[spam?] [Reader-list] Politics of American Un-civilization

Sat Oct 16 15:05:42 IST 2004

Avinash: 

You refer to this article as making a "claim" that you 
take "seriously". I have read the article (or rather your translation) 
and I'm wondering whether it really deserves to be called a "claim", as 
opposed to say "unfounded speculation". This question (of terminology) 
has also set me on some other wonderings. 

As to the merits of the ideas in the article, I can't say, but seeing 
as the piece includes no factual support, relying instead on the appeal 
that is always enjoyed by claims about grand/unexpected conspiracies 
(novel interpretations are so rare these days), I'm wondering about 
whether there are certain levels of responsibility attached to 
reproducing such claims/speculation.

Don't get me wrong - such a thing could be true. Moreover, in an era of 
technically “free” but systematically vapid and disinformative media, 
it is the job of regular everyday citizens to use the tools at their 
disposal, especially information technology, to circulate facts and 
ideas that would otherwise be buried or strategically misinterpreted. 
In this sense, I commend your search for more information on this issue 
and of course the list is a perfect place to make inquiries.

At the same time, considering the way memes of information flow, 
especially in a networked world, I still have misgivings. Because the 
fact is, many people will not follow this up (we’re all busy people 
after all), but they will read and here it and maybe they will 
reproduce it, as in "Hey, did you here that those Abu Gharib pictures 
are actually part of a state department plot . . . .".

Perhaps I should not be worried - ideas survive or fail according to 
their own merits and all that, but I guess my concern is connected to 
this fact: for the past months, having little access to libraries, I 
have been doing a lot of research on the internet, despite the fact 
that I have been told by so many and have seen for myself that in the 
global information commons there is a huge amount of what Thoreau would 
poetically call "seaweed" but that is better labeled as either " 
speculation and misinformation" or, perhaps even worse (for being more 
subtle), “poorly researched, imprecise and slightly incorrect facts”. 
Of course, there is increasingly lots of really quality information 
that abides by basic standards of accuracy, but this problem (the 
problem of democracy??) remains endemic. 

Knowing all this, I'm wondering - do we have a responsibility with 
regard to populating this or any list or any internet-accessible place 
with information that abides by a certain standard?? I know problems 
exist even with the way this question is framed – whose standard? How 
is it overseen etc.? But even accepting these problems, I think the 
question is worth considering.   

There is more to say on this, definitions to specify, philosophers to 
quote (JS Mill where are you), implications to unpack etc., but I’ll 
leave it there for the time being. . .     

Yours,
Isaac Souweine

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Friends,

I am appending below my translation of a small piece that appeared in the Hindi journal 'LokVidya Samvad'. The piece argues that the worldwide publicity of torture taking place in Abu Gharaib and elsewhere is part of a plan. I take the claim seriously and would like to inquire into how exactly these pictures were leaked to the media. I have read that Seymoor Hersh and CBS Television were the first to publish these. What is their background? Are there any heroic stories as to how this leak was made possible? Are there any US enquiries as to the security lapses which made this leak possible? It does seem to me that appearance one after another of these videos and pictures from a high security prison is suspicious. 

avinash

From: LOKVIDYA SAMVAD, No. 14, July 2004 (p.20)

Politics of American Un-civilization

What happened in Abu Gharaib prison and the worldwide publicity it gained, both should be regarded as parts of US strategy. It is not a strategy of war but the strategy of establishing an uncivilized regime in the world. This should also be seen in the context of forthcoming elections in the US to which Bush Administration is responding in part by this particular strategy.  

The story goes that the Officers of the US Army may have been aware of the torture of Iraqi prisoners but they were not a part of it, and that the pictures and videos of the torture were heroically leaked to the media leading to their worldwide dissemination. We think this is just lies. Ever since the war has been on in Iraq, the US has successfully censored the news and pictures coming out of there. There were hardly any pictures of the protracted battles that took place while the pictures of the demolition of Saddam Hussain's statue were repeated over and over again on the TV screens. Only victories of US army found place in the media coverage. Only on rare occasions did one fine the stories of Iraqi Army's resilience and of defeats suffered by US forces. Is the heroism of the media limited only to showing the victimhood of Iraqis? The truth lies somewhere else. The whole thing is about the priorities and policies of the US administration.

