The Power of Nightmares

May 9th, 2007 Jay Posted in Peace |

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I’ve previously written a post concerning our national gullibility. Also, I’ve posted about the historical duplicities of the United States government. And before those the posting of the 9/11 documentary “Loose Change.” The point being to suggest you think critically about the stories you hear.

Now I’d like to present the three one-hour episodes of “The Power of Nightmares” by Adam Curtis. This series was shown twice on British TV, twice on Canadian TV, twice on Australian TV and on Danish TV. The series has never been shown on U.S. TV.

This television series adds an important historical perspective on the close connection between Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld neo-conservativism and al-Qaeda radical Islamism. The first part mostly deals with the Modernist impulse that spawned them both.

In the arts and art criticism Modernism officially died in 1972 giving birth to Post-modernity. It is very instructive to see how Modernity lingered in politics. If this is new to you then the first hour provides necessary background.

Part 1: Baby it’s Cold Outside

The second hour makes mention of two points I’d like to specifically draw your attention to. The first point is the blank check the CIA gave to the Afghanistan insurgency against the Soviet Union occupation. The second point is the infiltration of Algerian Islamist mujaheddin by the Algerian military who escalated the violence to justify the suspension of elections.

Together these two points show how militant bureaucracies financed and manipulated the Islamist mujaheddin. These militant bureaucracies possessed agendas diametrically opposed to those of the Islamist mujaheddin. I feel this is an essential issue.

Part 2 - The Phantom Victory

The third hour shows neo-conservative manipulation of the public perception of al-Qaeda following the September 11, 2001 attacks. There are a couple of points left open in this final segment. First is the question as to whether or not al-Qaeda could have actually pulled this off alone.

Second, if al-Qaeda lacked the competency to pull it off alone then who helped them? We can only guess. However, the FBI had foreknowledge of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and still allowed it to happen. And it seems that previous to September 11, 2001 U.S. intelligence factions knew an attack was to be made.

Part 3: The Shadows in the Cave

I feel that much of what is in this series are just facts. Adam Curtis doesn’t draw the conclusions many promoting a 9/11 conspiracy theory do. Like Adam Curtis I leave it to you to connect the dots and draw your own conclusions.

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