Who Hates Freedom?

                Who is it that truly hates our freedoms? The Islamic terrorists? Or is it somebody much more close to home? Al Qaeda has very specific stated goals, not one of which is the destruction of freedom in the US. In fact every goal stated in bin Laden's 1998 fatwa has to do with the Middle East: driving out American influence in Muslim nations, toppling of pro-Western dictatorships, and the destruction of Israel. Getting rid of American influence in a land far away from US borders is hardly a goal of getting rid of any freedom of the American people. And yet I seem to hear this 'hate our freedoms' bullshit more than I hear substantive about terrorism.

                But, after 9/11 we have seen a decline in freedom. Whether it be invasive pat downs or scanners, warrantless widespread wiretapping of phones and monitoring of internet use, or even the extrajudicial murder of citizens. But it has not been the terrorist group that has done this to the American people, but the leaders elected into office. The things the state has gotten away with using terrorism as a scare tactic has done more damage to the world than al Qaeda could ever hope to do.

                But the state is no stranger to these tactics. It merely changes boogeymen. When the USSR was the boogeyman, COINTELPRO reigned. After Pearl Harbor over 100,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese were put into internment camps. The US had made a hobby of overthrowing anyone who is not friendly enough to US interests and replacing them with puppet dictators all over the world.

                Al Qaeda is certainly a terrible organization, but we must give the US its due.