it’s a long, long way to tucumcari
Time to beat the dead horse again. And frankly, if Iraq were a horse, that glue pot would have been used up long ago.
But here we are nearly three years after the Mission Accomplished photo-op, and still there is no end in sight. Not that this is at all surprising to informed observers. Way back then when I used the word “decades” to describe what it would take to change Iraq, I was treated as something akin to Benedict Arnold. Three years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, I have seen nothing to change my opinion on what is required to fundamentally alter the social calculus Over There.
Then again, when I suggest that it will take decades, I am assuming we are talking about competent governance of Iraq. That is looking like an unjustified assumption as well.
Yet Iraq-nam has worked out so well, it looks like serious consideration is being given to liberating Iran too. You should not buy the liberation thing this time either. Perhaps it could be adequately explained by jealousy on the part of Emperor W who wants to plant the American flag on more Arab soil than did Britannia at her apex. Covetousness can be such an ugly thing you know.
Unlike many Americans, Rule Uncle Sam simply doesn’t work for me.
The irony here is that I will probably end up opposing the impending intervention in Iran when in fact I have been and remain a strong advocate of containing the Iranian nuclear threat. Unlike the case in Iraq, the Iranian nuclear infrastructure is real and of ominous portent. The West must act, and ideally act in a unified fashion.
But what I can not support is continued ham-handed and unilateral actions under false pretenses. Let us name these coming military actions plainly for what they are-legitimate defensive moves against hostile threats and behave in accordance with honest agendas. The bad news is that we haven’t seen a shred of honesty out of the imperial court since…well, I’m sure there was something they were honest about.
The good news is that limited military action is likely to be effective against the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. The facilities that process uranium hexafluoride are relatively large and immobile. This is perhaps a tailor made opportunity for the military to unveil their “rods from god” system that does not exist. Wink.
An Iraq style invasion of Iran is simply unthinkable now as our reach has already well exceeded our grasp. The panic on world oil markets alone could bring down Western civilization. Something more narrow in time and scope is in order. To pull it off politically, action must be sudden and swift. Done well, such an action could in fact be stabilizing.
The larger problem here is that it is hard to find a soul in this world outside of the American Republican Party Faithful that trust our President to lead such an endeavor. The price of squandering our legacy of international good-will is going to be paid sooner rather than later I fear. We may in fact be in a position where unilateral action is the only viable action because of our recent forfeit of leadership ability.
And if we do not act, be even more afraid of unilateral action by Israel.
Whatever the facts may be or what is actually in the best interests of Americans and the World in general, we do know one thing for certain: this administration will pursue that which is in the best interests of the Republican party first and the rest only if it fits the party agenda. The administration is keeping up the misinformation campaign and doing so with increasing enthusiasm. War is Peace they tell us. Undoubtedly the focus groups are telling them that patriotic platitudes continue to sell well.
Thus the drums of war continue to beat loudly. The martial rhetoric and hubris are getting more deeply infused in our social consciousness with each passing day. Truly, we have become the heirs of Britannia in all the wrong ways. As this mindset deepens, I fear our culture will end up more like Sparta than the Shining City on the Hill and our legacy more like that of Alexander the Great than the America which liberated the world from the yoke of fascism.
We would do well to remember that we indeed follow in Alexander’s footsteps in undertaking to conquer Persia. Unlike Alexander, there is little doubt that militarily, we can do so. With a little luck, perhaps Emperor W’s name will not be cursed in Persia two-thousand years hence as is Alexander’s to this day.
But, I doubt it.
5 Comments:
CG,
Constitutionally, it is the House of Representatives that is supposed to most closely reflect the will of the people. The only feedback loop in a representative democracy is the vote. So no, there is no “obligation” to follow the will of the people after the election. There are only the duties of the office and legal constraints. If they go too far off the farm, that is what Congress and the Courts are for.
TC,
Harsh words my friend. But that is OK. I can take it.
Lets examine what I have actually said as opposed to what you say I have said.
You said, “Will anyone that disagrees with this war in Iraq ever concede that virtually every war that has been waged by a democracy has been plagued with problems, mishaps, poor planning and mistakes that have led to the sad and tragic loss of human life?”
