Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961
The US spends almost as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. So, is it logical that we should fear some rag-tag terrorists? Runaway Capitalism is the new enemy of freedom and democracy, not Communism, or Radical Islam. Think about it.
"Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960, p. 1035- 1040
My fellow Americans:
Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.
This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.
Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.
Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the Nation.
My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years.
In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the national good rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together.
II.
We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.
III.
Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.
Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology -- global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle -- with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.
But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.
The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.
IV.
A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present
* and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.
It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.
V.
Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
VI.
Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.
Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war -- as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years -- I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.
Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance along that road.
VII.
So -- in this my last good night to you as your President -- I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that service you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.
You and I -- my fellow citizens -- need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation's great goals.
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:
We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love."
When I read about your sloppy joe's, it made me think of this story. Some say it's true:
For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true the following is. They actually have a Chili Cook-off about the time Halloween comes around. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the San Antonio City park.
Note: Please take time to read this slowly. If you pay attention to the first two judges, the reaction of the third judge is even better. These notes are from an inexperienced Chili taster named Jay, who was visiting from Foley, Al.
Jay: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a Chili cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the Miller Light truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted."
Here are the scorecards from the event: (Jay is Judge #3)
Chili # 1 Eddie's Maniac Monster Chili....
Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
Judge # 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.
Judge # 3 -- (JAY) Holy crap, Batman, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with it. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.
Chili # 2 Austin's Afterburner Chili...
Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children! I'm not sure What I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.
Chili # 3 Ronny's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili...
Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick. Needs more beans.
Judge # 2 -- A bean less chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers.
Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting plastered from all of the beer...
Chili # 4 Dave's Black Magic...
Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-LB woman is starting to look HOT... just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chili an aphrodisiac?
Chili # 5 Lisa's Legal Lip Remover...
Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead, and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks.
Chili # 6 Pam's Very Vegetarian Variety...
Judge # 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.
Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
Judge # 3 -- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuric flames. I crapped on myself when I farted and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that fat slut Sally. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone.
Chili # 7 Carla's Screaming Sensation Chili...
Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
Judge # 2 -- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment.
**I should take note that I am Worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.
Judge # 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava to match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. Screw it; I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.
Chili # 8 Karen's Toenail Curling Chili...
Judge # 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
Judge # 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge #3 farted, passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor feller, wonder how he'd have reacted to hot chili...
OTC......my greatist fear is that there will be another 911 incident, which would be tragic in itself. But it will also polarize the country into those that will believe it was an inside job and those that will believe that whomever the admin says was responsible, did it. And the bombs will fall regardless of who's right.
OTC.....you've made my blood boil at times, but your hearts in the right place. We can lick this if we do it together. Now, let's kill some politicians, lol.
"It's very odd how each one craves power, the power of money, position, caacity, knowledge.....
With it goes ambition and success and a ruthlessness that has been made respectable and so acceptable. Every society, temple, and church gives it its blessing, and so love is perverted and destroyed. And envy is worshipped and competition is moral. But with comes fear, war and sorrow, but yet no man will put these aside. In daily life we are killing, destroying, maiming thousands through our greed, through our nationalism, through our economic frontiers, and so on. So war is the continuation of your daily existence made more spectacular; and the moment you directly question the cause of war, you are questioning your relationship with another, which means that you are questioning your whole way of living. If you really believed in God, if it were a real experience to you, then your face would have a smile; you would not be destroying human beings. Peace is not the denial of war. Peace is a state of being in which all conflicts and all problems have ceased; it is not a theory, nor an ideal to be achieved after ten incarnations, ten years, or ten days." J. Krishnamurti
If I were an Iranian, I wouldn't trust the US either. You do know the history, right? We have been screwin with these people for generations. No, other factors shouldn't be ignored, but we need to determine our actions in the light of the whole story. Like I said, Iran is a serious problem, that, frankly, I don't know the answer to, but killing should be a last resort. The consequences are unimaginable. In addition, do you think Russia and China will stand idly by while we nuke Iran?
If you want to be an activist for a better future, religion is the place to start for me. Until we worry more about our existence and responsibilities here on Earth than in heaven, there will be no change. Many just except the conditions here and say to themselves that life will be better in the next life. If that notion were removed, maybe they would concern themselves more with their current surroundings.
"If there is no division, there is no conflict. Wherever there is division, there must be conflict: that is a law." J. Krishnamurti
There is hope my friend.
Iran is a problem that, again, we created. But I won't harp on that. The history books explain it all.
But, I know, what do we do now? Exhaust every angle to come to a peaceful solution before we start firing missles. Bush has shown very little willingness to talk to anyone, however. And now, the stinkin Democrats are going to give him the right to attack. There has to be a better way, even a caveman can agree to that, lol.
