Michel Chossudovsky: The Crimes of War "In the Name of 911"

The tragic events of September 11, 2001 constitute a fundamental landmark in American history, a decisive watershed, a breaking point. Millions of people have been misled regarding the causes and consequences of 9/11. September 11 2001 opens up an era of crisis, upheaval and militarization of American society. The post September 11, 2001 opens up an era of crisis, upheaval and militarization of American society. The post September 11, 2001 era is marked by the outright criminalization of the US State, including its judicial foreign policy, national security and intelligence apparatus. 9/11 marks the onslaught of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), used as a pretext and a justification by the US and its NATO allies to carry out a war without borders, a global war of conquest. A far reaching overhaul of US military doctrine was launched in the wake of 9/11. 9/11 was also a stepping stone towards the relentless repeal of civil liberties, the militarization of law enforcement, and the inauguration of Police State USA. In assessing the crimes associated with 9/11 in the context of a legal procedure, we must distinguish between those associated with the actual event, namely the loss of life and the destruction of property, from the crimes committed in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 "in the name of 9/11". The latter build upon the former. We are dealing with two related dimensions of criminality. The crimes committed in the name of 9/11, involving acts of war are far reaching, resulting in the deaths of millions of people as well as the destruction of entire countries. The 9/11 event in itself, which becomes symbolic, is used to justify the onslaught of the post 9/11 US NATO military agenda, under the banner of the "Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT), not to mention the ushering in of the Homeland police state and the repeal of civil liberties. The crimes committed in the name of 9/11 broadly consist in two intimately related processes: 1. The launching of the "Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT), used as a pretext and a justification to Wage a War of Conquest. This GWOT mandate was used to justify the 2001 and 2003 invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The GWOT mandate has since extended its grip to a large number of countries in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where the US and its NATO allies are intervening selectively under a counter-terrorism mandate.