Monday, May 29, 2006

The Haditha Massacre: a product of a phony, failed, and immoral war!

The massacre at Haditha is a product of Bush's policy of aggressive war, U.S. sponsored war crimes, and outsourced torture. The massacre at Haditha is but a single tile in a bigger Bush mosaic that includes Fallujah, Abu Ghraib and the gulags of Eastern Europe.

I would put money on this proposition: nations that are losing wars commit atrocities. Logically, the situation can only be worse in wars that are themselves crimes. Like My Lai, an atrocity from the earlier failed war in Viet Nam, the massacre at Haditha has already become the symbol of American imperialism —a disease born of hubris, frustration, and, in this case, the black hearted, evil lies told by Bush to justify and sell the war. Those lies all but guaranteed its failure at the outset.

Not surprisingly, Bush is not worried about the moral implications. Rather, his administration is reported to be anxious about the fallout, the PR, the "damage control". It is the mindset of an utterly failed administration that believes that truth doesn't matter —only perception. Perception, a la principles acted upon by Joseph Goebbels, can be controlled, designed, manipulated by the spin masters, the dispensers of Bush kool-aid.

It won't work.

A de-hypnotized people, inured to Bush rhetoric about "liberating Iraq", are already convinced that Bush's war of aggression in Iraq was and continues to be a disaster, a debacle from which there is no strategy for winning.

Bushco, predictably, has already resorted to the "bad apple" defense. Clue: this only works once, maybe twice. Given the fact that we still don't know the extent of the Abu Ghraib atrocities and war crimes and given the fact that details of "rendition" throughout Eastern Europe is still covered up, it's reasonable to conclude that the atrocities of Bush's so-called "war on terrorism" cannot be dismissed so easily. It would appear that war crimes, murder, and torture are endemic. There is evidence in Bush's State of the Union address, that atrocities are, in fact, Bush policy:
We will export death and destruction to the four corners of the earth ...

—George W. Bush

And, on the occasion of his 2003 State of the Union address, Bush cackled and chuckled:
All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. Many others have met a different fate. Let's put it this way -- they are no longer a problem to the United States and our friends and allies. (Applause.)

—George W. Bush, 2003 State of the Union Address

Clearly, this is a reference to summary executions —or, if the victim was unlucky —death at the end of a long period of torture. Bush put forward no proof, no evidence whatsoever that any of those persons summarily executed by American armed forces were ever involved in terrorism. Most certainly, none of the people murdered by U.S. Marines were ever, in any way, involved in terrorism against the United States. Certainly, even Bush concedes that Iraq, itself, as a nation, had nothing whatsoever to do with the events of 911.

Then why are we killing people —innocent people —who had nothing to do with 911? There might be more universal outrage if the American media had not made it necessary for bloggers to find the real story in the European media.
The downplaying of U.S. torture as an institutional rather than an exceptional strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan was successful, at least in the public’s mind. The evidence suggests otherwise. It does so as well when it comes to wanton killings, whether it’s the trigger-happy soldiering at Iraqi checkpoints or the killing of civilians in allegedly collateral circumstances. Yet you can see the Haditha massacre’s dowplaying game already in full swing. The Times has the story over two columns above the fold, but to the left of a four-column spread about the Enron verdict. Enron is news. It isn’t bigger news than the massacre of twenty-four Iraqis at the hands of U.S. marines. Not by any stretch of journalistic calibration.

—Pierre Tristam, Mathaba News Network

And then there is this report from Stan Goff writing about Haditha specifically:
These Marines have already been — collectively — slaughtering civilians at an alarming rate, often in ones and twos, but in Fallujah they did so by the bushels, often as they lay abed or cowered in corners trying to hide.

So someone will have to explain to me why, after this mechanical ambush killed one Marine, there was something out of the ordinary enough to be categorized as “rogue” when these de-empathized, militaristic boys from an imperial society, freshly trained to holler “Kill, kill, kill!” leapt out and shot down 24 “hajjis,” male and female, all ages.

