It is clear that one year after the election of Barack Obama, the American dream has officially turned into the American hallucination. Hunter S. Thompson was ahead of all of us on recognizing this dramatic change and its consequences for our times:
The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now - with somebody - and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives.HST was a victim of his time, and of the present world war, as Walter Benjamin was of the last. It should tell us something that both of their tragic deaths came near the beginning of the two conflicts. Did they see more than they could handle? Were these two rebels of the Third and Fourth Reich witnesses to the Last Judgment?
The War of Terror has hardly begun. We've only been through two presidents so far, a small number compared to the eight presidents who "sought" evil during the Cold War. Trails of blood lead to those distant warriors, while ahead of Obama's footsteps are piles and piles of human carcasses, along with larger, bloodier gifts for the Afghan people. But who can blame his mighty efforts? Was it not Pinky who got us into this War, and doesn't the Brain have no choice but to tag along? And Afghanistan is a dangerous place, is it not? Even Santa will be packing an Uzi in Afghanistan come Christmas time. So don't judge the world of plenty for wanting to spread their arms around Afghanistan for no other reason than to hug the living life out of them. After all, war is all America has left to produce for the world.
If the President of the United States desires a successful term in office, he must learn to be all things at once; a commander in chief, a salesman, a diplomat, a translator, a leader of his party, a storyteller, and perhaps most importantly, a psychologist, providing counsel for an American society that has become schizophrenic, or maybe even totally insane. Obama will soon come to find out that delivering speeches is only the beginning, and tougher conquests lie ahead. He must learn that it is not the ability to mold the crowd that counts, but being wise enough to hold it, and steer its direction for longer than a measly four-year period. If Obama eyes eternal greatness, which at this point he clearly does not, then he must seek the backing of his critics, and challenge the military patrons, the high-level intelligence officers, the various special interests, and the banking establishment who sway American politics. As of now, however, he has sought their powerful guidance, and given them free reign over his administration. If it is not clear by now that Obama is a lackey, then I don't know what to say to you.
At the conclusion of his War speech, many of the President's former enthusiasts were caught with red thumbs in their mouths, and afraid to ask the inevitable question: who is Obama really working for? The answer to that question is, indeed, frightening, and if understood in its full implications, it means that presently every American is defenseless against the criminal controllers of the government. The simple truth that Obama is not fully interested in the well-being of his countrymen is hard to accept, but it must be, if people prize national healing, or else current political troubles will only grow, and require nastier solutions down the road. I hope Americans are courageous enough to take the first approach, because the second one involves much grief, and heavy portions of blood being spilled on American soil.
In the speech Obama outlines his administration's reasons for the extension of an unpopular war in a middle of a collapsing economy, citing the terror attack on 9/11, threats from Al Qaeda to the homeland, and international security, which have all been debunked. He fully embraces the National Security Emergency, saying:
I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak. This is no idle danger; no hypothetical threat. In the last few months alone, we have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror.As Obama was speaking, the ashes left by Bush were running through his hands. By presenting the direction of the administration in Afghanistan so forcefully and to do it in such a direct manner, Obama forever terminated the image he constructed as a candidate. His well-crafted speech laid out a precise narrative for the next chapter in the War of Terror, and a vision that has long been held by the military establishment. It certainly wasn't a speech written by a surgeon's hand.
First off, the dangers he described are in some cases exaggerated, and in other cases, wholly made up to serve an agenda long in the making. The threat posed by Al Qaeda, which the CIA knows a thing or two about, can be dealt with by addressing the grievances of the Muslim population. And technically, there are more dalmatians than there are members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Secondly, Obama's continuation of an imperial war is based on the single greatest lie in modern history. The inconsistencies in the official 9/11 story is well known among the public, it is constantly being questioned, and this has obviously made an impact in the administration, which explains why Obama began his speech by reiterating the 9/11 lie:
We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, nineteen men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people.Riiight. America is a poor, little victim. What bull! All violent aggressors in history have claimed that they were wronged, and they have all been wrong.
Also, Obama's justifications for heightening the War in Afghanistan are founded on totally false judgments about the nature of the resistance in Afghanistan. The Taliban will most likely negotiate with their domestic enemies, once all foreign invaders leave their country. It is not a group led by a terror-possessed Hitler, who will 'bring the fight' to American borders. To think otherwise is to think too offensively about the nature of Man, who hates war, but dishonor and slavery more. Ultimately, a dark view of Man will cause more destruction to the Middle East, and further enrage the people who live there.
