Blowback Amnesia

It seems like only yesterday when Ron Paul was nearly guillotined on live television for suggesting that 9/11 was caused by this thing called "blowback." It was 2007, and the Republicans were jockeying for the position of frontrunner during the national debate season. Rudy "9/11" Guliani, never one to pass up reminding everyone of a national tragedy so we'll forget what a horrible, little human being he really is, lept for Paul's jugular.

Salivating, Rudy made a series of unchallenging commonplace remarks: "That's really an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attacks of September 11th..." (Pause for awed silence...two...three...four) "..that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq."

Of course, Paul was right. The attacks on September 11, 2001 were carried out by a group of 19 hijackers (15 of whom were Saudi Arabian), and Al-Qaeda clearly cited their principal grievances as:

1. America's unwavering support of Israel.

2. America's military presence in the Middle East, particularly near holy landmarks.

Instead of learning a valuable lesson from 9/11, America (led by its mainstream media, political hawks, and overinflated military) seems hellbent on inviting more cases of blowback. As Paul mentioned way back in 2007, America has built an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican. But that probably won't pissed anyone off. ...Right?

Now, certain hawks, led by the ever vivacious John Bolton, are discussing a ground invasion into Somalia as retaliation for the kidnapping of Richard Phillips. Bolton wants to do this with - I shit you not - "a coalition of the willing."

Can I pay someone to beat John Bolton with the 9/11 Commission Report?

"We need to look at what we do from the perspective if someone did it to us," Ron Paul said that fateful night. This simplistically beautiful sentiment called the principle of universality often invites the sneering rebuttal: "So you're saying we (or the victims) deserved this?" That was the question the moderator posed to Paul during the debate.

Paul's response: "I'm suggesting we listen to the people who attacked us."

Surely, this is the only way to break the cycle of violence. If we refuse to listen to our enemies, then we don't know their grievances, and we can never make amends. We've learned that bombing and bullying alone cannot build bridges between us. Iraq taught us this, and Afghanistan will teach us the same lesson.

Somalia waits to offer us the same lesson (yet again.) As anyone with even a basic understanding of history could have predicted, the killing of the three pirates may set off a domino effect of retaliations.Waiting to reenforce the message are a slew of angry Somali pirates, who vowed to avenge their fallen comrades. "This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," said Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, the commander of United States Naval Forces Central Command. The New Zealand Herald reports

Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the Somali town of Gaan, said: "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying. We will retaliate [for] the killings of our men."

To put it another way: Blowback.

On Tuesday, armed pirates attacked an American cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. The Times article concludes with a quote from John Wick, the director of International Security Solutions, a maritime security firm in London: "Somali pirates have typically not mistreated their captives." Of course, now we've killed three of their guys. That may change their policy toward American hostages. Such is the danger of letting men eager to make war make our policy decisions.

My last piece, in which I sought to explain the causes of Somali piracy, inspired some colorful hate mail. Americans seem comfortable with the mainstream media's cartoonish depiction of villainous pirates, and they aren't interested in humanizing the three men who were just executed by Navy snipers.

The media certainly isn't helping to explain the Somali situation. Apart from Democracy Now, most newscasters and journalists seem comfortable with recycling the old explanation for these acts of aggression: terrorists hate our freedom, brown people are incapable of running a functioning state, etc.

Determined to repeat the same sick exercise that led the American citizenry, blind, into an illegal war, the mainstream media spent the day after the pirate executions drooling over the awesome awesomeness of the US military. Aren't they great, everyone? Those bullets just pierce flesh so wonderfully!

Even the progressive messiah, Rachel Maddow, called the spectacle of the US Navy shakily standing-off against four poorly armed pirates "riveting." Maddow further commented that the Navy-Somali standoff had Americans brushing up on their, "How freaking impressive are Navy Seals-ology?"

(Really glad that 9PM slot on "liberal" MSNBC went to someone aggressively challenging America's bloated military. Oh well, what can one expect when Ms. Maddow operates on a network owned by G.E., which manufactures some of the very weapons used by the navy?)

