Saturday, July 07, 2007

Lessons Bush Learned from Hitler

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

Bush learned how to slaughter civilians. In Iraq, US troops, commanded by Herr Bush slaughter some 10,000 Iraqi civilians per month. Bush will cite that as proof that his war crime is "winding down" but that's an absurd right wing spin.

The US slaughter rate in Iraq had been as high as 30,000 Iraqis per month, 1,000 per day. It was earlier this year that the Lancet study was made public by the British Guardian, which reported the extent to which Bush is "winning" the war against Iraqi civilians.

A monstrous war crime

With more than 650,000 civilians dead in Iraq, our government must take responsibility for its liesRichard Horton
Wednesday March 28, 2007
The Guardian

Our collective failure has been to take our political leaders at their word. This week the BBC reported that the government's own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins study on Iraq civilian mortality was accurate and reliable, following a freedom of information request by the reporter Owen Bennett-Jones. This paper was published in the Lancet last October. It estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American and British led invasion in March 2003.

Immediately after publication, the prime minister's official spokesman said that the Lancet's study "was not one we believe to be anywhere near accurate". The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said that the Lancet figures were "extrapolated" and a "leap".
Not surprisingly, Bush responded: "I don't consider it a credible report". Recent updates to the report now estimate the number of civilian dead at well over one million. Bush calls that "kickin' ass". I call it mass murder, a capital crime perpetrated by George W. Bush. Meanwhile, Sydney Blumenthal says Bush knew Saddam had no WMD.
Bush knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction

Salon exclusive: Two former CIA officers say the president squelched top-secret intelligence, and a briefing by George Tenet, months before invading Iraq.

Sept. 6, 2007 | On Sept. 18, 2002, CIA director George Tenet briefed President Bush in the Oval Office on top-secret intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, according to two former senior CIA officers. Bush dismissed as worthless this information from the Iraqi foreign minister, a member of Saddam's inner circle, although it turned out to be accurate in every detail. Tenet never brought it up again.

Nor was the intelligence included in the National Intelligence Estimate of October 2002, which stated categorically that Iraq possessed WMD. No one in Congress was aware of the secret intelligence that Saddam had no WMD as the House of Representatives and the Senate voted, a week after the submission of the NIE, on the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. The information, moreover, was not circulated within the CIA among those agents involved in operations to prove whether Saddam had WMD.
As Salon broke that exclusive, we learned elsewhere that Bush was yucking it up with another right wing seed pod --Australia's PM, John Howard.
Today the US President will visit the National Maritime Museum to view the bell. It could be construed as an act of symmetry, given if Howard loses the election, this week would be the last time he and Bush see each other in their respective roles.

This was obviously apparent to Bush, who arrived in Australia in a chipper mood.

"We're kicking ass," he told Mark Vaile on the tarmac after the Deputy Prime Minister inquired politely of the President's stopover in Iraq en route to Sydney.
--By George: now it's all the way with Howard J
Bush deliberately defrauded the troops, the nation, the Congress, the world. He calls it "kickin' ass". I call it a capital crime!

Bush is now criminally culpable, subject to prosecution for capital crimes for the deaths of his every victim on either side. Words cannot describe the venal idiocy of this cretin so at ease with his disconnect with common sense and morality, so comfortable wallowing in the misery his lies have caused and continue to cause. Psychologists use the term "lack of empathy" to describe this pathology, better known among the volk as pure "evil"!

From the Third Reich, Bush learned how to exploit "terrorism" to consolidate his dictatorship. Bush is on the Hitler end of the political spectrum opposing the very principles of our founding. What Bush knows he most surely learned by way of his Grandfather's old trading partner --Adolf Hitler. Hitler's Lesson Number he summed up himself in one sentence.
Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death.
--Adolf Hitler
Bush learned how to rule ruthlessly. Hitler never got more than 37 percent of the vote in several elections called over a short period of time ending with an act of terrorism that Hitler would exploit to consolidate his dictatorship. That act was the Reichstag Fire, Hitler's 911.

It's hard to imagine that anyone would dare go back to the well given the press "Reichstag" gets. Nevertheless, the tactic, having proved successful for Nazis, would be tried again. No one ever accused Bush of being imaginative. His gang would simply repeat a tired, old Nazi tactic and expect the people to go along. And, for the most part, the people did precisely that.

On February 27, 1937, Hitler was having dinner with Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels when the phone rang to inform the future Fuhrer: "The Reichstag is on fire!" At the scene, Hitler and Goebbels, found Hermann Goring, later Hitler’s air minister, shouting "at the top of his lungs", blaming communists for an act of terrorism.

How Hitler became a dictator is recounted in many sources but William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is still among the very best.
From Goring's Reichstag President's Palace an underground passage, built to carry the central heating system, ran to the Reichstag building. Through this tunnel Karl Ernst, a former hotel bellhop who had become the Berlin S.A. leader, led a small detachment of storm troopers on the night of February 27 to the Reichstag, where they quickly scattered gasoline and self-igniting chemicals and then made their way quickly back to the palace the way they had come. At the same time a half-witted Dutch Communist with a passion for arson, Marinus van der Lubbe, had made his way into the huge, darkened and to him unfamiliar building and set some small fires of his own. This feeble-minded pyromaniac was a godsend to the Nazis. He had been picked up by the S.A. a few days before after having been overheard in a bar boasting that he had attempted to set fire to several public buildings and that he was going to try the Reichstag next.

The coincidence that the Nazis had found a demented Communist arsonist who was out to do exactly what they themselves had determined to do seems incredible but is nevertheless supported by the evidence. The idea for the fire almost certainly originated at the top with Goebbels and Goring. Hans Gisevius, an official in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior at the time, testified at Nuremberg that 'it was Goebbels who first thought of setting the Reichstag on fire' and Rudolph Diels, the Gestapo chief, added in an affidavit that 'Goring knew exactly how the fire was to be started' and had ordered him 'to prepare, prior to the fire, a list of people who were to be arrested immediately after it.' General Franz Halder, Chief of the German General Staff during the early part of World War II, recalled at Nuremberg how on one occasion Goring had boasted of his deed.
At a luncheon on the birthday of the Fuehrer in 1942 the conversation turned to the topic of the Reichstag building and its artistic value. I heard with my own ears when Goring interrupted the conversation and shouted: "The only one who really knows about the Reichstag is I, because I set it on fire!" With that he slapped his thigh with the flat of his hand.
The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich (Touchstone Edition, 1990, p. 192-)
Hitler ordered a round up of the usual suspects, in other words, his opposition, consisting largely of communists whom the Nazis could, with but a shred of credibility, blame for an act of bloody terrorism.

Nazis knew what goppers know now --that frightened and anxious people will willingly surrender the blessings of liberty. From Hitler's experience, Bush learned how to use a "Patriot Act" to crack down on dissent.

Hitler wasted no time. The very next day, he was in President Hindenburg's office urging the aging statesman to issue a patriot act, a decree entitled, “For the Protection of the People and the State.” Justified as a “defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state,” the decree suspended the constitutional guarantees pertaining to civil liberties:
Patriot Act vs, German Enabling Act:
The Decrees of 1933
(a) The February 28 Decree. One of the most repressive acts of the new Nazi government, this one allowed for the suspension of civil liberties ....The president was persuaded that the state was in danger and, hence, that the emergency measures embodied in the decree were necessary. Even though under Art. 48 of the constitution, the decree would have been withdrawn once the so-called emergency had passed, any hope of this happening was prevented by the establishment of Hitler's dictatorship following the Enabling Act (see below). It was in fact never withdrawn and remained until the end as an instrument of Nazi terror against ordinary citizens who ran foul of the regime.


ARTICLE 1. In virtue of paragraph 2, article 48,* of the German Constitution, the following is decreed as a defensive measure against communist acts of violence , endangering the state:
Sections 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. Thus, restrictions on personal liberty [114], on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press [118], on the right of assembly and the right of association [124], and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications [117], and warrants for house-searches [115], orders for confiscation as well as restrictions on property [153], are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.