David Bromwich in The Huffington Post notes:
"For America to look on the native resistance to an occupying army as proof of terrorism will surely increase the obduracy of the resistance itself, and serve to recruit more terrorists."American didn't like the British invasion in 1812, so why are they so reluctant to accept, nearly two hundred years later, that other countries also object foreign bullies? Are Americans that forgetful? Or has 9/11 completely blindsided them, and disallowed them from realizing this basic truth? They may be right that evil exists in the world, but they don't have to look far to battle against it. Evil is not hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan, but on full display in Washington.
American journalist Nir Rosen writes:
Al Qaeda is not determined to do evil for the sake of evil. It is a movement that won support, to the extent that it has, in response to America’s imperial excesses. Many of the popular grievances and resentments it mobilizes—including U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine and for friendly dictators—are legitimate, even if killing American civilians is a heinous means of addressing them. The resentments were not produced by al Qaeda’s ideology. They have existed for decades. The causes have remained the same, though the discourse used by those who fight imperialism has changed from secular to religious. Addressing these problems at their roots would do much more—for Afghans and for us—than sending in the military once more to do the work of decent politics.The American military is being given the task to kill all the bees in the field, while the bee hive is being protected by the US military machine, for the benefit of a few corporations and oligarchs. The War of Terror began not in the hillside of Afghanistan, but in the halls of Washington D.C, after a neo-con revolution in American politics, which was supported by the most dominant war contractors and banking houses, restructured America's foreign policy. In short, the War of Terror is a hoax, a global conflict orchestrated for the political and financial gain of the powerful few. Going forward, real change is only possible if we decide to work on reality-based solutions as opposed to myth-based solutions.
The day will finally come when American leaders will have to come to the table, apologize, and plead for forgiveness. It will be a testament to the American character if they accomplish this by acting on their own impulse, instead of being pulled by the nose to do the right thing. So far, Obama has echoed Bush's narrative, believing that might makes right. But it will not work. As Rosen wrote back in October 2008:
Simply put, it is too late for Bush's "quiet surge" — or even for Barack Obama's plan for a more robust reinforcement — to work in Afghanistan. More soldiers on the ground will only lead to more contact with the enemy, and more air support for troops will only lead to more civilian casualties that will alienate even more Afghans. Sooner or later, the American government will be forced to the negotiating table, just as the Soviets were before them.For the War of Terror to end, the soul of America must be examined by its people. It is a difficult task, and not many countries can go through with it, but isn't America supposed to be the exceptional nation? Are they the guardians of the Truth and the Good, or of Evil and the Crooked? What will it take to find out?
I believe it is not the fate of America to become a second-tier nation. Its destiny is to lead humanity to greater, freer heights. Politically, a further awakening will break the present social paralysis of the American people, which has persisted at the cost of human life abroad and at home. Anthony Gregory has some wise words on this matter:
Only by destroying the modern political spectrum, which is seemingly designed as a conspiracy against liberty—by splitting up dissent against the state into two factions and thus making it difficult to ever have a large-ranging populist revolution against the government—will the dialectic dynamic between statism and classical liberalism (libertarianism) of earlier eras be restored.
II. More Notes on The Empire and Its Last Salesman
In an age of mass-marketing and daily propaganda, the more appropriate title for the President is Salesman-in-Chief, not Commander-in-Chief. Because in all his forty-eight years, Obama has commanded nothing, and has sold everything: his soul. In his speech on Tuesday night he appealed to people's emotions and national egotism rather than to people's logic and the nation's conscience. Even at his Fort Hood address he did not rise to the occasion, his remarks on that day, as on Tuesday, did not fit the times, because he is repeating a narrative that is based on deception. To the Fort Hood community on November 10, he said:
This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and all stations -- all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.He wasn't channeling Pericles, that's for sure, but his words even fell below Churchill and Lincoln, two modern war statesmen who conveyed a sense of purpose along with a grittiness that is required for any intense conflict. Obama is not a captivating, or even an impressive figure. His achievements are tied in with the achievements of an American society whose long struggle with racism foreshadowed his presidency. He is nothing but a very useful mask. To put it simply, Obama is not a leader of men, but a seller of hope. A weathermen, of sorts. And no less than a peddler of dope, coached by the elders of the sport to do the empire's bidding. In other words, he is a Rick Ross with a slick gloss. He's worshiped as if a big boss, but is sadly a pawn about to be crisscrossed, cause the war games have been rigged since kick-off. Obama could be a one-term mascot, after which the iron hand will switch gloves.
