"To the extent that Obama is likely paving the way to US drone strikes on ISIS in Iraq, he is mysteriously failing to take his own advice. "
Obama would also do well to take the advice of Patrick Cockburn and tell his neocon and empire-building advisers to take a hike: "The Propaganda War in Baghdad: Why US Airstrikes Won't Stop ISIS" by PATRICK COCKBURN - http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/20/the-propaganda-war-in-baghdad/
But Obama won't so, most likely, "Good morning, Vietnam" in Iraq.
You are "unpatriotic" just like Thomas Paine, Eugene Debs, Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and all those young people who burned their draft cards during that other debacle in the 1960s.
"So if you depose al-Maliki, you can’t be sure who will take his place. His successor may be even worse."
As Andrew Bacevich noted on CNN this morning was the case in Vietnam. As for Bacevich being on CNN, I could hardly believe it after CNN's parade of neocon culprits who helped get the US into the Iraq war and to continue the insanity.
"...the US could not have done much to prevent all this sectarian conflict."
This disaster would very likely have never occurred if BushCo hadn't invaded Iraq. An "Arab spring" could have taken place as in Tunisia and Egypt. While they were problematic, especially in Egypt's case, Iraq would have been a paradise compared with its present condition.
"Blair’s comments coincided with an essay on his website, where he writes, quote, “We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that ‘we’ have caused this. We haven’t.” "
After a decision had been made to charge the Germans with crimes committed during WW2 lawyers were told to compile a list of charges. They decided that bombing civilian targets was a crime with which the Luftwaffe should be charged and included that in their list submitted for approval by Washington and London. The list was returned to the lawyers with bombing civilian targets deleted because it was a crime of which the Americans and British were also guilty.
There is an old proverb: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again."
On the other hand, as Einstein noted, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and you get the same results but want something different, that may be a sign of insanity.
For more myths tune into Faux News, MSNBC, CNN, hate radio and advice from Friedman, Brooks, Krauthammer, and all the neocons and politicians who created the crime of the century in Iraq and are now stepping up to any available megaphone to give us the benefit of their "wisdom" to explain how to solve this monumental and continuing tragedy.
Given the thought processes of the masses and the people who manipulate them, Tony Bliar's future may follow a path similar to Henry Kissinger's. They have a lot in common.
Not surprisingly, David Brooks is blaming Obama for the crisis in Iraq and Syria: "The same voices that warned about the hasty Iraq withdrawal urged Obama to strengthen the moderates in Syria. They were joined in this fight by a contingent in the State Department."
The "same voices" were those who promoted the war on Iraq, and the "contingent from the State Department" most likely included the neocons who helped to create the crisis in Ukraine.
"What neocons want from Ukraine crisis: Special Report: The Ukrainian crisis – partly fomented by U.S. neocons including holdovers at the State Department – has soured U.S-Russian relations and disrupted President Obama’s secretive cooperation with Russian President Putin to resolve crises in the Mideast," reports Robert Parry. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/03/02/what-neocons-want-from-ukraine-crisis/
It will be interesting to read a biography of Tony Bliar in a decade or two with some likely similarities to the story of and, hopefully, the ending of Icarus. Suggestion to librarians: File it in the biography section under "Villains." He probably won't be in the same league as Hitler and Stalin unless the current conflagration spreads.
And, what do his prominent role in international affairs and post-premiership payoffs say about how this world is run?
Let's all hope and pray these radical Shi'ite militias can stop ISIS; otherwise, we are in trouble. ISIS is estimated to have as many as three to five thousand fighters and we in the US only have about a half million people in our military, six or seven carrier fleets, who knows how many missile-carrying submarines and we're down to a couple thousand nukes. Woe is me! The sky is falling. Quick. Send the Pentagon another check for a few hundred billion.
No doubt tomorrow's Sunday corporate TV blabfests will have the usual suspects with assistance from their hosts explaining they were right in promoting the war on Iraq.
Judging by Patrick Cockburn's usual astute reporting the official government and Iraqi military are not worth saving. The only reason for defending the Shia is protection of the innocents.
I have a recollection from around 2002 when grease was being poured on the skids to war on Iraq with Condi evoking mushroom clouds and Judith Miller at the NYT warning about Saddam's WMDs there were contrarians warning that something like this might happen if the US invaded Iraq.
And we can depend on the mainstream media - the military-industrial complex-Wall Street public relations department - to provide the American people with more, similarly "experienced" commentators.
In this instance, the past is very much a key to the present and future decisions. Knowing who got it horribly wrong in 2002/2003 should at least encourage skepticism when they try to peddle their "oracles" about what to do now.
And, what does that say about the other generals who saluted Rummy and said "Yes, sir, whatever" and ordered their troops on stage for the opening act of this monumental tragedy?
"She made one bad vote but it was based on her assessment of faulty intelligence."
Come to think of it, there is one way she can justifiably claim to have bought into faulty intelligence, but it is unlikely she will because she went along, as she always has, with the "intelligence" given her from the Israel lobby.
Mitch Daniels was another "genius" peddling the war. He projected the Iraq war would cost $60 Billion. A majority of the people of Indiana later elected him to be their governor. How dumb can these "conservatives" be? Don't answer that.
They may have been presented with false evidence, but many people saw through that, so if any politician uses that excuse the next question is, "how do you justify your incompetence?"
Also, Dick Durbin made a speech on the senate some time after the war was well underway in which he said that he and other members of the senate intelligence committee were getting briefings that contradicted the Bush Administration/neocon line. He claimed he couldn't say anything about this in public because he was bound by obligations. Too bad he didn't decide to be a profile in courage - like Edward Snowden. Some members of the intelligence (?) committee still voted for the war.
That was no doubt a factor, but the underlying problem - a hatred of the US and Israel - was embedded like a cancer destined to metastasize. Blowback also had something to do with this revolt.
The goal was to secure access to the Iraqi oil. My understanding is that US oil companies got a piece of the action there, so there was some success, but that could come to a screeching halt with ISIS in the catbird seat.