I explained in my original article that Somali pirates claim their motives stem from the West overfishing in their seas, and then dumping nuclear waste in their waters. Unable to sustain themselves with traditional modes of employment, they have turned to acts of piracy out of desperation. The nuclear waste dumping charges have been confirmed by the United Nations envoy for Somalia.

Though the mainstream newspapers have documented the Somali's qualms with western powers, they have not gone the extra step to link these grievances with acts of piracy. Furthermore, most of the major network conversations about Somalia are worryingly moving toward a place of militarism. I always grow concerned when news networks break out their extra spiffy graphics during War Game time: showing Navy snipers shooting faceless bad guys, troop deployments in a "theoretic" ground invasion of Somalia, etc.

It reminds me of the lead-up to Iraq. The chatters starts to sound like war drums.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. If Americans can collectively act like adults and think past the next thirty seconds, they'll see that a ground invasion into Somalia is an awful idea. Another awful idea would be bombing Somalia's coastline, which is roughly as long as the eastern seaboard of the United States. Imagine blanketing such a huge swath of land with bombs. Imagine how many innocent women, children, and young men will die. Yet another terrible, terrible idea would be to harass innocent fisherman and profile all citizens because of the acts of a minority of young men.

All of the above terrible, terrible, terrible ideas breed blowback. The opposite of these mind-numbingly stupid plans comes from addressing the Somalis' grievances and offering them aid and support as they try to rebuild their country. Western states need to end their overfishing and the dumping of hazardous waste.

If America fails to understand the world's grievances with its militaristic, imperialist agenda, then it is destined for decades (maybe centuries) of blowback. America must break this endless cycle of blowback if only to finally (please God) stop the pirate puns.

Cross-posted from allisonkilkenny.com. Also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

[WarrenPease]

Ms. Kilkenny, I agree, a land invasion or any other attack on Somalia's sovereign territory would invite blowback, not to mention the risk to the international healing process that has been started by our President and Secretary of State.

Not to take away from your argument, you quoted Al Qaida's **stated** reasons for the 9-11 attacks. Like politicians, this particular band of jihadist-terrorists has an agenda: They seek to inspire and orchestrate the overthrow of governments in Muslim-majority countries and place them under a single, global caliphate and they believe that the US stands in their way. Their intention to attack the US on its own soil may well date back to 1979, when Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri met in Afghanistan and fought against the USSR with the backing of our very own CIA.

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

[ObjectiveRealist]

quote:
Like politicians, this particular band of jihadist-terrorists has an agenda: They seek to inspire and orchestrate the overthrow of governments in Muslim-majority countries and place them under a single, global caliphate and they believe that the US stands in their way.
/quote

Well, that's the narrative of the Bush administration, and considering Bush, Jr's extraordinary debt to the Saud royal family for bailing him out of his failure to find oil in Texas [http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2004/03/12/unger_2/index.html], and the Bush family's many other documented dirty dealings with the least civilized country in the Persian Gulf, I'm more inclined to believe Osama bin Laden than anybody in the Bush crime family.

[morgan1]

It would appear you have drawn the wrath of the Far Right elements, but I am certain that is no surprise for you. Great article once more. I, too, am disappointed with Maddow as she has been consistent in her own agenda but she is wrong on this glorification of murder by this SEAL team. Warmonger Hillary is ratcheting up the rhetoric for military action but that is no surprise. The Hawks still have control of the gun barrels. We got ourbutts kicked in Somalia and it is clear we have learned nothing about our military foot prints on the planet. All that being said, it is also clear there seems to be some WH agenda occurring that suddenly this "piracy" is a threat and must be addressed. What about the piracy and kidnappings off the coast of Thailand and Vietnam? I don't see headlines on any of this and it has been going on there since the fall of Saigon when we abandoned that country and its people. Pax Americana is still alive and well...Well, not so healthy and the WH needs to get it together.

