President Bush informed us of our new creed: "Let's roll." Here in the United States this may seem ambiguous, leaving the ravers and marijuana smokers to reconsider their political mascot, bad joke; considering the escalated war on drugs. But beyond our borders, political leaders may have a better idea.
To any and all leaders who are having problems consolidating their political power, the President's words are butter. To them, "let's roll" means, "if we convince the United States that our enemies are linked to al Qaeda, American tax-dollars will pave our way to power."
The logic is similar to that of the Cold War. Calling the Soviet Union the "evil empire," Reagan inspired leaders all over to convince the United States that Communists cadres were active in their prospective countries, threatening liberty, democracy and private property. Then U.S. military aid would rain down on all sorts of authoritarian regimes and anti-communist rebels. These leaders all had a vested interest in an indefinite Cold War, for that meant indefinite United States or Soviet aid.
During the 1990s, to the dismay of many of these leaders, the promise of such aid disappeared along with the Cold War threat. There was no longer any incentive to prop up repressive dictatorships, and it was widely believed that democracy would surge throughout - to the dismay of the aforementioned.
Today, however, the United States once again has strategic interest in helping people destroy their enemies, or at least fight them. War, after all, is good for the economy, the military industrial complex and the complexion of a once not-so-popular president elect.
A war undertaken by the United States is again a great opportunity for power seekers who have found themselves at the lower end of the global balance of power. Now all of these old insurgent groups and shaky governments, who have been ignored since 1990, have a chance to secure military aid and air support from the United States while they go about regional conquest.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
In the Philippines, President Arroyo's government was able to convince U.S. statesmen that the insurgent Abu Sayyaf Group has al Qaeda connections, thereby calling for 650 American special forces men to aid in anti-terror operations.
In Iraq, about 80 opposition groups are being reviewed as candidates for U.S. military support in Colon Powell's "necessary regime change." Although these groups are far more split than the Northern Alliance, Afghanistan is a likely model for future operations.
In Afghanistan, several warlords who had composed the Northern Alliance are fighting one another again, calling in U.S. air strikes on each other, and providing false intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda operatives reside among rival clans.
The Somali Transitional National Government is requesting American military assistance in fighting terrorism, while its warlord opponents claim that the government is controlled by al Qaeda and al Itahaad terrorist leaders. For its part, Ethiopia, a long-standing rival of Somalia, claims the same, hoping to receive U.S. weapons while insuring the instability of any Somali government.
Colombia has had success in convincing the BU.S.h administration to request an additional $98 million in weapons and training for fiscal year 2003. The focU.S. of the war on drugs is shifting towards an all-out counter-insurgency plan that is reminiscent of U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War.
The examples are many, but the idea is simple.
America's declared war on terror is seen by warlords and political actors across the globe as a chance to secure their power. The presence of terrorism is an opportunity, not a problem. Most significantly, U.S. aid is contingent on and proportionate to terrorist activity, therefore aid-receiving leaders will have no interest in destroying their terrorist enclaves.
An enemy lost is a cancelled paycheck. Enemies will have to be created constantly so that regimes in developing nations can keep getting their share of American tax dollars. Whether al Qaeda's influence means anything will be the notary of these military-financial transactions.
While BU.S.h's words "Let's roll" may signify a crU.S.ade for peace for most Americans, they mean something very different for struggling leaders around the world. As long as terrorists can be found or manufactured, "Let's roll" means, simply, money and guns, money and guns.
by Mike Wolff
Daily Lobo Columnist
Questions and comments can be sent to Mike Wolff at mudrat@unm.edu