"just want what is best for the world."
Me too, OTC. There is hope for us. Together, I know we can win any legitimate struggle.
I'd like to approach the problem from a different angle. Fundamentalism of any kind is an antithesis to Capitalism. My basic belief is that average people take any religion with a grain of salt. Yes, they say they believe yatta, yatta, but don't carry out the insane dictates found in the Bible and the Koran. So why do they rally to cause?........they don't like the staus quo of their lives. If we can remove the rallying cry, we might be left with the truth.
So let me throw my glove into the ring by saying that religions are the curse of mankind. By definition, they break the world up into us and them. And, of course, the "them" are always evil. This is how the populace is taken in by unscrupulous men who couldn't give a shit what the people believe, but they know that they can be used.
Isn't it interesting that what you believe is largely determined by where you were born? How could this be a universal truth of any kind? The proposition of a personal God, on your side, would be downright silly, if the consequences of these beliefs weren't so bloody. All religions, somewhere inside those big books, preach peace and love, and yet, the reality is the opposite. How long will we continue to believe fairy tales and when will we agree that the success or failures of these notions is measured on the ground and not in heaven?
Until the question of religion is answered, among other things, there will be no peace.
BTW......I appreciate you're coming down to Earth a little. I hope I'm right too. The alternative is simply to grotesque to imagine.
"Why was our military cut in half at the same time that intelligence reports were coming in saying that attacks are coming?"
I don't know that's a fact, but let's assume it is. Bush recieved briefings from the Clinton admin, he was also warned by dozens of nations that an attack was likely iminent. As I recall it was Rumsfeld who redesigned the military.
You can blame Clinton also for the reduction, but I'm sure it wasn't his idea alone. How can you keep a complete Army ready force when you're not fighting anyone? That will always be a problem.
Another point is we wouldn't be short troops if we had gone after Bin Laden and not gotten sidetracked in Iraq. Now, we're likely to lose both!
I think we're wasting each others time. I wish I could figure out how people wind up with such twisted thinking.
Let's just kill everybody who doesn't agree with us.
You can post til your fingers fall off, and it won't change the fact that Bush was losing this war before there were any protests. He has gotten EVERYTHING he's asked for and can't get the job done. The protests are a reaction to failure, not the other way around.
And you don't mention that both wars were based on lies. It doesn't seem to bother anyone now that they are a communist country. They're our pals now. Americans, in general, are morally deficient and don't give a damn about right or wrong, only winning or losing and that's why you're seeing protests......we've been losing the war ever since Bush declared victory.
I answered your question.....answer mine. How would you go about winning? We've run out of soldiers and money.
And......god damn it......people are dying and for what? To alleviate your paranoa?(spit) This is an illegal war. This son-of-a-bitch will be prosecuted.
Bye, Bye OPBL....down another 40%.
On May 8, 2007, BMO Financial Group ("BMO") issued a statement indicating that BMO is suspending its business relationships with Optionable, Inc. (the "Company"), as well as all derivatives trading through the Company, pending the results of an ongoing external review of certain commodity trading losses incurred by BMO. BMO has accounted for a significant portion of the Company's revenues. The Company believes that it is likely that BMO's statement and suspension will have an adverse effect on the Company's business, including its future results of operations and financial condition. The Company is unable to quantify the impact of BMO's statement and suspension at this time.
On May 9, 2007, The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., a subsidiary of the NYMEX Holdings, Inc., announced that it will offer options trading for crude oil, natural gas, gold, and silver on the CME Globex electronic trading platform beginning in June 2007. We believe that some of the contracts trading on the CME Globex platform may compete with contracts trading on the Company's OPEX platform. The Company is unable to quantify the impact of this potential competition on its business, including its future results of operations and financial condition.
Kucinich Reveals Dem Funding Bill Includes Privatization of Iraq Oil & Carte Blanche to Invade Iran
June Caldwell
May 6, 2007
In a meeting with the West Los Angeles Democratic Club on Saturday, May 5, Presidential candidate and Ohio Congress Representative Dennis Kucinich revealed that the Democrats in Congress had made some secret concessions to the Republicans in the initial Bill to continue funding the Iraq War that was vetoed, and in a subsequent version that is currently being negotiated. They include:
>Privatization of Iraq’s Oil – in the original Bill, but not shared with the public. A rule was created that said this clause could not be removed during debate on House floor.
>Bush could invade Iran without approval of Congress. A clause that would require him to get approval from Congress first was removed.
>Timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq to be removed from Bill (in post-veto version).