*Article 48 of the German Constitution of August 11, 1919: If public safety and order in Germany are materially disturbed or endangered, the President may take the necessary measures to restore public safety and order, and, if necessary, to intervene with the help of the armed forces. To this end he may temporarily suspend, in whole or in part, the fundamental rights established in Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, and 153 ...........
Patriot Act:
Section 218 which amends the "probable cause" requirement before conducting secret searches or surveillance to obtain evidence of a crime;
Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508 which permit law enforcement authorities to have broad access to sensitive mental health, library, business, financial, and educational records despite the existence of previously adopted state and federal laws which were intended to strengthen the protection of these types of records;
Sections 411 and 412 which give the Secretary of State broad powers to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" and the Attorney General power to subject immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation even if no crime has been committed; and
Sections 507 and 508 which impose a mandate on state and local public universities who must collect information on students that may be of interest to the Attorney General.
Bush learned how to suspend civil liberties after a terrorist attack. It must be noted that Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is the only candidate for President calling for a repeal of the Patriot Act. That tells me that the Democrats are not up to the challenge of restoring American democracy. The question now is one of some urgency: is it too late to save our nation? Is it too late to stop Bush? Are Americans screwed?

Just as Karl Rove spoke wistfully of a "permanent Republican majority", Hitler planned to establish a "permanent" majority of elected Nazis in the Reichstag. That body would later become Hitler's rubber stamp, passing whatever laws he desired, making all his crimes perfectly legal. Bush's lesson: make legal all the crimes you want and plan to commit; bully Congress into absolving you ex post facto for crimes already committed. Hire Alberto Gonzales to be the "enabler".

Two weeks after the Reichstag fire, Hitler requested the Reichstag to temporarily delegate its powers to him so that he could adequately deal with the crisis. Hitler denounced his opposition, shouting at them "Germany will be free, but not through you!” Hitler won the vote 441 to 84. It gave him a two-thirds majority needed to suspend the constitution. On March 23, 1933, the “Enabling Act”--a patriot act -- made Hitler dictator of Germany. It is not recorded whether he said, as did Bush much later: this would be a whole lot easier if this was a dictatorship ...just as long as I'm the dictator!

Just as Hitler cut a deal with Thyssen, Krupp, I.G. Farben et al, the DUMB-umvirate of Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld carved up the map of the Middle East with big oil and Halliburton. Just as the Middle East is rich in oil, Poland was rich in coal from which synthetic fuels (to drive the Panzers) could be produced.

Bush used Hitler's play book. And, as it was then, it's all about energy. The esteemed historian John Keegan has written that Hitler might have won WWII had he kept Rommel supplied to seize the oil fields of the Middle East, rather than invading Russia. It would have all been over --save for an "insurgency" that most surely would have opposed Rommel.

Bush learned from his grandfather that there is big money -- a killing in fact --in the industrial murder business. Our own Treasury Department is the source for the following information about how US corporations, primarily US Steel, for whom Prescott Bush was banker, helped Hitler arm and wage war on the world while carrying out mass murder throughout Europe. US steel made it possible for Hitler to arm for war, producing the following percentages of war munitions for Hitler and his Nazi war lords: Pig iron 50.8%; Pipe & tubes 45.5%; Universal plate 41.4%; Galvanized sheet 38.5%; Heavy plate 36%; Explosives 35%; Wire 22.1%.
George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.

The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.

His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.
--
How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power
In effect, Prescott Bush was Hitler’s American banker.

Bush also learned how to outsource murder and atrocity in ways that benefit his right wing supporters. Called "private enterprise", it is, in fact, corporatism, Mussolini's word for farming out the work of killing to partners, robber barons, death merchants and hired murderers like Blackwater! Blackwater is a gang of paid thugs whom National Public Radio charges has strong connections with America's radical, religious, fascist right wing.
NPR: The war in Iraq has been partly outsourced to private military contractors which are performing many of the services that used to be done by the military. My guest, Jeremy Scahill, has written a book about one of those companies, Blackwater, which he describes as "the world's most mercenary army and the embodiment of the Bush administration policy of privatizing military functions." The company, which was founded in 1996, made headlines in 2004 when four of its men were ambushed and set on fire by Sunni gunmen in Fallujah. The charred remains of two of the men were hung on a bridge for public display. The families of the four men are suing Blackwater for wrongful death, raising a lot of questions about accountability and oversight when private contractors play a major role in war. Jeremy Scahill is a Polk Award-winning journalist who is a frequent contributor to The Nation and a correspondent for the radio and TV show, "Democracy Now." Jeremy Scahill -- if you wanted to write about a private military contractor, why did you focus on Blackwater?
Bush is ideologically allied with Hegel, for whom the "state" is "God". That notion opposes every "American" value, including that of truly religious folk who find the equation of "God" with the "state" a blasphemous notion. And so it is, not merely of religion but of reason.

Bushism is anathema to American ideals espoused by real patriots like Thomas Jefferson whom Bush and Dick Cheney would have derided as "pro-French". James Madison who wrote the first draft of our Constitution would have been demonized as "quaint" by idiots like Gen. Hayden and Al Gonzales.

Bush must surely hate our Declaration of Independence. In it, Thomas Jefferson sides generally with "insurgencies" against despots. Bush will, of course, have missed or dismissed obvious analogies to Iraqi civilians upon whom the US has waged not a war --but a crime punishable by death under our own federal statutes!

It was William Pitt, Earl of Chatham in England who denounced the British position in our war of independence. His words ring so very true today, words that Bush must surely hate:
If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms -- never! never! never!

--William Pitt the elder, 1st Earl of Chatham, Viscount Pitt of Burton-Pynsent , byname The Great Commoner, 1708-1778
Bush is blinded by raw, ruthless ambition. Like Dick Cheney and the robber barons of privilege, they are blind to obvious analogy. America is not fighting for freedom against terrorism in Iraq. Rather, Bush embodies monolithic corporate totalitarianism and the theft of Iraq's natural resources. Never mind that Iraq was a sovereign nation that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with 911, Bush's ex post facto lies about it notwithstanding. The record clearly proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bush's quarrel with Saddam had to do with the fact that Saddam favored lower prices for oil while Bush, OPEC, and the Saudis in particular favored higher prices.

Bush is anti-American. Bush is not fighting for Americans in Iraq. He is fighting to further enrich corporate fascist powers who would enslave you! Bush has more in common with Hitler and Stalin than with Madison or Jefferson.

The American republic at the time Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence was the latest development in a liberal trend that had begun with the English Civil War. Certainly, Oliver Cromwell dismissed Parliament in a fit of pique; certainly he arrogated unto himself the powers of an absolute dictator but stopped short of taking the title. He was, he said, a Lord Protector. Charles I was most certainly England's last absolute despot in the Hobbesian, Hegelian sense of the word.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bush is too much of a chickenhawk to be compared to Hitler. This latter, at least, was able to contain any big insurgencies inside each country he invaded by massively flooding the streets of Paris or Warsaw with his soldiers.

The Neo-cons completely overestimated the American military forces in Iraq by thinking that a mere 150 00 troops could have done the policing job of 500 000 or more. But we all know that.

I am not advocating brutality, but I just want to suggest that if we decide to invade a country, it’s all or nothing at all. A simple browse inside Carl Von Clausewitz's manual for war, or a five minute meditation on Sun-Tzu's poetry, or a few pages of Tocqueville should have warned this administration already. But the only papers this administration has ever touched or read have always shown dollar signs on them...

But for staunch nationalists, NRA card holders and Ann Coulter fantasizing right wingers, who pray to see American imperialism sore over the sky like a giant eagle, should they not worry: this nude and brutal method of imperialism will soon come to a (war) theatre near you: when “our friends” the Saudi leaders will finally succumb to the growing unrest from their dusty streets.

In the 1980’s, most of the Saudi people shared a relatively comfortable GDP of $1000 per month. Today, the people of the streets of Riyadh barely come up with $80 a month, a dramatic fall down, while unemployment reaches stratospheric numbers.