We are governed by fools, etc. because the majority of the electorate are fools, etc. Notice how they keep re-electing politicians guilty of monumental blunders.
It's a good bet that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Biden, Clinton and all others in the lead to promote this war won't lose much sleep over this. Well, maybe Hillary will be awake a little at night trying to figure out how to dupe enough gullible Democrats (sic) to excuse her role.
Forget Obama on this. Go back to 2003 and the people who caused the original overthrow in Iraq as Robert Parry explains:
"Blaming Obama for Iraq’s chaos: Exclusive: As Islamic militants gain ground in Iraq, Official Washington’s neocons and the mainstream media are blaming President Obama for ending the U.S. military occupation, but they ignore their own role in destabilizing Iraq with the 2003 invasion," . - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/06/11/blaming-obama-for-iraqs-chaos/
"The “blowback” of U.S. government policies (remember that the majority of the politicians of both major “parties” voted to authorize and fund the invasions and occupations)..."
Polls at the time showed around 70 percent of the American people supported this crime against humanity. Since then almost all of the politicians who voted for this war have been reelected by the "people" if they chose to run again, and it is a good bet that if they run again in November they will be elected one more time to do whatever insanity they might be presented with.
"What was entirely predictable is what would happen if the United States withdrew completely from Iraq."
In general terms, it was also predictable according to well-informed observers that the war on Iraq would eventually prove to be a disaster for all but the military-industrial-security complex.
Obama didn't have much of a choice. He wanted to keep US troops in Iraq at the same time he was claiming to have ended the war there. The Iraqi government apparently was willing to allow some troops to remain, but the deal breaker was the status of forces agreement (SOFA). The Iraqis wanted to be able to try US soldiers they accused of crimes against Iraqis, but there was no way Obama could agree to that. So, it was adios or whatever they say in Iraq when they aren't praying for survival.
You did a heckofa job Dubya, Dick, Don, Condi, Tony, et al. Same to all the generals who disregarded the Nuremberg principle about not obeying unlawful and immoral orders.
"It is an indictment of the George W. Bush administration, which falsely said it was going into Iraq because of a connection between al-Qaeda and Baghdad. "
On the other hand, as the brilliant Condoleeza Rice, she of the "mushroom clouds," might have put it, these are just the birth pangs of democracy.
On the third hand, given the prevailing influence of our neocons who are hostile to Shi'ite-dominated Iran, we shouldn't rule out an alliance with this would-be al-Qaeda affiliate as we did with the original version.
Meanwhile, this time, in the Portland, Oregon area:
Our hearts and thoughts go out to the entire Troutdale and Reynolds community today as they cope with this morning's school shooting.
Reynolds High: (At least) the 74th school shooting since Sandy Hook
Portland Mercury
"Details are slowly emerging in the aftermath of this morning's shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale—in that we've learned, so far, that one student was shot and killed and that the shooter also is dead. As for whether anyone else was injured or whether the shooter also was a student? Officially unknown. But here's something else that's pretty empirical: Since a gunman murdered 20 children in 2012's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, gun safety advocates at Everytown USA have tracked some 73 other school shootings over the following year and half. And Reynolds High School just became number 74 on their list." http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2014/06/10/reynolds-high-at-least-the-74th-school-shooting-since-sandy-hook
Let's not forget that these gunslingers need their guns to defend "we, the people" against tyranny. Unfortunately, they don't seem to consider the NSA spying on American citizens and selective prosecutions by the justice (sic) department to be a form of tyranny.
"What’s really odd about him is that he’s still trying to be very hardcore and it’s my way or the highway when it comes to this swap deal, but he’s just another victim of war to me."
That is the life-style he was born into and raised to conform to. It will be his modus operandum for the rest of his life.
"Some U.S. politicians seem to have short memories."
More likely, they know they are lying but are counting on the notoriously short memories of the American public. That is, assuming they knew anything of the topic in the first place.
He is also a chip off the old block, which explains a lot - Israel’s Attack on the Liberty, Revisited
by Jeffrey St. Clair "The inquiry was headed by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. Kidd didn’t have a free hand. He’d been instructed by Vice-Admiral McCain to limit the damage to the Pentagon and to protect the reputation of Israel." http://www.counterpunch.org/2003/10/24/israel-s-attack-on-the-liberty-revisited/
It will be interesting to see what rationalizations pro-gun people in Georgia come up with to justify their expansion of places where disturbed people can wander around with loaded weapons.
While we are discussing race in WW2, let's not forget the African-Americans who fought in Europe and the Pacific to oppose tyranny and bring freedom to the people conquered by the Nazis and the Japanese after which they mostly returned to the Deep South and the tyranny of racial bigotry and freedom-constricting segregation.
Not only did people from Asia and Africa help the Allies in World War Two. They did the same in WWI. It appears in both cases their sacrifices were taken for granted.
Given the fighting history of these people, it would be to our advantage if our warmongers refrained from provoking them to fight against us instead of with us.
As for desertion, it is worthwhile to look at this from the advantage of history. The basic theory, touted by the pro-war side, is reasonable up to a point. We are fighting an enemy, and you abandoned us. However, if we read some relevant history, and reflect on the incompetence and criminality of the leaders at many levels running the war in question, then refusing to participate deserves at least some measure of sympathy. The people with superior rank but not necessarily superior intelligence over Sgt. Bergdahl should be grateful that he just took a hike and didn't engage in the popular remedy of "fragging" applied in Vietnam.
Recent material I have read about the First World War inspires some sympathy for those accused of desertion and disdain for the pro-war types. One story tells of a young man in civilian clothing subjected to the popular insult of being handed a white feather to signify cowardice. Later that day he attended a ceremony at which he was presented with a Victoria Cross, the British equivalent of the Medal of Honor. When it comes to war, the warmongers just don't know what they are talking about.
The GOP criticisms of Obama's actions are just typical tribal politics of which the Democratic (sic) Party is just as guilty. It's wrong if the other tribe does it, but when our leader does it, it is okay.
