three-card monty mind games (mind games) 6.14..02

Life since 9-11 has gotten a bit tougher on the old psyche. I know I am not alone in this. It seems like we have only three choices: To obsess over the news, ignore the news or try to find that perfect balance that is "the new normal."
Terrorist arrests, financial news, security lines, fear of the inevitable. And these are just for starters. Passive news reception is an option for some, but what about the conspiracy theorists among us forced by some demon or other to find the man behind the curtain?
Conspiracy theorists get a bad name, frankly. Any time two or more people get together to secretly plan an action that is unlawful or by some estimation unethical, immoral or against the rules, it constitutes a conspiracy. Regular folks lie, cheat and steal on a daily basis to cover their tracks. Are politicos better than us? Not likely.
It is possible, just possible mind you, that politicians occasionally hide, obfuscate or bend the truth they present to the public for a variety of reasons both well intentioned and nefarious - like cheating and stealing.
Take the recent revelations regarding former Chicago gang member and convict turned international terrorist Jose Pedillo and his dirty, dirty bombs.
Pedillo has been in custody for a month for his association with al-Qaida and his plan to unleash a radiological weapon on the people of his homeland. Yet, we are only just hearing about this subject now as FBI agent Coleen Rowley began her blistering commentary to Congress on the FBI's shortcomings. Coincidence? Yeah, like finding Robert Downey Jr. passed out in your swimming pool.
And the national media dumps Rowley and jumps on dirty bombs because fear sells and everybody is buying. Righteous indignation is on sale this week. Buy two rants and get an impassioned plea before Congress absolutely free.
Here is one tip that something is fishy. A dirty bomb is not much more damaging than a conventional bomb. It is more frightening because most people hear "radioactive" and go mental because "The Planet of the Apes" and "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" put that fear there long ago.
What should scare us all more is the inability of the FBI and CIA to gather and share information as well as stop terrorism.
Government sources should be arresting people's fears about dirty bombs where possible and necessary, not allowing them to run rampant to cover their own tracks.
Top this poo-poo platter off with the red herring in this case, Jose Pedillo, who managed to go from Chicago to Pakistan to join al-Qaida, should serve more to highlight the ineffeciency of our government's crime fighting agencies than to avert our attention from it.
The FBI had no problem infiltrating the KKK, the civil rights or peace movements of the 1960s. The CIA could get agents into the KGB. Those groups can smell a fink a mile away. Americans and other westerners joined Al-Qaida and the Taliban easily enough to make the news. Those groups seem easy enough to infiltrate by amateurs but the pros can't do it?
If a spoon-fed white boy like John Walker Lindh and a filthy criminal like Jose Pedillo could both pass muster, anybody should be able to throw down a few "Allah ackbars" and get in. Realistically, it seems to take an earnest interest in Islam (which cannot be that hard to find or fake) not an expert knoweldge of Arabic.
The timing of this latest round of dirty bomb scares stinks.
Terror is the weapon of our enemies, but let's face it, working up the American people into a lather has been the tool of our leaders for quite some time. They have no trouble coming up with ideas and announcements guaranteed to scare us all stupid. The color-coded security warning system, routine vague alerts from John Ashcroft about the next attack coming in X number of days and occasional news releases that have that "freshly planted" scent.
It doesn't matter what part of the political spectrum you call home, this is the game leaders of all stripes play with the public. Maybe it all started off with good intentions to prevent panic, keep us calm, get the war machine rolling or get things back to normal, but it eventually turned into a three-card monty game.
You need a war, let's invade Granada or go back to Iraq two or three times without managing to get rid of Saddam Hussein. There's always the Balkans or Somalia. It is no coincidence that as The Cold War wound down we found ourselves with a new world full of enemies to go after on the nightly news. Economies stagnate in peace time, but get your war on and people are suddenly motivated and doing their best to not think anything that might get them in trouble.
We are all living in a strange new world. But for the first time since the War of 1812, violence has come to our shores from abroad. It was easy to take things overseas - fighting, dissenting, getting on with democracy. The real trick now will be forging ahead with our American value system intact, but one thing is for sure, the old bag of tricks is starting to wear thin.
- Greg Jerrett is a Nonpareil staff writer. His column runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He may be contacted at 328-1811, Ext. 279, or by e-mail at gjerrett@nonpareilonline.com.