I have never suggested otherwise. You don’t have to think very hard either. Look at the campaign of the Army of the Potomac from 1861-1864 for a wonderful example. (And the 1865 campaign can be viewed as pretty ham-handed too.) How about the notorious inexperience of American is Europe in WWI. Or the disasters of Kasserine Pass and Market-Garden? Yeah, poor handling is nothing new.
But then, none of that was optional either. Perhaps the better analogy is the Mexican-American war which we instigated to grab some land. There was a lot of political skewering over that too. We tend to be more forgiving when the war is thrust upon the government.
”Surely there is not a supposition that this is t he worst war waged.” Not hardly. So why would you suggest I, or anyone might be suggesting that?
”How can we expect people on either side to make honest admissions of these shortfalls and mishaps when their words swim in shark-infested waters that turn admissions into political nooses.”
That was interesting remark indeed. I haven’t heard this administration make any sort of admission of a mistake whatsoever, so I’m unsure what your exact point is. And I for one am pretty unconcerned about “political nooses”. You have a very fine point there. It is in fact about politics and not about any concern for reality. That is my fundamental problem with the American political scene in general. You seem to be defending the administration by saying that if they admitted any goof-ups, it would have a high political cost. My reaction is that you are describing partisan gamesmanship practiced at its highest art and that I find repugnant in the extreme. I for one seek leadership that is as honest as this administration claims to be. One which can stand up and say, “yeah, this was a cock-up” and take the political price like a man. But that isn’t politically smart, so in our perverse world, good well-meaning people such as yourself end up defending crass and immoral behavior.
The main purpose of this comment is to express/uncover/suggest an air of hypocrisy that somehow THIS war is much more different than any other war. Hopefully I have dispatched this misrepresentation adequately. But let me say clearly what is different this time: the descent into the moral abyss of propaganda and lies has become thorough and pervasive. All of these tactics have been used before. It really started picking up steam during 42’s tenure. 43 has just perfected and accelerated the existing trend. Nothing different really, just the magnitude is far greater. As should be the alarm which is sadly non-existent in any terms other than those purely partisan attacks we hear.
”The casualties, though difficult and tragic and completely and truly unimaginable by these words and this blog have been largely small in comparison to other major campaigns.” Not sure what you are saying here. If you are suggesting I do not appreciate the sacrifice of those in the trenches then you are being grossly unfair. I have never failed to give full credit to our troops. And the prosecution of the invasion by the US military is a wonder of the modern world.
But, the casualties are mounting. Before it is over the magnitude of the casualties will be of the same order of magnitude as Vietnam though likely still far lower. Last figure I heard was nipping at 20,000 casualties.
”But hyperboles like the worst administration and the biggest failure (in war) are quite diminished when compared to historical facts.”
Hard to call it the worst administration when we have folks like Grand and Hoover to compare too. But placing 43 in the bottom five is pretty fair. Only history can judge, but it is hard to see how this takes a sudden turn for the positive. I’ll happily take it if it does. And in the unlikely event every criticism I have leveled turns out to be incorrect, I’ll step up and admit it. As I’ve said before, I desperately want to be wrong about our Middle East policy because if I’m wrong, then there is hope for America’s future. But sadly, events continue to prove out my critique over the last decade and over Iraq in particular. Please prove me wrong and that this is a good thing.
”There is certainly plenty of material for criticism and plenty of valid, constructive arguments posed by thos e on all sides. I just dont usually find them here.
Please, feel free to set the record straight. It might be hard for you to see since you disagree with me on so much, but I am one person who is trying very hard to be objective. No partisan lens here. My greatest and desire is to goad others into removing their partisan lenses and seeing the corruption and dishonesty for what it is.
C.G.: “...that free hand that has it's finger up US IT programmer's...”
You may not be aware of this, but some of us are visual learners.
Prof. Ricardo
Just be sensitive of those impressionable lurkers.
www.mexica-movement.org/granmarcha.htm
C.G.: If I could only get the GOP to hate foreign programmers as much as they hate Mexicans.
So....your position is not a matter of principle as much as who’s ox is getting gored?
Happy Tax Season everyone!
After you write your tax checks, Uncle Sams says: Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Prof. Ricardo.
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