At this stage of history, the weapons industry has emerged to become the worst source of terrorism that ever existed over the past six thousand years of recorded history. The lethal weapons it has developed over the past fifty years alone, have killed more people than were ever massacred over the past 2,500 years, going back to the time of the Persian, Greek and Roman empires. What is amazing is not the fact that such an industry has become the greatest terrorist organization in the world, but that it succeeded to hypnotize intelligent people from every walk of life and profession into believing that its product contributes to the protection and security of our respective nations.

 

Warranty of Death

Such a lethal industry constitutes a warranty of death. Tens of millions every year incur cancer because of toxic wastes it produces which poison our air, our water, and our land where we grow our food. As though this would not be enough, several groups at the grassroots level work constantly like devils to create regional conflicts as to justify the continued manufacture and sales of weapons of destruction. Their main tactic is fear, which has led many people to panic and which has haunted most government officials of the world's leading nations. The weapons industry is determined to survive in its business till the end of times. The only way to its assured survival is the continued creation of local, regional and global conflicts.

What is the difference between the massacre of 5,000 innocent civilians killed by a lawless group of virtually unknown origin and the massacre of 5,000 innocent civilians massacred by a legally existing agency known as the military? As far as the lives of these innocent people are concerned, it does not make any difference at all. However, as far as our government officials are concerned, there is a great difference. In fact, US government officials had referred to the innocent civilians killed in New York and Washington, DC as "victims" while they viewed the innocent civilians killed in Afghanistan with American weapons merely as "collateral damage"!

In other words, when the killing of the innocent comes from an unauthorized group, then we attribute that to an act of terrorism. On the other hand, when the killing of the innocent comes from an authorized group, such as the military, then we call that an act of duty and patriotism! The fact remains that when politicians fail to get what they want through political means, then they resort to the military, which is given the green light to perform any act of savagery and terrorism in the most brutal way one can possibly imagine.

What is amazing is the fact to see highly respected and intelligent professionals in countries where this lethal and satanic industry exists, remaining silent. They hardly ever even dream remotely to raise their voice to defend the helpless and the poor whose life is being truncated mercilessly by lethal products of the weapons industry. Why are not the medical doctors stepping out to talk loudly and boldly about the tremendous hazards the weapons industry is causing to the health of countless millions of people?

 

Abdication of Responsibility

Why are not the lawyers proposing to the courts the condemnation of such weapons of destruction and to have those responsible for the manufacture and sales of such weapons declared as criminals for their outrageous crimes against humanity? Why are not the church and religious leaders condemning clearly as immoral and sinful the manufacture and sales of military weapons? Why are not our teachers at all level of instruction bringing to the attention of their students the weapons industry as the greatest source of terrorism in our earthly society? Why is it that the parents of our nation's children do not ever dream of discussing ways that could be explored to have this problem solved for good?

Why is it that our businessmen, other than those involved in weapons, do not try to get together to create funds for purpose of educating people from every walk of life and profession about the dangers the weapons industry is imposing on them? These questions need a quick answer now followed immediately by positive and constructive actions. The philosophy of the weapons industrial complex has hypnotized the most intelligent people we have from every walk of life and profession. Most of such people carry advance degrees in almost every branch of knowledge. We are all familiar with this kind of philosophy which most of us, quite unfortunately, may hold as the absolute truth. It runs briefly as follows: We need a strong military that is equipped with the most sophisticated weapons we have available. We need to replace old weapons with new ones. We need to equip our allies with such weapons as well so that they could defend themselves in case they are attacked.

Of course, such statements constitute a blatant lie. In the first place, the Weapons Industrial Complex, as well pointed out by the Center of Defense Information in Washington, DC, does not exist for the defense of any nation. It exists merely for profit, which is made through sales of weapons. Salesmen will say anything imaginable, regardless as to whether or not it would be true, to sell their product. After all, that is the only way to make money, which they view as the highest goal of their life. If we were watching a stage-show in a large auditorium of 5,000 people, what would make us feel safer: If each one of us is carrying a loaded gun for "self-protection" or if no one at all is carrying a loaded gun? The answer is clear and we do not need to elaborate.