—Stan Goff, Massacre at Haditha: Return of the Bad Apple Defense

The Bushco/Rumsfeld Pentagon tried to cover it all up. Representative John Murtha says the cover up may go all the way up the chain of command. We wouldn't have known about Haditha unless, as Goff points out, someone got the pictures. Because of a fluke —the truth about Bush's lies is known. And because the truth is known, Bush is engaged in damage control —not reform.

Murder charges will be filed against the Marines involved. I submit to you that if war crimes charges are not likewise filed against Bush and the gang who ordered this war, then justice will not have been served. Who will organize a world wide movement to bring Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld to trial for waging an illegal war, for violating the Principles of Nuremberg, for authorizing the commission of atrocities to include murder, mass murder and torture?

Enough is enough.

From ITV News:

Iraqi Girl Tells of U.S. Attack in Haditha

"A young Iraqi girl has given a shocking first hand account of what witnesses claim amounts to mass murder by US troops in the war-torn country.

Ten-year-old Iman Walid lost seven members of her family in an attack by American marines last November.

If her story is true - and it has been disputed by the US military - human rights workers say it is the worst massacre of civilians by US troops in the country.

Iman tells of screaming soldiers entering her house in the Iraqi town of Haditha spraying bullets in every direction.

Fifteen people in all were killed, including her parents and grandparents. Her account has been corroborated by other eyewitnesses who say it was a revenge attack after a roadside bomb killed a marine....

Initially, the US marines issued a statement saying that a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians, while eight insurgents had been killed in a later gunbattle.

US military officials have since confirmed the 15 civilians were actually shot dead."

Buzzflash often sums up an entire story in a single "second coming" headline. They've done it again. Kudos to Buzzflash:

Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists". As a BuzzFlash Reader Noted, "I don't care if Gore doesn't run, just as long as he keeps talking!"

An update and additional reference:

High court limits whistleblower lawsuits

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to claim they were retaliated against for going public with allegations of official misconduct.

By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation's 20 million public employees do not have carte blanche free speech rights to disclose government's inner-workings. New Justice Samuel Alito cast the tie-breaking vote.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the court's majority, said the First Amendment does not protect "every statement a public employee makes in the course of doing his or her job."

The decision came after the case was argued twice this term, once before Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor retired in January, and again after her successor, Alito, joined the bench. []

Paul Craig Roberts: 'The evil is in our government'

Posted on Monday, May 29 @ 10:25:02 EDT

Is the Bush Regime a state sponsor of terrorism?

A powerful case can be made that it is.

In the past three years, the Bush Regime has murdered tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and an unknown number of Afghan ones.

U.S. Marines, our finest and proudest military force, are under criminal investigation for breaking into Iraqi homes and murdering entire families. In an unprecedented event, Gen. Michael Hagee, the Marine Corps commandant, has found it necessary to fly to Iraq to tell our best-trained troops to stop murdering civilians.

Gen. Hagee found it necessary to tell the U.S. Marines: "We do not employ force just for the sake of employing force. We use lethal force only when justified, proportional, and most importantly, lawful."

The war criminals in the Bush Regime have dismissed the murders as "collateral damage," but they are in fact murders. Otherwise, there would be no criminal investigations, and the Marine commandant would not be burdened with the embarrassment of having to fly to Iraq to lecture U.S. Marines on the lawful use of force.

The criminal Bush Regime has now murdered more Iraqis than Saddam Hussein. The Bush Regime is also responsible for 20,000 U.S. casualties (dead, maimed for life, and wounded).

Bush damns the "axis of evil." But who has the "axis of evil" attacked? Iran has attacked no one. North Korea has attacked no country for more than a half century. Iraq attacked Kuwait a decade and a half ago, apparently after securing permission from the U.S. ambassador.

Isn't the real axis of evil Bush-Blair-Olmert? Bush and Blair have attacked two countries, slaughtering their citizens. Olmert is urging them on to attack a third country – Iran. ...


'Toons by Dante Lee; use only with permission

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29 comments:

Sebastien Parmentier said...

just like early 1900's war in phillipines! Just like Vietnam! Just like... well, that has become a trend with us, ain't it?

