Naomi Wolf’s documentary, “The End of America” is a disturbing and detailed outline of the ‘Ten Steps To Fascism’ the United States has taken in the last ten years following the events of 9-11-01. The doc is based on her book of the same name which came out in 2007. The video has been available online since 2008.
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_end_of_america/
Not only do these steps mirror some of the laws and procedures taken by Nazi Germany and other 20th Century fascist regimes, but the GW Bush administration even had the chutzpah to use the direct translation of the terms the Third Reich used in their ‘War of Terror’ as Borat famously quipped.
Ms. Wolf resounds the warning bell of creeping fascism in the US and shows the disturbing similarities to the social and political tactics of The Third Reich.
The Nazi similarities are frightening and upsetting to say the least. Germany was a modern city/state with a vibrant art and political scene when the Nazi’s gained power. The Nazi’s took power by usurping the German Constitution in a time of crisis and using propaganda and fear to gain control of it’s population.
The Establishment Media love to put Nazi and Hitler iconography in our face constantly yet refuse to go into detail about the very sophisticated propaganda and political manipulation that evolved there. Germany was in financial crisis and Europe was still simmering after WWI, but the media and much of academia mainly focus on the ‘evil’ of the Nazi regime. Of course the Holocaust is usually a main focus as it should be.
While some of the historical context and psychological aspects of the German ‘psyche’ are touched upon by the media-usually some inherent belief in a German superiority with ‘Triumph of the Will’ iconography-less credence is given to the propaganda, political misdirection and theater that was at the heart of the Nazi regime.
The ‘theater’ is there to distract the public from seeing the behind the scenes nefarious ‘lawful’ activity. Without the implementation of these laws and tactics that Wolf outlines here, the Nazis would not have gained power and been able to wield and exert such force. Maybe there was a ‘perfect storm’ in which they ascended power so quickly, but it wasn’t effortless. Despite the media focusing on the ‘high German ideal’, the inherent cultural and genetic belief in a Germanic superiority, fascism can happen anywhere as the 20th Century bears out. Even here in the United States circa 21st Century Fox.
From Wikipedia: “The Gestapo controlled the German populace with some 100,000 spies and informers, thereby were aware of anti-Nazi criticism and dissent. Happy with Nazi prosperity, most Germans remained silently obedient, while political opponents, especially the Communists, Marxists, and international socialists were imprisoned; “between 1933 and 1945, more than 3 million Germans had been in concentration camps, or prison, for political reasons”. “Tens of thousands of Germans were killed for one or another form of resistance. Between 1933 and 1945, Sondergerichte (Nazi “special courts”) killed 12,000 Germans, courts martial killed 25,000 German soldiers, and civil justice killed 40,000 Germans. Many of these Germans were part of the government, civil, or military service, a circumstance which enabled them to engage in subversion and conspiracy, while involved, marginally or significantly, in the government’s policies.”
Bush did not use the language or have the linguistic finesse and showmanship of a Hitler or Mussolini, but he got the job done. If the US ever tilts far right again and elects a very charismatic right-wing leader we are in big trouble, the laws are already in place.
The Obama administration may not take full advantage of these measures to shut down public outcry completely, but even they will use it to gain political control. And an administration is not one person, it can be corrupted from within or without. The point is to have very thorough checks and balances on the powers that be in order to assure that major nefariousness is subdued. Without these checks and balances, justice is tilted haphazardly towards those in power and privilege at the expense of the needs and desires of the general populace.
Naomi begins by explaining why and how she wrote the book, “And I realized from my reading that intently, strategically, systematically, a small group of people set out to undermine the constitution, open the door for the horror to come”
She saw,”the similarity between all of these regimes in the 20th C, Germany, China, Chile, where a slow but purposeful eroding of the constitution takes place. Leaders learn from one another and have developed a blue print for closing down an open society.”
Naomi, then outlines 10 steps which 20th Century fascist governments such as the Third Reich and Stalin’s Russia implemented to close down an open society. These “Ten Steps to Fascism” describe ten political tactics that fascist regimes use to control the populace. Why is the US doing this when other countries who suffer ‘terror’ do not.