"And as a medical corpsman, we treated wounded VC guerrillas at the base hospital where I served my tour of duty. Does that make me a communist sympathizer? Of course not."
It means that you and other medical personnel in Vietnam that I know of and who acted similarly have kept a candle of hope alive that some day we will have a civilized society.
Motormouth is a compulsive yapper who ignores most of what his guests say if he disagrees, and when he can no longer contain himself he overrides their comments with his usual banalities.
This event is another example of the decadence of the fawning corporate media, especially television. The robots from the right (in this case) recite the party line about it being wrong to negotiate with terrorists, blissfully ignoring St. Ronnie's history with Iran. At the same time, talk show hosts let them get away with such claptrap.
"The real villains of the Bergdahl tale: Exclusive: The right-wing media is denouncing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as a “deserter” who wasn’t worth ransoming from the Taliban, but the real villains are the architects of the disastrous Iraq and Afghan wars who frivolously put the many Bergdahls in harm’s way," writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/06/03/the-real-villains-of-the-bergdahl-tale/
"Apparently, Sgt. Bergdahl was disgusted with the whole war in Afghanistan and walked off the base AWOL ..."
This reminds me of someone discussing the carnage on the Western Front during the First World War. He suggested the deserters were the only sane people in that madhouse.
" Before Obama escalated this foolish conflict, many people including you Dr. Cole, warned him against it."
General McChrystal was reportedly one of the promoters of that surge. Now there are reports he is on a list of five people to replace Eric Shinseki at the VA.
The stormtroopers of the GOP and Faux Newz are ranting and raving about this swap, so that is one sign Obama did the right thing.
And, what was the point in the NSA scooping up all this information that did nothing to stop the Boston Bombers?
Perhaps Glenn Greenwald is right in his book "No Place to Hide" that the NSA's programs form a new Panopticon to keep the masses aware they are under surveillance and the freedom that comes with privacy is no long available.
We might also consider the privileged and aristocratic educational environment through which Kerry and others like him - Bill Kristol, the Bushes, etc. - passed through so that they could assume positions of power where they could consign countless people to death and destruction without any apparent troubling of conscience.
Our local TV station held a poll to decide whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor. 42% percent bought into the BS from the Obama administration and the fawning corporate media. 58% in a "conservative" part of the state think otherwise.
Guess what!! You're going to get the same choice in 2016 as you had in 2004. Choose the lesser of two evils who may very well be more evil than anyone else to date.
" I can’t imagine for the life of me why. Kerry is either amazingly ignorant or being disingenuous when he suggests that Snowden would be allowed to “make his case” if he returned to the US. "
How about what Kerry is saying is from the script concocted by the Obama administration? When authoritarians address the masses they are convinced they have the right to say whatever they want whether it is true or not. The point is to persuade the masses to follow.
“That so many Americans seem completely undisturbed by what was done makes me think it is too late for democracy.”
On the one hand it encourages the belief that Snowden made a big mistake if he was willing to sacrifice his life for these Americans.. On the other hand, people sometimes have a way of proving they have good qualities after they appear to be beyond redemption. You never know.
The Middle East would be much better off if Kerry "manned up" and explained some facts of life to the Israelis who are violating international laws and abusing the human rights of Palestinians with impunity because of craven submission by the US government to the Israel Lobby.
"Kerry tells Snowden to “man up” and come home" by Peter Van Buren - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/05/29-3 ... "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who at this point has all the credibility of a minor Kardashian just out of rehab, somehow was allowed on national television to say this …"
"Mike McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and now at Stanford University embarrassed himself by answering the question of whether Snowden harmed anyone by saying that he hurt German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s feelings when she found out her personal cell phone was tapped. ... Snowden didn’t hurt Angela’s feelings. The US government did."
But like a good trooper, she has submitted to the ruling authority.
Obama revealed when he first ran for president that he was in league with the ruling oligarchs. If he hadn't been so inclined he wouldn't even have gotten on the stage at the Democratic (sic) Party convention in Boston.
Apparently, John Kerry missed the obvious: That he is no position to criticize the patriotism of others when he supported and voted for one of the most obscene crimes of this century - the war on Iraq.
“A beat cop who entered somebody’s apartment without a warrant and used evidence found there to build a case against the person would be drummed out of the force if he got caught.”
That probably wouldn't apply in New York, Chicago and other cities.
The problem with Memorial Day and Veterans Day is the side effect of glorifying war and encouraging each succeeding wave of young people to enlist in support of war crimes. On these days we would do well to read Smedley Butler's "War is a Racket" http://www.warisaracket.org/ and encourage young people to do the same.
I didn't say the Brits were more violent than Americans. To clarify, I should probably have said, "... they would have a much higher rate of gun deaths than they now have if guns were more readily available."
Consider the conduct of the hordes of British soccer fans who become deranged at any perceived affront to their teams and civilized people will be understandably relieved they don't have the access to guns that Americans have.
I don't know if it is possible to measure how much more or less violent the Brits are, but my several years of living there persuade me to believe they would have a much higher rate of gun deaths if guns were more readily available. Note, also, the recent exposure of British military brutality in southern Iraq. As for human rights during the British Empire there is little there to be proud of. And, let's not forget Britain's role in Ireland - the now-Republic and Northern Ireland.
But the business of Amerika is business and the manufacture of arms, small and big, is big business. Combine this with the fact that Americans are very susceptible to fearmongering so there is lots of support from people who want to defend themselves even if they are more likely to be a big winner in the lottery.
Then there are the "patriots" who need to be armed to defend against tyranny. If that isn't BS, I don't know what is. Tyranny is on the march via the alphabet soup of "intelligence" agencies, but the "patriots" are supporting them and calling for the heads of the whistleblowers.
" Congress had refused requests for better embassy security in 2012 because, they said, it costs money."
What do the toys wanted by the generals and admirals cost? What does the pork cost in the form of weaponry the generals and admirals don't want but Congress insists on producing?