Or a signature.

Ron's Thoughts said...

Today we are suppose to remember fallen American war heros. Who will remember the murdered Iraqi children. Call for the impeachment of Bush today for crimes against humanity.

benmerc said...

I had read this has popped up in the European press...we are always the last to find out. Again, the lack of leadership and moral direction have left Americans to look in the mirror to try and understand who we are. For those who were duped from the start this should be the final wake up call, if this does not stir the consciousness of the average citizen we are in worse trouble then one may have imagined. I believe this incident will more or less be down played in the press, and many others will simply look the other way, just as our leadership shall. Never the less, it has been exposed, and many have witnessed the report.

These are defining moments in our history, and as we have been here before (as were mentioned the atrocities of the Spanish American War, and of course the more recent atrocities that occurred in Vietnam) It appears we continue to ignore the lessons of the past. As in every law of nature, one may make the same mistake only so many times before bitter reality reminds one the error of it’s way. Have the citizens of this country fallen into such a pit of self absorbed material stupor that there is no sense or awareness of individual responsibility for what we do as a Nation? Or harbor such a state of prideful arrogance that we deny realities the balance of the world knows as fact and truth? If the lazy, the lost, the foolish, the “silent majority” wallow in their ignorance or continue in self denial, the great experiment will be finished.

This leadership has set our nation on a course that leads to a large rock pile in a stormy sea. Of the many persons in the legislature and those judicial administrators that know this, but do not act, they will all be guilty as the primary perpetrators if we end on the rocks. This November election cycle of 2006, I believe will be the most important election of the past 145 years...the sad part is all I really know at this point is who NOT to vote for.

Unknown said...

Great comments, benmerc, ron, dante. You honor this forum. I wish I could add a comment. But all of you and Paul Craig Roberts have summed it up. It's way past time for Bush to go. Why America cannot wake and do the moral thing is completely beyond my comprehension. Will it take a world war in which Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are holed up in Cheney's bunker? How is this nightmare to end?

benmerc said...

So true Len, how many friggin times can we say enough is enough....?

Anonymous said...

two things. you get rid of the dual citizenship twits that are in our government now, and you will accomplish much toward bringing back america. that and getting rid of the federal reserve and the irs.......now you do these things and watch what happens. ladies and gentlemen, we do the things we do by plan and because we are being led around by the nose by people who do not have your best interest at heart. all the history you think you know is a lie. the true history is there for the reading but you must read it. no one can lead you by the hand. it takes a effort on your part to do the research. the information is out there for now. take advantage of it while you still can. soon you will see the police state here in this land. then, you will have to make up your mind. shall you go along to get along, as most of us do now, or shall you fight. there will be no more room for compromise. we are very close now. it is the times we live in. the world is full of distractions and this is done on purpose to conceil what really goes on. i say again. parties and political affiliations do not matter. they are all the same. they have been bought and sold and they have sold us out. In the book of Genesis, God told Abraham that He intened to destroy the city of Sodom. Abraham asked Him if He would not destroy the city if there were a few good men there. God said that if He found ten good men there, he would not destroy the city. I ask, where are the good men in our government and why are they not speaking against this madness. Are there ten men who will stand in the gap for the American people while this treason and treachury goes on unabated. Was it not Thomas Jefferson that said, that the tree of liberty must be watered every ten years with the blood of patriots and traitors? Our founding fathers are whispering in the wind now. NO one wants to admit it and no one wants to hear it, but....can you hear it? Do we have good men now who will stand up and do what is right at this juncture in history or shall we fall into police state abyss of our own making?

Sebastien Parmentier said...

In 1940, Adolf Hitler once said to another general worrying about how History might look on the furher’s plan for the Jews: “Who remembers about the Armenian genocide?”

The monster nailed it right on the head. History of wars and genocides can be compared to labor pain. It is absolutely excruciating but instantly forgotten at the very first cry of the child. History is just like that. Even the names of the men and women who have contributed to shape the world history, or who have died for the sake of its progress often get the hardest time to be remembered in our classrooms.

