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SEPTEMBER 11 ANNIVERSARY: Reality Check ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE ARRIVES On the morning of September 11, 2001, a handful of terrorists flew 4 airliners through the world's most heavily defended territory over a period of two hours. They plunged them into symbolic targets in New York City and Washington D.C. killing 4,000 civilians. The resulting embarrassment and anger led to a Presidential pledge to "hunt down" former CIA asset, Osama Bin Laden and destroy the Al Qaeda network. US planes dropped 20,000 tons of bombs on Afghanistan killing 4,000 civilians. Allied troops invaded. Bin Laden has still not been found and Al Qaeda is still active, having regrouped in the surrounding countries. Afghanistan is still volatile and littered with thousands of landmines. Which may explain why the US has lost almost all its allies for the next phase in its war - the invasion of Iraq. JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME One year after September 11 there is one group who may be feeling more pain than those who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center - US Servicemen returning from "Operation Enduring Freedom" to find their country sliding towards a constitutional dictatorship. Their countrymen are still living in fear of domestic and international terror attacks, their missiles are being financed by their parents taxes and their neighbours are being drafted as secret government informants. Meanwhile, Bin Laden is still at large and 8 months of carpet bombing has achieved little. It's enough to inspire a whole battalion of Timothy McVeigh's. (The angry Gulf War veteran) In July, three elite soldiers returning from Afganistan all murdered their wives at a military base in North Carolina. MORE OF THE SAME The American people asked "Why do they hate us?". It is not the American people but their Government that the terrorists hate. Specifically, their Middle East foreign policy especially their alliances with Saudi Arabia and Israel. Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are creations of the CIA along with Noriega, Pinochet and Idi Amin. One wonders how many more terrorists and tyrants will be spawned before the "War on Terror" is over.   "From 1945 to the end of the century, the United States attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements." - William Blum

Predictions 2002 Predictions for 2002 published in January. Major trends in world events 2002 Instability in Asia Instability will increase because of foreign military presence. There will be ongoing tension as Russia and US fight over who will dominate in Central Asia as all the world's largest countries have a vested interest in movement of arms and oil . Watch for: - Guerilla warfare in and around Afganistan - Kidnappings and Assassinations - Red Cross statements about the humanitarian crisis - Foreign Policy Statements by China - Escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan Israel and the US will lose international support The United States has been voted off the UN Human Rights commission, where it will lose it's influence against China, and the Arab nations. Its long term War Against Terror will lose the support of Europe and the Arab nations. Its foreign policy agenda will guarantee a long term supply of anti-US terrorist activity at home and abroad. Israel will be isolated by Europe. Watch for: - Amnesty International Reports against US allies - Difference in news coverage by CNN and BBC - Europe's stance on US military activity in Middle East - Escalating bloodshed in Israel - International criticism of Israel - European press reports about Afghanistan Liberty will decline in the U.S. The incidence of domestic terrorism will drive the White House to allow almost dictatorial control by the President and decrease freedom of average citizens. This will split the country between those who want to protect liberty and those who want to curb it. Instability will increase. A new brand of McCarthyism will follow. Watch for: - New laws affecting data, travel and privacy - Crimes aimed against Goverment - Reports by Amnesty International - Judicial abuses - Legitimization of torture - Unexplained Air Tragedies