They Are Not Terrorists Anymore, They Are Fascists

Well, he finally said it:

Speaking briefly on a visit to Wisconsin, Bush said the foiled plane plot was "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

If the media don't call Bush out on this one, I will just crawl into a hole somewhere and give up.

There is absolutely NO reasonable definition of the word "Fascism" - a right-wing authoritarian doctrine characterized by militant nationalism and control of government by business interests - that can logically be applied to Al Quaeda, the insurgents in Iraq, or any other Bush opponents.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said to Congress in 1938:

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling power. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.

Roosevelt fought the Nazis in WWII. He knew a thing or two about Fascism.

And let's not forget that Prescott Bush, W's grandfather, was on the Fascist side, along with a whole host of US millionaires who had invested heavily in post-WWI Germany and who strongly opposed US intervention in WWII becuae they placed profiteering ahead of morality (and still do).

The stark, screaming, totally unpalatable truth is
that BUSH & CO ARE THE FASCISTS!!!

So why is Bush now calling the terrorists "Fascists"? Well, this is just more classic Rove tactics: take your biggest weakness and turn it against your opponents. People have been comparing Bush to Hitler for more than five years. It hurt, because it was too close to the truth. So (following their proscribed GOP-Rove Talking Points) the sub-intelligent mob known as the "wingnuts" started calling anyone who criticized them Fascists (they are still doing it). It wasn't long before the word "Islamofascist" was born, as a convenient catch-all for anyone who opposed Bush on any grounds whatsoever.

Until now, it is a term that has remained confined to the dark corners of right-wing blogs. That Bush chooses to use the words "Islamic Fascists" in public is a very clear indication that he remains in thrall to the discredited, illogical and highly dangerous ideology of the neo-conservative fanatics.

These are dangerous times indeed.

UPDATE: A minor note of protest in the Reuters report:

U.S. Muslim groups criticized Bush, saying his choice of words could inflame anti-Muslim tensions.
"The problem with the phrase is it attaches the religion of Islam to tyranny and fascism, rather than isolating the threat to a specific group of individuals," said Edina Lekovic, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

But that is the whole point, isn't it? To generate xenophobic hysteria against the entire Moslem world, create a new enemy to replace the Commies, keep the terrified Christian Right donating generously, and keep the wheels of the US military-industrial complex churning out profits.
Just look at this newspaper editorial from Brownsville, Texas:

Wake up, America!

There is no way to say this nicely: There are Islamic fascists who want to enslave you or kill you! No, you can’t reason with them. No, you can’t negotiate with them. They believe that they are doing God’s will. So you’re not going to be able to sit down with coffee or tea and talk sense with them.

They want you, your family, and all you love dead. To them you are an infidel, less than human, a rat or pig. You are scum or a cancer to be destroyed.

They want to make the whole world an Islamic world ruled by Islamic law. Remember the Taliban? Ladies, get your burkas ready!

Our enemies are deadly serious and are doining everything possible to reach their goal. Right now Iran, the No. 1 sponsor of terrorism, is on its way to completing a nuclear bomb. Its psychopath of a president has boldly proclaimed he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

To them, we are the great Satan!

Are you ready for Iranian nukes?

There are approximately 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. About 10 percent to 15 percent are radical nuts. Do the math. That’s a lot of genocidal maniacs. They would just love to enter your kid’s school and blow it up so they can get their 70 virgins.

UPDATE 2: They are not jsut "Fascists", they are "Imperialists" too! Here's Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on MSNBC:

It may not be classic fascism as you had with Mussolini or Hitler. But it is a totalitarian, intolerant imperialism that has a vision that is totally at odds with Western society and our rules of law.

Mohamed Elibiary, a Texas-based Muslim activist, provides a breath of reason:

We've got Osama bin Laden hijacking the religion in order to define it one way ... We feel the president and anyone who's using these kinds of terminologies is hijacking it too from a different side. The president's use of the language is going to ratchet up the hate meter...

Exactly. Exploiting fear and hatred for political gain. It's all they've got left.