Democracy or Tyranny?
We have included in this issue of Socialist Viewpoint many articles relating to the purported killing of Osama bin Laden and his assumed connection to the events of 9/11.
We would like to qualify these articles and statements by pointing out that Obama and his bi-partisan administration has offered NO proof of any of these accusations and, in fact, has methodically destroyed the evidence.
Certainly, raiding a compound supposedly occupied by bin Laden, summarily executing a man that was reported to be bin Laden, then dumping this person’s body into the ocean, is not proof that it was bin Laden—just the opposite—it makes it impossible to prove it was him.
Murder by decree
However, this murderous action taken by President Obama does serve a purpose. Not only to reaffirm all the fear and myths related to the War on Terror, but it is also meant to set a deadly precedent.
The President of the United States can simply point a finger at someone, send assassins to kill that person, then destroy the evidence of who that person is by dumping the body in the ocean—with no questions asked or allowed.
Make no mistake about it, this was designed to have a tremendous, chilling and terrifying impact on all working people—especially any who dare to speak out against the injustices at home and abroad carried out by this U.S. bi-partisan government and its minions.
According to a May 21, 2011 article on Salon.com, by Justin Elliot titled, “Four more years! (Of the Patriot Act...),” a deal has been reached in Congress that will allow such actions—including killing U.S. citizens anywhere in the world by secret order of the President—to continue unabated and with impunity for the next four years.
Obama declares Bradley Manning guilty!
The Patriot Act also gives the President the authority to declare whistleblowers like Bradley Manning, the young Army private accused of leaking information on U.S. war crimes to the news service, WikiLeaks, guilty before he is even tried.
On Thursday April 21, 2011 in San Francisco a group of Bradley Manning supporters protested the prosecution of Manning at a Barack Obama fundraising event. One of Manning’s supporters was able to question the President directly afterwards. During that conversation, Obama said—and it was recorded on videotape—that Manning was guilty.1
Obviously, these comments by the President of the United States are extremely prejudicial to Manning’s case and, in fact, are grounds to free Bradley Manning now! Instead, Manning still faces the death penalty and has yet to have his day in court after almost a year in jail—most of that time spent in severe isolation and humiliation!
Kill the messenger
The President is still in a frenzy to try to criminalize Julian Assange of WikiLeaks for leaking the proof of U.S. war crimes to the press without having to also criminalize all the other press and mass-media outlets. They have all publicized the “secret” war crimes documents exposing the many corrupt actions by the U.S. government, its military and contractors. All were leaked by the same news service—Julian Assange’s WiliLeaks.
The fear of death
The bin Laden death fiasco makes Obama’s message clear. Any attempt to expose the treachery of the U.S. bi-partisan government of, by and for the wealthy, will be met with the utmost brutality, violence and torture—including illegal and indefinite incarceration.
To hell with the right to habeas corpus; or “Innocent until proven guilty;” or the right to confront your accuser; or the right to free speech; or to protest war and social injustice; or to fight for better pay or working conditions—without being threatened with government FBI, CIA and police repression—including the specter of outright assassination by secret order of the President!
These are not the ways of democracy; they are the ways of tyranny!
The “biggest purveyors of violence in the world”—the U.S. bi-partisan government and its allies—are in charge and have shown they will use any means necessary to keep their dominion over all!
They will continue to get away with it and worse, unless and until we stand together in our huge majority, and disarm and de-throne them.
Only then can we begin to make rational and democratically-derived decisions based on our common interests and for the benefit and wellbeing of all life on the planet.
Democracy has nothing to do with voting for one wealthy tyrant over another.
Democracy is the freedom of the majority to discuss, democratically decide and, most importantly, to carry out our well-informed decisions. That’s what socialism is all about.
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfmtUpd4id0&feature=youtu.be