Needless to say, the CIA and the FBI know since 1993 that most terror groups worldwide are funded massively from the Saudi Arabia's streets; the amount of money and weapons trafficking from Saudi Arabia toward Sunni groups wordwide belittles the Iranian funding toward their cherished Hezbollah.

Here’s the scenario, the Saudi leaders have $800 billions invested in Wall Street. And i'm not talking about suitcases of cash passed under the bureau to our politics. And regarding oil, our demand is almost exponentially while all the OPEC nations have already peaked their production; while the Iraqi oil remains inside a locked box from which the keys are still lost somewhere inside the pockets of the insurgency.

It means only this: if a coup occurs in Saudi Arabia, - sorry, i meant "when"; see what happen to Musharraf this week - the United States will have no choice but to send its military to protect the Saudi family, reveling to the world America’s true imperialistic face, to the utter bewilderment and consternation of the whole western world. Putin, in particular is sure to love this: i can see the guy dusting his nuclear ogives in a hurry.

But the real scary thing, is that America will have to do so with a nasty iron fist, Nazi style, no less. But a massive American military presence in Mecca will be like burning a Koran publicly; or torturing the prophet Mohamed himself inside the dark corridors of a Guantanamo style prison: the whole Muslim world from Morocco to the eastern side of Indonesia will stand as one against the western world, and the very nasty show we all fear will truly begin. By then, the fiasco in Iraq will look like vacation.

Unknown said...

dante lee said...

Bush is too much of a chickenhawk to be compared to Hitler. This latter, at least, was able to contain any big insurgencies inside each country he invaded by massively flooding the streets of Paris or Warsaw with his soldiers.


Well, Hitler did serve in WWI. But, in the end, he hid out in a bunker and took the coward's way out. I would have love to have seen his sorry ass in the dock. Just as I hope one day to see Bush, shackled, in an orange suit awaiting a hangin' judge.

But the only papers this administration has ever touched or read have always shown dollar signs on them...

That's the essence of Nazism.

In the 1980’s, most of the Saudi people shared a relatively comfortable GDP of $1000 per month. Today, the people of the streets of Riyadh barely come up with $80 a month, a dramatic fall down, while unemployment reaches stratospheric numbers.

This has great repercussions for Bush's global ambitions. Given the proclivity that Saudi "Royals" have shown for skullduggery, I don't think it makes the world a safer place.

But a massive American military presence in Mecca will be like burning a Koran publicly; or torturing the prophet Mohamed himself inside the dark corridors of a Guantanamo style prison

A nation that has only nukes with which to threaten the world is, in fact, a week nation. Tragically, America's fortunes are tied to Saudi Arabia. It's not just that the US military is weak, it's the nature of the conflict. The US did not learn the many lessons of Viet Nam. One of those lessons is: you get 100 new enemies for every one you murder.

Diane B said...

Thanks Len, it's very informative.

Unknown said...

You're welcome, Diane. Be sure to check out the "discoveries"...a new little "extra" that I hope folk will enjoy.

As you may have gathered, I will sometimes post a music video at the end of a particularly depressing post. Something to cheer us up.

The news is more depressing these days than I can ever recall. The difference, I suppose, is that never before, in my lifetime, has the US, my country, a nation I loved, gone so far to the right and for no damn good reason whatsoever!

Hitler's rise is almost understandable. But the rise of Bush is just plain stupid. I am seething with anger at fellow Americans whom I think sold this country down the river, traitors to the Constitution, blackguards who have willingly traded the futures of their neighbors children in a corporate Faustian bargain.

I hate to be depressing but, unless things change dramatically and fast, the US is lost forever and will remain a great threat to the rest of the world.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the great work, Len. I used to believe that nothing good came out of Texas, but I have changed my mind since finding your blog.

I do agree with you that Bush's rise to power seems stupid. Hitler rose out of the wreckage of WWI and the Great Depression. Bush was placed on the top of a prosperous economy and a high standard of living and is busy destroying it, or giving it a great go with the help of the Congress. Unfortunately, most Americans won't get it until they can't afford to buy all their diversions and toys, but by then it will probably be too late for them.

On the lighter side, this would be a good time for the so-called rapture to happen. Get rid of all the troublemakers and let the meek, and other good people, inherit the earth. Hopefully we wouldn't have too much of a mess to clean up.

Unknown said...

Martini sans Rossi said...

I used to believe that nothing good came out of Texas, but I have changed my mind since finding your blog.

I understand how you feel. However, I am often nostalgic about a different "Texas". I remember when Democrats ruled the state but, at some point, OIL corrupted Texas just as it corrupted the Middle East.

Three words destroyed Texas: "Oil Depletion Allowance". I grew to hate those words and an "industry" that despoiled the state. As a "kid", I recall climbing the unspoiled mesas in West Texas hoping to find petrified remains and succeeding, hoping to find Maximillian's lost gold and failing! I dodged rattlers and dust devils. But...it all changed.

Have you seen "Giant" with Rock Hudson, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Not far from the truth. The novelist Edna Ferber dealt with a period in which Texas developed from a farm and ranch economy to an oil boom economy. A beautiful state turned ugly.

Recently, in Houston, at the end of a long conversation about Iran, the Middle East, Texas and oil, a Middle Eastern ambassador (I will not disclose his country) told me: "Oil is a curse".

He was right!

Anonymous said...

Len, thanks for the update on the Lancet study (see 1 2 3 4 5 6). I have been making the case for Lancet in my local press (here) in the face of their repeated publication of claims that only 70,000 Iraqi deaths have occurred since the invasion. One key criticism that regularly occurs concerns the baseline for the Lancet study. This is the assumed Iraqi mortality rate of 5.5 deaths per thousand. As one critic put it:

"The 660,000 figure produced by the Lancet was based on a pre-war mortality rate in Iraq of 5.5 in 1000. Now, it doesn’t take a statistical wizard from a smart university to work out that the chances of a country that had been faced with UN sanctions for 10 years (which allegedly led to the deaths of 1m), having a better mortality rate than most of Western Europe are remote to say the least. The methodology used to calculate the death toll in Iraq was not flawed however the baseline figures used were." (link)

I don't have Iraq mortality rate for 1991, but UNICEF has recorded that under the economic sanctions of the 1990s the Iraqi under-5 mortality rate grew from 50/1000 to 125/1000, ie doubled. It's reasonable to assume therefore that if the Lancet baseline of 5.5 is correct then one would expect that the general mortality rate would have been about 2.75 in 1991. The critic, quoted above, would say that this was not a credible figure given other mortality rates: global (8.67), EU (10.10), US (8.62).

Iraq's general mortality figure (pre-sanctions) of 2.75 is in the range of other Middle Eastern countries and is entirely plausible: Saudi Arabia (2.62), Jordan (2.63), Libya (3.48), Algeria (4.6), Syria (4.88), Egypt (5.26). [CIA Fact Book]

The reason for these low death rates in comparison to the West is the youthful demographic deriving from high birth rates. Most of the people in these countries are young. So their national death rates will be less than Europe.

The conclusion should be that the Lancet baseline figure of 5.5 deaths per thousand is almost certainly fairly close to the mark. Criticisms that the baseline figure is too low, either by comparison to Western figures, or because they do accurately show up the effects of the economic sanctions, are not supported by the facts.

Tony Blair was keen to dismiss the Lancet findings until this year when the UK Ministry of Defence’s chief scientific adviser cautioned him against it, saying that the research was robust, close to best practice, and balanced. Blair was reportedly horrified by this advice and has been silent ever since.

There may be some criticism of the Lancet methodology at the margins (1 2) but the basic finding should be accepted. Over 660,000 Iraqis are now dead as a result of this war.

Anonymous said...

Once again, Len, very good stuff.

But there are other important aspects, such as the recently issued (may 9, 2007) National Security Presidential Directive 51.