"Women live longer than men, get kids and cash post-divorce, and are spared the dirty, dangerous jobs men are expected to do to create civilizations that pamper females."
This is a charade that could be played interminably. Women put their lives at risk bearing children. Not so much as in the past in the technologically advanced nations, but it is still a risk. If marriages don't work out women become single moms often living in poverty while their exes are often marginally better off.
It would be interesting to know how many people were persuaded to vote for Bill Clinton as the lesser evil after Lee Atwater's scurrilous campaign for Bush the Elder. Looking back on both records GHWB might have won the lesser-evil vote.
"NATO jabs Russia on Ukraine: Exclusive: The U.S. mainstream media portrays the Ukraine crisis as a case of Russian “imperialism,” but the reality is that Moscow has been reacting to aggressive moves by Washington to expand NATO to Russia’s border in violation of a post-Cold War pledge," writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGov-ern. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/05/15/how-nato-jabs-russia-on-ukraine/ … "From the campaign trail on Oct. 22, 1996, two weeks before he defeated Bob Dole for a second term as president, Bill Clinton used NATO enlargement to advertise his assertiveness in foreign policy and America’s status as the “world’s indispensable nation.” Clinton bragged about proposing NATO enlargement at his first NATO summit in 1994, saying it “should enlarge steadily, deliberately, openly.” He never explained why.
"President Clinton, thus, reneged on the pledges made by Baker to Gorbachev and Shevardnadze. Clinton lamely called upon Russia to view NATO’s enlargement as an arrangement that will “advance the security of everyone.”"
"...and maintains that the only thing wrong with the war is that he did not go on selling it all 8 years."
You can't get more out of touch with reality than that. Among many other things that were wrong with the Iraq was the fact that none of the warmongers or close relatives were in the war zones where they could understand what it was like to be shot at. McCain's visit with his sidekick, Lindsey Graham, doesn't count. They were surrounded by protective mercenaries.
Israel's right-wing government saw fit to go along with the settler movement, but it brings to mind a theme used in Western movies about the townsfolk enlisting the aid of gunslingers who then took over the town. Lotsa luck, Bibi.
"The refusal of Gore to campaign with Clinton had the most baneful consequences for the nation:"
It didn't help that Gore ran an appallingly incompetent campaign in more ways than one. And there is no telling what he would have done with Joe Lieberman (D-AIPAC) as his vice president.
Then Kerry came along and used Gore's playbook for his campaign.
"The boomers have completely forgotten the lessons of Vietnam."
It's debatable whether many of the boomers, pre-boomers and post-boomers learned any lessons from Vietnam to forget them. There were lessons taught by the Civil War, the War to End All Wars, WWII, Korean War, but they, too, for the most part went unlearned.
Clinton should have been impeached for maintaining the sanctions on Iraq when it became known that thousands of children were dying as a consequence, but there wasn't much chance of that in a disreputable Congress.
It's a good bet that as soon as the elections are over in November Obama will approve Keystone XL. He has had too many connections with Big Energy to go against them and has probably gotten permission from them to delay approval so as not to undermine Democrats at the polling booths.
"But climate change activists have been dismayed that the president nevertheless spoke of an “all of the above” energy policy, urging further oil and gas exploitation, talking about unicorns like clean coal, and generally doing little to tackle the enormous problem. "
No surprise there. Obama was talking about "clean coal" when he first ran for president. Except for saying he loves his children, anything else that comes out of his mouth should be regarded with skepticism.
"More than 400 US military drones crashed in past 13 years, report says: Of 418 major drone crashes since 2011 identified by the Washington Post, about half happened in Iraq and Afghanistan" by Tom Dart - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/21/400-us-military-drones-crashed-13-years
In addition to keeping an eye on the Sunni-ISIS fighters it looks like our "advisers" will also need to pay attention to some Shia. "Iraqi cleric threatens US military advisers" http://thehill.com/policy/international/210152-iraqi-cleric-threatens-us-military-advisers
"To the extent that Obama is likely paving the way to US drone strikes on ISIS in Iraq, he is mysteriously failing to take his own advice. "
Obama would also do well to take the advice of Patrick Cockburn and tell his neocon and empire-building advisers to take a hike: "The Propaganda War in Baghdad: Why US Airstrikes Won't Stop ISIS" by PATRICK COCKBURN - http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/20/the-propaganda-war-in-baghdad/
But Obama won't so, most likely, "Good morning, Vietnam" in Iraq.
I have read it and plan to re-read the copy I have about four feet from me just now.
You are "unpatriotic" just like Thomas Paine, Eugene Debs, Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and all those young people who burned their draft cards during that other debacle in the 1960s.
"President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he will send 300 Green Beret Army special operations soldiers to Iraq."
With the potential of being the lead contingent in another march of folly.
"The Long March of Folly in Iraq: The Perils of Cluelessness and Ineptitude" by ANDREW LEVINE - http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/20/the-long-march-of-folly-in-iraq/ … "If you are powerful enough, you don’t have to be smart."
"So if you depose al-Maliki, you can’t be sure who will take his place. His successor may be even worse."
As Andrew Bacevich noted on CNN this morning was the case in Vietnam. As for Bacevich being on CNN, I could hardly believe it after CNN's parade of neocon culprits who helped get the US into the Iraq war and to continue the insanity.
"...the US could not have done much to prevent all this sectarian conflict."
This disaster would very likely have never occurred if BushCo hadn't invaded Iraq. An "Arab spring" could have taken place as in Tunisia and Egypt. While they were problematic, especially in Egypt's case, Iraq would have been a paradise compared with its present condition.
Very well said. But let's not forget an estimated 70 percent of the American people supported or went along with this tragedy.
"Blair’s comments coincided with an essay on his website, where he writes, quote, “We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that ‘we’ have caused this. We haven’t.” "
Ramzy Baroud begs to differ: "Iraq pays the price of US meddling" - http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-180614.html
"In Japan it took two bombs to convince the Emperor to quit."