I will use Roman numerals to make it look classier. And away we go!
Step I. Invoke and internal and external threat
We experienced an attack on our ‘Homeland” in 2001 of course, but other countries such as Spain or England who also had major terrorist attacks still kept their citizen’s rights. They did not bypass their constitution, to ‘protect themselves from the ‘enemy’.
The Bush league raised fear levels as high as possible. The Department of Homeland Security was created and the Patriot Act was passed.
The actual events surrounding the 2001 attacks are still considered inconclusive, and enough evidence has been presented for the government to open a thorough and transparent investigation into what transpired on ‘911’. Many of our progressive congressman want an open investigation but to no avail. Therefore, all the evidence that points to a ‘False Flag Operation’ is ignored and ‘911’ still remains a frustrating mystery for all except those who blindly wave the flag. It is our patriotic duty to fully investigate the attacks and hold those responsible, whether it be for treason, or just plain negligence.
How do you separate 9/11 and 911? To put a link to the impetus for our War on Terror and link it ass to ass to our euphemism for emergency seems suspicious. 911 is something we yell instead of Help!, or Emergency! It is basically means emergency. Seeing and hearing that number over and over again makes a strong and permanent link, which I believe is purposeful.
By October 2001 the White House and Congress drove the Patriot Act through Congress. It was printed at 3am and had to voted on by 11 am. This allowed the government to wiretap, use electronic surveillance, go through medical and bank records, credit card statements and library book records without warrant or probable cause.
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The Bush league was able to do this because they helped create such a storm of fear.
“We cannot wait for the smoking gun to come in the form of a mushroom cloud” said Cunning-linguist Rice from the White House right before Iraq War. Although Colin Powell’s regrets his statements at the UN now, his now famous “yellow cake” speech was a big part of the false build up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
And As much as Cheney denied it, he was quoted on national television as saying these exact words,
“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.”
“No doubt!” he emphasized more than once. He backpedaled furiously after that, even denying that he said the words, and the media allowed him to squirm out of it.
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“No Doubt!”, he assured trusting Americans. Not, “Saddam used them on the Kurds” or “we thought we had reliable intelligence” or “we had satellite photos, yellow cake, known suspect informants”. Not “we have the receipt” for the weapons.
When Cheney was pressured further to answer the allegation that none of the evidence so far was conclusive, he assured the reporter and the American people that from the intel privy only to him which was an issue of national security, he was giving the American people his word that Saddam was a real threat. Not to Kuwait, or Iran. Not in 10 years, but now.
Cheney has been discredited to all but the true believers. His pushing for the war for ideological reasons and silencing of war critics in the Pentagon and elsewhere is well known. How you go from, “shut up, I am right!” to “oh gee, I thought I was” with this much at stake and many experts within his administration telling him he was wrong and remain a credible figure in the Mainstream Media is sign that things are very wrong.
He lied, they died. With what is now known, all the knowns that were previously unknown in the Donald Rumsfeld Defense Department and Dick Cheney White House, if it wasn’t for the political turmoil and outing of everyone involved, these guys would be tried for treason. As it is, they cannot travel to many countries for fear of arrest under international war crime law.
Step II:SECRET PRISON SYSTEM
Secret here means unaccountable.We know Guantanamo Prison is there, but we are not allowed to find out what is really going on. From all reports Guantanamo was using torture tactics right out of the Russian gulags. These tactics are against the Geneva Convention and our previous government and military stances.
Bush signs Military Order #1. The government can pick up anyone it wants and hold them as an ‘enemy combatant’. They are then not official ‘prisoners of war’ and are not eligible for the protection of the Geneva Convention
Secretary of Defense Donald ‘Duck You Suckers’ Rumsfeld personally sought to redefine torture as only “organ failure” or “severe pain and suffering with specific intent”. He expands the 16 rules of interrogation to 35. Nice guy. Favorite exercise, running his chainsaw. I kid you not.
The Nazi’s used the exact same term ‘Enhanced Interrogation’, ‘Verscharfte Vernehmung’. Sounds better in German actually. Many other disturbing Third Reich linguistic similarities. Why was this done? There were enough smart people in the White House to catch this, and it was brought to their attention immediately when made public. So what kind of sick and twisted Skull and Bones bullshite we got here?
