Americans are literally up in arms about terrorism these days, with more than a little reason. However, that does not excuse American complicity in creating the worldwide terrorist movement. It also highlights the ignorance of average Americans who have the time and the means to become well informed yet choose to spend that time on trivial pursuits like television. I know more about that than most since I was fighting terrorists at one time, terrorists who were backed by America and Britain. Most Americans are and were blissfully unaware of what their leaders have been doing. Perhaps this will help enlighten some of us, at least.
A charming creature from Zimbabwe has done me the favor of characterizing the terrorists against whom I warred so enthusiastically by writing to me. Since most Americans followed the government / media party line and supported these murderous wretches, this fine fellow has saved me a lot of words by explaining himself in public, for all to see. I haven't edited his language or spelling – it is marginally worse than one expects from American public schools, which is a very unkind thing to say. It could have been as easily written by a KLA "fighter" or any one of dozens of other terrorist organizations but this contained some specifics directed at me personally.
Here America, is what those you supported so strongly, and so wrongly, think of you and me. We'll start with his words to me personally:
"PITY HITLER HUNZVI DID NOT GET YOUR PITTYFULL WHITE AAS RHODESIAN HA HA"
The Hunzvi person he mentions was the leader of the so called "War Veterans" in Zimbabwe who are taking over the white farmers property, murdering, looting, and plunging their country into chaos and starvation. Hunzvi, it should be added, is now dead, and unlamented. Very few of these of "war veterans" are old enough to have actually fought in the war. Those who did directed most of their efforts into torturing and murdering black civilians. I could tell you what I saw there but I won't – suffice to say I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that these "freedom fighters" redefined horror in their treatment of tribal villagers. My correspondent apparently considers Hunzvi to be a hero. Quite a heroic character indeed, to take the name "Hitler," but it certainly showed whom he wished to live up to.
Now our correspondent changes his tune a bit to remind us all how well loved we are by such as he:
"it took 10 arabs to f**k 30,000 whitees lets see you hollywood bravodo jion the bush reservist and troop of to afghan terror/they have seen off many of your forefathers the bush is burning ha ha ha"
How much foreign aid have Americans sent to Zimbabwe since the defeat of the civilized people there? How much money have Christians sent them, even during the war, through liberal church organizations like the World Council of Churches? I myself blew up a bunker full of supplies that silly, ill-informed Christians had sent those murderers. Can you say, "gratitude"? Do we as citizens not have a duty, yes a duty, to inform ourselves on issues and hold our government accountable? You wouldn't think so.
Being a mental lightweight, he failed to notice that it wasn't just "whitees" who were slaughtered in New York last week.
He is really enjoying this now:
"dreaming of all those body bags mate go to bed more terror coming you way /bring on those tranquilisers and teqiella/ sun will rise up mate/ its not you weapons of war but our weapons of the womb/ fast forward 2025 brown population ha ha "
Yes, there is something awfully funny about thousands of civilians blown to pieces. His prediction may even be true – it is certain we who have inherited the traditions of two thousand years of Western Civilization have no sense of self preservation. We are throwing our freedom at the feet of government lackeys and mocking our own culture as if it were somehow inferior to that of others, although the opposite is obviously true. My correspondent, being ignorant, misses a very harsh fact of life: if we go down – Africa starves. Not a guess, not a prediction, just a cold hard fact.
Part of me, the dark side, is tempted to say, "starve Zimbabwe, and be damned." But I can't. I have friends there, black African friends. Men I served with in the African Rifles – musicians I met in the after hours clubs in Salisbury. Folks in the Tribal Trustlands. People like the kid I read about in a Christian magazine whose father had given him his pension money to come to America and attend seminary. I tracked down the boy's email address and wrote to him. I told him that I was glad I'd never encountered his father in battle and wished him well. I didn't say this, but had I encountered his father in battle, he would not be attending seminary school either here or anywhere else. You see, we were most appallingly good at what we did and few of them survived such an encounter. Imagine my surprise when the boy replied and told me his father had been my comrade, and served in the RAR, my old regiment! No, I do not want Zimbabwe to starve.
Lest anyone think I'm merely an old soldier telling war stories, here is what the US Marine Corps had to say about us. Read all four chapters for a fairly accurate telling of the story and a very good analysis of our operations.
So what does the world think of Americans? Is it all like this barely literate and hateful person I've quoted above?
We have seen Egyptians dancing in the street and chanting "bulls eye," Palestinians cheering the news broadcasts; all over the world people are rejoicing at our agony. Even in America – a friend informs me that Middle Eastern types were cheering lustily at a strip mall in Detroit when the news of our neighbors' deaths came over the airways. We need to think real carefully about that. Most Americans have this Pollyanna view of stupid foreigners who just don't understand that we are trying to help them. Apache helicopters in Israel, starving children in Iraq, and murdered Christian civilians in Serbia somehow don't register in our national consciousness. We have, in our arrogance, failed to consider the consequences of our actions. We have routinely interfered in conflicts that do not concern us and are now astonished to find ourselves participants in the horror of those conflicts.
We have allowed media and government to dictate our opinions to us.
Tonight I wrote to a friend in the Marine Corps who is preparing for what comes next. The Marines are our one fighting force that has retained some standards. If it comes to ground war in some God forsaken place like Afghanistan, he knows as well as I do that it will be Korea all over again – where a few elite troops must die buying time while we rebuild a feminized military. My advice to him was that of one soldier to another, "Stay alive if you can with honor, we need thoughtful soldiers." For he knows the things that we know – that the Empire has created a world in arms and that this was avoidable. But he also knows that if we don't stop these people, they will kill again. How terrible to be a soldier at a time like this. How much worse it must be, to be an adult rather than some gung ho kid, with an awareness of the reality of this, and the foolishness of our leaders, and to have to put your men into combat knowing these things. Don't we owe our soldiers the dignity of a cause that matters?
Which is not to say we should not fight against these people who murdered our neighbors. But if we don't change our policies and abandon this hellish dream of empire, it is all too obvious that it will go on and on. I'm waiting sadly to see if our masters will reconsider their policy of supporting Islamic terrorists in the Balkans. I wish I could say I'm optimistic. I wonder what our soldiers there think now?
Memory lane can be a cold dark alley, but not always. Let me share another communication with you from a different kind of man – a comrade of mine from the war who is now a railroad engineer in Canada. He called me to express his horror and concern for me and for all of us. During his run today, the train was ordered to stop at five minutes to twelve. All on board faced towards America and shared a moment of reflection and prayer for us. We have friends in this world.
We have blundered around the jungle that is this planet, like a near-sighted bull elephant, killing and maiming, helping and harming, waving our dollars and our weapons, and alienating many. Despite all that, we still have friends. Somehow that matters to me. It matters a great deal.
September 17, 2001
