Wag the Dog

The timing is perfect. A president who is forced to admit his "inappropriate relationship" with a 25-year-old intern. A sad retreat
to Martha' Vineyard. A family vacation, a time to heal. And two days later, when the world least expects, Billy blows up suspected terrorist
targets so that we may forget the blow-jobs he received from the White House intern. The "American people" shift their focus from the
details of Monica's sleazy kiss-and-tell accounts to the war games in distant lands.

"There are no expendable American targets" the president of the most powerful nation on earth announces with confidence regained by
his exercise of military might, "There will be no sanctuary for terrorists."

But, who is he kidding? There ARE, expendable "Americans" - not just the poor in Central and South America - but the poor in the US of
A: The homeless; the hungry and the unemployed, who are not benefiting from a booming economy or budget surpluses and will not benefit
from these bombings. They are the expendable in any society, even in the home of the brave and the land of the free.

And clearly, there are expendable Sudanese and Afghan (26 dead on last count) targets. And expendable Pakistani targets (oops, a
technical mis-firing that killed 6 more of the expendable sorts). And as far as sanctuaries for terrorists are concerned - the US might
consider Israel and Serbia as options.

Clinton's decision to bomb the Al-Shifa factory and the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan had very little to do with stopping terrorism.
It is very clear to those who have been following the US military's escapades in Panama, Granada and Iraq that the missiles were fired to:

· Continue the militarization of the US; and
· Divert the "American" public's attention away from the serious business of perjury, obstruction of justice and possible impeachment.

Every US president in the post Cod War era has had his pet hate, his whipping boy to be whipped every time his ratings fell: Noreiga,
Saddam Hussein, and now good ole Osama bin Ladin, obligingly sporting the requisite turban and fierce beard. And in all instances, the
terrorists and/or drug lords had been nurtured and supported by the US and its Central Intelligence Agency until they outlived their former
usefulness. In fact, CNN reports that the terrorist training camps, targeted by US missiles, were set up by the CIA during the Afghan War!

True, very few will sympathize with Osama bin Ladin and his tactics (though he has not yet been convicted of the Kenya and Tanzania
bombings in any court of law). But, where does the US get the legal or the moral authority to attack those two countries? One of which
ousted bin Ladin at the US's behest in 1996. What are these retaliatory bombings going to achieve? According to US officials, how
effective these missile attacks will be in combating terrorism remains unclear. So, was it merely muscle-flexing? A fireworks display to draw
applause from fans that cheered no more?

It is clear is that Bin Ladin and his men are armed, trained guerillas who are itching for a fight. And the US is giving them one. Both sides
WANT an escalation of violence because in the twisted logic of those who force their point of view through aggression, their crusades
against each other are justified (to themselves and their supporters) by attacks from the other side.

What gets lost in this war between the lackeys of capitalism claiming to represent the free world, and violent, fascist mercenaries claiming
divine mandate are the real problems. The US's indefensible policies in the Middle East; human rights abuses in the name of Islam; and,
repressive, undemocratic, corrupt regimes in the Muslim world.

Aggression and repression are not the means to achieve a world free of terrorism. What Muslim countries need are not more bombs and
guns, whether dropped on them or sold to them, but non-violent struggles for equity and democracy. Unless there are fundamental
changes in US foreign policy and civil society in Muslim countries, there will be other Ramzi's and bin Ladin's. The circus will continue and
the casualties will be innocent victims caught in the cross fire.