An Interview with Gregory Elich by Mickey Z.

I first met Gregory Elich more than two years when we were both speakers at

the One Dance People's Summit. We've since become friends and I was proud

to write the afterword for his recently released book, 'Strange Liberators:

Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit'.

As I stated in that afterword, Gregory Elich has dedicated himself to

skillfully unearthing and disseminating the information that typically goes

unsaid. He provides us with the well-researched fundamentals we cannot and

should not expect to get from our newspapers or televisions. Put another

way, Elich is teaching us to identify the "gates" that restrict our freedom

of thought . . . the gates locking us into a limited form of perception.

I recently interviewed Gregory via e-mail. Here's how it went:

Mickey Z.: The phrase "Strange Liberators" certainly resonates with the

current U.S. occupation of Iraq. Why did you choose this title?

Gregory Elich: The phrase is taken from a speech given by the Rev. Martin

Luther King in 1968 on the subject of the Vietnam War. Not much has changed

since that time in at least one respect: U.S. leaders still use

high-sounding phrases to cloak wars, interventions, and aggressive policies

that serve corporate interests. One of the book's primary goals is to

demonstrate the reality of those policies for those on the receiving end,

hence the title.

MZ: Such concern for those on the "receiving end" will often get you labeled

"anti-American" or "pro-terrorist." It's fine to express sadness when

American soldiers are killed but sympathy for those living under the bombs

has somehow become forbidden. Who are some of targets of U.S. foreign

policy that you talk about in your book?

GE: Empathy is notably lacking in mass media coverage of foreign affairs.

My aim was to fill that gap for readers. The targets of U.S. foreign policy

are too numerous to adequately cover in a single volume. Instead, I focus

in detail on selected case studies that illustrate patterns that apply on a

wider scale. What it means to be subjected to U.S. military power is shown

in my chapters on the invasion of Iraq and the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The devastating impact of Western sanctions is covered in the chapters on

Zimbabwe, and those on North Korea provide an example of hostile U.S.

economic and diplomatic maneuvers. Finally, U.S. policy on climate change

is in effect a foreign policy issue in that all of humanity, nature, and the

very globe itself will suffer for the decisions being made today.

MZ: The countries you mention are very unpopular in America. Even within

some segments of the left, for example, many will join in on the

demonization of Yugoslavia and Slobodan Milosevic. How do you respond when

such folks declare it was good thing that NATO removed him from power?

GE: It is well known on the left how the Bush Administration lied about Iraq

in order to provide a pretext for invasion, claiming that it harbored

weapons of mass destruction and had links to Al Qaeda. Unfortunately,

skepticism about U.S. motives in the Middle East has not always been

extended to other areas of the globe. The Bush Administration is not

uniquely militaristic. The invasion of Iraq was not an anomaly. U.S.

leaders have a long history of demonizing nations they intend to attack or

undermine. Deliberate lies and distortions are utilized to whip up

emotional reactions calculated to build support for aggressive measures.

Whenever a new campaign of demonization is opened, such as is happening now

with Iran, the first question the left should ask itself is if the claims

are true. I believe that a close examination of the facts invariably shows

that they are not. I intentionally chose unpopular examples in my book

because I wanted to demonstrate how the invasion of Iraq is in fact part of

a broader and consistent pattern. On the subject of Yugoslavia, it is

difficult to counter years of propaganda in a sentence or two. The subject

is far too complex, so I would encourage readers who are curious to explore

the issue in more depth to read my book, as well as books on the subject by

Michael Parenti, Peter Brock, and Diana Johnstone.

MZ: I agree. It's extremely difficult to grasp the scope of these issues

without a lot more context, e.g. the well-documented information in your

book. I'd like to come back to something you said earlier about climate

change being a foreign policy issue. You conclude Strange Liberators with a

powerful chapter called "Disposable Planet" in which you talk of earth

becoming an "increasingly forbidding environment for future generations."

Do you feel this could be a unifying/galvanizing catalyst for public

awareness and grassroots action?

GE: I am sure of it. Unfortunately, it will come too late, as the time for

action is now. Americans in general don't feel this issue has touched their

lives in a meaningful way. But at some point, the impact will be impossible

to ignore as feedback effects accelerate the process of climate change with

alarming results. Once that happens, people are bound to question the

Clinton and Bush Administrations' resolve to seek economic advantage for

U.S. corporations at the expense of the environment. Faced with a bleak

future, few people will regard a despoiled planet as a price worth paying

for already wealthy corporations to reap even more profits. With that

realization, popular anger may be something to behold.

To order Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit:

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Liberators-Militarism-Mayhem-Pursuit/dp/1595265708

or

www.llumina.com/store/strangeliberators.htm

Mickey Z. is the author of several books, most recently 50 American

Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know (Disinformation Books). He can be

found on the Web at www.mickeyz.net.