Notes on "The Power of Nightmares", documentary by the BBC

Governments have got themselves in trouble. They have created, a trend, an ideology, that is entirely based on thinking up a scenario, and acting upon it. They think of a worse case scenario and then make all the moves possible in order to prevent it. The issue I raise are the ways in which they prevent a fictional scenario. They arrest, incriminate and kill, to prevent a disaster from striking.
What is the basis for this disaster? On what evidence do those in charge effectively decide that it is a matter of national security?

The reason they are in trouble, is because they have created such a wild worse-case scenario, that they themselves are having trouble grasping it.

"Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida, literally "the database", was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians"
"The truth is, there is no Islamic army or terrorist group called Al-Qaida. And any informed intelligence officer knows this. But there is a propaganda campaign to make the public believe in the presence of an identified entity.. The country behind this propaganda is the US"

- Robin Cook - former British Foreign Secretary

Governments are at war with an illusion they themselves created. In order to keep this up, the public must obviously support them and their actions. The media helps a lot. The media feeds to the people whatever will catch their attention the most. And the way in which politicians dramatize the illusion gives way to a huge cascade of delusional ideas. We are being mislead. The little information or evidence the government comes up with is being distorted and presented to us in a specific manner, which advocates their policy, the direction they want to go in. The problem is that it has all gotten dis-proportioned. Blown up far too big, too quickly for anyone to make any sense out of it. And has therefore gone ahead lead by the few in charge..

We no longer know where we are anymore. We identify to nothing. Society is facing a major issue here. An issue we do not want to face. Nor is this an issue that the powers above are attempting to resolve, as they are more than content with perpetuating the dumbing down of the nations. Democracy seems to have inverted itself, and we are slowly starting to be governed by the top of the pyramid. They have their own agenda, and in their eyes we are but strategic pawns. Their greatest task is to manipulate our minds and skillfully manage to direct us across their chessboard, without even touching us. Men cannot play god, as we remain men, and can always see through each others cards. The fact that some have attempted to do this, as delicate and considerate they may have been, strikes me as one of the most disgraceful and criminal acts of all times. These are old games though, that mankind has been playing for thousands of years, and has never ceased. But the general public used to be aware and involved, and disputed their position of "inferiority" with the powers that be. There were uproars and revolutions, to attempt to salvage their dignity.

Yet where are we today?

Society doesn't believe in anything, and is driven by fear. We fear those who Do believe in something, and we label them with many names, classify them into groups and organizations. They are different from you, and this scares you. They even go as far as becoming enemies for some. Since when has difference been correlated with conflict; and what triggers conflict in the first place, other than self-interest? Our society is one of "Survival of the fittest". We seem to be bread to fight each other. Beat each other. Defeat each other. Be bigger and better and richer and stronger. Have the thirst for power. Instead of having the thirst for love. This comes 2nd. Power is the priority, and we are constantly reminded of this.

I guess we do believe in something; the necessity of power.