Read the diorective at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

Read what the progressive magazine had to say about it here:
Bush Anoints Himself as the Insurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency
http://www.progressive.org/mag_wx051807
Of course, you have probably seen some of the videos exploring the posasibility of the Twin Towers and the collapse of WTC7 as being the result of a demolition job, so I won’t recount all that here, except to say you are NOT qualified to say ANYTHING about 9/11 if you haven’t viewed that information
If you haven’t, watch it for free on google video by searching under the “video” heading for “Compilation exposing 9/11 Truth” and watch the one-hour long video.
Even better, watch 9/11 Mysteries (Full Length, High Quality) (90 mins) also on google video.
Anyway, those who are familiar with that material and have gotten over the initial disbelief that people like Dick Cheney can and will pull a “Reichstag” on us, will find the NSPD 51 to be highly disturbing.
NSPD gives broad powers to the President and an appointed-by-the-President National Continuity Coordinator. The National Continuity Coordinator has two offices he reports directly to: 1. the Office of the Vice President (that’s right, Dick Ol’ Boy himself) and the President. The NSPD effectively gives ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OVER ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT TO THE PRESDIENT FOR THE DURATION OF THE “CATASTRPHIC EMERGENCY”.
Now, who decides what constitutes a “Catastrophic Emergency”? Why, the President himself, of course.
From the directive: “The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government.”
And: “Heads of executive departments and agencies shall ensure that appropriate support is available to the Vice President and others involved as necessary to be prepared at all times to implement those provisions.”
Anyone else smelling a rat here besides me?
So, poltical big brains – figure it out:
Here’s the scenario:
Bush/Cheney’s popularity is crashing. Besides having no chance for re-election in 2008, they are in serious danger of having the GOP wiped out from anything resembling even a close minority status. This would clearly bring all neocon implementations of the Project for a New American Century to a halt. The war in Iraq would have to be ended by whoever the next President is. The invasion of Iran would have to be shelved. The service agreements so eagerly sought by the big four oil companies would likely be put on indefinite hold. Along with the end of the oil development plans would come an end to the big Halliburton contracts. Along with the end of all American wars in the Middle East would come an end to Blackwater’s lucrative contracts and also to any additional Halliburton logistical infrastructure support contracts
There would be no possibility of a Bush Family network hold on power, and even a minimal possibility of a Bush-Friendly Administration would be out of the question.
The Bushes and Cheney would be out of power, out of jobs, no money coming from big contracts, and out of favor with the public. They would also be up to be tried for War Crimes in Europe, and face a tough round of congressional investigations most probably ending in criminal prosecutions here in the USA.
What’s a beleagured W to do??
Enter NSPD 51! What if….now we all know it won’t happen (umm…DON’T WE?), but just WHAT IF… there was a conveniently-timed “catastrophic emergency” say, in the fall of 2008?
Now, you should know that I have developed a scenario of the whole ugly business. So far, I have tried to post it on Huffpo, and also at Crooks and Liars, but both times my posts “mysteriously” disappeared, and also disappeared after I repeatedly uploaded them, at a time when my cable modem, home network and PC were all functioning PERFECTLY and there were no other problems with visiting another of my usual websites. Hmmm…
So help me out here guys – you can probably visualize the sequence of events as well as me…hint: the “Reichstag” and 9/11 itself will help you fill out the details, if you are paying attention.
Let me get you started…how about a “dirty bomb” in of our fabulously unprotected Port cities (preferably a LIBERAL stronghold such as Seattle or SF). In Seattle, so much business flows in especially from Pacific Rim countries (China, Japan, Vietnam, etc) that a shutdown of the Port of Seattle would cause a major national disruption. Civilian casualties could be minimized by having the dirty bomb located in a container on a barge in the port. Only a small percentage of containers is ever actually scanned for bombs or suspicious damage, so the chances of it getting located before detonation are small.
Ok, this is already too long…you guys take it from there. I want to see thousands of version of this scenario flooding the web to help people spot this ploy BEFORE it happens.

Diane B said...

Anonymous, I spoke to my Congressman Brad Sherman about this an another Directive by George Bush on June 3, 2007. He said he was unaware of it. Can you imagine, a Congressman on the Judiciary Committee did not know of this. I do realize that he did not want to discuss it. I asked if it was activated would we still have elections,Congressman replied,"Nothing is going to stop this election.

Three weeks ago, I went to a meeting where the head of the ACLU, was speaking, I asked that same question guess what, Anthony Romero, did not want to talk about it.

I keep asking myself Anonymous, why won't these guys talk about these Directives, bring this out into the open and discuss it.

It probably is as Len, would say,that their afraid, big time.

Anonymous said...

Fuzzflash sez...


Len: "Have you seen "Giant" with Rock Hudson, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Not far from the truth. The novelist Edna Ferber dealt with a period in which Texas developed from a farm and ranch economy to an oil boom economy. A beautiful state turned ugly."

Si, amigo. Lotta good people been fried, filletted, fritatad and generally gaucomoled in the great state of Texas in modern times. First were the indiginous North American people. Then the Hispanic folk. Next the dust bowlers, farmers and ranchers. Not to mention blacks, poor people, frail folk, the sick and infirm. What Buck the "Midnight Cowboy" saw on the avenue of NYC: a river of the race known as homo sapiens flowing around past a human body lying on the sidewalk, and not a Samaritan amongst them, is now pretty much DeLay-de-rigeur in Texas nowadays it seems.

Does a State have to bury each of its Melquiades Estradas thrice, to figure out what a human being is in 2007 ?

Len Hart. "As a "kid", I recall climbing the unspoiled mesas in West Texas hoping to find petrified remains and succeeding, hoping to find Maximillian's lost gold and failing! I dodged rattlers and dust devils."

Thomas Wolfe: "All that lay around him, near but unexplored, filled him with desire and longing." 1929.

Maybe you didn't find Maximillian's, Len, but you sure found gold.

Great stats, Damien, Lancet's credentials and sources are impeccable.

anonymous of the long and interesting post;
good day, sir/ma'am, you are amongst "fellow travellers" without the commie connotaions. Quite a few of us here are in accord with many of your thoughts, which a glance at the archives will confirm.

HuffPo, I understand. Are you suggesting that Crooks&Liars are deliberately censoring your comments? Or, that they are disapperaring somewhere else along the "inter-tubes"? Have you tried to send your material by registered mail or phoned their editors to enquire about their policies. Seriously, I'd like to know, please.

Unknown said...

Fuzz, I believe your Wolfe quote is from his essay, "The Story of a Novel", in which he chronicled the writing of "Of Time and the River". He describes sitting in the Place de l'Opera almost overcome by a wave of flooding memories and impressions --the smell of watermelon on the fourth of july, the iron railing on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.

Texas is but a symptom. "They" have been stealing our country for some time now.

Unknown said...

By the way, Fuzz, that part of West Texas I describe was Commanche country, a proud warrior tribe, among the world's great horsemen. My Grandfather's horse was shot from under him by raiding Commanches. That he survived and I am alive is evidence that the Commanches were only trying to make a point.

I am myself of Scots-Irish and Cherokee/Choctaw descent but my "Native American" ancestors hail from the Southeast. My ancestors rebelled against Andy Jackson's theft of their lands, their expulsion to Oklahoma. Truly, an American genocide.

Unknown said...

Anonymous said...

Read the directive

What bothers me ...having gone this far, the gang of crooks will not leave if they should lose an election that they tried to rig. They will not leave if ordered to do so by the Supreme Court.

They will have left the people no other choice but ....well, you get the picture. First I mourned the loss of Texas even as I still lived there. Now, I mourn the loss of an America I will never see again.

Unknown said...

Fuzz, you mentioned the Hispanic population in Texas. They are among the best people I have ever known. So much of Texas that is colorful is "Hispanic" --San Antonio, the food, and the terrific influence they've had on the music. If you get a chance, check out the music video I posted at the end of How Bush Sold Out America

Anonymous said...

