Chris Hedges on Terrorist Attacks in Brussels: ‘Our Violence Is What Created These Groups’ (Video)
Political demands for stronger surveillance of American Muslims consider only the violent displays of terrorism, not the cause, the Truthdig columnist says. "The cause is the U.S. military occupation of the Middle East."Chris Hedges spoke with Jessica Desvarieux, correspondent for The Real News, following Tuesday’s bombings in Belgium. Hedges, analyzing the forces behind the attacks, detailed how underlying racism throughout Europe can push people from immigrant communities to take up terrorist causes.
The Truthdig columnist examined how some American politicians have responded to the attacks by calling for stronger surveillance of American Muslim communities. “[T]hey’re dealing with the symptom, not the cause,” he said. “The cause is the U.S. military occupation of the Middle East.”
Watch the full interview below.
— Posted by Emma Niles
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The killings in Brussels or Paris and the killings in U.S. military strikes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or Libya perpetuate the same dark lusts. The savage tit-for-tat game will not end until we rouse ourselves from our hypnotized state.
Recoiling from last week's carnage in Brussels, Americans may be attracted to the "tough" posturing of Trump and Cruz. Yet we know that the leaders of Islamic State welcome such signs of panic.
Sudden, horrific events in the middle of a presidential campaign provide an X-ray of the instincts and thinking of the candidates. We can see what their priorities are, and pick up clues about their character.
The various nostrums proposed by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to counter Islamic State terrorism in Europe and North America (armed police patrols of putative “Muslim neighborhoods,” a Muslim exclusion act, etc.) are of course complete nonstarters.
The right wing is carping that President Obama is “downplaying” the dangers of Islamic State in the wake of the Paris and Brussels attacks on soft targets. But whipping up hysteria about the threat of terrorism is a racket that mainly benefits security firms and arms manufacturers.
"Slogans aren’t a strategy," the Democratic front-runner said in a speech at Stanford University. "Loose cannons tend to misfire."