The Counter-Terrorism Diversion
by NORMAN POLLACK
The announcement (Feb. 22)
that the US has opened a drone base in Niger has been deliberately couched in
abstract counterterrorism terms: unarmed Predator drones for reconnaissance
purposes in order to track Al Qaeda and, never to be missed, “its
affiliates.” Who could possibly object to such worthwhile activity?
The New York Times, in its news story, didn’t seem to. And if
polls are any indication, the general effort, especially in that far-off nebula
called Africa, where the baddies, whom we’ve got on the run from Pakistan and
Afghanistan, hang out, has Americans’ rock-solid support.
We know the bit about
“unarmed” and “reconnaissance” is not meant seriously, a Brennan-Obama wink as
it were, because the same introductory ploy was used in Djibouti, where a very
large US drone base was established on those terms, and quickly transformed to
the only real purpose of such an enterprise, i.e., targeted
assassination. Djibouti was carefully selected because of the wide
swath of territory it covered, and because the government was amenable to US
terms, including a status-of-forces agreement, just as now in Niger, in which
US personnel are exempted from local jurisdiction in the commission of
crimes. An ideal situation, in which we can roll up our sleeves and go
after the Enemy, which in the Djibouti case meant al-Awlaki and his son, both
US citizens.
What of course is not
being said, about Niger, Djibouti, and the whole counterterrorism effort is
that, as a result, Africa is “in play” more than previously for American
imperialist activities, which before, could be taken for granted as normalized,
almost routine, exploitation of raw-materials production, but now, with
China’s penetration, and far more sophisticated relationships to the peoples
affected, such as building soccer fields and promoting education, requires of
the US a catching-up phase to hold its own. As with imperialism, whether
or not historically attached to colonialism, the so-called “natives” are a mere
incidental factor in the execution of policy, yet in this case, not only they
but also counterterrorism is incidental to US purposes. Even imperialism
per se begins to blend into a wider framework, which, let’s call, the
geopolitical strategy for a) maintaining the security of capitalism in, and
chief architect of, the world system, and b) buttressing America’s claims to
lead and work advantageously in that system.
We are in Africa whether
or not al Qaeda and “its affiliates” are present, because Africa, in what has
become an increasingly multipolar world, is both ripe for pickings in its own
right and a pivotal sector in the political-economic rivalries of the
Great Powers. Indeed, the fight is also becoming ideological. Just
as we feared Russian penetration outside its immediate sphere of influence
during the Cold War, now it is China, in a Second Cold War, or perhaps the
First continued under new conditions, which we must at all costs prevent from
invading our sphere of influence or testing our military strength.
Bless al Qaeda, it enables us to prosecute our warlike activities against
China! To paraphrase Sartre’s seminal essay on anti-Semitism,
anti-Semitism is about everything except Jews; here, counterterrorism is about
everything but terrorists; and if we didn’t have al Qaeda and “its
affiliates” to contend with, we would have had to invent them, as part of our
desperate attempt to remain the unilateral dominant power on the global stage.
The strain, however, is
showing. The blanket use of assassination, coming directly from the
personal authorization, down to specific targets, of His Majesty POTUS
(and the Svengali-like Brennan always at his ear on the Terror Tuesday
swing-dings off the Situation Room), is itself admission enough to the world
that America, like Rome before it, is beginning its decline, placing it—except
for its huge nuclear arsenal, which partly accounts for the deference still
shown the US by the world community—as one among the many others in the family
of nations, a position ordinarily satisfying to a country, but not to one which
is accustomed to having its own way and, in addition, depends on the huge
defense-cum-military budget to ward off economic stagnation and unemployment
(even here, not succeeding all that well). This airstrip in Niger is more
than the opening of a new front against terrorists. It is a straw in the
wind, embodying the doctrine of permanent war, the necessity for creating an
active regional presence throughout the globe, a forward line of bases to
ensure the stabilization of areas intended for political-commercial
penetration—and, if possible, gain the jump on China.
To falter in this regard
is to risk falling victim to the psychological version of the domino
theory: If the US loses in Africa (incidentally, Niger and Djibouti
nicely complemented each other for controlling the East and West), this will
encourage its (nonofficial) enemies from gaining ground in other areas of US
interest. The unraveling of international power must be stopped.
And behind China, what of Brazil, what of the Third World erupting and
industrializing on its own terms? What of other regions, once drone
warfare and assassination have deprived America of its moral coloring, would
these countries still show deference to America? And in fighting this
rearguard historical battle, the US can enter the realm of still greater
urgency and its soulmate, denial, by fleeing from the major questions
threatening world civilization itself, such as climate change and environmental
degradation, taking refuge in the fairy land of antiscience, as though
challenges to American might and challenges to the well-being of the planet
will alike disappear, if we only close our eyes and keep our finger on the
firing trigger (8,000 miles from target) for further assassinations.
[Here follows my New York
Times Comment (Feb. 23) to the article on Niger drone base. The
objectives of imperialism]:
Why assume the new base in
Niger is directed against Al Qaeda, when in fact the drone presence, necessitating
airstrips, provides the basis for establishing a US regional penetration that
is part of exerting greater political and economic influence in
Africa–head-to-head in competition with China, which has already gained access
to raw materials and investment channels.
Counter-terrorism is a
ploy, a phony diversion, for achieving the classic objectives of imperialism.
The status-of-forces agreement with poor Niger indicates, not respect for
another country, but the forcible wresting of concessions from them. Moreover,
do you really believe the unarmed drones–if such be the case–will remain
unarmed for long? The name of the game is to get inside, then proceed the way
the US planned all the time. Assassination leaves a stain on US foreign policy
which surely will come back to haunt America.