In today's wars, there's not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops' success -- no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed. But the measure of the impact of these young men and women is no less great -- in a world of threats that no know borders, their legacy will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that's extended abroad. It will serve as testimony to the character of those who served, and the example that all of you in uniform set for America and for the world.
I want to get away from the metaphorical language, and stick to the basic point that Obama is using his image to champion an absolute will to power, instead of retransmitting the people's voice to the oligarch powers who control the nation. By all accounts, the man is a traitor to his countrymen and the promises he's made, if he is not ignorant. I doubt he is not up to speed about the criminal natures behind American power. I think he has fully accepted the powerful influence of the elite, and wants to help put in place their dark designs for a global government, which will ultimately phase out US sovereignty. Also, his commitment to an unnecessary war has exposed him to future criminal charges, which means he has fully invested himself in the criminal conspiracy to bring a new world order on planet Earth, and believes they will eventually be victorious. He maybe superbly naive, or one of the worst men in human history. Only time will reveal such things.
Moreover, when push comes to shove, will the Obama government rude-fully put to bed public unrest? Does he have the poise and the charms to be poetically sincere in one moment, and completely ruthless in the next? Will the American public continue to buy his false sincerity? I don't think he has it in him, because it is not in a salesman to be authentic and trustworthy. If you sell hard, you die hard. And it looks like the good times are coming to a close.
But this characteristic is not unique to Obama or his administration. A political administration in modern politics is a sales team, made up of aggressive speakers, not passive statesman. In America, especially, this simple truth has long been accepted by the populace, and promoted by the elite. Reagan's appeal came from his stage persona, and his calming demeanor in front of the microphone, which Obama has tried to emulate with some success, but has failed to gain support from the conservative faction of the country, simply because he is not one of them. He has reverted to using lofty rhetoric to attract the dim-witted and the dream-obsessed parts of America, and as a result, some of the sensible liberals are becoming more and more offended. The unflinching swagger that permeates his speeches is a put on. The same simplistic words, images, and ideas were expressed by the previous president, which tells us that that there has been a very little shift in power. If Bush symbolizes the Cowboy, the quintessential Texan, then the Obama symbolizes the Pimp, the political hustler who smooth talked his way up the ranks of Chicago politics.
Sure, the flames of the two presidents burn differently, but it is the same dry material that is feeding both fires. All post-WWII American presidents are made to undergo a political baptism upon taking office, to be converted to the tribe in power and assume their positions and arguments. The president of the United States today has been transformed into a real-life political pope. That's why it was such a shock for a congressman to publicly deface the president on national television. Imagine the pope being upstaged by a cardinal. It's blasphemous!
There is a reason why both politicians and car salesman are the least respected among modern professions. Both jobs involve lying, and putting on airy smiles to sell products, usually inferior, to nervous buyers. That is why on some level we should go easy on Obama, and be a little harder on us. If he told the truth, the public would've never paid any long-sustaining attention to him, and instead, would have quickly disregarded him as a crazy nutcase, or a disciple of Al Sharpton.
But let's leave all that salesman analogy aside, and go back to the speech he gave on Tuesday night. Did Obama come across as a good storyteller? He essentially began his speech with "Once upon a time," and ended it with, "And we will live happily ever after." But everybody knows war is not a fairy tale, especially the cadets sitting in attendance, so the whole approach seemed untimely. Obama can pretend that he has pixie dust to bring the war to an end, but very few are buying it. The simple-minded narrative that he borrowed from Bush and Reagan are unwelcome in our times. Has Obama forgotten that a sea-change occurred last November, or is he not buying his own hype? Maybe his problem is that he is still an actor for all men, and has not figured out how to speak to a divided society that does not experience cultural and world events collectively.