Who remembers Hypatia, the last scholar of Alexandria, woman mathematician, neo-Platonian philosopher, astronomer and charismatic orator, who was the very first scientist martyr in being forcibly undressed, lynched and dismembered by an angry Christian mob in the street of Alexandria in 415 AD?

Who remembers Margaret Sanger, the inventor of Family planning, lynched seven times -often closed to death – by angry men for her passion to help early 19th century women whose husbands only regarded them as mere baby factories. Of course I can go on and on and write an encyclopedia out of those forgotten heroes. But the point is, why, often not too long after their death, those hard earned progress and reforms get endangered once again, and battles have to be re-fought.

When it comes to genocides, massacres or atrocities, things get even worse: If it is already challenging to try to relate or to feel personally the pain inflicted to an individual other that oneself, it is almost impossible to funnel into our brain the pain of an entire community. How can we feel all these different pain at the same time?

In a movie depicting such events, like the Shoah in WWII, directors often need to focus their cameras on a scene involving a single victim. While screening Spielberg’s movie, “The Schindler’s list”, a murderous act committed on an individual results in a buzzing of tear jerking; while a dark shot of a few mountain of human corpses are invariably dealt with a solemn silence from the crowd.

Networks have understood this long ago. A single crime is horrible. A little girl who died in the hands of a sexual predator; a murder-suicide of a broke husband taking his family with him; a corrupt high official; a star on trial; those are the real drama. TV knows hot to switch on the thing inside the viewer’s brain that gets him or her invariably hooked in the front of the screen, the legs so immobilized he or she can’t escape the commercials.

Meanwhile, the near half-million dead from the Christmas 2004 Tsunami; the sinking of a ferry-boat; the last big earthquake in Iran; these are just “sensationalistic” events. The genocide in Darfour; Rwanda, or the major human and economic disaster of the Republic of Congo, are treated in the news like mere natural disasters. See, for Western networks and media, blacks killing blacks, even by the millions, this is just… a natural thing.

Finally, another -and foremost- important reason for our short memory and our tendency to perpetrate these evil acts upon other nations and their people, over and over again, is greed.

I wonder why no polls have been conducted in inquiring the percentage of Americans who would prefer paying 50 bucks more for their snickers if they were guaranteed that these shoes were made by a company that works their employees within the full range of human rights? Not much, I suppose.

And it’s not just the greed for money. It’s deeper than that. It’s the greed of gene: “I eat more than you. I grow taller than you. I have more freedom than you. I have a bigger car, a bigger house. I piss on public school because I want to show the world that I have paid more for the education of my children than you have. My oil is cheaper than you so I can go faster than you while my car is bigger than yours. My church is bigger than yours and will soon eat up all the followers from your church too.

My country is bigger than your or if it’s not it’ll be soon. My country has more goodies hidden in the underground than your country and if it’s not the case, you don’t have the money and industry to get what under your soil anyway: You’ll soon need us to dig and pump your stuff and you’ll be so happy if we’ll leave you a few percents of it!
Before going to bed I praise the Lord to rise once again and show the way to my nation:
A Lord that have blessed MY nation.

At night, however, I dream of a Julius Caesar to lead my country toward glory and ultimate power. Or a Napoleon: what Duke of Wellington will any Nation oppose before a superpower like us nowadays?”

The greed of gene, folks: The thing that makes us all forget the past, the dates, the years, the countries, events, heroes, martyrs and victims. The thing that made me understood why colleges and high school have history books that always come into new editions every single year, despite the fact that the information they contain do not change overtime.

Because History is just like that: For every generation, the same stories, framed into spanking new editions.

Anonymous said...

The greed of genes is one possibility. Providing the masses with bread and circuses is another. Fear and greed. I can make some sense of people's inactions on Darfur, Indonesian tsunami etc. After all, people rely on their governments to take the lead. If they choose not to do so - for crass political reasons - it then leaves the general population floundering and rudderless, wondering why they must exert a disproportionate personal effort while a government with billions of dollars of defence manpower and equipment sits around idle. The Darfur example is particularly galling: Bush has various aims re the country and humanitarn concerns aren't on the list.

