Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected brains behind the American Embassy bombings in Africa, the 911 attack, the USS Cole bombing and, perhaps his worst accusation, co-author of The Macarena, was picked up yesterday near Islamabad, Pakistan by some dudes you don’t ask about.
He’s going to be taken to a third country for interrogation regarding his role in all this nasty stuff, as they don’t want his ass anywhere near the US and I can’t blame the US for that. Assume that the interrogation will not be filled with the polite banter reminiscent of a Noel Coward play. What will they learn is the real question?
Asking “Why do you hate America so much?” is perhaps the first question. The answer is simple, America is successful. America has money, food, freedom, houses, cars, movie stars, an open political system, (more or less), health care that often works, cable TV, mass transit and aerosol cheese. Americans don’t have to eat bugs as part of a complete daily diet. They live in comparative luxury to 9/10ths of the rest of the planet with more things that most countries have names for.
Americans have the right to be grumpy about petty annoyances, to vote, to bitch about paying taxes, DVD players, cell phones and Nintendo Game Cubes. To quote P.J. O’Rourke: “I’d rather be a crack junkie in New York City that the King, Queen and Jack of all your little pissant countries put together”. And P.J. is right, despite my urgings to disagree.
Other people don’t like America because their own existence is so gut-wrenchingly squalid in comparison to even the most modest of Americans, it is only natural that there is envy and hate of such a level that it puts a back-spin on a personality right down to the DNA. Even if every American were to give up all their worldly possessions, give them to the impoverished rest of the world and go back to grazing on grass, the 9/10ths would still be pissed at America for having been successful at one time. If that logic defies your understanding, then remember that they can always quote some scripture also condemning America for something else.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed represents those who will never forget or forgive and has the convenient mental construct of “It’s a Holy War” as his moral authority. Just as dangerous as an Eric Rudolph who believes that killing doctors who perform abortions is justified by scripture. Which perplexes me greatly: You have killed, therefore I must kill you, God Said So. That is no more and no less than a great leap of interpretation that conveniences violence in both the Khalid and Rudolph contexts.
In the end, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will tell the interrogators nothing of value. The danger is the past. KSM will become a martyr, kidnapped by the Evil Americans, therefore those of you who are chosen must now become martyrs yourself to avenge…blah blah blah… You can recite the madness as well as I can.
If it were my country, America, I’d have that Homeland Security colour code pinned at Red right now. Jack that puppy up to 11 ’cause sure as people can do mental dances to justify all kinds of sick, violent and angry acts, there are folks strapping blocks of C-4 inside their coats waiting for the chance to meet their particular God, up close and personal by killing as many innocent people as possible.
Heads up folks. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is a fuse that you can’t put out, you can’t disconnect and it’s now lit.
RoadDave 