Achin Vanaik is an independent Indian scholar and journalist and Professor of International Relations and Global Politics at Delhi University. He was speaking at the Independent and Radical Bookfair in Edinburgh on Friday, 13th of October 2006, about Political Terrorism and the US Imperial Project.
Here are two audio recordings of his talk, which is about 30 minutes, and some notes on the talk.
circa 30 min talk on Global War on Terror and its meaning - application/ogg 10M
Achin Vanaik, mp3, audio of talk at Edinburgh Bookfair, ca. 30 min - mp3 5.6M
Political Terrorism and the US Imperial Project
Achin Vanaik:
after 9/11 : statement of the US
- global war on terrorism
- doesn't distinguish between countries which host and perpetrators -> worldwide imperialismli
- takes decades 8-10 years
Definition of international political terrorism:
concepts of intimidation and violence
Understanding of terrorism:
- criteria:
- ancient/modern phenomena ?- historical form?
- acts/regimes/campaigns/tactics/strategy
- neutral definition?
- morality? 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler as positive example?
- broad/narrow definition of violence? - policy of poverty?
- objective/subjective definition?
- philosophical: only acts which knowingly kill civilians? also acts which consequential kill civilians? (US foreign policies?)
- Acts: threats and carrying out
- by state terrorism and individual groups
differences:
- framework for understanding
- non-state terrorism
- 2-ways-directional (opponents and supporters)
- “propaghanda of the deed”: symbolic aspects of non-state terrorism
- local
- arbitrary/random character
- one directional
- blatantly open organisation: morally de-sensualised population
- question of scare and scale: very huge in contrast to non-state terrorism e.g. US killed people in numbers of millions
- grandios character of the “end” of state terrorism: “in the name of fighting communism” / ”in the name of democracy”
- state-terrorism is not that random
- usually takes place away from home population
State terrorism is our biggest problem today.
Ideology - can be opposed
Global War on Terrorism
- militarise the solution to the problem
- violence promoted in order to oppose violence terrorism is used to oppose terrorism
more aggressive than state terrorism during cold war
- Discourses:
- War on Terror
- WMD
- Humanitarian Internvention
- Democracy -> regime change
- Failed States
- War on Drugs
- domestic population
- Middle East
- government and elites in other countries
-> to understand the impact
-> discourse: messianic and paranoiac
- Advantages:
- duration: long times
- geographical scope
- addresses failed problems within US public
- vasted interests justified and further followed up
- neoliberal
- WMD – nuclear terrorism
- demonisation of Islam and Muslims
-> religion got connected with terrorism
=> historic: stronger resistance against imperialism, historical consistency against imperialism
West Asia and Central Asia
What do we do?
1.Fighting Empire:
-> politically defeat it
=> contest of wills
Progressive Politcs: initiating that will to resist!
2. universal
- morally
- politically (terrorism of the strang)
- emotionally (universalist)
“Never again …to my people.”
long-term struggle, adjust political context, push for international and national laws
UN court tribunal:
- US, Israel, China, India not members
Comments
Hide the following 2 comments
Listened- was sickened- the reasons why
17.10.2006 22:57
Remember the tactic. The State agent, when addressing a 'liberal' audience, ensures a surface message in tune with the expectations of the audience. Israel can SAFELY be bashed, since the audience is already against the warcrimes of Israel. State terrorism can be referred to, since the audience already gets off on that kind of thing.
HOWEVER, THE POINT IS ***NOT*** THE SURFACE MESSAGE, BUT THE ***REAL*** MESSAGE THAT LIES BENEATH.
When Darren Brown (Channel 4's psychological 'magician') talks with his subjects, all they hear is the surface message. HOWEVER, TIME AFTER TIME HE ***PROVES*** THAT SUBCONSCIOUSLY, THEY ACTUALLY RESPOND TO THE BURIED CONTROL PHRASES WITHIN HIS SPEECH.