On a related issue, you will recall the Congress lockdown a few days ago. Prison Planet (your favourite news source!) is reporting The Washington Post as saying that schools throughout the Washington DC area were subject to lockdown. Is that true? If so, it sounds like state sanctioned hysteria, a process of conditioning the population to accept lockdowns at the drop of a hat. Doesn't look good.

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Who'd have thought that the "axis of evil" was a mirror?

Peace.

Unknown said...

fuzzflash, thanks for the reminder of Colin Powell's role in covering up, keeping the lid on My Lai. Powell, most recently, apologized for having lied to the U.N. in Bush's run up to the attack on Iraq. As far as I know, he's never apologized for trying to cover up My Lai. Powell has not served his country —only those who have subverted it from within.

kudos to all the comments —anonymous, poetryman, benmerc, damien (with great sources, as usual) and dante's splended history.

Vigilante said...

What do you make of the report that Bush's White House only found out about Haditha from a Time Magazine reporter?

benmerc said...

Seems to be a habit with Powell, but I guess in his game it's all about "nosing" your way to the top. So I guess having to apologize all the time for ethiical and moral digression is in order.

Ingrid said...

Growing up in the Netherlands (30plus years ago), it seemed to be common knowledge that the American press was biased or just did not report hard facts. Few notable exceptions of course because thank goodness for giving us hope, there always are exceptions. Having lived here in the US (Austin TX, howdy neighbour), I started to feel pretty disillusioned, no, MORE disillusioned than I already did. Now since I am a (fairly)novice blogger, I have discovered another mirror (using reference from poetryman)..but this time a mirror that so many Americans are holding up saying 'this is what you are and we don't want this anymore'! I feel encouraged by the likes of all of you guys speaking out, showing whoever is willing to read that you do not swallow everything whole and can see totally past the self censorship and stupidity of a lot of news and news sources and most of all, the Bush('t) administration ..pardon my texas english!
Alrightie guys, motherhood calls...yes dear, coming...
(oh the things I need to teach my kids)
Ingrid

benmerc said...

Hello Ingrid...
They say Austin is the place to be in Texas, especially for the music scene.
Sounds like America could use some more mothers like you... If you hang around long enough you will get a big Texas welcome from Len, the site mastermind and creator.

That is a hoot: (oh the things I need to teach my kids)
Ain't that a fact.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

Not Lynch attempts, Fuzzflash, full lynches indeed. She almost lost her life twice, and had many bones broken.

Also, for all this "shame" her husband divorced her and got to keep the kids. Something unheard of in the beginning of the early twentiest century.

Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for her, the former Soviet Union gave her a chance -and a lot of money- to preach over there what the US wouldn't lend a hear for.

USSR gave her a whole train, complete with press machine s, bedroom and sanitary, to go by the whole Soviet territory, from Moscow to Vladivostoc, to preach the virtues of the comdom and a small family.

She is the First woman - and a foreigner!- buried within the walls of the Kremlin.

Too bad for us.

Ingrid said...

Thanks Benmerc, at first when we lived in Austin, I had to remind myself I had moved to Texas (which I dreaded truth be told because of the conservatism here) but then someone told me of this saying 'there is Austin, and then there is the rest of Texas'. Of all the places I have lived in the States (baton rouge, birmingham, metro-phoenix), this is the most fun and interesting place I have lived. It's a place to raise a family..speaking of which...'she who must not be named is crying yet again'..(of course nothing is wrong when I am around...
Btw..just to make you jealous (and do some shameful name dropping), Alex Jones lives in my neighbourhood. I wanted to interview him for my blog but he's busily working on the production of his latest film. Yep, Austin is indeed a great place to live..
Ingrid

benmerc said...