The pivotal moment has not arrived. There are still stones out there unturned. So it is hard to close the book on an era when the full story has not yet been written, and when the current leader is an actor in his times, not an author of his times. Only fools come away feeling betrayed at the end of Obama's speech on Afghanistan. I looked at it as another scene in a grand historical play. And to be honest, for all my criticisms of Obama, I couldn't be prouder of him. All my past rejections of his small nature have been rebuked - the man is a keeper, and I congratulate the devil for his prize. He showed poor storytelling skills, but still possess considerable insight into the psyche of America. Of course, it was no magician's feat, he wasn't the spell-binder that the media pretends he is, but nevertheless, he completed his treacherous role successfully. We must remember that it is not his purpose to strike fear or to increase the confidence of the American people, but to normalize the state of war, and prolong the agony.
If the Obama administration desired public confidence in their handling of the war, they would've retreated, not progressed ahead. Being a democratically elected leader, and a quasi-authoritarian commander-in-chief, is a balancing act that Obama must pull off in this term, however, half the people have already left the circus, and the other half are paying attention to the monkey juggler. So it's a tough gig.
And as far as fear goes, it is the role of the shock brigades and the storm troopers to inflict terror, and banish disobedience from the streets. The president of the United States must put himself above that, he is supposed to be the calming hand in the storm, guiding the ship of state, making sure that it moves at its own pace, and towards its own direction. So far it has sailed through friendly waters, and no torpedoes have struck this magnificent ship of state, but a domestic resistance is slowly coming into view. Let's get not forget, however, that we are not facing a decadent monarchy or a vulnerable czar, but an incredibly machinery of violence, which has been built up long in advance of our approach.
Make no doubt about it, the authoritarian rulers of the United States will suppress a popular resistance, by any means necessary. Through deception and propaganda, or by all out force, the American imperial state is betting that it will have its way with the American people - and Obama, if the con man is not himself being conned, is counting on the elite’s success with his life and his reputation.
People underestimate the maneuverings of the fascist controllers behind the scenes, but I don't. One can go and on about its many failings but when it sets it mind and resources to an objective, the American State is tough to beat. In the 1940's, entire sectors of the government were kept quiet long enough to drop the atomic bomb on two Japanese cities. Then in the 60's it crashed the moon. And since the 1980's it has prepared for a popular revolution, building camps, arming police forces with the highest technology possible, and instructing media propagandists to stick to the official narrative of events. When it has been presented by any challenge, at home or abroad, the American elite has succeeded. And always with an extra flare.
At West Point, Obama was restating the ground rules in the War of Terror. There is a new captain on board, but the destination remains the same, and the politicizing of warfare continues uninterrupted. Simply put, the president is following the blueprint placed before him, while whitewashing the crimes of America, and covering for the giant invisible parasites who have infiltrated the cockpit. So the orator may have changed, but the bloody song hasn't.
And it is not a song intended for the individual, or even the larger public, but for troop, and government morale. Hence the military setting. The State, ever afraid of contradiction and the loss of authority that comes with it, must stick to the script even before it sticks to its guns. And the storyteller on stage that has to stick to this script has the hardest mission on Earth, not because a retelling of an old story can not be exciting, but because people have ceased to believe in the arch, premise, and principal characters of the story. People no longer believe in the official narrative of 9/11, they have become disenchanted with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, concluding that they are not just, and more and more are beginning to doubt the morality and honesty of their current leaders.
Obama may have nailed down the art of rhetoric, but he will never command the art of storytelling. And it is not due to his lack of craftsmanship, or the spirit of the times, but something that all modern politicians are victims of - the rapid spread of conflicting data because of increasing transparency. The ability to relate traumatic experiences to people while manipulating their state of ignorance is becoming harder for leaders to do. Obama has repeated the myth of American victim-hood, but due to the American people's increasing awareness of the US government's transgressions in foreign nations, that myth has been shattered. Obama has continually lied about the past, negating important facts and skipping over others with an empire's brush, making him a dishonest historian. "The chronicler is the history-teller," wrote Walter Benjamin, and Obama is a faithless chronicler.
"If the art of storytelling has become rare," Benjamin said, "the dissemination of information has had a decisive share in this state of affairs." Nearly seven decades after his death, that prophetic statement he made about novelists and storytellers in general, has taking on new dimensions as a result of the internet. And because of this development, the art of governing has become even rarer.
Alexandria Link.
