around the world are not the poverty that Blair is talking about. Global poverty cannot be reduced or eliminated by this growing political discourse of charity. Putting an end to economic fundamentalism and kicking out colonial regimes that continue to occupy and starve people across the world will eradicate global poverty and acts of reactionary terrorism. The solution is as much political as it is economic since political domination has always been driven by a capitalist economic agenda.

It is evident that the London bombers are not opposed to a way of life, unless one’s way of life includes imperialist war and plunder. Nor are they trying to destroy civilization, unless the goals of Western civilization include justifications for the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Yet for strategic reasons, it is vital for the war-crusading government to persuade its public that their commitment to freedom, democracy, civilization and Way of Life is under attack. Blair has already pledged to defend "our values" and "our way of life" against those who would "impose extremism on the world". Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin asserted, "The London bombings are an unspeakable attack on the innocent and on a way of life." Blair has spoken of the unity of "civilised nations" in resisting "terrorism". Queen Elizabeth has stated, “They should know they will not change our way of life.”

The continuing use of such dichotomous language and rhetoric is rooted in the colonial legacy and has been used to justify colonization by Europe for hundreds of years. With the events of 9/11, the identities of Americans versus those of the terrorists were being re-defined, and now those of the British versus those of “the barbarians” are being re-imagined. The bombings in London will exacerbate the fear and isolation of the 1.5 million Muslims and Arabs in the UK.

Racial differences are the markers and boundaries used to subordinate. Noam Chomsky has written “the only way to justify having your boot on someone's neck is that you are uniquely magnificent and they are uniquely awful. A leading source of racism, which persists to the present moment, so deeply entrenched in the culture -- of the West generally -- that it is far beyond consciousness and can barely be understood by properly educated people when it is pointed out.” The subjugation of the Other through racialized constructions means that their right to self-determine has been extinguished and colonialism in all its forms has no limits on its violence.

Within days of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese in North America were seen as enemy aliens. By February of 1942 the Canadian Parliament had passed a bill declaring that all Japanese living within 100 miles of the West Coast be relocated and about 22,000 Japanese were relocated under the "War Measures Act". Approximately 75% of these people were naturalized Canadians. In the U.S. approximately 110,000 Japanese were relocated under the "War Relocation Authority". Personal property, businesses and over 1,000 Japanese farms in Canada were seized. A Minister of Parliament in the British Columbian government announced, "Let our slogan be for British Columbia; no Japs from the Rockies to the seas."

After 9/11, the US enacted legislation grossly affecting the rights of immigrant communities, yet without much resistance as public consciousness was ready to believe that immigrants were unpatriotic and did not share ‘our values and our way of life’ and were ‘intent on destroying civilization.’ In 2001, Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, which gives broad powers to conduct searches, use electronic surveillance, and detain suspected terrorists. John Ashcroft issues an edict allowing the INS to detain immigrants even after an immigration judge has ordered their release for lack of evidence resulting in indefinite detention. The Terrorist Task Force was also created, which will deny entry, detain, prosecute, and deport anyone suspected of terrorist activity. In 2002, a memo instructs federal antiterrorism officials to apprehend and interrogate thousands of undocumented immigrants with deportation orders and reportedly instructs federal agents to find a way to detain some of them for possible criminal charges. Then came the Special Registrations, under which non-citizen men registered with the Department of Homeland Security; 13,799 of the registrants were put into removal proceedings. In 2003, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act or PATRIOT II was drafted and it promises to expand law enforcement and the government’s authority in gathering intelligence, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over such surveillance, authorize secret arrests and detentions and allow the government to strip citizenship from those who are members or supporters of disfavored political or labor groups.

From the events at Pearl Harbor to the events of September 11 to the London bombings, terrorists are seen as non-white. Why after the bombings of Oklahoma City, did we not see an increased military presence within the Midwest? There was no profiling or registration system of white men aged 18-45. When we speak of racism, we speak of this double standard: where members of an entire community are judged by the actions of some individual members of their community. When fighting the War on Drugs or the War on Terrorism, the ability to designate and attack the hyphenated citizen -- the Arab-Brit or the Arab-American -- the foreigner, never quite British or American enough, depends on such colonial and racialized constructions of identity and entitlement upon which Western states are built.

The anti-war movement

After the attacks of 9/11, protests against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank meetings scheduled just weeks later were cancelled. Mobilization for Global Justice, the umbrella group for many of the protest organizations, said it was calling off its street demonstrations but would continue with plans for a "people's summit" of teach-ins and discussions Sept. 26-28. "Our decision to postpone was made out of respect for the victims of this tragedy," their statement read, while AFL-CIO, Friends of the Earth and Oxfam America all announced that they were pulling out of the planned demonstrations. Similarly after the bombings in London, as a mark of respect for the dead the opening day of the Marxism 2005 event has been cancelled.

Rather than canceling events out of fear of being branded unpatriotic or callous, the anti-war movement should be able to articulate a different analysis, one that continues to challenge and resist the war-making machine in a manner that respects the victims of all global tragedies and violence. Whenever a bomb drops in Iraq, do we cancel our anti-war marches? No, we fight back with greater strength and vigour because we know that the only way to truly honour those who have been taken from us is to keep advocating and fighting for a just and lasting peace. It is in fact, based on our compassion and empathy, that we organize and fight and we should continue to build a broad and powerful revolutionary grassroots movement to challenge U.S. and British imperialism in solidarity with grassroots movements on a global scale.