THE WAR ON 'TERROR', '1984', 'Oceania', 'Newspeak'

The 'War on Terror'

Our current predicament is coming to resemble the state of affairs that George Orwell described in his classic novel '1984'.

Orwell’s 1984 opens in London, now a part of the country Oceania. The whole globe is divided into three countries, Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia all perpetually at war with each other.

The arch-enemy of oceania is Emmanuel Goldstein--the number One Enemy of the People, according to the Party. He is believed to have written a subversive book and to head a mysterious anti-party organization called The Brotherhood.

Let's look at a little recent history to gain a proper perspective about 'Oceania' circa 2006.

As described in the recent book, 'Empire of Debt'...

"...After the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the American Empire was in an awkward position. It was in the business of providing protection, but from whom?..".

"...Fortunately, for the imperialists, on September 11, 2001, a small group of Muslim terrorists managed one of the most daring and successful attacks in history. With resources no greater than a chemical trace of those of their enemies in the United States, terrorists hijacked commercial aircraft and flew them into landmark buildings in New York (sic) {and Washington}*. The event was seen on television around the world. Within hours, George W. Bush announced a new war--against terrorism. This was an absurd stretch, too. Never before had war been declared against a tactic. It was as if he had gone to war against naval blockades or fighting on Sunday. Every other empire made war on its enemies or its friends. The Bush Administration was making war on no one in particular, and everyone in general. Every fighting force uses terror at one time or another. Besides, terror could be defined almost any way you wanted, and is only unacceptable as long as it remains unsuccessful. A terrorist who succeeds gets to have tea with the Queen of England, as did Menachim Begin."

"But none of these issues seemed to matter. In the homeland, scarcely anyone complained."

*correction MrKen


To continue with the outline of '1984':

The administration is divided among four Ministries- the Ministry of Truth, which deals with news, entertainment, education and fine arts, the Ministry of Love which maintains law and order, the Ministry of Peace which wages war and the Ministry of Plenty which handles economic affairs. The very vocabulary of the people was under Party Control; a system called “newspeak” was encouraged. One of the most dreaded words in the arsenal of Newspeak was the most heinous offence according to the Party – that of “thoughtcrime” which was sure to be punished by the Thought police. The slogans of Newspeak are “War is Peace” Freedom is Slavery” and “Ignorance is Strength.”


MrKen maintains that the U.S.A. has many disturbing parallels to 'Oceania'. .

-Newspeak already exists. 'Peace thru Strength' (Sean Hannity-Fox News) is the equivalent of 'War is Peace'. And the Bush Administration's continued attempts to stifle a free press (e.g., attacks on the NY Times) is certainly "Ignorance is Strength".

-John Dean, the former White House counsel to President Nixon, described the current state of affairs in this country as 'Proto-Fascism', in a recent appearance on 'The Daily Show' (Comedy Central-Jon Stewart). And Mr. Dean has described himself as a conservative!

-We certainly have our 'Emmanuel Goldsteins'- Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin-Laden, ad infinitum.

And as for perpetual war...

"We are no longer able to choose between peace and war. We have embraced perpetual war. We are no longer able to choose the time, the circumstance or the battlefield."

This is not a quotation from a journalist writing after 9/11. It is a quote from Garet Garrett, writing about the Cold War in 1952.**

**source: 'Empire of Debt' http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0471739022/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-2466536-9103326#reader-link

Does anyone think the "War on Terror" will be won in 5 years..10 years..or even in a quarter-century? Perpetual War is here to stay, and with it 'Oceania' and the end of a free society!