[smharmon1]

Well, judging from some of these posts, the first thing we have to consider is that there are many eccentricities to the Pirate story that some people are not willing to consider (apparently). The "pirate" story came out of nowhere, with massive coverage from the "mainstream" networks. All of a sudden, pirates are ruling the seas. (Nice, "setting the agenda.") Then, all of this piracy crap seems to revolve around Somalia. What, no other country has pirates running around? Wonder why? Then, we see that the "pirates" are pointing fingers at France and the US. Not Sweden, Denmark, or anyone else, it seems. Wonder why? I don't know about the nuke waste thing, but it is an interesting theory. Especially, given that France is a HUGE nuclear nation with a so-called clean waste disposal program. Is Somalia another Nevada? I don't know. But, there are more oddities: first of all, a U.S. crew operating a Dutch ship loaded with containers of beans and rice for the poor Somalians. Haha. Right. Let's just have a look inside those containers, please. Go ahead, open them up. Then, we have a massive navy effort to get the pirates, all of a sudden, while hostages have been apparently held for months. Curious. Then, we have a debate about trying the remaining "pirate" in US courts. Hmm, maybe something will come out in the record. Even more curious. Right now, I'm finding the US news stories hard to believe.

[jhb90277]

This didn't "come out of nowhere." Piracy has been going on for quite some time. It is thriving off the coast of Nigeria, where earlier this year, Nigerian pirates beat up the crew of a cargo ship. They boarded a private passenger vessel, forced the men to jump overboard and then they ra ped and tort ured the women. But you didn't hear about it, did you? There is piracy aff the southern coast of South America, as well as southeast Asia. Not news to those who live there or who sail on ships. It took the capture of an American to make many Americans aware of it.

The Maersk ship is registered in Virginia, where Maersk Lines, ltd. is based. It is American-flagged, American-crewed with workers representing three different maritime unions. The Alabama is part of the DoD's Maritime Security Program (MSP) fleet. Maersk has nine ships in the MSP fleet. Several other US-based companies have ships in the fleet.

Here is a link to bulletins from the Office of Naval Intelligence. These detail the worlwide threat to shipping. You'll see that attacks are frequent. Are they all carrying nuclear waste?

http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/maritime/?epi_menuItemID=3e37041ec7a4546e36890127d32020a0&epi_menuID=e106a3b5e50edce1fec24fd73927a759&epi_baseMenuID=e106a3b5e50edce1fec24fd73927a759

You might find the US story hard to believe, but piracy is a real threat to mariners in some parts of the world, regardless of when you first heard about it.

[smharmon1]

The stories came out of nowhere. I'm talking about the media interest in them, not some documentarian, philosophical view of history. Well, I could talk about many things that are part of recorded history that are not mainstream. Trust me, the stories came out of nowhere. It is agenda setting.

[rob roy]

The only thing that will fix this problem is if the international community prosecutes those that dump nuclear waste on one side of Somalia and steal fish on the other side. We also need to give Somalia back its natural resources. Once the member's of the UN's security council stop raiding Somalia like Pirates then we will have the moral authority to put an end to piracy and allow the economy of Somalia to operate without such thuggish behavior. As of now the US and the rest of the Western world are acting like know-nothings - ignoring the root cause of problems because the truth disagrees with our arrogance. The Somali pirates are more like Hamas than Mexican druglords. Hamas was elected by the people so while the US may not like it, the very definition of democracy means that not everyone will be happy with the results. The Somali pirates are the basis of the seashore economy because a Somali fishmerman has gone the way of an American auto worker. I hope April 23rd in Brussels will be a step toward not only security of those passing through Somali waters but also security for those who live on Somali land.

[zaz33]

A great article and a great post rob roy !

[CaptD]

Taking Pirates/Terrorists captive only makes things better for the Pirates/Terrorists.

