Bjork Says Americans Can't Be "Completely Surprised" By 9/11
Bjork Says Americans Can't Be "Completely Surprised" By 9/11
<b>The Icelandic singer said she found it odd that the United States was shocked that 9/11 happened.</b>
She actually made an excellent point on the consequences of colonialism and war policies...
She's not wrong that most foreign terrorist threats the US faces were radicalized by our own political and military involvement in other regions
A (very simplified) timeline of US intervention in the middle-east.
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Iran democratically elected a secular leader, but he wanted to use iranian oil for iran. So the CIA instead helped the Shah into dictatorial power, who would sell the drilling rights to american and british companies. He opressed his populace so bad, that they turned to Ayatollah Khomeni and his religious extremists to get rid of him. The religious zealots have been in power ever since.
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To fight against the Ayatollah Regime that drove out western oil companies, the US illegally bypasses a weapons embargo to arm a neighbouring dictator called Saddam Hussein. He wages the first Gulf War on Iran for 8 years, which results in ~750.000 dead. The poison gas attacks happen with the knowledge of the US.
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Russia invades Afghanistan, the US arms local resistance fighters, a group called Al Quaeda under one Osama bin Laden. To help the islamists against the godless Russians, thousands of mercenaries and religious extremists from muslim countries are recruited by the CIA and brought to Afghanistan, they become the Taliban. More than a million civillians die.
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Saddam Hussein, seeing no win against Iran instead invades the absolutist, slavetrading monarchy of Kuwait. Kuwait had opened it oil-wells to western companies, so with the help of the CIA and an american PR-agency, the daughter of Kuwaiti ambassador pretends to be a nurse and lies about Iraqi soldiers ripping babies out of incubators. The world is shocked. What follows is the second Gulf War. More than a million dead civillians again.
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Following this second gulf war, american troops are stationed in the gulf region protecting "western values" (the oil wells). The religious extremists in Afghanistan are not amused, the sheer existence of nonbelievers on holy ground is blasphemy to them. Al Quaeda (formerly funded by the US and the House of Saud) begin their campaign against the west.
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Following September 11 2001 the US invades first Afghanistan, then Iraq and don't really bother with the long-term stabilizing of a region they so effectively destabilized. From the chaos rises the Islamic State.
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It's always fascinating when leaders and analysts end up echoing Ramzi Yousef's speech at his trial.
... Wait, Iceland doesn't have an army?
...
Time to invade Iceland guys, they've had it far too good for a while now!
No oil. Not worth the effort.
They don't have an army, true, but the reason they don't need one is that they are a part of NATO, and are exempt from the requirements of contributing to NATOs standing forces in return for providing facilities and land to the alliance.
So Björk is being at bit disingenuous. It's not like the Icelanders are a shining beacon of pacifism and diplomacy, they're just part of a big military alliance.
See https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_162083.htm
Well yeah, it happened 23 years ago. It's old news at this point.
Well, said at least - this story's almost a decade old.
It's just a reminder on the anniversary of 9/11
Also, this post from Tom Morello
And yet people chose to believe the comforting lie that they hate us for our freedom
She's gotta meet more Americans (or don't, I get it), we're fucking morons over here.
Seriously. Saying "we're fucking morons" for being surprised by the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center might be hyperbole, except the same group tried the same thing in 1993! They were just bad at it. Instead of being a KIND OF A REALLY BIG HINT, that incident just kind of disappeared down the memory hole.
In the American mindset, their own wars are fought by the poor people and in faraway countries. Both unrelatable on a personal level, both expendable for political rhetoric and engaging news entertainment.
"Fought by losers (and no one I know) in countries that deserve it."
~ Trump probably, but with worse structure.
It's exactly like how kids get bullied and bring a gun to school. If you hit someone, don't cry about it when they hit you back because you aren't getting any sympathy. If you treat someone unfairly, is it out of line when they hit you below the belt?
downvotes are coming in hard. lol
Maybe initially, but the vote balance actually seems pretty fair now
And yet they were
not everyone
Sure fucking seemed like it