Awww, we have WMNF's (local community radio) Rob Lori...he is the local progressive politico pundit, no Alex Jones mind you, but he gets some of my views across at times, more or less, sort of. At any rate I would still quickly be jealous, as I live in a very backward regressive region, known as west central Florida. You and your family are lucky to be in a relatively progressive city by American standards. We used to get all your alt music folks here, Robert E. Keen, Joe Ely etc… hell, we even had an event called the “Longhorn Fest”…not so much these days. The only name dropping we can do around here is: Katherine Harris, Rep. “Ginny” Waite-Brown…General Schwarzkoph, Rep. Bill Young,…should I go on? Oh, yea…”Scientology” headquarters (not that there is anything wrong with that)…so, I think not, it is depressing. You see Ingrid, even without Alex Jones you pretty much got us beat hands down. I have been trying to bribe my wife to move up to Alachua county (north central)... one of the only progressive areas in the state...no luck so far.

Unknown said...

well, I'm a bit late, benmerc...but, indeed: welcome, Ingrid. The regulars here on the "ranch" are always sharp and witty and Texas friendly —the way it was before Bush (a carpetbagger, by the way).

Great comments all. I have another busy day tomorrow but hope to get caught up on all the comments and Dante, I believe, is putting the finishing touches on a guest column.

Anonymous said...

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern suspects an Iran attack in June or July - possibly following staged terrorist attacks in the US or Europe. Obviously people shouldn't build their lives around speculation, but the track record of the current US leadership bears watching: they are staring down the barrel of legal and Congressional accountability after November; and, they are pathologically committed to controlling the political agenda through scare tactics and deceptive propaganda. That's their track record, that's what they live by. So we should expect more. At the very least, in the next few months people should be vigorously batting down any media beatups by them in regard to Iran. Watch these guys. They're certifiable.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

This will never happen, Damien. Nobody will believe that Iran would engineer such an event. Even the CIA knows that Iran had stopped supporting the Libanese Hesbollah for at least the last ten years. Instead, Iran is enjoying her strong defensing position (nuclear deterant).

The only way for Washington to get a chance to kick some Iranian butts is to hope that Israel will do the first move and gets untangled so badly that the US will have no choice but to join the party.

The Repugs have their back on the wall, and can not even count on any Reichtag fire: they used that card in 2001. Today they have only some poor cards in hands, like Immigration and - watch how this thing will come back in the front burner with a vengeance - a proposition for a constitutional amendment proclaming marriage between a man and a woman only. (in order to wake up their christian support). Goppers have nothing else for November. They've lost all credibility, even more on foreign issues.

Plus, the world economy - and mostly the United States - can not afford another crisis in wall street. Inflation is playing at peek-a-boo, and the oil price is hurting the only thing that keeps the American economy going: Consummer confidence.

The scenarion is also bad for Democrats: They must not win November. But it seems that they will. If they do, they'll have to undure the responsability to get our troops out of Iraq, get the economy back on track, and show some leadership... without a real leader, since Asshole-in-chief will still sit in office 'til 2008. Any weaknesses, any flaws from the dems during these next 2 years will be exploited greatly by Repugs during the presidential campain.

We don't want that.

Only a GOP such in a deep shit for the next two years will guaranteed a democrat president for 2008.

Vierotchka said...

Ah, but Dante - didn't the Bush administration/Pentagon declare some months ago that if there is another terrorist attack on US soil, even if Iran has nothing to do with it, the US would attack Iran?

Vierotchka said...

Here, Dante - I've found an article on a conservative website that confirms what I said above:


Deep Background

In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran. The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

Rurikid:

Ah, but Dante - didn't the Bush administration/Pentagon declare some months ago that if there is another terrorist attack on US soil, even if Iran has nothing to do with it, the US would attack Iran?

The frame of time you are talking about was before the 2004 election, where Rove was still advising Bush to stay on the “bring it on” course, as the Asshole-in-chief was still enjoying great numbers in the polls regarding his policies on homeland security.

First, these numbers have waned down dramatically since then. The latest news from the Afghanistan front, where the Taliban seem to be successful in its own “operation Phoenix”, displayed on the same page with the Haditha massacre aside: One can’t dream of a worse possible conjuncture for this administration to launch another war!

Second, Pentagon’s big stars are on a verge of mutiny toward Rumsfeld and will never accept, this time, to wage another war on the cheap.