OK, I'm not really anonymous around here, but I just feel I don't want my picture showing up next to these posts. Anyway, I want to post up the rest of the scenario in which the NSPD 51 is invoked after another attack. If you think it's unrealistic, please critique. Whether I'm accurate or not, I'd really like to see this topic blown out into open public discussion so that people will not be caught off-guard as they were in 2001. I apologize for it being a lengthy comment. Here it is:

Rest of scenario:

1. Dirty bomb goes of in Port City (Seattle, SF or LA). The Port shuts down, causing a major disruption of commerce nationwide
2. President declares “catastrophic emergency” and invokes NSPD 51
3. Dick Cheney and Natl Security Coordinator (NSC) set a task force to find out who is responsible for the attack
4. President, VP, and NSC declare that due to catastrophic emergency elections will have to be postponed. They further declare that only essential functions of government will operate, temporarily ceasing all investigations by Congress into Bush Administration’s past activities
5. NSC task force announces that Iran, colluding with Al-Qaeda is responsible for the dirty bomb attack. FOX News, CNN, NPR, CPB, ABC, NBC, and CBS are building the case for invading Iran on a 24/7 basis. All major newspapers such as NYT, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times and others co-operate in running anti-Iranian propaganda and print editorials building the case to invade Iran.
6. President announces plans to bomb and invade Iran. Nuclear force will be used in the form of nuclear “bunker busters”. President invokes 2002 resolution authorizing him the use of force. Congress, unwilling to appear unpatriotic, consents. Kucinich, Robert Byrd, and Ted Kennedy dissent. Nancy Pelosi, who has been briefed in secret by Cheney, urges Americans to get behind the president. Hillary Clinton and even Barack Obama calculate that it is best for their career goals to go along, so they do.
7. America invades Iran, sacks Tehran and replaces the Iranian government with a provisional government made up of pro-Bush Iranian exiles. American hire contractors and bring in Filipino laborers to work under near-slavery conditions to build a brand new agency and start construction of large permanent military bases with air-strike capabilities and housing for invasion-force levels of troops.
8. American troops secure a corridor stretching across Iran from Iraq to the Caspian Sea oil fields. It is guarded with overwhelming force and any civilians getting too close are immediately annihilated, no questions asked. No vehicle is allowed within mortar firing range. This is strictly enforced from the air as well as the ground.
9. The press is locked out except for carefully embedded propagandists from FOX and CNN. All independent journalists risk being shot or bombed in “unfortunate accidents” that the Military refuses to take responsibility for.
10. The President , VP, and NSC determine that because of the “ongoing nature” of the “catastrophic emergency” it is not safe to resume normal functioning of government. This keeps them in office for an indefinite period of time. Democrats complain, but they are unable to come up with any meaningful opposition to this new directive.
11. As time progresses, the following developments unfold:

The Neocons, AIPAC, right-wing Christians, and huge corporations such as Halliburton, Blackwater, General Electric, Raytheon, Boeing and the host of war infrastructure contractors are very happy.

FOX News, CNN, all major TV networks, and all major newspapers begin printing opinion pieces that say that the new American government is preferable to the one we had before, and that we should not go back to the pre-attack government, because Democrats and liberals would destroy the nation if we did.

The Wall Street Journal, now owned by Rupert Murdoch, in particular lobbies very hard to not return to normal government because they believe the new government invoked under NPSD 51 is better for businesses.

The President, the Vice president, and the NSC determine that due to the nature of the ongoing state of emergency, when the President and VP finally must step down, it cannot be trusted to popular elections to form the next Administration due to National Security Concerns. Instead, the next President, VP, and NSC will have to be appointed by the current President.

The only meaningful opposition at that time to the US will be coming from China, which is becoming increasingly hungry for oil to feed their growing economy.

But, no worries, secret meetings are being held in the VP’s office to discuss the Chinese threat.

So there you have it. Bush and Cheney are permanently in office, and the invasion of Iran proceeds as planned. The Project for a New American Century, insured by a government functioning under martial law, moves forward.

Anonymous said...

(UNPI) June 17, 2007
by John Galt

Plans are now underway to stage a remake of the beloved 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz." The plans call for a slight updating to reflect the current times, says the producer, Solomon Grundy.

"We plan on using real life characters to spice up the remake", states Grundy. "We want to grab the people who are usually sitting in front of their TV, spellbound by the various, idiot fueled so-called 'news' and give them a good dose of reality."

Grundy says the following have already agreed to sign on for this new version.

The Tin Man, who is looking for a heart, will be savagely played by US Vice-President Dick Cheney. When asked for a comment, Cheney told the interviewer to perform an impossible physical act.

The Lion, who is looking for courage, will be played by any one of a number of "chicken hawks" currently ensconced in the White House.

The Scarecrow, looking for a brain, will be more than aptly played by US President GW Bush. Bush had no comment on his character looking for a brain, but sources close to the WH said GW is a perfect fit for this role.

The Wicked Witch of the West will be played by Secretary of State Condi Rice, fresh back from helping midwife a new Middle East. Condi stated that all the violence going on in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and soon, Iran, was making it way too dangerous for someone of her sensibilities.

The Wicked Witch of the East, who has a house dropped on her early in the show, will be played by Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute. Pletka has a solid background in war and fear mongering and the producers thought this part would suit her well.

The Good Witch of the North, will be played in absentia, by Mother Teresa.

The role of the sinister henchmen of the Wicked Witch of the West, the Flying Monkeys, will be played by the vast army of NeoCons and their lackeys, led by Talk Show Gasbag, Glenn Beck.

As for the role of the sweet, innocent and kind Dorothy, Grundy says that role is turning out to be the toughest to fill. "We never realized that Dorothy's role would be this difficult to fill" Grundy said. "But we should have known that trying to recruit the sweet and innocent Dorothy from the cast of characters in Washington, DC would be tough."

NOTE: Grundy says this production could be completely eclipsed by another one already in the works, called the "End Times."
Grundy says if the producers of the "End Times" get their way, the "Wizard" remake will be scrapped, due to a lack of audience and no radioactive free filming sites.

Anonymous said...

That is an incredible comparative analogy. The only part that gives me hope in all of this is that America is a much larger and diverse country than Germany at that time. Much much harder to control and universally propagandize, although they are desperatley trying. The part about the Saudis going down is frightening. Just one caveat, you said Kucinich was the only one to repeal the Patriot act. Ron Paul of your home state is also on record stating he would quickly work to repeal it. I hope I didnt misunderstand that part of the article.

Anonymous said...

Len, I'll get back to you on the Crooks and Liars. I have to wait until a relevant discussion comes up and I'll try again, because I am not one of the posters over there, just a commenter like here.

Diane, the NSPD 51 was not given much fanfare at all. I have copied it to my hard drive. It seemed only to be covered by a couple of watchdog mags like the Progressive. I also saw it mentioned on the front page of Digg.com when it first came out in May because there's a couple of politically aware folks there who post up relevant new political news.

The ACLU guy may not have wanted to discuss it because in all likelihood the simple act of issuing a National Security Directive does not in and of itself violate any Constitutional Law or infringe on any Constitutional Rights. Instead the problem with NSPD 51 comes in how Bush and Cheney will interpret and apply the Directive, which, based on how they have interpreted and applied the Constitution, doesn't look good for America.

However, the NSPD DOES state that the President has an obligation to ensure that all three branches of government continue to function according to Constitutional Law.

However, we have seen how seriously they have taken their oath to protect and defend the Constitution so far.

So it's the interpretation of NSPD 51 that's cause for alarm. Although David Addington, Cheney's Counsel, probably worked hard to make sure the document could not be easily challenged on Constitutional grounds, there's way too much leeway for an outright seizure of power written into the document if it is interpreted in a certain way.

Notable here is article 22 of the Directive, which states:

(22) Revocation. Presidential Decision Directive 67 of October 21, 1998 ("Enduring Constitutional Government and Continuity of Government Operations"), including all Annexes thereto, is hereby revoked.

Why didn't they want to keep the one from 1998? I haven't done a personal investigation of that yet (I don't even know if that document is publicly posted anymore?)

My hunch is that the 1998 Directive, which would have been drawn up under Clinton/Gore, has stronger protections against abuse written into it. I'd have to compare the two to know for sure, however.

Nevertheless, no actual case has been made that the Directive itself is a violation of the Constitution, and that's probably why the ACLU hasn't taken it up. They probably would take up cases to defend people who get rounded up illegally after the Directive is invoked and martial law takes effect.

