William Bowles – Essays
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Hoisted by their own, brazen pétards By William Bowles
12 January 2004 Western media continues to belittle Iraqi opposition to the occupation The latest reports to come out of Iraq reveal an ever growing level of resistance to US plans to create a puppet government for the country, not that you’d know it from Western news coverage aside that is from the (predictable) coverage… Continue reading
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Legitimacy Denied: Western media continues to belittle Iraqi opposition to the occupation By William Bowles
The latest reports to come out of Iraq reveal an ever growing level of resistance not only to US plans to create a puppet government for the country but to the occupation as a whole, not that you’d know it from Western news coverage aside that is from the (predictable) coverage of the statement by… Continue reading
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Reporting the war in Iraq: Underwhelmed with information, overwhelmed with propaganda By William Bowles
11 January 2004 At the close of 2003, 506 US soldiers had died in Iraq, the deadliest year for the US Army since 1972 when the US lost 640 dead in Vietnam. In the week following the capture of Saddam Hussein the death rate actually to rose to 19 (the average being nine). Continue reading
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“And when they came for me…” By William Bowles
Can people be so blinkered as to sign away their own rights? It seems so if one looks at the almost total lack of coverage of the “Civil Contingencies Bill” in the UK or “Patriot II” in the US, that although miles away, is intimately linked to the Blah policies simply because both governments are… Continue reading
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Manufacturing Panic & Paranoia By William Bowles
7 January 2004 What’s wrong with the Independent’s lead story on 6/1/04 that opened with the assertion? “Air travel turmoil as terror threat grows” Terror threat grows? Three loaded words for which there is not a shred of evidence that supports either the existence of terror or that there is a ‘threat’ or that it’s ‘growing’.… Continue reading
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How much the value of a (Palestinian) life By William Bowles
In a ten-day period, there were over 70 individual violent actions against Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Forces resulting in deaths and woundings of innocent civilians, destruction of property, confiscations and deportations. Where was the coverage in the Western Media? Continue reading
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Days of Empire By William Bowles
5 January 2004 I suppose one can be forgiven for feeling depressed about the current state of affairs, after all the measure of the speed at which things change (for better or for worse) are not those of the average lifetime unless like all of us alive right now, we happen to be around when… Continue reading
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2004: The year of the police state – the year of hypocrisy By William Bowles
The media’s unquestioning acceptance of these reports is, to put it mildly, scandalous. Any journalist worth his or her salt would immediately question the basis of the so-called intelligence being used if only because it actually exposes just how bad the preventive measures really are. A cynic might be forgiven for thinking that the US… Continue reading
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De ja vu? By William Bowles
“Terror in the sky: the net tightens”. So went the headline in the Independent (3/1/04). “Heathrow terror puzzle” was the Guardian’s headline on the same day. But what exactly, is the net tightening around except the throats of innocent passengers and why is it a puzzle? The Guardian linked it to a 1997 UN resolution… Continue reading
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Upping the anté & wishy-washy liberalism By William Bowles
Richard Perle’s latest book “An end to evil: What’s next in the war on terrorism?” might well be described as the handbook for the imperium’s agenda for 2004 with its call for an invasion of Syria and Iran and a Cuba-style blockade of North Korea. The question to be asked of this quasi-fascist’s quest for… Continue reading
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New Year, New Challenges By William Bowles
1 January 2004 In theory at least, the arrival of the New Year is time for a change, a clear-out of the old to make space for the new, so I thought I’d start by clearing out this page. However, I’m a firm believer in tradition, so no radical changes in layout or look except… Continue reading
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The voice of the imperium squeeks By William Bowles
This is a critical period for the imperium. Stretched to breaking point with widespread dissaffection amongst its troops on the ground after only nine short months, the Bush clique is faced with a genuine dilemma as well as a rapidly approaching election. Continue reading
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The war on everything By William Bowles
There is a direct correlation between imperialism’s increasingly desperate economic state and its urge to go to war, only now it’s declared war on the entire planet, a sure indication of capitalism’s inability to deal with its inbuilt and rapidly escalating contradictions. Consider the wars it has declared over the past 100 years: the ‘war… Continue reading
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Mantras of mass deception By William Bowles
26 December 2003 Someone wrote me and asked if I knew when the phrase ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ was first used. A little research produced UN Resolution 687 that demanded that Iraq destroy its WMDs following the Gulf War: 3 Apr 1991 Security Council resolution 687 (1991), Section C, decides that Iraq shall unconditionally accept,… Continue reading
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May you live in interesting times By William Bowles
So goes the Chinese curse and nobody can say that 2003 hasn’t been an interesting – and for many – a cursed year, not the least of which has been the 25 million or so Iraqis, cursed with being ‘liberated’ by a desperate imperialism on the rampage. Barbarians seems somehow an inadequate description. Continue reading
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As things fall apart… By William Bowles
All in all, the new year brings with it an imperium in disarray faced with a mountain of problems; political, economic and military, none of them solvable if it maintains the current trajectory of increased repression at home and the inability to launch more diversionary adventures abroad. Perhaps its proxy Israel will be let off… Continue reading
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Information Clearing House Archive December 2003 Part 4
December 2003 — Information Clearing House Index December 2003 Part 4 Date: 21 Dec 2003 19:19:16 -0000 233 DAYS … AND STILL NO WMD FOUND IN IRAQ. === Saddam was held by Kurdish forces, drugged and left for US troops : Saddam Hussein was captured by US troops only after he had been taken prisoner by… Continue reading
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Collective-selective amnesia By William Bowles
Self-censorship? Yes sometimes. A shared worldview? Yes sometimes. Heavy debts? More likely. Self-delusion? Even more likely. Amnesia? Absolutely necessary. A collective and selective amnesia, for without it how could the illusion be maintained? Continue reading
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Gearing up for war on the world’s poor By William Bowles
The UK government has just issued a White Paper on the reorganisation of the armed forces. It advocates a complete transformation of British military power in what can best be described as a mini ‘Project for the New American Century’. Geoff Hoon, the Minister of Defence has made it quite clear that the UK will… Continue reading
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Reverting to Type By William Bowles
Fisk’s headline is “This dictator will continue to haunt Iraq”. But it should have read “In spite of Saddam’s capture, the occupation will continue to haunt Iraq”. By making Saddam the focus of his ‘humanity’ Fisk reveals the hypocrisy of the liberal mindset, that finds it convenient to focus on the individual rather than on… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 