Now We Pay The Saladin Tithe

About a week after the surreal events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), George W. Bush, like some sort of Pope, declared his own Crusade. “President Bush's reference to a 'crusade' against terrorism, which passed almost unnoticed by Americans, rang alarm bells in Europe. It raised fears that the terrorist attacks could spark a 'clash of civilizations' between Christians and Muslims, sowing fresh winds of hatred and mistrust.” (“Europe cringes at Bush 'crusade' against terrorists”, by Peter Ford. Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 19, 2001)

Then, a month after the bizarre 9/11 events, we were being urged, as Americans, to go shopping. It was our patriotic duty! Time magazine published an incredible op-ed piece link ing World War II "Victory Gardens" and the consumption frugality of that era with a World War III shopping endorsement. (“Please, Please, Go Shopping”, http://www.shout.net/~bigred/Shopping.htm)

But how would the new Crusade be funded? “The Iraq War will pay for itself,” we were told. Oil revenues from Iraq would foot the bill. But now that forecast, like many weather forecasts also, has turned out to be wrong. And the cost for the new Crusade is being estimated lately at $2 Trillion dollars. And so a Saladin Tithe has been presented for payment to the American public.

The Saladin tithe, or the Aid of 1188, was a tax, or more specifically a tallage, levied in England and to some extent in France in 1188, in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin_tithe). Who can forget the imposition of the Saladin Tithe in 1188? wrote Conspiracy Nation in its previous report. (“G-7 Will Be 'All Smiles'”, http://www.shout.net/~bigred/G7Smiles.html). Many had forgotten about it, but they are about to remember.

The Saladin Tithe was extremely unpopular, despite the general acknowledgement that it was for a worthy cause, notes the Wikipedia article (op. cit.). An outright imposition of such a tax at this point in time would also be unpopular, to say the least. And so, a debasement of the currency is being used to pay down the Crusade debt. This manifests as the “Stealth Tax” of inflation.

The Time magazine opinion piece of 2001 went into how it “felt wrong” to be going shopping. Patriotic feeling instinctively caused one to favor tightening their belts. But now the patriotic feeling turns out to have been correct after all. Going to war does involve sacrifice, at home and abroad. Where are the flag wavers today? “I pledge allegiance to the belt tightening.”

Part of the post-9/11 shopping boom involved e-z credit for mortgages. People bought houses by the ton. The “Federal” Reserve, writes Joseph Stiglitz in the London Guardian newspaper of April 8, “let forth a flood of liquidity, and the regulators looked the other way as bad loans were made and debt became excessive. In a sense, it had to, if the economy was to keep going, if the costs of the war were to remain hidden, if Americans were to be persuaded they could have a war for free.” (“A leadership deficit lies at the heart of the financial storm”). Americans are routinely blamed for not saving money, but no one remembers how they were encouraged to spend as their patriotic duty.

The First Crusade is where it all began. After that, various other Crusades have taken place, right up to the 20^th Century and now, with the Dubya Crusade, extending into this century. The Balkan Wars which preceded the First World War are considered to be a Crusade extenuation. General Allenby's capture of Jerusalem in December 1917 and the Zionist occupation of the Holy Land also extend the theme. Do not be scared off by the voluminous subject of “The Crusades.” Narrow it down to the First Crusade, where the thing was born. Consider the Pope Urban II, who called the Saracens “a race absolutely alien to God.” Do not neglect the Mad Caliph Hakim, persecutor of Christians. Go to the library if you cannot afford the cost of books, skyrocketing due to the Saladin Tithe.

Conspiracy Nation

http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html