The White House memo for 2-7-02. “Geneva does not apply to our conflict with Al Qaeda, detainees also do not qualify as prisoners of war” Good ole GWB doing his patri-idiotic duty.
From all reports, torture is known to provide much wrong and distorted information. People will say anything to make it stop. The reason for invading Iraq was based on false evidence obtained by torture.
The Military Commission Act of 2006 which:
-Stripped Habeas Corpus-the right to a speedy trial and to see the evidence against you.
-expands the definition of enemy combatant
-gives power to detain indefinitely
-gave legal jurisdiction to military commissions that could be try and execute without public knowledge.
-can be tried as ‘terrorist’ or ‘enemy combatant’, somewhat nebulous terms.
Bush was able to push threw these measures because he was a good ole’ boy. Americans like their fascism with a beer and ballgame.
STEP III. CREATE A PARAMILITARY FORCE
Blackwater gives 2.4 million to Republicans. 500 million then awarded in no bid security contracts. Blackwater hires killers and torturers from foreign countries. Reporter Jeremy Scahill saw them in Katrina patrolling in HumVees with machine guns. On the Blackwater website they are hyping US Protest Control, which is very frightening. It is way for them to bypass the military code that prohibits domestic use of the military, especially for crowd control.
“You cannot close down an open society without a paramilitary,” says Naomi. Blackwater is a very right wing dis-oriented organization with very strong right-wing Christian religious ties, even more so than the American military.
STEP IV: SURVEIL ORDINARY CITIZENS
FISA-Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to spy on it’s own citizens without warrant.
Very similar to the East German Stazi Force after WWII. They had similar powers to surveil and had checkpoints everywhere. A modern police state where the first casualty is freedom of speech and assembly, especially from the left, as the right can always be co-opted with patriotic lingo.
The List. No Fly List which has one million people on it. An interview with Colonel Antoon, who’s entire family shows up on the watch list for political or bureaucratic reasons. Many military personnel are on list. Many academics and socio-political leaders are prevented from entering the US. This also works as ‘soft pressure’, preventing many people from speaking out through threat of “extreme inconvenience”.
The FBI was blocked from investigating any allegations of wrongdoing by the State Department and White House.
Severe weakening of ‘posit comatatis’, the police are supposed to be accountable and have civilian oversight.
STEP V: INFILTRATE CITIZEN GROUPS
Groups like the Quakers are on the watch list and there are numerous reports of peaceful and law abiding groups being infiltrated. While there are leftist groups such as Earth First! who have damaged property in order to defend their cause, there is no real violence or credible threats unless you count the so called young ‘anarchists’ who break Starbuck windows. But the media and the corp/state portray the mostly pacifist and harmless organizations as violent and ideological threats to Western Civilization.
Police illegally spied on protesters in NYC rally, but the FBI is not allowed to investigate.
Cointelpro, which is short for Counter Intelligence Program, had been a big part of the FBI ever since J Edgar Hoover put on a dress. Infiltration is also a big psychological pressure point, you aren’t sure who is who, it changes the perception of reality.
As Naomi says, “To make them unable to stand up for themselves, even trust their own reality.”
STEP VI: DETAIN AND RELEASE ORDINARY CITIZENS
Again intimidation is a big factor. Who wants to go to jail? Who wants to protest and get beat up or even worse.
James Yee was a Chaplin in the US Military. He was being detained and accused of being a terrorist spy, due mostly to a term paper he wrote about Islam. He says, “religion is being used as a weapon.” by the US Military.
In Charlestown, S.C. there is a prison for citizen enemy combatants.
Maher Arar, a Canadian who the US govt sent to Syria to be tortured for 10 months with no charges filed and others who are held in American prisons and not allowed redress.
STEP VII: TARGET KEY INDIVIDUALS.
They target key individuals who are powerful social or political critics. The Bush League boycotted the Dixie Chicks through their friends at Clear Channel. The Cd burnings that Clear Channel and it’s conservative backers sponsored evoked the book burnings of old as well as the burning of Beatles albums back in the early sixties, due to their “commie ways”.