Instead

Destroy their attack boats, outboards and marine diesel engines. That will really hurt them and then they will have to spend money to resupply. I'm not saying strand them at sea, but eliminate their offensive capability... No more "mother" ships = no more pirate attacks at sea; if weapons are found then eliminate the weapon carrying mother ship.

[CaptD]

Your story's viewpoint only makes sense when you are safely living in the US. If you were living in the Middle East you probably would not even have glasses or an education. If you lived in Somalia; you would be dead by now; so thank your lucky stars that you live in the US and report on something close to home instead of Pirates being controlled by one or more Terrorist States that are increasingly trying to overthrow US.

These are not random Pirate attacks, they are Somali TERRORISTS being directed by "Other" well financed Terrorists that have good ($) reason to make sure that US AID does not arrive because that will make them look bad! The way to deal with this is to establish a complete NEWS blackout around the Pirates/Terrorists, send the ship on it's way at it's best speed and apply maximum press coverage on the plight of the starving folks that are being denied this food by these Pirates/Terrorists and those that finance them!

[rjmiller]

I don't think the pirates are actually targetting aid ships, I'm fairly certain that was a coincidence. They have been hitting all kinds of ships, pretty much anything they can take, so they can take people hostage and get money. This isn't about international policy, it's about desperate poor people that found a way to get millions of dollars.

[zeotrope]

Alison. You don't have yo pay me I'll so it for free.

[nform0]

First, I have seen no sources claiming that Americans are dumping waste or fishing illegally in Somali waters. I have only heard this blamed on European and Asian nations.

Second, there is a difference between accepting the concept of blowback and capitulating to it. I can accept that if I stick up for the old woman being harassed on the bus that I may suffer some harm for doing so. That doesn't mean it is right to avoid a confrontation merely because it would create a blowback situation. The US has nothing to apologize for in expecting to deliver humanitarian aid to Kenya free from thugs with automatic weapons holding those delivering aid hostage. There are many things the US (and many other nations) can be blamed for, but this is not one of them.

[PlayTOE]

Dumping nuclear waste in Somali waters and overfishing the local stocks is not like sticking up for an old woman, it is much more like kicking a homeless beggar and trampling on her food bowl.

Blow back is sometimes justified even though it is seldom rational.

[nform0]

Did you even read my post? Where is your evidence that the United States is dumping toxic waste in Somali waters or fishing there illegally?

To the contrary the US ship was delivering aid to impoverished Africans, and the US takes in many Somali refugees and spends millions of dollars in medical, welfare and other benefits.

[Wolvie2008]

What is this story really about?
Yeah, I understand the concept of blowback but to suggest that we should simply count our blessings that more Americans aren't victimized by these pirates or that our military leaders don't see them as people is ridiculous! They know they are young, impoverished, and desparate, and guess what: I don't care! If you are going to take it upon yourself to victimize American citizen's in international waters simply because you feel you can, then you get what's coming to you! Something is really wrong if anyone expects me to have a care for individuals who feel that their issues are so big that it is okay for them to violate anothers soverignty. Now you can debate how equel 3 dead pirates are versus the 100's of millions thay are paid in ransom or the impact they unleash onto the families of their victims all you want, all I know is that in this case if you leave us alone, we'll gladly do the same. However, if you want to put our citizens and sailors in harms way, you can expect a response that will make you think twice before doing so again. This is not a game they want to play and neither do we; however, we will if you make us!

[joebloe]

My thoughts exactly.
I for one am not advocating invading Somalia or bombing their towns, but to not respond to violence against us is just dumb. While I may sympathize with the causes of their plight, that doesn't mean I won't defend myself.

[laxfamily]

I am with you for the most part. I would like to remind the pirates that Somalia may not fully appreciate what the US has done for their citizens. Since their civil wars, we have opened up our country to allow them to immigrate here and start a new life. Their reaction? Attack a US ship carrying food to starving nations in Africa? Many of these pirates that are attacking US and other ships could very well have relatives that live right here in the US. I agree, we need to listen to them but they might want to listen to us as well. My belief is that no one will listen to anyone and the violence will simply escalate.

