democracy and freedom to question. updated

Something I wrote a decade ago,   about the post Sept 11th world, came back to me as I read this article in the Guardian . A question that I had asked then, has taken on a new meaning.

"I wonder if , in the post September world , I am even allowed to  write and publish what I think and feel. Can I be what I am or want to be - culturally or individually? Or will that be against "them"? Them that one is either "for, or against".

I was reacting against the plans for 'Full Spectrum Domination' in the New American Century.  Domination that would not allow any challenges - "military,economic or cultural" . Domination that would seek control of all international commons - including Space and Cyberspace. Culture not excluded.

At risk is, today, is more than just the Culture I had in mind,then.What is now at risk is the very questioning culture that underwrites the  idea of the Democracy. Democracy that is sought to be imposed on the world at war point. Democracy that is now under serious threat by (and in)  the very cultures and countries that want to impose it on others.

Imran Khan is, according to numerous polls, the most popular politician inPakistan and may very well be that country's next Prime Minister. He is also a vehement critic of US drone attacks on his country, vowing toorder them shot down if he is Prime Minister and leading an anti-drone protest march last month.

On Saturday, Khan boarded a flight from Canada to New York in order to appear at a fundraising lunch and other events. But before the flight could take off, US immigration officials removed him from the plane and detained him for two hours, causing him to miss the flight. On Twitter, Khan reported that he was "interrogated on [his] views on drones" and then added: "My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop." He thendefiantly noted: "Missed flight and sad to miss the Fundraising lunch in NY but nothing will change my stance."

But the most important point here is that Khan's detention is part of a clear trend by the Obama administration to harass and intimidate critics of its drone attacks. As Marcy Wheeler notes, "this is at least the third time this year that the US has delayed or denied entry to the US for Pakistani drone critics."

There are two clear dynamics driving this. First, the US is eager to impose a price for effectively challenging its policies and to prevent the public - the domestic public, that is - from hearing critics with first-hand knowledge of the impact of those policies. As Wheeler asks, "Why is the government so afraid of Pakistanis explaining to Americans what the drone attacks look like from a Pakistani perspective?"

What makes this most ironic is that the US loves to sermonize to the world about the need for open ideas and political debate. In April, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lectured the planet on how "those societies that believe they can be closed to change, to ideas, cultures, and beliefs that are different from theirs, will find quickly that in our internet world they will be left behind,"

That she is part of the same government that seeks to punish and exclude filmmakers, students, lawyers, activists and politicians for the crime of opposing US policy is noticed and remarked upon everywhere in the world other than in the US. That demonstrates the success of these efforts: they are designed, above all else, to ensure that the American citizenry does not become exposed to effective critics of what the US is doing in the world.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/28/detention-imran-khan-drones

Behind Imran’s Hounding

by craig on October 28, 2012 10:03 am in Uncategorized

Pulling Imran Khan off a plane in Canada, and making him miss his Eid fundraising lunch in New York, is pretty crass of the United States, a country that claims its foreign policy is motivated by freedom. The idea that low level US immigration operatives needed clarificiation on Khan’s well-known views on killings by US drones in Pakistan is plainly nonsense. But this wasn’t routine or an error; Khan wasn’t questioned at a desk on arrival in New York, he was pulled off a plane by US operatives in Canada. It was an exercise in humiliation.

But if you look under this event you find some interesting, creepy crawly creatures.

http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/10/behind-imrans-hounding/