"The Road to Tyranny"?

Alex Jones' film, "911 The Road to Tyranny," March 15, 2006 (2:21:55), is now available for viewing on the Internet, http://video.google.com/videoplay?
docid=-481003634918233931&q=tyranny. It's thesis, as the title suggests, is that "they" (e.g., the Administration, power elite, Council on Foreign Relations, United Nations), bent on producing a totalitarian state inside the U.S., brought on numerous terrorist attacks (e.g., including the Oklahoma City bombing) up to and including 9/11, in order to assist in winning the support of the American people for repressive measures (i.e., "tyranny") that might otherwise have been rejected.

Having devoted the time to watching this film (at another's request) here are some reactions.

(1) (a) There's a big difference between saying: (a) following 911 the Administration's response went over the top in some ways, including the adoption of some policies/techniques similar to those used by Hitler in Nazi Germany, and (b) this Administration so wanted to adopt the techniques of tyranny that it caused 911 to occur, following which it adopted the repressive laws and policies it had wanted all along. Of course, the "evidence" provided by this film would support either assertion.

Obviously, none of us can "know" what the facts are in this regard -- facts that would have to include the unspoken thoughts and desires of Administration members. We really have no option other than agnostic on this if asked to swear to the absolute truth of the matter. So we have to go on instinct and intuition. And mine lead me to (a) rather than (b).

I have no doubt there are some (hopefully very, very few) individuals in America who are either certifiably paranoid, or very convinced they are right and others (who can't be trusted) are wrong, or are just captivated by the notion of power over others -- sufficiently so that they would welcome, and do what they can to bring about, a totalitarian society. Most, thankfully, are not in government; but might there be one or two who are a part of this (or any past or future) Administration? Probably.

(b) Jones expresses concern about the use of military in domestic law enforcement operations, and the existence of military training exercises regarding control of civilian riots, or responses to natural, or terrorist-executed, disasters. Similarly to the analysis above, one might propose such training exercises because it's only sensible to be prepared (rather than the Katrina response) -- or because one is gearing up for a military takeover and suppression of the country in preparation for the suspension of the national elections in 2008. Once again, my intuition would be the former rather than the latter. But again, as my mother used to say with regard to the benefit she was receiving from her meds, "How would I know?"

(2) Clearly Jones is positioning himself (like any campaigning politician or marketing consultant) to have something in his presentation to appeal to all -- from gun owners to "liberals."

(3) He uses in some way virtually all the subterranean soup that bubbles up on the all night talk shows: black helicopters, contrails from planes, Council on Foreign Relations, United Nations takeover of the U.S., etc. In doing so, I think he weakens his case.

(4) Moreover, to the extent he uses "facts" one gets the impression he is playing a little fast and loose with them. Literally so: most of the pictures of documents are not on the screen long enough to be read.

(5) Has this Republican Administration, and Party generally, used (and successfully, I'd say) the mantra of "war on terrorism" to establish and retain political power? Absolutely. Has that involved an erosion of our civil liberties? Of course; who could deny it. Are these matters that ought to concern us, put us on our guard, get us more politically involved? Damn right.

But when Alex Jones puts forth assertions and theories that will seem so radically counter intuitive to most Americans, and are seldom fully factually backed up, he just makes it easier to throw out the legitimately frightening baby along with the dirty bathwater.

[More from me on "terrorism" generally can be found at http://www.nicholasjohnson.org/mainpage.html#*%20Politics.]