Only a big public outcry could force the directive to be withdrawn, and since the MSM is colluding with the Bushies by NOT reporting on it, that likely won't happen.

Your Congressman may have ties to people in the Defense Industry or other industries that profit through defense contracting, so he's being really careful about whose toes he steps on.

For a Congressperson to come out with this would be to directly take a swing at the Big Boys. There would have to be a coordinated effort, and someone with real clout like Ted Kennedy or John Edwards would have to get behind it.

Unfortunately, we are seeing nowadays what Nancy Pelosi is made of, and it's increasingly looking like more of the same "GOP-Lite" fabric that Hillary is cut from.

Neither Hillary or Nancy will challenge a document like a National Security Presidential Directive. It's also too hot a tomato for Presidential hopefuls like Obama.

And so here we stand.

Unknown said...

Great comments, all. I stand corrected with regard to Paul and Kucinich. I was not aware that Paul had also favored repeal of the Act for the Protectio...uh...the Patriot Act.

Also Diane...I would not be surprised if they try to cancel the elections. It would save them the trouble of having to STEAL elecctions on a regular basis. Efficiency in government and all that. I hope I am wrong.

Will get back to this board when I am less pressed for time.

thanks all...keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

In the scenarios, don't forget the Halliburton/FEMA Detention Camps being built with 385 million of our tax dollars!!!

Haven't heard much about them lately, excepting some bad video on UTube.

Bet they're all build and ready! Write Cheney to hold a place in line for you and your loved ones who don't agree with the Neu "christian" Reich.

Anonymous said...

One more thing: remeber in 2006 when there WAS a resolution introduced in Congress to postpone the 2006 Congressional elections due to the Iraq War?

Jog that ol' memory, folks - the reality is, they HAVE tried it already.

It didn't work that time because it would have had to pass through Congress and that wasn't going to happen. Politicians are too fond of their elections (read: the money they get from campaign contributors).

But if the country was already under martial law, the regular government had already been suspended, and the President could issue it as a DIRECTIVE, it would be much more difficult to beat back, especially if all major TV networks and newpapers propagandized in favor of it.

Anonymous said...

dante lee @ 10:03 am... Bush is indeed a chickenhawk but that doesn't mean he cannot be compared to Adolf Hitler. Dubya Bush is NOT the brains, he is essentially a tool of his parents, and more precisely a tool of his mothers, using Bush41 as front man for Babs Pierce Bush's seriously disturbed misanthropy. Ideologically and philosophically and practically, Dubya is momma's boy. He's only daddy's boy in the business and cheerleader/frat boy sense.

Anonymous said...

Also, I think that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich ought to stop talking about being in favor of working to repeal the Patriot Act and the John Warner Defense Budget Reauthorization Act, and actually start legislating and making speeches from the floor.

Personally, I think that Kucinich and Paul are inferior candidates, from the perspective of what would fix America.

Only Mike Gravel offers that perspective.

Anonymous said...

http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2007/03/responsibilities-of-people.html


War on Iran and Responsibilities of a People


From the still unpublished book “Prisoners of the Cave”



[ March 30, 2007: I wrote this as the Introduction chapter to my book in 2003 - almost exactly 4 years ago as the bombing of Iraq was underway and the American peoples were mesmerized by the "shock and awe" of a defenseless civilization on their television screens. Is another one about to commence on another defenseless nation - Iran? How relevant is this introduction today after all that has been disclosed over the past 4 years? Are the voices that are actually heard in the American mainstream only to be of those wearing the distinguished garb of "scholarship" lining the streets of Washington DC and the well walked hallways of the Ivys? When will the voices of the ordinary peoples themselves be allowed to inform the ordinary peoples? After all, it is us who are the ultimate enablers of "shock and awe", and also us who pay the heavy price. It is indeed only our profound complicity through our uncourageous silence and inaction that bestows the unspeakable power on the minority of opinion makers and the handful of hectoring hegemons which in turn enables them to send America's sons and daughters to new heights of barbarism while visiting the munificence of their high-tech "shock and awe" upon defenseless human beings. How can a civilization claiming to be a "populist democracy" permit such "imperial mobilizations"? Did "Good Germans" only live in Germany?]


What is the collective and individual responsibility of a people who live in a Democracy for the crimes of their government? Can the people morally claim the “I didn't know defense” and absolve themselves of culpability, the same defense claimed by the German citizenry for the Holocaust? Hitler had indeed come to power “legally”. He had motivated his reluctant people based on his well publicized doctrines in Mein Kampf, into the conquest of Europe. Now that he is vanquished, what does the civilized world think of him and his Nazi war machine? Or is it only the vanquished foe that we can see the faults with? Will our own faults also only come to light when we too have been vanquished? Or is there a less painful way to recognize that what we might be doing to the world has been done before, time and again? That the lessons of history might already be there as the low hanging fruits of wisdom ripe for the plucking?

In America too, the doctrines for world conquest have been outlined publicly:

I.1: Zbigniew Brzezinski's “Grand Chessboard”;

I.2: Documentation of “Project New American Century” signed by Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, among others, especially the report on “Rebuilding America's Defenses” - all of these are summarized in Exhibit A;

I.3: “Nuclear Posture Review” circulated to Congress by the White House and its details revealed in the Los Angeles Times wherein preemption and nuclear first strikes are the new superpower doctrine;

I.4: National Security Council strategy documents released by the White House on its web site;

I.5: Patriot Acts hurriedly rushed into law after 9-11 by the Congress;

I.6: And the fanatically held fundamentalist Evangelical Christian beliefs of her President that allows him to easily wage an endless “crusade” of “Infinite Justice” against the “evil-doers”;

all of which clearly point to where America is heading. All of this knowledge is just as publicly available today, as Mein Kampf was in the 1920s and 1930s, when Hitler's invasion of Eastern Europe came as a surprise to Western Europe and America. The concomitant policies of appeasement, in the futile hope of placating the new ambitious Alexander of the twentieth century, and the initial acquiescence of the world to Hitler's boldness, only emboldened him further. The following remark by the Chief American prosecuting judge at Nuremberg Military Tribunal is incredibly telling as he proceeded to hang those who dared to “goosestep the Herrenvolk across international frontiers”:

“The plans of Adolf Hitler for aggression were just as secret as Mein Kampf, of which over six million copies were published in Germany.”

“But justice in this case has nothing to do with some of the arguments put forth by the defendants or their counsel. We have not previously and we need not now discuss the merits of all their obscure and tortuous philosophy. We are not trying them for the possession of obnoxious ideas. It is their right, if they choose, to renounce the Hebraic heritage in the civilization of which Germany was once a part. Nor is it our affair that they repudiated the Hellenic influence as well. The intellectual bankruptcy and moral perversion of the Nazi regime might have been no concern of international law had it not been utilized to goosestep the Herrenvolk across international frontiers. It is not their thoughts, it is their overt acts which we charge to be crimes. Their creed and teachings are important only as evidence of motive, purpose, knowledge, and intent.”


Furthermore, the history of how Hitler took power through back door deals and legal maneuverings, the Reichstag fire, and how he convinced his generally war averse German public to successively occupy the Eastern European nations with new chicaneries each time, are well known. “Everybody against the war. People talking openly. How can a country go into a major war with a population so dead against it?” noted William Shirer, a war correspondent in Berlin, in his diary on the eve of World War II. “Hitler knew the answer well. Had he not the week before on his Bavarian mountaintop promised the generals that he would 'give a propagandist reason for starting the war' and admonished them not to 'mind whether it was plausible or not'? 'The victor', he had told them, 'will not be asked afterward whether he told the truth or not. In starting and waging a war it is not the right that matters, but victory.'”

