“The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear”

[Rogers]

One last thread from me. :)

Another (earlier) series by Adam Curtis you might be interested in?

The Power of Nightmares

The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. The series consists of three one-hour films, consisting mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis's narration, which were first broadcast in the United Kingdom in late 2004 and have been subsequently aired in multiple countries and shown in several film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

The films compare the rise of the American Neo-Conservative movement and the radical Islamist movement, making comparisons on their origins and noting strong similarities between the two. More controversially, it argues that the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organised force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is in fact a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries—and particularly American Neo-Conservatives—in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more utopian ideologies.

As of January 1, 2008, the film has yet to be aired in the United States. Curtis has commented on this failure:
“Something extraordinary has happened to American TV since September 11. A head of the leading networks who had better remain nameless said to me that there was no way they could show it. He said, 'Who are you to say this?' and then he added, 'We would get slaughtered if we put this out.' When I was in New York I took a DVD to the head of documentaries at HBO. I still haven't heard from him.”

In The Shadows in the Cave, Curtis took the time to stress that he did not discount the possibility of any terrorist activity taking place. He responded to accusations of creating a conspiracy theory that he believes that the alleged use of fear as a force in politics is not the result of a conspiracy but rather the subjects of the film "have stumbled on it".

Comparisons to Fahrenheit 9/11
After its release, The Power of Nightmares received multiple comparisons to Fahrenheit 9/11, American filmmaker Michael Moore's 2004 critique on the first four years of George W. Bush's presidency of the United States. The Village Voice directly named The Power of Nightmares as "the most widely discussed docu agitprop since Fahrenheit 9/11." The Nation and Variety both gave comments ranking Curtis's film superior to Fahrenheit and other political documentaries in various fields; the former cited Curtis's work being more "intellectually engaging" and "historically probing" while the latter cited "balance, broadmindedness and sense of historical perspective." Moore's work has also been used as a point of comparison by conservative critics of Curtis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares

Part 1: "Baby It's Cold Outside"
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=881321004838285177

Part 2: "The Phantom Victory"
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4602171665328041876

Part 3: "The Shadows in the Cave"
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2081592330319789254

[Rogers]

Hitler used the Reichstag fire to create an atmosphere of crisis.… In effect, Bush is asserting the powers that accrued to Hitler in 1933.… This is the great issue that is before the country. But it is pushed into the background by political battles over abortion and homosexual rights. Many people fighting to strengthen the executive think they are fighting against legitimizing sodomy and murder in the womb. They are unaware that the real issue is that America is on the verge of elevating its president above the law.… Thus has the US arrived at the verge of dictatorship.
- Paul Craig Roberts, father of Reaganomics and former Wall Street Journal editor.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts139.html

What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBK_l2AQ4I8

Whoever you vote for in November, I would urge you not to make it, “a noun, a verb, and 9/11” Guiliani. He reeks of opportunism and expediency. Bush and Blair have been guilty of both, plus hubris. There is no need for conspiracy theories.

“Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency.” - General Douglas MacArthur.

"When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder." - Lao Tzu.

[yodajazz]

Rodgers, I agree with all your quotations. But I'll say that fear is an effective tatic, which people fall for over and over.

It says somewhere in the Bible that something like: 'He (God) has not given us a spirit of fear, but that of a sound mind....' yet parties which claim to promote 'Christian values' use to hell out of fear for thier own agendas.

It would help if people had more of an historical sense. Younger people dont realize how much the "communist threat" was use to justify all sorts of actions. It was used to justify undermining the the goverments of legally elected democracies, and even to kill their heads of state. Today, the "terrorist threat" has the exact same functions but is even more effective to use.

But maybe you or someone else could answer my question. Why is the possibilty of Iran getting nuclear weapons so threatening, when we faced down the Soviet Union who not only had a vast weapon aresenal and the means of delivering those weapons? I say that this is a current of example of using fear for political gain.

[Oli]

But maybe you or someone else could answer my question. Why is the possibilty of Iran getting nuclear weapons so threatening, when we faced down the Soviet Union who not only had a vast weapon aresenal and the means of delivering those weapons? I say that this is a current of example of using fear for political gain.

I agree that the population lacks a good knowledge base of their governments past actions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Contra_Affair

And the way "terrorism" and al-qaeda are the boogey men of today does sound suspiciously similar to the communist threat of yesteryear.

The problem with Iran having nuclear weapons, even without a traditional delivery system, is IMO, Iran has long established relationships with 2 terrorist (there's that word again) organizations, Hamas (with Saudi Arabia) and Hezbollah (with the blessing of the Syrians also). Neither of these groups believes Israel has a right to exists, and both have demonstrated that they will use any and all weapons available against the Israelis.

Does that mean an Iranian nuke would automatically be transfered to one of these two groups for use against Israel? I don't know. Could they use the threat nuclear attack to pressure the other OPEC nations to slash production in an attempt to weaken the West economically? Don't know. How about building one and putting it into a shipping container destined for London/Long Beach/Baltimore/Newark? Don't know.

We haven't had normal relations with the Iranians for 25 years and, unlike the Soviets during the Cold War, we don't even talk to them directly. Lack of contact has made us suspicious of their motives.

[hippifried]

And the way "terrorism" and al-qaeda are the boogey men of today does sound suspiciously similar to the communist threat of yesteryear.
It's the same perpetual war. When the Soviet Union collapsed, there was a mad scramble to find a new enemy & keep it going. President Bush was already planning to invade Iraq. 9/11 put it on hold for a year, but it was a real boon to the pentagon. It created a new invisible enemy that lets them rotate ordnance with regularity. We have this huge bloated military, & without something to do, they can't justify their budget let alone the increases they want.