In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, several prominent �progressive� intellectuals made a case for �retaliation against terrorism� on moral and ethical grounds.

The �just cause� military doctrine (jus ad bellum) used to justify the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was upheld at face value as a legitimate response to 9/11, without examining the fact that Washington had not only covertly supported the �Islamic terror network,� it was also instrumental in the installation of the Taliban government in 1996.

In the wake of 9/11, the (real) antiwar movement was completely isolated. Trade unions and civil society organizations had swallowed the media lies and government propaganda. They had accepted a war of retribution against Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds, an impoverished country of 30 million people.

Concurrently, a fake antiwar activism emerged in the wake of 9/11 which broadly consisted in stating: �I am against the war but I support the war on terrorism.� Meanwhile, several NGOs became actively involved in humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, in close liaison with USAID and the Pentagon. (See Yves Engler, The Humanitarian Invastion of Afghanistan: Occupation by NGO, Global Research, September 5, 2010).

This acceptance of the �war on terrorism� was in large part based on the acceptance of the official 9/11 narrative, namely that the US was under attack, that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Muslims, that the Taliban were protecting Al Qaeda and providing refuge to its illusive leader Osama bin Laden.

Ironically, many �Progressives� in America not only accepted the official 9/11 narrative, they were also involved in smearing the 9/11 Truth Movement. By slurring those who questioned the official 9/11 story (backed by carefully researched evidence and analysis), they (unwittingly) provided legitimacy to the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, the Palestinian occupied territories as well as the targeting of Iran, as part of the �Global War on Terror� GWOT).

The so-called �War on Terrorism� is a lie. Amply documented, the pretext to wage this war is totally fabricated.

Realities have been turned upside down. Acts of war are heralded as �humanitarian interventions� geared towards restoring �democracy.�

Military occupation and the killing of civilians are presented as �peace-keeping operations.�

The derogation of civil liberties under the so-called �anti-terrorist legislation� is portrayed as a means to providing �domestic security� and upholding civil liberties.

Meanwhile, the civilian economy is precipitated into crisis; expenditures on health and education are curtailed to finance the military-industrial complex and the police state.

Under the American Empire, millions of people around the world are being driven into abysmal poverty, and countries are transformed into open territories.

U.S. protectorates are installed with the blessing of the so-called �international community.� �Interim governments� are formed. Political puppets designated by America�s oil giants are casually endorsed by the United Nations, which increasingly performs the role of a rubber-stamp for the U.S. Administration.

The real national security threat, we are told repeatedly, emanates from an illusive �outside enemy� called Al Qaeda, which has overriding military capabilities including the ability to wage terrorist attacks on American cities using nuclear weapons.

The 9/11 attacks play a key role both at the political level as well in the formulation of military doctrine.

Al Qaeda is waging war on America and Western civilization. America is the victim of 9/11. A second 9/11 is said to be imminent, according to official Pentagon and Homeland Security sources.

The protagonists of war are presented as the victims of war. Pre-emptive war directed against �Islamic terrorists� is required to defend the Homeland. Realities are turned upside down. America is under attack.

In the wake of 9/11, the creation of this �outside enemy� has served to obfuscate the real economic and strategic objectives behind the war in the Middle East and Central Asia. Waged on the grounds of self-defense, the pre-emptive war is upheld as a �just war� with a humanitarian mandate.

Ironically, Al Qaeda -- the �outside enemy of America� and alleged architect of the 9/11 attacks is a creation of the CIA.

The threat of �Islamic terrorism� is part of a covert intelligence operation which purports to create divisions within national societies. It is used profusely to create an atmosphere of fear in Western societies. It is also used to trigger ethnic strife and sectarian violence in multiethnic societies.

�Islamic terrorism� constitutes the underpinning of the Pentagon�s propaganda campaign. Al Qaeda (a US intelligence asset) is said to be supported by Iran. Pari passu, Iran is presented as a threat to the security of the American Homeland.

�The war on terrorism� constitutes a useful and necessary diversion from the real threat of a US sponsored nuclear war. It also constitutes a justification and a pretext to wage war on �humanitarian grounds.�

We are dealing with an inquisitorial environment. Those who decide to unleash this war believe their own propaganda. They are ignorant and insensitive as to the consequences of their actions.

In a bitter irony, a US sponsored nuclear war directed against Iran is upheld as a means to avoid and curtail the risk of nuclear war.

The international community has endorsed nuclear war in the name of World Peace. �Making the World safer� is the justification for launching a military operation which could potentially result in a nuclear holocaust.

But nuclear holocausts are not front-page news! In the words of Mordechai Vanunu,

The Israeli government is preparing to use nuclear weapons in its next war with the Islamic world. Here where I live, people often talk of the Holocaust. But each and every nuclear bomb is a Holocaust in itself. It can kill, devastate cities, destroy entire peoples. (See interview with Mordechai Vanunu, December 2005).

Realities are turned upside down. In a twisted logic, a �humanitarian war� using tactical nuclear weapons, which according to �expert scientific opinion� are �harmless to the surrounding civilian population� is upheld as a means to protecting Israel and the Western World from a nuclear attack.

America�s mini-nukes with an explosive capacity of up to six times a Hiroshima bomb are upheld by authoritative scientific opinion as humanitarian bombs, whereas Iran�s nonexistent nuclear weapons are branded as an indisputable threat to global security.

The antiwar movement

A meaningful anti-war movement must question the legitimacy of the �Global War on Terrorism� which is based on the official 9/11 narrative.

9/11 Truth is fundamental to building a real and effective antiwar movement, which challenges the legitimacy of the war criminals in high office.

When the Big Lie regarding the 9/11 attacks is exposed and fully understood, the legitimacy of America�s military agenda falls like a deck of cards. The warmongers no longer have a leg to stand on.

� Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca, 2010