Third, weather Bush and Dick like it or not, they will still need to ask permission from Congress. A permission that will be given only after Congress hears the findings of the investigation about this next possible terrorist act on American soil. I wonder who’s going to host the slide show this time. Condi? No one will believe her.

Fourth, if the oil junta wants to perform some kind of “Military coup”, they’ll need a mighty strong man at the head of that junta. Don’t count on Bush to fit that role. Cheney is too old, and Rummy, as I mentioned before won’t be followed by not a single star, even from American Idol. They’ll also need also an incredibly strong support from a party marching in line. And as we’ve seen since the departure of Tom deLay form Congress, the last cycle of super-partisanship among Goppers is over.

Lastly, a war in Iraq dug holes inside the pockets of the middle-class but left the billionaires untouched or even wealthier than before.

However, a war with Iran will hurt the billionaires terribly: Europe and Japan, which get their oil almost exclusively from Iran, will stop investing in the United States or sell their products to the United States. The OPEC – including Saudi Arabia - will punish the US for this ultimate arrogance by dropping the dollars and ask for Euros for their oil, pushing Exxon and the other over the cliff.

Unless, again, Israel does the foolish move, if you follow the money, a war with Iran is utterly unconceivable. Why do you think the US, this very week, through Condi, are suddenly displaying some weaknesses by inviting Iran to a diplomacy talk?

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dante Lee. You've got some good ideas there. You are probably correct. I just put nothing past these people. We know what their real goals are. Let's just hope they are running out of traction as you claim.

Anonymous said...

Dante Lee, you have followed Israeli issues closely so I'll pass on to you a conjecture by Poseidon about 9/11. I have mixed views on this, but it is plausible and accounts for a some of the evidence discrepancies. According to Poseidon, only the Pentagon attack was planned by the neocons. The other flights were piggybacked onto that by the Israelis who were tracking the 9/11 'terrorists'. WTC7, the control centre for the demolition of the other two towers, was to be attacked by Flight 93, but it got shot down by the US military. Essentially, 9/11 was intended as a smaller operation that grew like topsy. I don't know if I agree with this, but he provides a very detailed account, aspects of which I find better than the offical explanation.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

Weelllll. I don't buy they argument much. It's easy to build up a good theory plot by plugging some tangible and verifiable facts - as long as the reader does not start to google every sentences! -

However, Damien, it's funny that you brought that issue, because it fits wonderfully with the chain of talks we've been having in this comentary window: See, Neo-cons are so screwed that in 2004, they would never have predicted Sharon's stroke; Sharon who was to be cast as the one in charge to start the Iran war (Rummy and Ariel have had long talks over the phone...)

Unfornunately for the cons, Cancer-in-Chief Natanhyau did not get elected, and it looks like the new Isreali Premier (I've to get his name right) is too much of a liberal (see his new "pull out" policies) to be cast into the new American century flix.

Damien, you have no idea how Sharon stroke fucked the neo-cons agenda...

Anonymous said...

I can believe it about the stroke, Dante Lee. I exercise caution in regard to any 'explanation' of 9/11 - and the one I referred you to in particular, given its Israeli theme. I am mindful that this is not a 9/11 discussion site, so I don't want to detract from the general political theme of Len's blog. I just passed the link on for your interest and to make the point that 'explanations' of 9/11 that point to specific culprits and specific events (other than in the official version) are relatively few. Details in the account I referred to, in relation to some of the 9/11 flights, have some credibility on my reading. But I mention it in passing.

On the other aspect, I note that it is virtually impossible to have any public debate on Israel-US relations without a great deal of emotional heat, which is clearly unhelpful for the public in understanding much of US and Middle East politics. Undoubtedly Israeli influence on US foreign policy is profound. Personally, while acknowledging Israel's right to exist, I am not impressed with some of its policies. The Palestinian treatment wins no prizes from me.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

I'm 100% with you on that last point, Damien.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

Remember guys when I said (48 hours ago only) that Repugs are left to bring back the gay marriage issue in the front burner?

Well, voila!:

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-02T210119Z_01_N02200898_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIGHTS-GAY-BUSH.xml&archived=False