[RoloTomassi]

"What we've done for Somalia" has to be viewed with a bit broader view than you're applying:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Civil_War

It ain't simple, new or unique; these are very poor, 3rd world, mostly starving people, and I seriously doubt that most of them know much of anything other than the fact that they need to eat tomorrow, and that basic survival is the constant primary concern....

Meanwhile, a small percentage are striking out at the only symbol of prosperity that crosses the horizon of their dire, deadly and mostly hopeless lives: ships off of their coast.

Why do they do this [other than the obvious gain from taking ransom]? Perhaps most of these pirates are old enough to remember that the US & UN forces came in, helped make a bad situation worse, and then ran away without helping to resolve ANYTHING.

[Wolvie2008]

There were quite a few UN and US personel lost their lives trying to help them "resolve" their issues, thank you very much. People don't just change because you want them to and not everyone is going to roll out the red carpet just because you say you are here to help them. In every situation like Somalia you have to set a limit as to how much loss you are willing to take in the name of "helping" a nation. In that case we deemed it to no longer be worth the American lives it was costing. It was a lot like Regan, who was down for us helping out in Beruit, Lebanon, but then said it was time to go after a terrorist attack took out a building full of Marines. You have to want to help yourself before we or anyone else can help you and that was hard to do with warlords controlling everyting including the people.

[AKJM]

Thank you for the blow back and the opportunity to share these inks.

This is an excerpt from this lengthy essay
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/13-6

“Yes, nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered rashes, nausea, and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on the shore.”
© 2009 The Huffington Post

Here is another
http://rshdc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:env&catid=3:newsflash

Fishing rights extend 200 miles.

AT bottom is a U Tube video worth watching
http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/somalis-speak-out-why-we-don%E2%80%99t-condemn-our-pirates/

[Pema]

of course they are people, people who put an ak47 to the head of an innocent man. blow back? is that why the pirates are building million dollar mansions? is this why they do nothing to combat the war lords that have ruined their country. they havent built one school, one road, nothing. some guys eh? we are not resposnible for all of somlias problems.

[RoloTomassi]

" is that why the pirates are building million dollar mansions?'

Gotta link for that claim?

[Wolvie2008]

They use their loot to buy all kinds of things that won't do a thing to help their country and they are doing it by way of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Why? Because they aren't educated enough to manage themselves. And did I mention the terrorists ties? Look, I'm not the "Kill them all and let God sort them out." type, but I would caution against the general attitude that David is just getting his payback on Goliath, so it's all okay. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[realrockvince]

Thank you for covering this story. However, next time somebody like Ron Paul runs for president, please give them (and their ideas) a lot of favorable coverage during the campaign instead of two years later. Tell your colleagues to do the same. America will be better off. Thanks.

[Rudyabdul]

You say that Somali pirates claim that their motives stem from the West overfishing in their seas and dumping nuclear waste and some news reports say that US aid was being delivered to Kenya. I don't know which one it is but we have a new president, why didn't the Somali leaders discuss this issue with him instead of allowing piracy in their waters?

[GrainOSand]

Are they not also faced with the reality of the nonexistence of a unifying government? Perhaps the absence of such structures preclude normal diplomatic approaches concerning the new presidents of other nations.

[RoloTomassi]

Which leaders would that be...the "leaders" of the pirates? They don't have central government [and haven't had one since 1991].

[GrainOSand]

You have to be capable of entertaining that:

1) You do not know all, and...
2) That your conclusions in the moment are wrong or otherwise flawed -- before you can set a course away from any current location of insanity...of self-defeating behavior that extracts a heavy and tragic toll.

You have to appreciate the expanse of that not known in relationship to that known to be able to see beyond boxes that limit vision.

Flimsy bombastic and hyperbolic rhetoric is what some might retort. We shall see. Meanwhile, I keep a flame lit for peace, for love, for flowing prosperity for all.