The bold highlights are Hitler's own words as noted by William Shirer, as they were disclosed in the Nuremberg trials. These ideas are well known as the Art of War making by an Aggressor around the world, and certainly are no secret to the journalism profession. Hitler was not the first to invent them, although he used them masterfully. In this instance, Hitler created the false pretext to attack Poland by synthesizing fake attacks on Germany by a handful of German soldiers disguised as Poles, the main operation being called “Canned Goods”. The personal motivations of Hitler, his belief in the “superiority” of the German race allowing him the “higher” prerogative to bomb and annihilate the “lesser” people for “protecting and perpetuating German lives”, is also known to everyone. Indeed, the role of deluded beliefs that bring suffering to other “lesser” humanity, as is “following orders” to execute heinous crimes against humanity, have been studied to “death” in America. The holocaust memories are kept constantly alive – an entire museum is dedicated to “never again” in Washington DC, directed by Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

And yet the American nation salutes “United We Stand”. How is that even possible?

The similarities with recent history of only 60 – 70 years ago are just too uncanny to escape notice, even for an isolated nation like America:

One: The coming to power of the Zionist Neo-Cons, fronted by the rather naïve and straightforward George Bush Jr., through legal maneuverings in the US supreme court and in Florida, with the active connivance of the Florida Secretary of State Kathleen Harris, the Florida Governor Jeb Bush (George Bush's real brother), the news media calling early election results that were false, and purposely not reporting the centralized voter list fraud that illegally black listed 57,700 voters in Florida who were unable to vote, almost all of them black, and majority of them Democrats, despite the fact that Greg Palast shared his investigative report of the fraud with them. All of these legal maneuverings that mesmerized and paralyzed the American nation into impotence while they waited with baited breadth for the powers to be to make the decision for them – a mouse democracy; eerily reminiscent of Hitler's own back room deals and “legal” maneuverings to come to power “legally” after his failed Putsch; demonstrate no popular mandate.

Two: America's subsequent barbaric “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq under the pretext of “preemptive self defense” to “save American lives” from “evil doers”, similar to Hitler's lies to attack Eastern Europe; General Colin Powell telling monumental lies in the UN with fake evidence and a straight face, following it seems, the advice of Mein Fuehrer: “The victor will not be asked afterward whether he told the truth or not. In starting and waging a war it is not the right that matters, but victory”, for victory was assured as the general knew they were going against a disarmed and non-existent threat; the “coalition of the willing” only as necessary as operation “canned goods” for domestic consumption only; the very gullible American public had to be shown that the entire world was united against the “evil doers”, it didn't matter that the world public knew this pretext to be fictitious; since the American public, unlike the German public, had already been deftly primed by the new Pearl Harbor of 9-11, it took even less convincing to attack Iraq than the German public to attack Poland; Colin Powell did not even choose to lie very cleverly - the desired impact of the hand waving with plagiarized fake evidence in the UN, in a dazzling corporate board room style slideshow prepared in Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Presentation, had already accomplished its purpose better than Goebbels could have foreseen.

Three: Both having pre-advertised their intentions publicly for several years.

Four: Both military war machine leaders sharing the delusions of a “higher” moral prerogative – Hitler his “god given superiority of the fatherland and the Germanic race”, and George Bush Jr. his Evangelical Christian “crusade” of “Infinite Justice” to “save American lives” and bring on Jesus sooner. It is uncanny how often both have invoked divine mission in their speeches. What is the difference between them as perceived by many of their own delusional peoples during their leader's momentous rise to power?

Five: Both spinning propaganda and disinformation formally - Hitler through his Reichsminister for propaganda Dr. Joseph Goebbels, and George Bush through his coterie of seasoned mentors Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell, artfully generating disinformation and lies from the Pentagon and the State Department, with the corporate mainstream media faithfully reporting it ad nauseum as if these public airwaves were the exclusive propaganda arm of the Bush Administration.

Six: Both coerced the world into acquiescence – Hitler through August 31, 1939; and George Bush still as of today, as he murderously bombs Iraq while the world watches on television; While Hitler remained short sighted about September 1 and the Ides of March, the seasoned warriors advising Bush have done a remarkable job in eliminating that threat from the world scene by "either you are with us or with the terrorists", and the realities of post Cold War lone superpower eminence denied Hitler. But are the Ides of March ever inescapable?

Seven: It was the Jews blood being spilled by Christian Hitler, the "scourge of the Earth" [various anti-Semitic stereotypes purposely elided to not hurt feelings of the already victimized], so it was all right; now it is the Muslim blood being spilled by Christian George Bush Jr., the "new scourge of the Earth" belonging to the "very wicked and evil religion” according to their eminent Evangelical Christian leader Pat Robertson, so it is still all right; how did our oil get underneath their sand anyway – it must have seeped through from Alaska! In both cases, only the victims clamored for succor, with the rest of the world busy with their lives. The only difference being that after the Jewish Holocaust, the world had also vociferously vowed “never again” - and that is within living memory of many an American grandparent today.

And the major similarities don't just end there. Both also introduced similar measures to curb internal dissent. Hitler consolidated all police functions for the first time in German history, in 1936, as a prelude to the Nazi police state. George Bush Jr. pushed Congress to pass the oppressive Patriot Act 1 without debate, under the shock effect of 9-11, within a month of it, arguing that it was needed to find the “terrorists”. Another Patriot Act 2 awaits in the wings for an opportune moment, having already been circulated in Congress but not yet introduced. And then Bush proceeded to found the department of “Homeland Security”, also attempting to consolidate all the police functions of the American state, led by Tom Ridge, and elevated to the post of his Cabinet team.

Indeed, if the denizens of other nations were to point out to the American public that given so many similarities with the Third Reich, that whether the American nation too, with the emerging police state atmosphere inside America, was in the process of becoming the Fourth Reich, the American public would seethe with indignation at the mere thought of being equated with the Nazis!

They would rush to offer protestations that they are not out to conquer the world. That they are only bringing “democracy”, “good will”, and a “superior Christian civilization and love of Jesus” to the “lesser” unfortunate humanity, by getting rid of the ruthless tyrants that these unfortunate people could not rid themselves. The denizens of other nations would point out that the American public's inability to see the hypocrisy of their rather disingenuous affectations, how while they rose to fight Hitler for a similar offense of a “sense of superiority”, and the privilege of a “higher purpose”, now they don't see even their own descriptions of their actions in the same vein, is unequivocal evidence of either their diabolical complicity in the crimes against humanity, or their complete indoctrination, similar to the German public in the Third Reich!

In Plato's allegory of chained prisoners dwelling in an underground cave, who are kept in perpetual ignorance through sophisticated image manipulation, the prisoners have little choice in their course of actions. They are chained by their necks at birth until they die, forced to look only straight ahead, and forced to live underground by the fascist dictatorship of their unelected and imposed controllers. If these controllers committed crimes on another people somewhere outside the cave, the chained prisoners would be powerless to stop them even if they were to become aware of those crimes by seeing them on the screens in front of them. Hence the prisoners could not be held accountable for those crimes even when they knew about them.

Based on my personal experience of living in America for almost a quarter century, and the reality of what has transpired since 9-11, it may be convincingly argued that Plato's analogy of mass ignorance is quite apropos when applied to the American public. Indeed, I would not be entirely remiss if I were to abstract the following assertions:

The vast majority of mainstream peace loving people in the United States of America are systematically deceived by their rulers. All they see and experience is the reality synthesized for them by the image makers on their television screens, much like the chained dwellers in Plato's mythical underground cave. They are kept ignorant and self absorbed to willingly submit to their rulers without the need for the cage of ruthless totalitarianism. Invisibly chained, prisoners of the cave, a perfect fraud committed to keep them happily towing their leader's line, as the State embarks on an imperial war of global conquest disguised as “war on terrorism”, and the American public oblige with “United We Stand”

But unlike Plato's chained prisoners in the underground cave, the American public lives in a democracy aboveground, and not in a cave! They enjoy considerable power over their elected government, and substantial personal freedoms and constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. If they are ignorant of the crimes of their government, either through their own inadvertence - too busy chasing their “American Dreams” - or through the Machiavellian machinations of their institutional ruling elite that indoctrinated them with false patriotism and "false flag operations", can they still morally claim the “I didn't know defense”?