While appearing to attack the US NeoCons (note, he NEVER uses that term), he actually DEMANDS that the audience accept their conspiracy fairytale about the circumstances of 911. Let me repeat that. Achin Vanaik DEMANDS that you accept as the absolute truth the story told about 911 BY THE SELF SAME PEOPLE THAT LIED ABOUT ***EVERY*** DETAIL OF IRAQ IN ORDER TO ENABLE THE GENOCIDAL DESTRUCTION OF THAT NATION. Achin Vanaik demands you believe the self-same people currently engaged in holocaust denial over the 500,000+ people exterminated as a consequence of the invasion.
Achin Vanaik describes 'state terrorism' as "don't mess with us" and "your struggle is futile". What a sunshine and lollipop lie to describe what in reality is usually a program of genocide against a people defined by the media of the attacking state as "sub-human". Look at what the nazis did. Look at what the WW2 japanese did. Look at everything the US has done. I guess when those US soldiers were raping that little girl in Iraq (described for as long as possible by the zionist controlled western media as the rape of a women), and then burning her and her family, all they were really doing is saying "your struggle is futile".
Notice how Achin Vanaik refuses to link the demonisation of muslims with the "final solution". I guess this "scholar" somehow managed to totallly forget the purpose of nazis demonising jews during WW2.
INDIA IS A FULL BLOWN MILITARY AND POLITICAL PARTNER OF ISRAEL. THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT ALLOWS ONLY PEOPLE IT APPROVES OF HAVING SENIOR POSITIONS IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES.
Any senior member of Dehli University will be pushing an agenda that helps Blair and Israel. FACT.
AGAIN, this agent of Blair and Israel directly equated 911 (the official story) with the WW2 holocaust. I half expected him then to then pull off his mask and say "suprise, I'm really Noam Chomsky".
"IN THE FACE OF THE HOLOCAUST AND IN THE FACE OF 911"- LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN TO THE ***REAL*** MESSAGE.
When people tell you what you already believe, there is every chance (since they are informing you of NOTHING that you don't already hold true) that they are buttering you up. It is a tactic as old as politics and salemanship. Ignore that part of what they are saying. LOOK INSIDE THE CONTAINER INSTEAD. What are the embedded control messages. What are the assumptions being pushed (or 'forced' to use the magicians term) on you.
"IN THE FACE OF THE HOLOCAUST AND IN THE FACE OF 911"
Even Blair would not dared to have used this phrase.
"IN THE FACE OF THE HOLOCAUST AND IN THE FACE OF 911"
Even Bush would not have dared to use this phrase.
"IN THE FACE OF THE HOLOCAUST AND IN THE FACE OF 911"
Even Israel would not have dared use this phrase.
But take an audience of liberal dribblers, and suddenly ANYTHING becomes possible.
NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THE 911 TRUTH MOVEMENT IS NEAR DAILY ATTACKED ON THIS SITE AND OTHERS LIKE IT. The 911 false flag is central to Blair's ability to carry out genocide, and rally the mass media into acts of full blown holocaust denial.
This article was promoted so that as many people as possible would be exposed to this act of psychological warfare.
Please, please, please read up on the use of psychology when manipulating an audience. The methods are actually easily understood, but when practiced by a master ( like at a 'channeling of the dead' gathering for those stupid enough to believe in spiritualism) can seem nothing short of magic. The key is the subconscious, and the intellectual arrogance of Humans that are convinced that THEY are too bright to be manipulated or fooled. Arrogance, the common substitute for true intelligence, makes the mind rigid, the ideal state for controlling. The speaker will work to put you at your ease, and build empathy with you. You will be flattered by when the speaker appears to say "you are clever, because *I* agree with what you think. As your barriers fall, the true manipulation begins.
Apart from pushing a badly disguised pro-Blair agenda, this speaker was as poor as most from that nation. Not a racist statement, but recognition that conformity and absolute respect for authority is pounded into the heads of most of those that persue education in Indian. Ex-colonial lands suffer from the aftermath of colonial rule for generations, and during that period, the 'brightest and best' are expected to emulate a curious distorted memory of how their 'white masters' used to operate. India should long ago have become what China is today (in terms of economic and scientific progress). Instead, India is a joke compared to what its potential could have unleashed.
twilight
twilight is a troll
18.10.2006 15:48
I do think the above statement of Twilight reveals the problem he has with reality, but he projects his own wishes on the author's statement, which reveals an astonishing isolated detachment of his level of judgment.
ab