Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Ahmad Chalabi: Get Iraq or Lie Tryin'....
I'm diggin the Get Rich or Die Tryin' steez of this week's Newsweek cover....
So I completely missed Bush's speech Monday night but (no surprise) I heard he said nothing new despite promising to outline a plan and clear strategy for where the US goes from here in Iraq. (White House Press Release)
Related reading:
- It's not surprising the networks didn't air the president's speech on Monday. At last week's previews of the upcoming TV season, the big three revealed that they would cut back on summer reruns. (Washington Post)
Newsweek on The Rise and Fall of Chalabi: Bush's Mr. Wrong.
Related reading:
- Ahmad Chalabi: Iran's weapon of mass destruction for destroying Iraq? (Newsday)
Only a small number of die-hards still buy the bogus line that the prison torture was perpetrated by just a few errant MP's, but in case they read this site in between their daily doses of Newsmax and World Net Daily, maybe they need to read this: Abuse of Captives More Widespread, Says Army Survey. (New York Times)
While Newsday asks: was it Torture or Abuse?
Duke has had a ridiculous run considering the atrocious record of his administration to date, but something had to give eventually and now even many former Bush supporters are starting to question his leadership while Eleanor Clift also examines the rumblings from the right about Bush. I smell blood, people. Kerry, please step your campaign game up. (New York Times | Newsweek)
In a response to recent acts of extreme violence against Americans in Iraq and mounting criticism of U.S. military policy at home, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced the government's new strategy of fighting terror with terror Monday:
"Look, in order to catch a rat, you gotta think like one. We've been pussy-footing around the war on terrorism for years. All that time, the answer was right in front of us: In order to wipe out terror around the globe, once and for all, we've gotta beat them at their own game.from "U.S. To Fight Terror With Terror." OK, so those quotes are fakes from yet another Onion satire, but once again they seem closer to the spirit of what's really going on right now than much of what gets covered by the mainstream media.
It's vital to remember that these terrorists hate freedom. Well, guess what? From now on, we're going to hate it even more. Do you think terrorists care about due process and fair treatment of prisoners? Of course not. Why should we give them the upper hand? You fight fire with fire."
Fog of War: an excellent documentary about Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ for 7 years of the Vietnam War. Worth watching especially for the scary parallels between what's happening now in Iraq and the thinking during Vietnam. Lesson 8 of 11 to be learned from Vietnam acoording to McNamara:
Be Prepared to Reexamine Your Reasoning: What makes us omniscient? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should ever apply that economic, political or miliatry power unilaterally.Unfortunately, it looks like Bush & co. took Lesson 9 more to heart in the planning for post-war Iraq: "In Order to do Good, You May Have to Engage in Evil." D'oh!
If we had followed that rule in Vietnam we would have never had been there. None of our allies supported us: not Japan, not Germany, not Britian, not France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the mertis of our cause, we better reexamine our reasoning....
Also, learn about the compelling case for putting famed dipolmat Henry Kissinger on trial for war crimes for his alleged involvement in unnecessarily prolonging the Vietnam war for personal political gain, orchestrating illegal and indiscriminate bombing campaigns in Cambodia, supervising the 1973 coup against democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende and playing a role in U.S.-backed atrocities in East Timor in the highly recommended DVD The Trials of Henry Kissinger. Based on the book of the (nearly) same name by British journalist Christopher Hitchens.
