Everything is Terror Now. Didn’t You Know?

Apparently even the Dutch, those most contemplative guardians of high civilization, have begun using Washington’s crude definition of “terrorism” — that is, Anything We Don’t Like. Sunny Ofehe, a Netherlands resident and activist from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, was brought up on charges of sabotage of oil pipelines, people smuggling, and fraud. It’s irrelevant whether or not these charges are true; Ofehe says they are a conspiracy against him and his case should be dropped while a Dutch judge says they’re not and the case will continue.

Notable here is the classification of even the bombing of pipelines as “terrorism.” Pipeline bombings, whatever their merits, are not done to strike fear, and they are not targeted at civilians — these are two indisputable requisites for terrorism. They are carried out specifically to damage the corrupt Nigerian central government that siphons the resources of the Niger Delta region and recklessly despoils its delicate ecosystem. And also to make it less profitable for foreign oil companies to make their ill-gotten profits as well — in this case, shock of shocks, Royal Dutch Shell.

The Niger Delta is home to several insurgent groups, rebels who demand they benefit from the loot that flows to elites in the capital and profiteers in Amsterdam.

Similar to American terror cases, judges refuse to allow Ofehe to see evidence against him. This stretching of the definition of terror makes it ever easier for the government to shut down inconvenient dissent.

News Flash: Those in charge are looking out for their own interests, whether in the Netherlands, Nebraska, or the nether regions of Nigeria. They just have different ways of managing the plebes.