I’m relieved to see Riverbend post again. I’ve been worried about her. And Billmon, as usual, is exactly completely correct.
-me
I’m relieved to see Riverbend post again. I’ve been worried about her.
Me too. Impossible not to be worried, under the circumstances.
Billmon is right about our complicity, but I’m not sure he’s right about the Thoreau thing. I don’t see that ‘putting our bodies on the line’ would have accomplished anything. It’s been tried before, and it didn’t work.
While I appreciate Billmon’s sentiment, it stops short of any kind of suggestion of a more effective plan. I’m sorry, but more mea culpas are self-indulgent and useless. Before the illegal occupation began, I informally surveyed friends about a tax revolt against the DOD. There was more interest than I expected from comfortable middle-class liberals (that includes myself). Can anyone offer a better rule of engagement than a nationwide movement to refuse continued funding of our aggressive military-industrial hegemony?
Can anyone offer a better rule of engagement than a nationwide movement to refuse continued funding of our aggressive military-industrial hegemony?
Count me out. The only way I would withhold taxes for the DoD is if I am assured what I’m not paying would all come out of Donald Rumsfeld’s salary, if not his hide. We need the military, like it or not, and the troops deserve our support.
The “aggressive military-industrial hegemony” won’t be the least bit inconvenienced by your not paying your taxes.
It had not occurred to me until now what the Iraq plan really was and why it went wrong.
Let’s stipulate a few things.
1) The invasion was about oil wealth. (Who was the pundit who said if Iraq’s chief export was kumquats we never would have invaded.)
2) Saddam was the most obnoxious tyrant in the world who had control of that much oil wealth.
Look at this from the point of view of a multinational oil company. The oil-producing countries in the mid-east maximize profits by dialing up and down oil production, keeping prices high. It’s an outrage to the oil company, that these raghead countries want to make all this money from the oil, just because they own it. To continue thinking like a big oil company..Suppose a major mid-east oil producer was willing to thumb their noses at the cartel and increase production when OPEC was calling for cuts? It would break the cartel. How do you get an Arab country to break away? Make one a democracy. To a multinational, it’s axiomatic – AS OUR DEMOCRACY PROVES, an elected government is inherently corrupt.
OK, so look at the game plan that went wrong. Because the Bushies are still calling plays from that plan. Put together a trumped-up war and beat Saddam – on the economy plan. Throw together a Constitution and elect a government. Give the people lots of rah-rah about how this will make their country a paradise.
Enter the oil companies with oil contracts and satchels full of money for the new democracy. Spread lots of money around and discourage inquiries about the small print. Result: oil companies have perpetual control over the oil and the government. Things are 10 times better for the average citizen there, and a million times better for officials. Aint democracy wunnerful! OPEC gets gored, and the American taxpayer picks up the entire tab for the war.
Let me emphasize a few points. To our administration and the multinationals, democracy = corruption. There was no attempt to rig the elections, because our administration and the big oil companies had absolute certainty that the fledgling government would be for sale. (which brings me to the cynical belief that K street thinks – correctly – that the new Democratic Congress will be out on the auction block – about Nov 8)
What went wrong: We went into Iraq on the economy plan and without enough troops. Religious leaders imposed order with force using their own armies while everyone dithered with writing a Constitution and doing elections The religious factions did not embrace the idea of secular government. This spun off 2 problems; the religious factions are the dominant influence in how people behave and react. Second, the religious have their own armies. Result: the ‘government’ exists in the green zone only. They have no power to deliver on oil contracts because they can’t rein in the Mullahs and tribal lords.
See Bushes frustration in a different light. He won the war, and set up a democratic government and is ready to introduce that government to corruption and that government is incapable of delivering. Bush is stuck. He has come to far to quit. His corporate masters await the spoils of war. The only strategy they can see is a permanent military presence to ensure the survival of the paid-for government; eventually the Iraqis will kill each other off to the point where the plan will work. Except an occupation is the one thing that all Arabs hate, and it’s a guarantee of an endless supply of violence.
My solution: restore democracy to America, where corporations are forbidden by a Constitutional Amendment to contribute to campaigns directly or indirectly. Divorce campaigns from business influence so that our officials respond to OUR needs. In that climate, the Iraq debacle can’t happen. Social Security will be fixed; Health Care will become a right. Electing Dems will not be enough!
