www.number-10.gov.uk
PM’s Press Conference – 26 July 2005

The Bill currently being drafted will create as you know a new offence of all acts preparatory to terrorism, a new offence of indirect incitement to commit a terrorist offence, and a new offence of receiving or giving training in the use of hazardous substances and other methods and techniques for terrorist purposes both here and abroad.

Blair characterizes what America and Britain are doing as “helping Iraqis and Afghans get their democracy” and spouts some drivel about how killing people in his war has no relation to terrorist acts in London. He talks about how he wants to “eliminate” the opposing point of view even from people who abhor the methods of terrorism.

….Until we get rid of this frankly complete nonsense in trying to build some equivalence between what we are doing helping Iraqis and Afghans get their democracy and these people going in deliberately killing wholly innocent people for the sake of it, until we eliminate that we are not going to confront this ideology in the way it needs to be confronted and my point to you is this, it is time we stopped saying OK we abhor their methods, but we kind of see something in their ideas or maybe they have got a sliver of excuse or justification….

Blair rationalizes violence against innocent people as much as the terrorists do. Maybe he should be banned. Yes, frankly, I believe it should be against the law for any government to spread lies, start illegal wars and threaten citizens with dictatorship. In fact, maybe it already is against the law.

Explaining the connection between terrorism and the Western foreign policy of violent interference in the Middle East – and how this policy is WRONG – is helpful, because it might lead to Western governments ceasing their provocations that create hatred and stir up terrorism. It is also helpful because it counters these fantasies dreamed up by the pro-war imperialists that the Islamic world “hates us because we are free”. And yet these pro-war governments want to take away our freedoms because of terrorism.

Their war-mongering and unjustified pack-of-lies war against Iraq is endangering the citizens of Western nations. And whenever there are more terrorist attacks, they want to take away our freedoms. Terrorism always results from war. There are always atrocities committed by both sides in wars.

This is how it works. It’s very simple.

• War -> lost freedoms.
• War -> Terrorism -> lost freedoms / surveillance cameras / “innovative” new laws that ban free speech.
• Rationalizations for Intervention -> War propaganda -> Fantasies about “why they hate us” -> Endless war -> Atrocities on Both Sides -> Endless Terrorism -> We Lose Freedoms Forever.

If you want to remain free (to the extent that we do have some freedom), stop wars of aggression and stop believing lies. Learn about the interference in the Middle East that has been going on forever. If you want to stop terrorism, stop war and intervention. Stop letting our government “nation-build” Afghanistan. Stop letting them use our troops to take sides and prop up shaky governments. If you want to stop war, speak up against the “War Party”, which means anyone from any party who advocates aggressive war. In Canada, we’re only half way there unfortunately.

(Original Post)