Japan gave signals it was ready to surrender before Nagasaki and Hiroshima - two of the great war crimes of WW2.
After a decision had been made to charge the Germans with crimes committed during WW2 lawyers were told to compile a list of charges. They decided that bombing civilian targets was a crime with which the Luftwaffe should be charged and included that in their list submitted for approval by Washington and London. The list was returned to the lawyers with bombing civilian targets deleted because it was a crime of which the Americans and British were also guilty.
So do Earl Haig and others who should have been exiled for their inhumanity.
There is an old proverb: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again."
On the other hand, as Einstein noted, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and you get the same results but want something different, that may be a sign of insanity.
For more myths tune into Faux News, MSNBC, CNN, hate radio and advice from Friedman, Brooks, Krauthammer, and all the neocons and politicians who created the crime of the century in Iraq and are now stepping up to any available megaphone to give us the benefit of their "wisdom" to explain how to solve this monumental and continuing tragedy.
Sanjuro: Thank you for this link. I recalled the incident but couldn't recall Dr. Kelly's name.
Anyone delusional enough to have faith in our national political and military leadership needs to read this to get in touch with reality: "How to Evolve an Exit Strategy From America’s Foreign Policy Shambles: Polk Report" by FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY and WILLIAM R. POLK - http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/16/how-to-evolve-an-exit-strategy-from-americas-foreign-policy-shambles/
Given the thought processes of the masses and the people who manipulate them, Tony Bliar's future may follow a path similar to Henry Kissinger's. They have a lot in common.
Not surprisingly, David Brooks is blaming Obama for the crisis in Iraq and Syria: "The same voices that warned about the hasty Iraq withdrawal urged Obama to strengthen the moderates in Syria. They were joined in this fight by a contingent in the State Department."
The "same voices" were those who promoted the war on Iraq, and the "contingent from the State Department" most likely included the neocons who helped to create the crisis in Ukraine.
"What neocons want from Ukraine crisis: Special Report: The Ukrainian crisis – partly fomented by U.S. neocons including holdovers at the State Department – has soured U.S-Russian relations and disrupted President Obama’s secretive cooperation with Russian President Putin to resolve crises in the Mideast," reports Robert Parry. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/03/02/what-neocons-want-from-ukraine-crisis/
It will be interesting to read a biography of Tony Bliar in a decade or two with some likely similarities to the story of and, hopefully, the ending of Icarus. Suggestion to librarians: File it in the biography section under "Villains." He probably won't be in the same league as Hitler and Stalin unless the current conflagration spreads.
And, what do his prominent role in international affairs and post-premiership payoffs say about how this world is run?
Let's all hope and pray these radical Shi'ite militias can stop ISIS; otherwise, we are in trouble. ISIS is estimated to have as many as three to five thousand fighters and we in the US only have about a half million people in our military, six or seven carrier fleets, who knows how many missile-carrying submarines and we're down to a couple thousand nukes. Woe is me! The sky is falling. Quick. Send the Pentagon another check for a few hundred billion.
Tony Bliar justifies the war: 'It would be worse if we hadn't invaded Iraq,' claims Tony Blair by Jane Merrick - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/it-would-be-worse-if-we-hadnt-invaded-iraq-claims-tony-blair-9537857.html
No doubt tomorrow's Sunday corporate TV blabfests will have the usual suspects with assistance from their hosts explaining they were right in promoting the war on Iraq.
Judging by Patrick Cockburn's usual astute reporting the official government and Iraqi military are not worth saving. The only reason for defending the Shia is protection of the innocents.
I have a recollection from around 2002 when grease was being poured on the skids to war on Iraq with Condi evoking mushroom clouds and Judith Miller at the NYT warning about Saddam's WMDs there were contrarians warning that something like this might happen if the US invaded Iraq.
"Enter Ken Pollack and Tom Friedman– the Iraq experts!" By James North - http://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/pollack-friedman-experts.html
And we can depend on the mainstream media - the military-industrial complex-Wall Street public relations department - to provide the American people with more, similarly "experienced" commentators.
In this instance, the past is very much a key to the present and future decisions. Knowing who got it horribly wrong in 2002/2003 should at least encourage skepticism when they try to peddle their "oracles" about what to do now.
And, what does that say about the other generals who saluted Rummy and said "Yes, sir, whatever" and ordered their troops on stage for the opening act of this monumental tragedy?
"She made one bad vote but it was based on her assessment of faulty intelligence."
Come to think of it, there is one way she can justifiably claim to have bought into faulty intelligence, but it is unlikely she will because she went along, as she always has, with the "intelligence" given her from the Israel lobby.
"She made one bad vote but it was based on her assessment of faulty intelligence."
This "faulty intelligence" excuse is unadulterated BS. There were many critics who shot the Bush/Cheney "intelligence" down before the vote.
Stay tuned. You'll find that there will be more reasons to come as to why Hillary has more problems than "one bad vote" but that's another subject.
Mitch Daniels was another "genius" peddling the war. He projected the Iraq war would cost $60 Billion. A majority of the people of Indiana later elected him to be their governor. How dumb can these "conservatives" be? Don't answer that.
They may have been presented with false evidence, but many people saw through that, so if any politician uses that excuse the next question is, "how do you justify your incompetence?"
Also, Dick Durbin made a speech on the senate some time after the war was well underway in which he said that he and other members of the senate intelligence committee were getting briefings that contradicted the Bush Administration/neocon line. He claimed he couldn't say anything about this in public because he was bound by obligations. Too bad he didn't decide to be a profile in courage - like Edward Snowden. Some members of the intelligence (?) committee still voted for the war.
The Iraq war vote in the Senate: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Congressional_actions_on_the_Iraq_War_prior_to_the_2003_U.S._invasion#Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq:_Final_vote
House of Representatives vote: http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/U.S._House_of_Representatives_votes_on_the_Iraq_War
That was no doubt a factor, but the underlying problem - a hatred of the US and Israel - was embedded like a cancer destined to metastasize. Blowback also had something to do with this revolt.
