Printed on Sept 17, 2008 in the Register Guard:

By Anthony Biglan and Dennis Embry

Prevailing views about the “war” on terror are contrary to scientific understanding of human behavior. Human beings who are traumatized by attack become highly motivated to counterattack. Yet U.S. leaders pursue a strategy that pays little attention to these effects. As the bumper sticker says: “We are making terrorists faster than we can kill them.”

Trauma perturbs the brain’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. People exposed to stress become hyper-vigilant and prone to attack perceived threats. These reactions occur whether the stress results from a legitimate effort to fight terrorism or from a terrorist attack. They are the result of natural selection; those who are quick to counterattack were a bit more likely to survive in a dangerous world. It didn’t matter if some counterattacks were misplaced, so long as counterattacking generally contributed to survival.
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I suspect that there will be a lot of back slapping in DC about the convictions in the London airline bomber case today. However, the acquittal of one of the members and the hung jury on four more should give us pause. Why? Because the White House’s decision to pull the trigger early on this case, despite the fact that it was a British intelligence case and all the members were under constant surveillance, led directly to the inconclusive verdicts. MI5 had the matter well in hand and was waiting to develop more information about additional conspirators before rounding up the London bunch. However, as well documented in Ron Suskind’s recent book, the Bush administration’s desire to get good press before the 2006 election caused the British to have to act before they wished, jeopardizing the case and our longstanding relationship with British intelligence agencies.

In short, this isn’t a triumph for the US. It’s an example of how this administration will risk lives for good press.

…the Casual Destruction of a Small Democratic State by a Despotic Major World Power

Taking a brief recess from the ballot measures, I thought I’d throw some rocks out there in the idyllic summer pond of our thoughts. Unless you’ve been living under said rock, you know that the Russian military cruised into the Caucasus nation of Georgia last week and polished off the US-supplied Georgian military like a postprandial shot of vodka. Most Americans gave it the same attention they gave the Olympic archery competition. It’s tempting to listen to the isolationists lulling us to sleep with the “it’s a centuries-old conflict between parties you should care nothing about” routine, just as they did for Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and Darfur. In fact, the invasion has a lot to do with geography, history, and the role of the US in the modern world.

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Can the current administration of the United States disapprove of Russia for declaring “regime change” in Georgia? Russia is using disputed territory as the official reason of regime change in Georgia — but instead of fighting in that territory, they have moved into Georgia.

Georgia had more troops in Iraq than any other country except the United States and England. Will the European nations still vote to allow Georgia into NATO if somehow Georgia manages to remain autonomous?

Tune in next time to “Moral Authority Lost”…

Say what you will about his message, but there is no one, I repeat no one, that can move the crowd with a combination of hand gestures and trochaic tetrameter like Jefferson Smith!

Jefferson Smith of the Oregon Bus Project speaks at Sow Seeds of Peace Rally in Eugene, OR 3/16/08, co-sponsored by Community Alliance of Lane County.

Also Jefferson Smith Related! Check this out…Jefferson drops out of race while running un-opposed!

This Sunday marks the 5th Anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. I can remember this and how clearly it angered me in 2 different ways. 1) Going to war in Iraq, incredibly stupid and done on false pretenses. 2) I was trying to watch March Madness and they kept breaking into the games with coverage of us dropping bombs!

Please come down this Sunday to the Parade, Rally and Vigil sponsored by Eugene PeaceWorks and the Take Back America Coalition…

Some highlights include…Emily McClain, Jefferson Smith and Samba Ja!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS!

Sign the petition while you are there!

I am at a complete loss for an interesting local story to blog about, other than “Local Bus Project Volunteer Loses ‘Eugene’s Most Eligible’ Contest” (but notice I did wear my Bus button on stage!)

Instead I wanted to share a documentary recommended by a friend.  Since 9/11 it has been pretty easy to watch as the government has used fear based tactics to influence the will of the people.  Before seeing this, I had no idea how long and to what lengths this has gone on for decades. 

Take a look at http://thepowerofnightmares.com/. It is a fascinating history lesson about the rise of Islam, Neo-conservatism and the common threads to both.  If you have a spare 180 minutes and find this to be an interesting topic, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  It gives a great outside perspective from the BBC that you wouldn’t be able to get from the U.S. media.  How would they ever find time to air it when they have to keep tabs on what Britney is up to!?

Where the majority rules, the country was fooled the first time. Though many of us were against any preemptive war from the beginning, our country chose differently. We are nearing a similar juncture, part Iraq, part Vietnam. When you can’t get a green flag for war, do two things: (1) get permission to attack if they attack us at any level (2) make it as likely as possible for some attack to occur.

This is the same thing i wrote about five months ago in august. And it referenced that step one was already basically complete.

Step 2 got a little further in the last few days. Iran boats ‘harass’ US Navy. If they had done anything whether sanctioned or not, that likely would have triggered a counterattack, and the start of the Iran war. If we had attacked out of uncertainty, that likely would have triggered the start of the Iran war. With step 1, we already have the permission because the iran revolutionary guard is a terrorist organization.

Lastly Bush talked about the incident today more like a game of chicken than our United States delicate foreign policy.

Bush called the incident “a very dangerous gesture” by Iran and warned the Islamic republic against any escalation.
“We have made it very clear, and they know our position, and that is: There will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple.” “My advice to them is: Don’t do it.”

As i wrote about in August, the drumbeat to Iran looks very familiar. And it isn’t just fox news, but CNN is trying to prove it can keep up. What happens when they try to keep up and embarrassing news comes out? Discount that news:

‘Iran: Fact & Fiction’ An intelligence bombshell about Iran and nuclear weapons. But is the intelligence correct? Sat & Sun, 7 & 11 p.m. ET

Oh and here’s part of why CNN would be embarrassed that they were following the pied piper…again:
CNN Forced To Scrap Doc “We Were Warned — Iran Goes Nuclear”