If we were to study the tactics of the weapons industrial complex since World War II ended in 1945, we will discover something curious which happened with regularity and with no virtual exception. This demonic industry always had agents who went from one global area to another for the purpose of creating civil strife within the same nation and/or with neighboring countries. The goal was always the same, namely, to instill fear in each faction or group and then to offer each one of these factions or groups all the weapons needed to "defend themselves" from a possible attack by the enemy.

 

Making Money as Main Objective

What is outrageous lies here. The weapons industry sells weapons to anyone that gives the right price, friends and enemies alike. Such an industry, as stated earlier, does not care about the safeguard and sacredness of human life. Yet, the people of the nations where weapons are manufactured and sold, above all the United States, cannot see how they themselves became victims of brainwashing and indoctrination that is sponsored, very often, by the government itself. We need here to raise a serious question: How is it that the nations of the world, which manufacture and sell weapons, claim to believe that the military is the only effective means available to solve all the problems of the world?

As we know from history, the military may be described as a brutal organization, which is licensed by legitimate governments to massacre people indiscriminately without any investigation or trial. The policy of the military is not conversation or dialogue to come to solutions based on mutual interests. Its policy is violence, which explains why all solders are equipped with weapons of destruction and not with books of learning, with food to feed the hungry they encounter, and with medicine to cure the sick. This is the real picture of the military, even though the government tries to hide this reality by presenting the military to the general public performing marches with flags while trying, at the same time, to entertain people by playing the band.

We are all familiar nowadays with how the United States reacted to the act of terrorism in New York and Washington, DC on September 11, 2001. It did not consult any of its thousands of civic, educational and religious organizations. It responded by committing a similar act of terrorism in Afghanistan, under the guise that the USA and the world were after to get one man known as Osama Bin Laden, who was presumed to be directing these acts of terror. Thousands of innocent people died in New York and in Washington, DC and thousands of innocent people equally died in Afghanistan. This was putting into operation the "eye for an eye and the tooth for a tooth" philosophy we find in the Old Testament. Ironically, the USA is a predominantly Christian nation whose Master Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, viewed this kind of philosophy as vicious and evil.

After the United States devastated Afghanistan with bombardments and destroyed virtually its entire infrastructure system, instead of deciding with most of its self-proclaimed allies to rebuild a demilitarized nation, it has set as a priority the creation of an Afghan army that will include 60,000 soldiers, 8,000 strong air force and 70,000 personnel in para-military role. The present government in Afghanistan has already earmarked $235 million dollars for military spending in 2002 alone.

 

Groundwork of Future Military Dictatorship

Thus, the United States is setting the groundwork for a future Mobutu of the former Zaire, a future Pinochet of Chile, a future Suharto of Indonesia, a future Abacha of Nigeria, a future Mao of China, a future Stalin of Russia, a future Hitler of Germany, among numerous other brutal dictators. The question that needs to be raised here is this: Why does the USA contribute systematically toward the creation of dictatorial regimes that prove afterwards to be so brutal and merciless?

To turn insult into injury, nine other nations promised to pitch in to provide arms and military training to this war-ravaged country of central Asia. These other nine nations are enlisted as follows: Britain, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran, China and Turkey. The whole world needs to write to the Embassies of these nations, especially that of the United States, and demand a reversal of this militaristic policy. What the Afghanistan people need is not a strong military that will eventually exploit them in due time, but the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the nation. The people need new schools and hospitals equipped with the best means of modern technology. They need houses for the homeless as well as food and medicine. They need the freedom of worship and the ability to feel peaceful at home without having to bother about future military coups.

In addition to the ten countries mentioned above that includes the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia promised to give financial assistance as well to help "build the nation" which simply means to help build "the creation of a strong military power." We are all familiar with the phrase: History repeats itself, like former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill often stated. If that is the case, this is a vivid example of how the weapons industrial complex uses the US government to plan and plot present and future wars on a constant basis merely to keep its lethal product in business. This explains why the only thing that really matters for the United States and its self-proclaimed allies is to build a strong Afghanistan military power as to guarantee the continued destabilization of the region in the future. In view of what has been stated, we may full realize and comprehend why the weapons industry may be viewed as the greatest source of terrorism in the world today.

 

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President
International Association of Educators for World Peace
http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/mercieca.html
NGO, United Nations (ECOSOC) UNDPI, UNICEF, UNCED & UNESCO
Professor Emeritus
Alabama A&M University