The goal was to secure access to the Iraqi oil. My understanding is that US oil companies got a piece of the action there, so there was some success, but that could come to a screeching halt with ISIS in the catbird seat.
We are governed by fools, etc. because the majority of the electorate are fools, etc. Notice how they keep re-electing politicians guilty of monumental blunders.
It's a good bet that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Biden, Clinton and all others in the lead to promote this war won't lose much sleep over this. Well, maybe Hillary will be awake a little at night trying to figure out how to dupe enough gullible Democrats (sic) to excuse her role.
Forget Obama on this. Go back to 2003 and the people who caused the original overthrow in Iraq as Robert Parry explains:
"Blaming Obama for Iraq’s chaos: Exclusive: As Islamic militants gain ground in Iraq, Official Washington’s neocons and the mainstream media are blaming President Obama for ending the U.S. military occupation, but they ignore their own role in destabilizing Iraq with the 2003 invasion," . - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/06/11/blaming-obama-for-iraqs-chaos/
"The “blowback” of U.S. government policies (remember that the majority of the politicians of both major “parties” voted to authorize and fund the invasions and occupations)..."
Polls at the time showed around 70 percent of the American people supported this crime against humanity. Since then almost all of the politicians who voted for this war have been reelected by the "people" if they chose to run again, and it is a good bet that if they run again in November they will be elected one more time to do whatever insanity they might be presented with.
"What was entirely predictable is what would happen if the United States withdrew completely from Iraq."
In general terms, it was also predictable according to well-informed observers that the war on Iraq would eventually prove to be a disaster for all but the military-industrial-security complex.
Obama didn't have much of a choice. He wanted to keep US troops in Iraq at the same time he was claiming to have ended the war there. The Iraqi government apparently was willing to allow some troops to remain, but the deal breaker was the status of forces agreement (SOFA). The Iraqis wanted to be able to try US soldiers they accused of crimes against Iraqis, but there was no way Obama could agree to that. So, it was adios or whatever they say in Iraq when they aren't praying for survival.
You did a heckofa job Dubya, Dick, Don, Condi, Tony, et al. Same to all the generals who disregarded the Nuremberg principle about not obeying unlawful and immoral orders.
"It is an indictment of the George W. Bush administration, which falsely said it was going into Iraq because of a connection between al-Qaeda and Baghdad. "
On the other hand, as the brilliant Condoleeza Rice, she of the "mushroom clouds," might have put it, these are just the birth pangs of democracy.
On the third hand, given the prevailing influence of our neocons who are hostile to Shi'ite-dominated Iran, we shouldn't rule out an alliance with this would-be al-Qaeda affiliate as we did with the original version.
Meanwhile, this time, in the Portland, Oregon area:
Our hearts and thoughts go out to the entire Troutdale and Reynolds community today as they cope with this morning's school shooting.
Reynolds High: (At least) the 74th school shooting since Sandy Hook
Portland Mercury
"Details are slowly emerging in the aftermath of this morning's shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale—in that we've learned, so far, that one student was shot and killed and that the shooter also is dead. As for whether anyone else was injured or whether the shooter also was a student? Officially unknown. But here's something else that's pretty empirical: Since a gunman murdered 20 children in 2012's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, gun safety advocates at Everytown USA have tracked some 73 other school shootings over the following year and half. And Reynolds High School just became number 74 on their list." http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2014/06/10/reynolds-high-at-least-the-74th-school-shooting-since-sandy-hook
Now, is this a great country - or what?
Let's not forget that these gunslingers need their guns to defend "we, the people" against tyranny. Unfortunately, they don't seem to consider the NSA spying on American citizens and selective prosecutions by the justice (sic) department to be a form of tyranny.
"What’s really odd about him is that he’s still trying to be very hardcore and it’s my way or the highway when it comes to this swap deal, but he’s just another victim of war to me."
That is the life-style he was born into and raised to conform to. It will be his modus operandum for the rest of his life.
"Some U.S. politicians seem to have short memories."
More likely, they know they are lying but are counting on the notoriously short memories of the American public. That is, assuming they knew anything of the topic in the first place.
He is also a chip off the old block, which explains a lot - Israel’s Attack on the Liberty, Revisited
by Jeffrey St. Clair "The inquiry was headed by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. Kidd didn’t have a free hand. He’d been instructed by Vice-Admiral McCain to limit the damage to the Pentagon and to protect the reputation of Israel." http://www.counterpunch.org/2003/10/24/israel-s-attack-on-the-liberty-revisited/
McCain is like a weather vane. He goes with the prevailing wind that is likely to fill his sails..
It will be interesting to see what rationalizations pro-gun people in Georgia come up with to justify their expansion of places where disturbed people can wander around with loaded weapons.
" My question is, what is the difference between this potential massacre and that of the Boston massacre .. "
The shooter in Georgia was a "good-old-boy, white, red-blooded 'Merican" exercising his "god-given" second amendment rights.
Jobs building the weapons that would sustain wars around the new American Empire and boost the funding of the military-industrial-security complex.
While we are discussing race in WW2, let's not forget the African-Americans who fought in Europe and the Pacific to oppose tyranny and bring freedom to the people conquered by the Nazis and the Japanese after which they mostly returned to the Deep South and the tyranny of racial bigotry and freedom-constricting segregation.
Not only did people from Asia and Africa help the Allies in World War Two. They did the same in WWI. It appears in both cases their sacrifices were taken for granted.
Given the fighting history of these people, it would be to our advantage if our warmongers refrained from provoking them to fight against us instead of with us.
Eight on!!
"And we still can’t come up with a cure for the hysteria of ordinary citizens that their lives will be worse without the hegemony."
That is not unique to the United States.
As for desertion, it is worthwhile to look at this from the advantage of history. The basic theory, touted by the pro-war side, is reasonable up to a point. We are fighting an enemy, and you abandoned us. However, if we read some relevant history, and reflect on the incompetence and criminality of the leaders at many levels running the war in question, then refusing to participate deserves at least some measure of sympathy. The people with superior rank but not necessarily superior intelligence over Sgt. Bergdahl should be grateful that he just took a hike and didn't engage in the popular remedy of "fragging" applied in Vietnam.
