Publisher’s review of “Faces of State Terrorism” by Laura Westra (2012): “Terrorism, a widespread global phenomenon, manifests itself in the actions and the policies of individuals and groups, but also and primarily in the actions and policies of states. Delving into the seldom-discussed question of the motivation for most episodes of terrorism, this book studies terrorism s effects based on the economic and geopolitical imbalances that frame today's global governance. The main goal of terrorism is to induce terror, and perhaps to influence public opinion for political change. Many states hide their terrorist activities under the faces they show the world, masks intended to hide real aims of acquiring or expanding power and wealth. These activities, presented as self-defense, preventive action, counter-measures or even as promoting "progress and development," are forms of state terrorism that are much more widespread, powerful, and destructive than the actions originating from groups labeled terrorist since 9/11. This book examines the numerous illegal measures states use, from unlawful imprisonment and curtailing of civil liberties to torture, in the name of responding to terrorism. At the same time, it considers how trade and industrial activities terrorize people by depriving them of the natural resources they need to survive and by exposing communities to life-threatening hazardous conditions. In closing, the book considers how existing laws might stem the tide of state terrorism. The conclusions are not optimistic: the UN's systems and legal regimes are clear in defense of human rights, but the structure and nature of state power do not permit these mandates to prevail. With a foreword by Tullio Scovazzi.”
Quote from “Faces of State Terrorism” by Laura Westra (2012): “Another clear “crime of state” is the ongoing “plunder” of resources still available on planet Earth:
“The US has 4.5% of the World's population but consumes 25% of its resources through anti-democratic hegemony maintained by egregious violence (8 million dead in the US War on Terror alone, the breakdown being 2.5 million dead in Iraq, 4.9 million dead in Afghanistan and 0.8 million dead (including 0.1 million Americans) from opiate drug-related causes due to US alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry). The fundamental message on 1/1/11 is surely 1 (ONE) – 1 man-one-vote, there is only 1 Planet (Spaceship Earth) for Humanity, and equal shares in resources i.e. until we necessarily all cease carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution in 2050 the ratio of my share to your share should be 1 [Polya, 2011].”
Those of us who reside in the more comfortable West and North do not feel the sense of terror and urgency that is the burden of people in the global South, and which is particularly acute in coastal countries and towns, and in the Arctic..Then there is the “hyper-example’ of state terrorism (supported , once again, by the US), that is, the ongoing genocide of Palestinians by the US’s “partner” Israel, and the elimination of others in the Muslim world (Polya, 2011). 15… Then there is the way “inequality kills…
[Polya, 2011] Gideon Polya, “New Year's Day 1/1/11 Message: Equal Shares on Our One Planet”, Countercurrents, 2 January, 2011: https://www.countercurrents.org/polya020111.htm .
“Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ “ (Laura Westra, “Faces of State Terrorism. Volume 42 of Studies in Critical Social Sciences”, BRILL, 2012, page 128).