Dan Rather was fired with White House pressure and of course Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent, both due to critical views of the White House.
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STEP VIII: RESTRICT THE PRESS
White House started to prosecute reporters again under the espionage act of 1917, which made it illegal to criticize the war or express dissent. Yes, Librarians et al were arrested and beaten back in the day, and expressed solidarity with their sisters in recent years by refusing to release information.
The marginalization of populist politician Eugene Debs who was given a 10 year prison sentence for speaking out against US involvement in WWI, cast a pall over civil society and silenced political debate for decades.
Bilal Hussein detained two years, a photographer for a major news organization.
Josh Wolf, an American freelance journalist was sent to prison for a full year. Longest in history for a US journalist. The government was so desperate to identify the protesters in Josh’s video that they prosecuted this case. Again, intimidation and this is a case where the FBI was barred from investigating.
Without confidentiality, sources will not come forward and journalists will be seriously hindered in pursuing investigative stories about government or corporate corruption. Not to mention the effect this has on what journalists will cover. The mob uses intimidation all the time, but when the state uses it, it ain’t funny.
STEP IX: RECAST CRITICISM AS ESPIONAGE AND DISSENT AS TREASON.
At the 2008 St Paul Republican convention, 400 people are arrested for protesting, many journalists including Amy Goodman. Hundreds are illegally arrested in a round up at a local park. Eight Americans were charged with terrorism.
HR 1955 which passed the House would have basically criminalized free speech. The “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act” of 2007 which would allow the government to classify many types of political activity as terrorism is still alive in the Senate according to Joe Lieberman.
STEP X: SUBVERT THE RULE OF LAW
The Bush league subverts laws of Congress with 110 signing statements all overriding the Constitutional authority of Congress.
Bush administration targeted high ranking attorneys who did not fall in. Even purging of the entire staff was discussed, a tactic that Goebbels employed.
It is now much easier to declare Marshal Law with all of these laws in place.
In 2008 an American combat brigade was stationed with 3-4,000 troops, mostly to be trained and used for ‘civil disobedience’. Again, this is against the long standing prohibition of using military for crowd control.
At the end of the documentary it asks us to support the ‘American Freedom Agenda’ act which would reverse all of the dangerous laws of the Patriot Act.
Remembering Ed Abbey.
American Heroes like these will classified as ‘terrorists’ or ‘enemy combatants’ and dissent and public dialogue will be discouraged. People have already exhibited a tendency to pop pills and engage in mind and soul numbing activities. While the template for this type of control of the masses is more Huxleyan , Orwell is right there below the surface and in the bureaucracy if you dare to look.
When I was a kid I saw the “Elephant Man” and was struck by the cruelty of the desperate and uneducated English population versus the dignity and beauty that such a man possessed. Matched against the horror and cruelty that the so called best and brightest of us commit and take part in on a daily basis, I was struck by the sado/masochistic tendencies that are at the center of any culture that has such extremes of wealth and poverty.
These are the types of tendencies that undemocratic governments like to manipulate in order to gain control. I spent enough days in the sales/marketing world to know the banal evil of consumerism.
The things we need are held hostage. Our natural resources, our food and water supply. Our energy and education. On and on. These things are state and corporate controlled and are used as big wedges to divide society. The US is an expansive land inhabited by many different peoples and environs, when you add religion and tribalism in the mix , along with class, race and sex with all of their historical implications, you see all of the fears and confusion that ensue.
It is a self-hate that comes about when you detach, both physically and emotionally from the natural world. It is a self-loathing and pessimistic view that leads to unraveling of all that is sacred around us, and a corporate state loves it, a fractured and exhausted populace ready to be manipulated.
The incredibly emotive John Hurt received an Oscar nomination for his raw and heart-breakingly sensitive portrayal of Sir Joseph Merrick in the David Lynch film. Hurt was also the main character in “1984”, the 1984 British film by Michael Radford based on the Orwell book.
Two very important movies. One more human revelation, the other political. Both coalescing around the amazing and brave work of Sir John Hurt. Both exemplifying the darkness of the human condition and how it relates to our downfall as social and political creatures.
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