The way US went ahead to start a war in Iraq solely on the basis of its military strength in opposition to global resistance, spurning the sentiments of people everywhere, and by completely disregarding the United Nations, brings to light the current US policy and strategy. The policy clearly is to rule the world and the strategy is terror. US cannot hope to win the support of people and countries to its policies on the basis of their consent. It can gain their allegiance only by striking fear into them. By publicizing the pictures from Abu Gharaib depicting behavior that crosses all limits, the US is telling everyone that the people opposing US will meet with the same consequences. The worldwide publicity of these pictures can only be part of a well-thought out strategy.

This year's election also requires Bush administration to show itself as that demon which has in it to rule the world with iron hand. In the age of globalisation, control on international trade can be exercised only in this manner and only thus the dream of an American Century can be fulfilled. The republican party cannot trounce the democratic party by paying lip service to democratic values or by talking about international cooperation. Only way Bush can win is by arousing the egotistic and animal instincts of the American people. 

__________________________________________________
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.

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<DEFANGED_DIV>Friends,</DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>&nbsp;</DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>I am appending below my translation of a small 
piece that appeared in the Hindi journal 'LokVidya Samvad'. The piece argues 
that the worldwide publicity of torture taking place in Abu Gharaib and 
elsewhere is part of a plan. I take the claim seriously and would like to 
inquire into how exactly these pictures were leaked to the media. I have read 
that Seymoor Hersh and CBS Television were the first to publish these. What is 
their background? Are there any heroic stories as to how this leak was made 
possible? Are there any US enquiries as to the security lapses which made this 
leak possible? It does seem to me that appearance one after another of these 
videos and pictures from a high security prison is suspicious. </DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>&nbsp;</DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>avinash</DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>&nbsp;</DEFANGED_DIV>
<DEFANGED_DIV>
&nbsp;<?xml:namespace prefix = o 
ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
From: LOKVIDYA SAMVAD, No. 14, 
July 2004 (p.20)
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
Politics of American 
Un-civilization
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
What happened in Abu Gharaib 
prison and the worldwide publicity it gained, both should be regarded as parts 
of US strategy. It is not a strategy of war but the strategy of establishing an 
uncivilized regime in the world. This should also be seen in the context of 
forthcoming elections in the US to which Bush Administration is responding in 
part by this particular strategy.<DEFANGED_SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; 
</DEFANGED_SPAN>
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
The story goes that the Officers 
of the US Army may have been aware of the torture of Iraqi prisoners but they 
were not a part of it, and that the pictures and videos of the torture were 
heroically leaked to the media leading to their worldwide dissemination. We 
think this is just lies. Ever since the war has been on in Iraq, the US has 
successfully censored the news and pictures coming out of there. There were 
hardly any pictures of the protracted battles that took place while the pictures 
of the demolition of Saddam Hussain’s statue were repeated over and over again 
on the TV screens. Only victories of US army found place in the media coverage. 
Only on rare occasions did one fine the stories of Iraqi Army’s resilience and 
of defeats suffered by US forces. Is the heroism of the media limited only to 
showing the victimhood of Iraqis? The truth lies somewhere else. The whole thing 
is about the priorities and policies of the US administration.
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
The way US went ahead to start a 
war in Iraq solely on the basis of its military strength in opposition to global 
resistance, spurning the sentiments of people everywhere, and by completely 
disregarding the United Nations, brings to light the current US policy and 
strategy. The policy clearly is to rule the world and the strategy is terror. US 
cannot hope to win the support of people and countries to its policies on the 
basis of their consent. It can gain their allegiance only by striking fear into 
them. By publicizing the pictures from Abu Gharaib depicting behavior that 
crosses all limits, the US is telling everyone that the people opposing US will 
meet with the same consequences. The worldwide publicity of these pictures can 
only be part of a well-thought out strategy.
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
This year’s election also 
requires Bush administration to show itself as that demon which has in it to 
rule the world with iron hand. In the age of globalisation, control on 
international trade can be exercised only in this manner and only thus the dream 
of an American Century can be fulfilled. The republican party cannot trounce the 
democratic party by paying lip service to democratic values or by talking about 
international cooperation. Only way Bush can win is by arousing the egotistic 
and animal instincts of the American people. 
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>
&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></DEFANGED_DIV></BODY></HTML>

<HR size=1>
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.

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