1/05 Beat Freak – The History of World War 3

 

Check this; it’s like the chronicles of gu-bi or something. Read one way. Read another, it’s like a four-act narrative. So far, that is. And the next act is already writing itself. We only seem to deem the past “history”, but history is as much now as anywhere else. It is quite literally revealing itself before our eyes. For example, coming up in the next act we have the British General Election, which may sneak up on us quicker than expected. I smell the season of the witch, for sure. Labour has even released their first posters. F***** 60’s pastiches. What’s that about? Oh and Brown and Blair seemed to b really on one at the moment with each other. Serious cobs on. So, for those who have eyes to see, history, show us your story…….

 

Stage 1:            Nov 2000                    Bush beats Gore by a hairs breadth of a nadger.

                                                            Half the electorate don’t vote (49.3% turnout).

The largest anti-globalisation rally so far takes place in Prague at the IMF Conference. An estimated 40,000 turn up over three days.

                        June 2001                    Blair re-elected with lowest turnout in 80 years.

                        July 2001                     The biggest Anti-Globalisation rally so far takes place at the G8 conference in Genoa. An estimated 150,000 turn up over

                                                            four days.

                        September 2001           911

 

Stage 2:           September 2001           The day after 911. On the 23rd of the month, Bush gets a 90% approval rate in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, the highest

                                                            figure ever recorded by a president in US history.

October 2001              (7/10/01) With the support of the UN, the“Coalition against Terror” declares war on the Taliban and invades Afghanistan. More than 100 nations become “Coalition Partners” in some form.

November 2001           The Taliban are crushed at Tora Bora within 6 Weeks. Bush approval rates hovering between 85-90% still.  The Right is triumphant. Only 15,000 people (according to the police/media, a 100,00 according to the organisers) turn up for an anti-war rally in London. Iraq first mooted as a possible target in media reports (Washington Post 3/11/01).

January 2002                Bush declares Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an “axis of evil” in his state of the nation address (29/01/02), evoking the same name used to describe the allied enemies in the Second World War. The US defeated Iraq in 1991, but supported it against Iran in the 80’-88’ war. Before that it watched the US-backed Shar of Iran be overthrown by a fundamentalist Islamic revolution in 1979. It signed a peace treaty with North Korea in 1953, after fighting an horrific 3 year war. These are not new enemies.

February 2003             Between 750,000 and 2 million people demonstrate in London for an anti-war street protest(16/02/03) (figures start from 500,000 from some parts of the Media, to the organiser’s claim of 2 million). This is perhaps the largest ever street protest in history. Worldwide protests take place.

February/March2003   The French enforce their veto (with the tacit support of the Russians), effectively forcing the US and Britain to go it alone in any possible military action against Iraq, without full UN Backing. Only 4 of the 15 members of the Security Council come out in full support for military action.   

 

Stage3:            

March 2003                 (20/3/04) The start of the 2nd Gulf War, as the “Co-alition against terror” declares war on Suddam Hussein and Iraq, essentially invoking the same “harbouring terrorists” protocol first established in the Afghanistan war. Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all part of the coalition in the 1st Gulf War, are absent from the second. Kuwait and Qatar remain loyal. Germany, France and Germany cause split in Nato/EU by refusing to take part. China not happy. Japan wavering. Britain and Australia remain loyal despite strong anti-war feeling within both. On March 22nd, another spate of anti-war demos take place across the world, with up to 10 million worldwide reported in the Media as attending. The police say an estimated 200, 000 people turn up for another anti-war demo in London. The organiser’s say 500, 000.  Numbers once again vary considerably.

April 2003                    Suddam Hussein’s statue is toppled in Baghdad (9/04/03). The Media reports several Bush administration figures saying Syria could be next target. These include Secretary for Defence Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who along with Richard Perle, newly resigned Chairman of the Defence Policy Board (i.e. all Pentagon men) are the most outspoken neo-con/”hawk” members of the Bush admin. These comments directly contradict the conciliatory note struck towards Syria by the “doves” from the State department, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage.

December 2003           Saddam Hussein is captured on the 13th.

June 2004                    A New York Times/CBS News poll put Bush’s approval rates at 42%, the lowest since the start of his presidency. (29/05/04)

September 2004           The Media report up to 500,000 turn up to protest against Bush at the Republican National Convention over 4-5 days.

 

Stage 4:

November 2004           Bush re-elected president by slightly more than a hairs nadger. But only slightly. (274 Electoral College votes to 252 Kerry’s 252. a 52-48% split,) with the highest turnout in an American election since 1960. Bin laden gives first video appearance in a year.

            The Battle of Falluja starts. Powell, the most recognisable “dove” in the government, “resigns”.

December 2004           The world’s attention is diverted from war by a freak giant tidal wave hitting a large part of the south-eastern hemisphere, killing upto 200, 000 people from all over the world. This is approx. 40 times more than the death toll on 911.

January 2004                Bush inaugurated as president. We wait for history to show us why we should care…….