More than a year prior to the September 11 attacks, we here at The Future of Freedom Foundation predicted that the U.S. government’s interventionist foreign policy would ultimately produce terrorism on American soil:
“Terrorism — or War,” by Jacob G. Hornberger
“Breeding Terrorism,” by Sheldon Richman
Here are my five predictions prior to the upcoming U.S. invasion of Iraq:
First, the U.S. government’s invasion of Iraq will produce more terrorist attacks against Americans, including some attacks here in the United States. (Yes, I know, this is a safe prediction, especially given that the CIA has said the same thing.)
Second, the U.S. government will claim that the post-Saddam terrorist attacks have nothing to do with the U.S. government’s invasion of Iraq and the resulting deaths of thousands of Iraqi people but instead are due to the hatred Middle-Easterners have for America’s “freedom and values.” (Question: Why is it “war” when our government conducts an unprovoked attack on another nation but “terrorism” when that nation strikes back?)
Third, post-Saddam terrorist attacks on American soil will produce calls for Congress to “temporarily” and patriotically surrender fundamental rights and liberties of the American people until terrorism is finally halted, once and for all, much like what happened in Nazi Germany, when the German Reichstag in 1933 (long before World War II) democratically gave Adolf Hitler temporary emergency powers in the midst of Germany’s economic crisis (the Great Depression), war on terrorism (terrorists had just bombed the Reichstag), and Soviet communist threat (pre-Cold War).
Fourth, federal spending on the U.S. military-industrial complex will continue to soar indefinitely into the future.
Fifth, the federal government’s “war on terrorism” will continue indefinitely in an attempt to bring a final halt to terrorism, which will entail a continuation of an interventionist foreign policy of supporting and bribing brutal dictators (i.e., foreign aid), bombings and blockades against recalcitrant dictators, and military invasions to achieve more “regime changes.”
Sixth, the entire process will continue indefinitely — perpetual war on terrorism and freedom in the quest for everlasting peace and security, until the American people finally restore the principles of liberty, free markets, and republic that the Framers of the Constitution intended for us.