Recent material I have read about the First World War inspires some sympathy for those accused of desertion and disdain for the pro-war types. One story tells of a young man in civilian clothing subjected to the popular insult of being handed a white feather to signify cowardice. Later that day he attended a ceremony at which he was presented with a Victoria Cross, the British equivalent of the Medal of Honor. When it comes to war, the warmongers just don't know what they are talking about.
The GOP criticisms of Obama's actions are just typical tribal politics of which the Democratic (sic) Party is just as guilty. It's wrong if the other tribe does it, but when our leader does it, it is okay.
"And as a medical corpsman, we treated wounded VC guerrillas at the base hospital where I served my tour of duty. Does that make me a communist sympathizer? Of course not."
It means that you and other medical personnel in Vietnam that I know of and who acted similarly have kept a candle of hope alive that some day we will have a civilized society.
Motormouth is a compulsive yapper who ignores most of what his guests say if he disagrees, and when he can no longer contain himself he overrides their comments with his usual banalities.
"Finally, as for the 5 Taliban officials being the worst of the worst, that is probably true."
However, if they have to get a job working in Qatar they may be better off back in Guantanamo:
"Qatar government admits almost 1,000 fatalities among migrant workers: Report details deaths of 964 workers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh from cardiac arrests, falls and suicide" by Owen Gibson - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/14/qatar-admits-deaths-in-migrant-workers
This event is another example of the decadence of the fawning corporate media, especially television. The robots from the right (in this case) recite the party line about it being wrong to negotiate with terrorists, blissfully ignoring St. Ronnie's history with Iran. At the same time, talk show hosts let them get away with such claptrap.
"The real villains of the Bergdahl tale: Exclusive: The right-wing media is denouncing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as a “deserter” who wasn’t worth ransoming from the Taliban, but the real villains are the architects of the disastrous Iraq and Afghan wars who frivolously put the many Bergdahls in harm’s way," writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/06/03/the-real-villains-of-the-bergdahl-tale/
"Apparently, Sgt. Bergdahl was disgusted with the whole war in Afghanistan and walked off the base AWOL ..."
This reminds me of someone discussing the carnage on the Western Front during the First World War. He suggested the deserters were the only sane people in that madhouse.
" Before Obama escalated this foolish conflict, many people including you Dr. Cole, warned him against it."
General McChrystal was reportedly one of the promoters of that surge. Now there are reports he is on a list of five people to replace Eric Shinseki at the VA.
The stormtroopers of the GOP and Faux Newz are ranting and raving about this swap, so that is one sign Obama did the right thing.
"Where was the NSA? That's the question former State Department whistleblower Peter Van Buren recently asked at his We Meant Well blog -- and it couldn’t be a smarter one." http://wemeantwell.com/blog/2014/05/27/where-was-the-nsa-before-the-isla-vista-mass-shooting/
And, what was the point in the NSA scooping up all this information that did nothing to stop the Boston Bombers?
Perhaps Glenn Greenwald is right in his book "No Place to Hide" that the NSA's programs form a new Panopticon to keep the masses aware they are under surveillance and the freedom that comes with privacy is no long available.
We might also consider the privileged and aristocratic educational environment through which Kerry and others like him - Bill Kristol, the Bushes, etc. - passed through so that they could assume positions of power where they could consign countless people to death and destruction without any apparent troubling of conscience.
Our local TV station held a poll to decide whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor. 42% percent bought into the BS from the Obama administration and the fawning corporate media. 58% in a "conservative" part of the state think otherwise.
Guess what!! You're going to get the same choice in 2016 as you had in 2004. Choose the lesser of two evils who may very well be more evil than anyone else to date.
" I can’t imagine for the life of me why. Kerry is either amazingly ignorant or being disingenuous when he suggests that Snowden would be allowed to “make his case” if he returned to the US. "
How about what Kerry is saying is from the script concocted by the Obama administration? When authoritarians address the masses they are convinced they have the right to say whatever they want whether it is true or not. The point is to persuade the masses to follow.
“That so many Americans seem completely undisturbed by what was done makes me think it is too late for democracy.”
On the one hand it encourages the belief that Snowden made a big mistake if he was willing to sacrifice his life for these Americans.. On the other hand, people sometimes have a way of proving they have good qualities after they appear to be beyond redemption. You never know.
The Middle East would be much better off if Kerry "manned up" and explained some facts of life to the Israelis who are violating international laws and abusing the human rights of Palestinians with impunity because of craven submission by the US government to the Israel Lobby.
"Kerry tells Snowden to “man up” and come home" by Peter Van Buren - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/05/29-3 ... "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who at this point has all the credibility of a minor Kardashian just out of rehab, somehow was allowed on national television to say this …"
"Mike McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and now at Stanford University embarrassed himself by answering the question of whether Snowden harmed anyone by saying that he hurt German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s feelings when she found out her personal cell phone was tapped. ... Snowden didn’t hurt Angela’s feelings. The US government did."
But like a good trooper, she has submitted to the ruling authority.
Reference Orwell's "Animal Farm."
Obama revealed when he first ran for president that he was in league with the ruling oligarchs. If he hadn't been so inclined he wouldn't even have gotten on the stage at the Democratic (sic) Party convention in Boston.
Apparently, John Kerry missed the obvious: That he is no position to criticize the patriotism of others when he supported and voted for one of the most obscene crimes of this century - the war on Iraq.
“A beat cop who entered somebody’s apartment without a warrant and used evidence found there to build a case against the person would be drummed out of the force if he got caught.”
That probably wouldn't apply in New York, Chicago and other cities.
"So I just don’t get Memorial Day."
It is part of the national propaganda program to keep our national myths in circulation and the gullible gullible.