I’m relieved to see Riverbend post again. I’ve been worried about her. And Billmon, as usual, is exactly completely correct.
-me
I’m relieved to see Riverbend post again. I’ve been worried about her.
Me too. Impossible not to be worried, under the circumstances.
Billmon is right about our complicity, but I’m not sure he’s right about the Thoreau thing. I don’t see that ‘putting our bodies on the line’ would have accomplished anything. It’s been tried before, and it didn’t work.
While I appreciate Billmon’s sentiment, it stops short of any kind of suggestion of a more effective plan. I’m sorry, but more mea culpas are self-indulgent and useless. Before the illegal occupation began, I informally surveyed friends about a tax revolt against the DOD. There was more interest than I expected from comfortable middle-class liberals (that includes myself). Can anyone offer a better rule of engagement than a nationwide movement to refuse continued funding of our aggressive military-industrial hegemony?
Can anyone offer a better rule of engagement than a nationwide movement to refuse continued funding of our aggressive military-industrial hegemony?
Count me out. The only way I would withhold taxes for the DoD is if I am assured what I’m not paying would all come out of Donald Rumsfeld’s salary, if not his hide. We need the military, like it or not, and the troops deserve our support.
The “aggressive military-industrial hegemony” won’t be the least bit inconvenienced by your not paying your taxes.
It had not occurred to me until now what the Iraq plan really was and why it went wrong.
Let’s stipulate a few things.
1) The invasion was about oil wealth. (Who was the pundit who said if Iraq’s chief export was kumquats we never would have invaded.)
2) Saddam was the most obnoxious tyrant in the world who had control of that much oil wealth.
Look at this from the point of view of a multinational oil company. The oil-producing countries in the mid-east maximize profits by dialing up and down oil production, keeping prices high. It’s an outrage to the oil company, that these raghead countries want to make all this money from the oil, just because they own it. To continue thinking like a big oil company..Suppose a major mid-east oil producer was willing to thumb their noses at the cartel and increase production when OPEC was calling for cuts? It would break the cartel. How do you get an Arab country to break away? Make one a democracy. To a multinational, it’s axiomatic – AS OUR DEMOCRACY PROVES, an elected government is inherently corrupt.
OK, so look at the game plan that went wrong. Because the Bushies are still calling plays from that plan. Put together a trumped-up war and beat Saddam – on the economy plan. Throw together a Constitution and elect a government. Give the people lots of rah-rah about how this will make their country a paradise.
Enter the oil companies with oil contracts and satchels full of money for the new democracy. Spread lots of money around and discourage inquiries about the small print. Result: oil companies have perpetual control over the oil and the government. Things are 10 times better for the average citizen there, and a million times better for officials. Aint democracy wunnerful! OPEC gets gored, and the American taxpayer picks up the entire tab for the war.
Let me emphasize a few points. To our administration and the multinationals, democracy = corruption. There was no attempt to rig the elections, because our administration and the big oil companies had absolute certainty that the fledgling government would be for sale. (which brings me to the cynical belief that K street thinks – correctly – that the new Democratic Congress will be out on the auction block – about Nov 8)
What went wrong: We went into Iraq on the economy plan and without enough troops. Religious leaders imposed order with force using their own armies while everyone dithered with writing a Constitution and doing elections The religious factions did not embrace the idea of secular government. This spun off 2 problems; the religious factions are the dominant influence in how people behave and react. Second, the religious have their own armies. Result: the ‘government’ exists in the green zone only. They have no power to deliver on oil contracts because they can’t rein in the Mullahs and tribal lords.
See Bushes frustration in a different light. He won the war, and set up a democratic government and is ready to introduce that government to corruption and that government is incapable of delivering. Bush is stuck. He has come to far to quit. His corporate masters await the spoils of war. The only strategy they can see is a permanent military presence to ensure the survival of the paid-for government; eventually the Iraqis will kill each other off to the point where the plan will work. Except an occupation is the one thing that all Arabs hate, and it’s a guarantee of an endless supply of violence.
My solution: restore democracy to America, where corporations are forbidden by a Constitutional Amendment to contribute to campaigns directly or indirectly. Divorce campaigns from business influence so that our officials respond to OUR needs. In that climate, the Iraq debacle can’t happen. Social Security will be fixed; Health Care will become a right. Electing Dems will not be enough!