Genius and evil

I watched a late-night political discussion show on BBC1 last Thursday, and obviously it was dominated by the US-Iraq insanity. All the usual, depressing, blah, blah, blah. Then suddenly up popped Terry Jones — ex-Monty Python — with a brilliant and hilarious short film about his neighbours. I’ve just found that a transcript is also available at the Observer — do go and read it, it’s very funny, and hits the nail right on the head. Here’s a little taster:

For some time now I’ve been really pissed off with Mr Johnson, who lives a couple of doors down the street. Well, him and Mr Patel, who runs the health food shop. They both give me queer looks, and I’m sure Mr Johnson is planning something nasty for me, but so far I haven’t been able to discover what. I’ve been round to his place a few times to see what he’s up to, but he’s got everything well hidden. That’s how devious he is.

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Some of my neighbours say, if I’ve got proof, why don’t I go to the police? But that’s simply ridiculous. The police will say that they need evidence of a crime with which to charge my neighbours.

They’ll come up with endless red tape and quibbling about the rights and wrongs of a pre-emptive strike and all the while Mr Johnson will be finalising his plans to do terrible things to me, while Mr Patel will be secretly murdering people. Since I’m the only one in the street with a decent range of automatic firearms, I reckon it’s up to me to keep the peace. But until recently that’s been a little difficult. Now, however, George W. Bush has made it clear that all I need to do is run out of patience, and then I can wade in and do whatever I want!

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That’s why I want to blow up Mr Johnson’s garage and kill his wife and children. Strike first! That’ll teach him a lesson. Then he’ll leave us in peace and stop peering at me in that totally unacceptable way.

Terry Jones was interviewed on the TV programme, and took the opportunity to talk about the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which elevated him to all-round hero (from comedy genius) in my book. I only discovered the PNAC about a month ago, and I think this was the first time I’ve heard mention of them in the mainstream media. I don’t know why that is though — every person in the Western world would know all about them if the media was doing its job — as they are an incredibly important, influential and scary organisation. There’s some basic background information on the PNAC here.

A John Pilger piece on Richard Perle and the PNAC is also essential reading for anyone wanting to understand what this war is about:

Perle is one of the founders of the Project for the New American Century, the PNAC. Other founders include Dick Cheney, now vice-president, Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defence secretary, I Lewis Libby, Cheney’s chief of staff, William J Bennett, Reagan’s education secretary, and Zalmay Khalilzad, Bush’s ambassador to Afghanistan. These are the modern chartists of American terrorism. The PNAC’s seminal report, Rebuilding America’s Defences: strategy, forces and resources for a new century, was a blueprint of American aims in all but name. Two years ago it recommended an increase in arms-spending by $48bn so that Washington could “fight and win multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars”. This has happened. It said the United States should develop “bunker-buster” nuclear weapons and make “star wars” a national priority. This is happening. It said that, in the event of Bush taking power, Iraq should be a target. And so it is.

As for Iraq’s alleged “weapons of mass destruction”, these were dismissed, in so many words, as a convenient excuse, which it is. “While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification,” it says, “the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”

Let’s just repeat that last bit from the PNAC’s report, written by the people now driving US policy:

While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Terry Jones’ has also written about the PNAC in an article on Blair (“It’s not easy when you find out that your friends have been using you as a chump”) in the Observer:

[The PNAC's aim] is “to shape a new century favourable to American principles and interests”. And they make it quite clear [in a report released in 2000] that they envisage achieving those aims not by diplomacy but through military might.

At the time they knew there was little hope of the American public buying into such imperialistic dreams. What was needed they said in their pre Sept 11th report was: “some catastrophic and catalyzing event like a new Pearl Harbour.” Well the dreams came true.

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Tony Blair has merely been helping to give Mr. Bush’s barbaric planners for World domination credibility amongst the American public.

The only conceivable hope of stopping their militaristic global ambitions is for the rest of the world to oppose them. There might then be some hope that the American public would wake up to what sort of a government they currently have. The reawakening of American democracy is the only hope for a future world that is not ridden by terrorism and global warfare.

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