The problem with Memorial Day and Veterans Day is the side effect of glorifying war and encouraging each succeeding wave of young people to enlist in support of war crimes. On these days we would do well to read Smedley Butler's "War is a Racket" http://www.warisaracket.org/ and encourage young people to do the same.
Memorial Day What?: Screening War Flicks by CLANCY SIGAL - http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/26/memorial-day-what/
I didn't say the Brits were more violent than Americans. To clarify, I should probably have said, "... they would have a much higher rate of gun deaths than they now have if guns were more readily available."
Consider the conduct of the hordes of British soccer fans who become deranged at any perceived affront to their teams and civilized people will be understandably relieved they don't have the access to guns that Americans have.
I don't know if it is possible to measure how much more or less violent the Brits are, but my several years of living there persuade me to believe they would have a much higher rate of gun deaths if guns were more readily available. Note, also, the recent exposure of British military brutality in southern Iraq. As for human rights during the British Empire there is little there to be proud of. And, let's not forget Britain's role in Ireland - the now-Republic and Northern Ireland.
Very well said. This is one of the more substantive comments on this topic I have read this morning.
But the business of Amerika is business and the manufacture of arms, small and big, is big business. Combine this with the fact that Americans are very susceptible to fearmongering so there is lots of support from people who want to defend themselves even if they are more likely to be a big winner in the lottery.
Then there are the "patriots" who need to be armed to defend against tyranny. If that isn't BS, I don't know what is. Tyranny is on the march via the alphabet soup of "intelligence" agencies, but the "patriots" are supporting them and calling for the heads of the whistleblowers.
Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and now Libya. Just think of the possibilities inherent in the US pivot to Asia.
" Congress had refused requests for better embassy security in 2012 because, they said, it costs money."
What do the toys wanted by the generals and admirals cost? What does the pork cost in the form of weaponry the generals and admirals don't want but Congress insists on producing?
"Women live longer than men, get kids and cash post-divorce, and are spared the dirty, dangerous jobs men are expected to do to create civilizations that pamper females."
This is a charade that could be played interminably. Women put their lives at risk bearing children. Not so much as in the past in the technologically advanced nations, but it is still a risk. If marriages don't work out women become single moms often living in poverty while their exes are often marginally better off.
After I posted my comment I reconsidered "Unfortunately" and thought "ironically" would have been a better choice.
"DS: It isn’t a question—we don’t evaluate what’s right and wrong, we live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture.” "
Unfortunately, a sizable portion of the victims of this authoritarian/conservative philosophy go along with it.
It would be interesting to know how many people were persuaded to vote for Bill Clinton as the lesser evil after Lee Atwater's scurrilous campaign for Bush the Elder. Looking back on both records GHWB might have won the lesser-evil vote.
"NATO jabs Russia on Ukraine: Exclusive: The U.S. mainstream media portrays the Ukraine crisis as a case of Russian “imperialism,” but the reality is that Moscow has been reacting to aggressive moves by Washington to expand NATO to Russia’s border in violation of a post-Cold War pledge," writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGov-ern. - http://consortiumnews.com/2014/05/15/how-nato-jabs-russia-on-ukraine/ … "From the campaign trail on Oct. 22, 1996, two weeks before he defeated Bob Dole for a second term as president, Bill Clinton used NATO enlargement to advertise his assertiveness in foreign policy and America’s status as the “world’s indispensable nation.” Clinton bragged about proposing NATO enlargement at his first NATO summit in 1994, saying it “should enlarge steadily, deliberately, openly.” He never explained why.
"President Clinton, thus, reneged on the pledges made by Baker to Gorbachev and Shevardnadze. Clinton lamely called upon Russia to view NATO’s enlargement as an arrangement that will “advance the security of everyone.”"
"...and maintains that the only thing wrong with the war is that he did not go on selling it all 8 years."
You can't get more out of touch with reality than that. Among many other things that were wrong with the Iraq was the fact that none of the warmongers or close relatives were in the war zones where they could understand what it was like to be shot at. McCain's visit with his sidekick, Lindsey Graham, doesn't count. They were surrounded by protective mercenaries.
Their physical health is secondary. Much more important is their moral health - if it exists.
Israel's right-wing government saw fit to go along with the settler movement, but it brings to mind a theme used in Western movies about the townsfolk enlisting the aid of gunslingers who then took over the town. Lotsa luck, Bibi.
"The refusal of Gore to campaign with Clinton had the most baneful consequences for the nation:"
It didn't help that Gore ran an appallingly incompetent campaign in more ways than one. And there is no telling what he would have done with Joe Lieberman (D-AIPAC) as his vice president.
Then Kerry came along and used Gore's playbook for his campaign.
"The boomers have completely forgotten the lessons of Vietnam."
It's debatable whether many of the boomers, pre-boomers and post-boomers learned any lessons from Vietnam to forget them. There were lessons taught by the Civil War, the War to End All Wars, WWII, Korean War, but they, too, for the most part went unlearned.
Clinton should have been impeached for maintaining the sanctions on Iraq when it became known that thousands of children were dying as a consequence, but there wasn't much chance of that in a disreputable Congress.
"Israeli propaganda has gone on and on about Iran denying the Holocaust, ..."
Israeli propaganda has gone on and on about denying the existence of a Palestine and Palestinian people.
It's a good bet that as soon as the elections are over in November Obama will approve Keystone XL. He has had too many connections with Big Energy to go against them and has probably gotten permission from them to delay approval so as not to undermine Democrats at the polling booths.
"But climate change activists have been dismayed that the president nevertheless spoke of an “all of the above” energy policy, urging further oil and gas exploitation, talking about unicorns like clean coal, and generally doing little to tackle the enormous problem. "
No surprise there. Obama was talking about "clean coal" when he first ran for president. Except for saying he loves his children, anything else that comes out of his mouth should be regarded with skepticism.
They are all horrific, but it helps to put things in perspective and note we in the US are not in a position to be self-righteous.
Thank you for your comments and the very interesting link.
The Lord's Resistance Army, Boko Haram, US neocons. Which has caused the most agony and death?