Unfortunately, the military and NATO play a crucial role in protecting the freedoms Anonymous waxes poetic about them usurping.
Really? No seriously, really? Is the USSR still a threat to democracy? Or do you consider the handful of terrorist a serious threat to the very nature of our democratic society?
Frankly, I don't think the terrorists have a snowball's chance in hell against us. They may occasionally launch a successful attack, but so what? Did each bombing of London bring the IRA closer defeating the British? Nope! Terrorists can't win, they can only terrorize.
I think our willingness to be terrorized, and curb our freedoms in the name of safety, is the real threat to democracy.
Right at this very moment, and rather atypically, the military and NATO are playing a crucial role in fighting for Libyan democracy.
This would be great if they weren't simultaneously providing Bahrain with tacit approval of the incredibly brutal and bloody crushing of their democratic movement.
The world's a complicated place these days and the US military and NATO have not had a real enemy since the USSR collapsed.
>Did each bombing of London bring the IRA closer defeating the British?
The IRA's goal was never to "defeat the British", it was to force them out of Northern Ireland and unite the island of Ireland in one nation. After the Good Friday Agreement, the British withdrew troops, gave up many governing powers in Northern Ireland, and laid the constitutional framework for a potential future referendum to unite Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in a single nation. In short, the PIRA got most of what they wanted. The Good Friday Agreement was an (largely successful) attempt by both sides to end The Troubles, so to claim that the PIRA was unsuccessful is a bit disingenuous.
You should also note that if the majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted to be part of the Republic they would actually vote that way at any of the relevant elections.
Having said that, the minority community in NI had been treated pretty awfully over the years so I think the current situation is a pretty decent compromise.
The IRA bombings in London were 100% successful in the sense that those who planned it are now sharing political power in Stormount. Something unthinkable a mere 20 years ago. Terrible analogy.
Much with the workers' unions, once the ultimate goal has been accomplished these groups tend to keep finding ways (however strained) to justify their continued existence rather than just disbanding.
Last time I checked, the AT&T long-lines in the Bay Area are guarded by the US military.
My point is that we need the people Anonymous is declaring as their enemy, and waging "cyber-war" against them isn't going to do anything to prevent situations like the HB Gary/Chamber of Commerce fiasco.
You can't champion Anonymous for the same tactics you condemn HB Gary for...
I think you miss the entire problem and have bought into the propaganga of world governments. The threat is the individual against the systems of government control, power and those who leach off their positions of power.
You, the consumer, are the asset of the corporations - both as an employee of them (where you productivity is measured and your demands for opportunity is resisted) and as a consumer of their goods.
The governments are in a state of transition, where forever the goods which the economic system is based on were almost all physical - the next 1000 years will have most all value in data. The physical is sunsetting.
There is no threat to you, the citizen, that governments are concerned with - there is threat to which faction hopds the most economic power in the world.
Countries dont matter - they are consolidating down to 5 economic centers - ultimately all reporting to one central system of financial regulation.
The wars are all about which faction will control. It will be china, russia and a split middle-east against the us, EU and japan.
The plays in iraq, afganistan and iran are because the US cant depend on the house of saud.
That's not NATO and the Army, that's DHS/ICE. It is entirely possible for portions of the "government" (that mythical monolithic entity) to protect the internet while other portions attempt to destroy it.
Unfortunately, the military and NATO play a crucial role in protecting the freedoms Anonymous waxes poetic about them usurping.