Repression

An Example of Social Control

This Week

Repression as a means of social control

Whose Responsible?

Real Examples: Lynching and War

Torture and Warfare

Things to think about

How is repression part of socialization?

What are the goals of repression?

Responsibility is mixture of small and large scale.

How effective is torture as a means of social control and intelligence gathering?

Repression and Social Control

How does society keep people in line?

Internal Sources of Social Control Socialization internalizes society’s goals and values

External Sources of Social Control Informal sanctions - pressure, humiliation, etc. Formal sanctions - rules, laws, etc.

Repression Use of coercion to enforce goals of the repressing group Application of force (mental or physical) to obtain goals

Repression to Silence Opposition

At this anti-war rally, police used “bean-bag” bullets on protestors.

Thus, people are encouraged to seek only “legitimate” means of voicing dissent, like voting.

Agent Provocateurs to delegitimize movement

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/24/ot-montebello-sq-070824.html?ref=rss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow

Repression to Maintain the Privileges of the Dominant Group

Attacking Civil Rights Activists

Lynching and Killing in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921

Responsibility for Repression

While connected, it is necessary to separate the institution promoting repression from people who engage in it.

Governments, military and political officials sanction the use of repression.

War, dictatorial regimes, and governments encouraging fear of others promotes the use of repression.

Mixture of the large-scale (institutions and context of repression) and the small-scale (individuals who participate)

Some Individuals Participate

At the small-scale, people will engage in repressive activities, officially sanctioned or not.

Some people enjoy their role in the repressive regime!

Others Refuse to Participate

Revealed: U.S. Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques

Editor & Publisher http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1102-05.htm

But, Torture is Official Policy

Large-scale institutions like the US government sanction and officially engage in repressive activity.

The US engages in the “practice of rendition, in which dozens of suspects have been seized and turned over for interrogation to other countries, including several known to engage routinely in torture.”

Torture Victim Had No Terror Link, Canada Told U.S. Scott Shane, NY Times 9/25/06

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/world/americas/25arar.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Torture “The report concluded that

some practices -- including the force-feeding of hunger strikers -- ‘must be assessed as amounting to torture.’”

U.N. Draft Decries U.S. On Detainee Treatment

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021301848.html

Extraordinary Rendition Victim Maher Arar Accepts Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award

http://www.democracynow.org/2006/10/19/extraordinary_rendition_victim_maher_arar_accepts

Torture Produces Little Useful Intelligence Torture was used to obtain justifications for the

invasion of Iraq Confession That Formed Base of Iraq War was

Acquired Under Torture Agence France Presse

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1027-04.htm

Information Obtained through Torture is Unreliable Campbell warns against torture

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3295397.stm

War Worsens Threat

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/world/middleeast/24terror.html

Civilians main cluster bomb victims 98 Percent of Cluster Bomb Victims are Civilians

The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/story/0,,1938494,00.html

Military Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq Toward ChaosNew York Times 11/1/2006 -http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/world/middleeast/01military.html?hp&ex=1162443600&en=ae294d1d13aed188&ei=5094&partner=homepage

War

The Art of Deception

Hiding the Grisly True Goals Behind Lofty Ideals

History Repeats

Colonial powers attempt to exploit a nation.

The population resists, and a popular, anti-West leader emerges.

This leader attempts to improve the conditions of the people.

The Western nations, being pushed out of capitalist markets, foster rebellion to regain access to resources and markets.

The Western nations tend to support right-wing extremist groups.

Moderate opposition is destroyed through repression.

Repression of the population leads to further civil conflict.

Panama Manuel Noriega used to fight “communism”

Known for drug connections

Noriega loses supporters to Iran-Contra scandal

US soldiers “attacked”

US invasion in December 1989 kills 3,000 civilians or more

Government officials supporting US economic goals installed

Afghanistan

Country suffered poverty

In the 1970’s, a populist rebellion occurred

US supported mujahedeen against populist government

Eventually mujahedeen succeeds, temporarily, before being replaced by Taliban

Taliban are even more conservative extremist than mujahedeen

US gives Afghanistan $43 mil in aid during UN sanctions.

Iraq 1991

We supported Saddam in the war against Iran.

We supported Saddam in his repression of the Kurds.

We provided military support that includedChemical weaponsHelicopters with crop spraying equipment for use with

chemical weaponsNuclear technologyAdvances in missile technology

Kuwait was slant drilling into Iraqi territory.

Saddam made his intentions clear.Peaceful withdrawal from Iraq a “nightmare scenario”

Justification by Deception

Gulf of Tonkin - Vietnam

Shooting unarmed US personnel - Panama

Soviet Migs - Nicaragua

Babies and Incubators - Iraq 1991

Genocide - Yugoslavia

WMD’s and al-Qaida - Iraq 2003

Pretexts for War

Democracy

Freedom

Liberation from Tyranny

What are the real reasons?

Battleground (clips)

Economic stability For the US For multinational corporations

(primarily US)

Political-Military influence/control of the region

Dick Cheney on Iraq in 1994

“Quagmire”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb

5-xY

Architects of Disaster

William Kristol

Part of Neo-Conservative movement

Interview with NPR on April 1, 2003

Second Iraq War started March 20, 2003

What is the state of the insurgency?

Battleground (Clip)

Like many regions that are plagued with high unemployment, low security and rampant poverty, people are easily swayed by extremists.

Look at the immigration debate in the US - the poor, working class tend to be most antagonistic.

Lack of clean water, electricity and jobs, Abu Ghraib, car bombings, civilian casualties

All of these issues provide fodder for extremist groups, some of which participate

Incompetence or Deceit?

Claims by Kristol

Iraqis have different culture than US

“Pop Sociology” that there will be conflicts between Shia and Sunni

Fractious, Semi-democracy better than Saddam

Iraq War will be good for the Middle East

Kristol - Iraqis have a “different culture”?

Is it really the culture causing the conflict?

Why are people upset?

How “Western” was Iraq prior to 1991 compared to neighboring states like Saudi Arabia and Iran?

Kristol - Potential conflict between Shiite and Sunni is “pop sociology”?

“they will not meekly surrender to the imminent American-led military occupation of their country. And that fact itself carries grave consequences for American imperialism's broader designs.” Behind the Invasion of Iraq (2003)

“You will also see that Iraq will not be allowed to “balkanize” in order to keep the Shiites and the Kurds from gaining too much control.” My Own Lecture Notes (April 14, 2003)

Kristol - Iraq will be an “unbelievable improvement”?

Deaths under Hussein Chemical attacks - 30,000 Iraqi and Iranian deaths 250,000 people were killed during the 1991 uprisings

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030404-1.html

Deaths as a result of sanctions and destruction of Iraqi infrastructure 1991-2003 1 million, 500,000 were children

Deaths since the invasion Approximately 650,000

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1016-20.htm

Kristol - “Good effect elsewhere in the Middle East”?

Palestinian Landslide: The Elections; Hamas Routs Ruling Faction, Casting Pall On Peace Process

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10B1EFA3A5B0C748EDDA80894DE404482

Occupation Made World Less Safe, Pro-War Institute “The assessment, by the International Institute of Strategic Studies

(IISS), states that the occupation has become "a potent global recruitment pretext" for al-Qa'ida, which now has more than 18,000 militants ready to strike Western targets.”

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0526-05.htm

The Big Question

Are the neo-conservatives who led the charge to war:

Thoroughly incompetent and short-sighted?

Sadistic murderous opportunists for global economic goals?

Deceitful war-mongers to protect US political-military objectives?

A combination of the above?

The Big Answer: They intentionally or unintentionally did not take Political-Economy into account.