A Major Event By William Rivers Pitt [View All]

[Viva_La_Revolution]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102006A.shtml

A Major Event
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 20 October 2006

A lot of smart people have been saying for several years now that the number one tactic deployed by the GOP during moments of political stress is simple and straightforward: they aim to scare the almighty Hell out of the American people. Trumped up terrorism warnings, plastic sheeting and duct tape, mushroom clouds as proof ... the list is all too long, and varied only in the depths of coldly calculated depravity displayed by those who would sow fear to maintain power.

A new low, it seems, is about to be reached. Staring down the barrel of potentially historic losses in the looming midterm elections, the Republicans have chosen to fall back on their tried and true method: state-sponsored psychological terrorism. In this case, the terrorism came in the form of a commercial released on Thursday that all but guarantees the spilling of oceans of American blood should the Democrats find their way to victory at the polls.

"Five years ago," reported the Boston Globe, "shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the White House admonished television networks against using video messages from Osama bin Laden. Nonetheless, the new RNC ad shows video of bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, threatening the United States with phrases such as 'kill the Americans' and saying that attacks so far are 'nothing compared to what you will see next.' The ad concludes with the words: 'These are the stakes. Vote Nov. 7.'"