If they were to discover that there might be even the slightest possibility that they are being deliberately kept ignorant of reality, then what should their responsibility be?

Anonymous said...

A few more differences:
Hitler served in the military, Bush did not.
During Hitler's time, the jews were victims, now they are the aggressors. Only Israel benefits from these endless Middle East wars. Iraq is the beginning. As we commit war-crimes in Baghdad, the US gov't commits treason at home by opening mail, eliminating habeas corpus, using the judiciary to steal private lands, banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and Wikipedia, conducting warrantless wiretaps and engaging in illegal wars on behalf of AIPAC's 'money-men'. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier by Mossad) and the US will invade Iran.. Then we'll invade Syria, then Saudi Arabia, then Lebanon (again) then ....
Final link (before Stark County District Library bends to gov't demands and censors the title):
America Deceived (book)

Unknown said...

Anonymous said...

...if the denizens of other nations were to point out to the American public that given so many similarities with the Third Reich, that whether the American nation too, with the emerging police state atmosphere inside America, was in the process of becoming the Fourth Reich, the American public would seethe with indignation at the mere thought of being equated with the Nazis!

The citizens of Germany were lied to and defrauded just as Americans have been. A distinction must be made in both cases. Millions supported Hitler; millions still support Bush. This is that portion of any population that Carl Jung classified as incipient psychotics.

Based on my personal experience of living in America for almost a quarter century, and the reality of what has transpired since 9-11, it may be convincingly argued that Plato's analogy of mass ignorance is quite apropos when applied to the American public.

The allegory of the cave is apt. Having never seen the light, "they" cannot imagine it nor can they imagine the shadows as products of it.

Hitler served in the military, Bush did not. During Hitler's time, the jews were victims, now they are the aggressors.

Respectfully, the name of the article is "Lessons Bush Learned From Hitler". It does not say that Bush IS hitler. Another big difference is Bush's lack of intelligence. Hitler was wily and articulate and, by all accounts, charming company. He enjoyed Zweiback immensely, but I cannot imagine that recommending him. Bush must certainly be lousy company for anyone with an IQ higher than that of a moron. What counts, however, are the substantive analogies. Both men exploited real or phony "terrorist attacks"; both men sought to curtail civil liberties for dictatorial rule; both men lied to wage aggressive war. Not covered in my short article is grist for a complete book: the frauds Hitler pulled off in order to attack and invade Poland.

Unknown said...

Sean O'Neil,

Bush is definitely a tool.

I think that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich ought to stop talking about being in favor of working to repeal the Patriot Act and the John Warner Defense Budget Reauthorization Act, and actually start legislating and making speeches from the floor.

Of the two, Kucinich is the more inspiring. That doesn't say much.

Paul is probably a good person. But I cannot buy his politics. It is symptomatic of how this nation has devolved that in a population of several hundred millions, only two have courage. Opposing the Patriot Act OUGHT TO BE A NO BRAINER. The reverse should be true i.e. there ought only be TWO politciians still supporting it.

We are sorely fucked!

At last, Paul's position vis a vis Social Security is that of the GOP conspirators. In other words, they will STEAL the moneys that, by law and right, should be inviolable and use it to reward the corporatist fascists.

Anonymous said...

Len,

Definitely agree on Ron Paul. I believe quite firmly that he is a good, kind man. I think he has his heart in the right place. But he's got some HUGE blind spots in his view of America. Examples:

* He thinks that Michael Scheuer's "Imperial Hubris" tells the truth about the Middle East, when it's actually just a book-long thesis on why we need to be militarily aggressive in the Middle East, and not really a very factual account.

* He thinks that libertarianism actually can counter human flaws like greed, envy, powerlust, misanthropy.

* He is too cautious.

* He believes that "the free market" is a panacea.

GumboFilé said...

It's not so much that Paul believes that the free market is a panacea. It's just that everybody else seems to think that government action is a panacea, when in actuality, government action has caused far worse results than the free market is even capable of.

Unknown said...

I don't believe in panaceas save reason. Alas, there are not enough reasonable people to constitute a quorum.

The "free market" as a panacea is a myth and "governments" are almost never "of the people". I agree with whomever posted that Paul was mistaken if he believed a "free market" would be self-correcting. That's Adam Smith's "invisible hand".

Behind these "libertarian" ideas is an assumed value judgement. If there is such a hand, it is an unreliable one unless one is a Social Darwinist who fallaciously cites Darwin to justify horrific injustices in an unmoderated economic scheme.

If there is an "invisible hand", it does not moderate the rich and powerful. Markets left to their own devices trend toward oligopoly in which oligarchs effect political plutocracy through the exercise of sheer political muscle, intimidation, fraud, and outright bribery. I find it hard to believe that this is what Smith had in mind. If a ruling cabal is to be moderated it must be done by political action.

Ronald Reagan was considered a "free market" Republican, yet espoused an ideology: supply-side economics. He was most certainly elected because it was believed he would reduce the size of government. In fact, he tripled the deficit and doubled the size of the bureaucracy. It was also believed that he was pro-business. More properly, he was pro-big corporations.

The picture is complicated, however by Immanuel Kant who assailed the pursuit of self interest in favor of "good in and of itself" --a "categorical imperative". It is a moral standard that no one, of course, can live up to. Kant, nevertheless, became the other great influence upon American conservative thought --though I cannot give most contemporary conservatives credit for having actually read Kant or, for that matter, understanding him. Yet --Kant may be found lurking beneath the ideological surface of the extreme right-wing and the religious right which seeks to impose upon us a "transcendental" reality and morality whether we like it or not.

And, Bertrand Russell once proved that he was, in fact, the pope. I have his proof of it.

Richard R. Jones said...

Hi Len and crew,

I'm glad to have discovered this thread. Lots of reasoned discourse from across the political spectrum, and no flame wars.

I just posted a link to this thread on my blog, NewsHacker.net, which is focused on the need for media reform and big media's negative impact on investigative journalism. Any commentary will be welcome.

I took special note of the number of times the posters mentioned the failures of big media news organizations and their journalists to report these issues to the broader public. This certainly is no accident.

However, everyone participating in these conversations, wherever they occur in the blogosphere, is involved in making a difference in the selection of news stories the big media companies cover. The more blogging occurs on these topics, the closer attention they pay. When you provide the kind of well-researched links I've seen in this thread, it increases the likelihood some big media outlet will report the story.

Thanks for all you do.

/Dick

Unknown said...

Anonymous said...

(Quoting William Shirer) "Everybody against the war. People talking openly. How can a country go into a major war with a population so dead against it?" noted William Shirer, a war correspondent in Berlin, in his diary on the eve of World War II"

I remember reading that. I had already read "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" when I found a well-thumbed copy of Shirer's "Berlin Diary". Well, it's even more well-thumbed now.

In 1989, Sam Waterson starred in an excellent mini series which I believe was based more on "Berlin Diary" than "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich".

Unknown said...

NewsHacker said...

However, everyone participating in these conversations, wherever they occur in the blogosphere, is involved in making a difference in the selection of news stories the big media companies cover. The more blogging occurs on these topics, the closer attention they pay. When you provide the kind of well-researched links I've seen in this thread, it increases the likelihood some big media outlet will report the story.

Thanks, newshacker...and welcome to "The Cowboy". Some have likened us to a "front porch". We all just drag up a chair and shoot our mouths off. One day the people will be heard and this horrible war crime will end. Then comes a duty to make it harder for a future "Bush" to try to pull of the same series of crimes and outrages.

Virtue Films said...

Bob Dylan Retains Same Law Firm as George W. Bush in Fifteen Year Plagiarism Law Suit. Also suppresses Plaintiff’s First Amendment Rights acquiring a protective order designating all video taped depositions that are incriminating to Dylan confidential

Bob Dylan & his law firm acquired a confidentiality order in a fifteen year plagiarism law suit designating all discovery materials including fifty hours of incriminating video taped depositions as confidential suppressing Plaintiff James Damiano’s first amendment rights to warn the public of Judicial favoritism and corruption.

The Stealing of James Damiano's Songs by Bob Dylan