The Onion Predicted All Of This Back in 2003

Guest Post by Carey Wedler

 

(ANTIMEDIA) George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more,” read a 2003 article on The Onion a week after then-President George Bush launched the Iraq War. While a wide variety of organizations and individuals also rebuked that invasion, the satirical newspaper offered one of the most accurate assessments to date. So accurate, in fact, it all but predicted the rise of the Islamic State.

In the mock-debate piece, entitled, “This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t,” The Onion highlighted the very real risks of war.

As fictional debater Nathan Eckert warned:

This war will not put an end to anti-Americanism; it will fan the flames of hatred even higher. It will not end the threat of weapons of mass destruction; it will make possible their further proliferation. And it will not lay the groundwork for the flourishing of democracy throughout the Mideast; it will harden the resolve of Arab states to drive out all Western (i.e. U.S.) influence.”

He continued:

If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. Do you think they will forget what country dropped the bombs that killed their parents? In 10 or 15 years, we will look back fondly on the days when there were only a few thousand Middle Easterners dedicated to destroying the U.S. and willing to die for the fundamentalist cause. From this war, a million bin Ladens will bloom.

More than a decade into the chronic conflict, the Onion’s projects are eerily—albeit predictably—accurate. By 2006, national security experts were warning the war was inspiring further radicalism. One of the Boston Marathon bombers was radicalized by the Iraq War. The Charlie Hebdo shooters were also radicalized by Western intervention in the Middle East.

As the Guardian pointed out earlier this year, “there was no al-Qaida in Iraq until the US and Britain invaded. And the US has certainly exploited the existence of Isis against other forces in the region as part of a wider drive to maintain Western control.

The Onion article poked fun at empty rebuttals many proponents of war offered at the time.

Why do you keep saying these things? I can tell when there’s trouble looming, and I really don’t sense that right now. We’re in control of this situation, and we know what we’re doing. So stop being so pessimistic,” wrote the fictional opposing debater, Bob Sheffer.

But the United States was not in control—and the pessimism (read: realism) was warranted. The Islamic State has thrived not only because of radical Islam, but because of resentment sparked by American intervention. A recent report by The Nation details interviews the author conducted with imprisoned Islamic State fighters. Journalist Lydia Wilson explained that while most people in the West believe the Islamic State is rooted solely in religion, it has attracted fighters for other reasons:

They are children of the occupation, many with missing fathers at crucial periods (through jail, death from execution, or fighting in the insurgency), filled with rage against America and their own government. They are not fueled by the idea of an Islamic caliphate without borders; rather, ISIS is the first group since the crushed Al Qaeda to offer these humiliated and enraged young men a way to defend their dignity, family, and tribe,” she wrote.

As Eckert  opined in The Onion over 12 years ago:

Is our arrogance and hubris so great that we actually believe that a U.S. provisional military regime will be welcomed with open arms by the Iraqi people? Democracy cannot possibly thrive under coercion. To take over a country and impose one’s own system of government without regard for the people of that country is the very antithesis of democracy. And it is doomed to fail.

Just as proponents of war today dismiss long-term risks of continued intervention, the fictional Sheffer downplayed any negative consequences:

No it won’t. It just won’t. None of that will happen,” he replied to Eckert.

You’re getting worked up over nothing. Everything is going to be fine. So just relax okay? You’re really overreacting.

This is not the first Onion piece to foreshadow real world events. Earlier this year, a satirical article published on the site predicted the United States would offer weapons to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to placate him following Obama’s progress on the United States’ nuclear deal with Iran.

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Billy
Billy

“…rather, ISIS is the first group since the crushed Al Qaeda to offer these humiliated and enraged young men a way to defend their dignity, family, and tribe,” she wrote.

(snip)

Democracy cannot possibly thrive under coercion. To take over a country and impose one’s own system of government without regard for the people of that country is the very antithesis of democracy. And it is doomed to fail.”

And what about this is different than what is going on in Europe and the US?

Swarms of diaperhead assholes being foisted upon our own people in Europe – and to some extent, here. Males are either outright forbidden arms, or arms are strictly and tightly controlled – and self-defense is looked down upon. The camel-fuckers show up, beat and rape our women for sport, blow up venues and shoot people – and our males are forbidden from doing anything about it… Worse, they are told they cannot do anything about it – that they are incapable of fighting back… and if they do, they are branded “raaaayciss” and/or prosecuted and thrown in prison. If they even speak up about it, they are charged and prosecuted…

“..humiliated, enraged… defend their dignity, family, tribe…”

Is not dumping hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of non-European people who are openly hostile to European/Western culture on Europe and the US “imposing ones’ own system on another”? Is it not coercion?

You all think you’ve seen a right cluster-fuck so far…

You all ain’t seen nothin’ yet… all of Hell is about to break loose. More’s the pity – there are those of us who have prayed it won’t happen… at least tried to speak up about the hash they’ve made of this… and all to no avail. The do-gooders and scheming apparatchiks are responsible for this…

I’ve long since given up on the dream of a peaceful resolution to this mess. Now I’m just hoping me and mine survive.

robert h siddell jr
robert h siddell jr

The Bush and BHO wars are publicly led by moron puppets but TPTB have The Plan (ref Albert Pike WWIII); the UN and refugees are part of The Plan to foment war between Islam and the West. Zionist and Illuminati are purposely pitting Atheist against Christians; and Muslims against Jews and the West. TPTB want their enemies to destroy each other and then be left in absolute power themselves. The “terrorist” attacks on the West are sometimes “encouraged” such as the provoked attacks on the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Pearl Harbor 7Dec41 and the assassinations of GI’s by Mossad Units in Iraq. These are called False Flags because TPTB planned them; sometimes TPTB learn of an attack and then secretly aid the enemy by allowing it to happen like 9/11; these are called “passive terrorism” attacks. Right now, BHO is The Black Mahdi and The Rider of The Red Horse: “Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.” (Rev6:4). Black vs White, Terrorist supplication and immigration, Left vs Right; then Planned Economic Destruction (ref The Black Horse).

Iconoclast421
Iconoclast421

There could be as many as 100,000 children who were between the ages of 5 and 10 when the Iraq invasion began in 2003 who witnessed their parents killed or taken away. That is 100,000 extremely pissed off 17-22 year olds today. We just call them “Radicalized muslims”.

mrk030
mrk030

Honest question – why didn’t this have the same effect on Japan or Germany? Maybe the the fact they didn’t average having 8 kids per couple to “fund the comeback?”

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