The clause that Iraq must privatize ownership of its oil was in the original Bill presented by Congress, although it was not mentioned publicly. It was stated as a benchmark to be met by Iraq, and if it was not met, the US would withdraw troops and refuse to offer peacekeeping troops to help rebuild the country. That means the Iraqis would not own their own oil, but instead International oil companies, primarily US oil companies, would instead divide ownership of the oil.
This seems to reaffirm the worst possible scenario that the war in Iraq not only was built upon lies, but was solely for the purpose of destroying their country so the big US oil companies can own their oil. These same oil companies are still resolute about keeping the oil prices high at the pumps for US citizens (while refraining refinery capacity), so that they alone retain record-breaking profits. Kucinich explained he requested on the Congress floor that clause be removed from the Bill, and was finally assured it would be. He found it was not, and again demanded it be removed, and was then accused of ‘not being a loyal Democrat’.
Kucinich went on to explain that last November, the citizens of the US voted for a ‘change of direction in Iraq’ but as of yet have only gotten a bait and switch.
No way to win hearts and minds............
May 9th 2007 | DELHI
From Economist.com
America apologises for killing more civilians in Afghanistan
AFP
THE American army delivered an apology and blood money on Tuesday May 8th to the families of 19 Afghan civilians killed in March by marines. As in similar cases in Afghanistan and Iraq the killings, which took place on a road near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, were discovered by journalists and initially misrepresented by American commanders. Announcing the climb-down, an American colonel in Afghanistan told reporters: “I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.”
This is unlikely to prevent many more such incidents. The killing of large numbers of civilians by American forces, through indisciplined firing or as a result of their heavy reliance on air-strikes, has been a bitter feature of the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq—just as it was in Vietnam. Indeed, later on Tuesday at least 21 civilians were killed in air-strikes in the southern province of Helmand, according to Asadullah Wafa, its pro-American governor. In Iraq on Wednesday, according to local security sources, an American helicopter involved in an attack against suspected insurgents killed a number of children at a primary school north of Baghdad.
Since the killings in Afghanistan in March, American troops in that country—mostly from a counter-terrorism contingent that is operating outside the main American-led NATO peacekeeping force—are alleged to have killed civilians on at least five occasions. Late in April at least 57 civilians are said to have been slain in American air-strikes at Shindand, in western Afghanistan.
The slaughter in Jalalabad appears to have occurred in similar circumstances to the better-known murder in 2005 of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, in western Iraq. After being attacked by a suicide bomber, American marine special forces allegedly retaliated by shooting at every Afghan in sight. Another 50 civilians were wounded in their attack. As in Haditha, the marines then tried hiding their bloody tracks.
Afghan journalists at the scene had video film confiscated and digital photographs deleted from their cameras. American officials claimed that the marines had faced a “complex ambush”, with Taliban marksmen hidden among the civilians. The Taliban are capable of such tactics. Before last week’s violence in Shindand, a tally by the Associated Press showed 151 civilians had been killed in Afghanistan this year, including 100 by the Taliban. Another estimate, by Human Rights Watch, suggests that more than 1,000 Afghan civilians died in violent attacks in 2006, more than half of them the victims of Taliban assaults.
Yet there appears to be no evidence that the marines near Jalalabad came under attack after the bomb-blast. America’s Department of Defence has launched a criminal investigation into the incident. The family of each slain Afghan has received $2,000.
More such payouts could soon follow. The fighting in Shindand, between April 27th and 29th, began with a failed American special forces operation to grab a local warlord and suspected Taliban ally, Mullah Akhtar. A former Taliban commander, he had previously received support from the Afghan government (and allegedly from American forces) against another warlord, Ismael Khan. In the attempt to capture him, according to an American army press release, 136 Taliban fighters and one American soldier were killed, but no civilians.
A team of UN and government investigators sent to Shindand last week found several hundred houses destroyed by air-strikes and heard reports of many civilians dead and injured. Some 1,600 families had fled the area. Among the dead were said to be many children, including some who had drowned after diving into a river to escape the onslaught.
In response to early reports of a massacre in Shindand, Afghanistan’s leader, Hamid Karzai, warned that Afghans’ patience with the foreign troops in their midst was “wearing thin”. Mr Karzai has issued similar warnings after previous American atrocities. But there is evidence to suggest that he may be right. Last week several hundred students gathered near Jalalabad to protest against a separate, recent incident in which civilians, including at least one woman, were alleged to have been killed by American special-forces fighters. In their slogans they held George Bush and Mr Karzai himself to blame.
We soldiers once assumed our political bosses would not lie to us. That is over
We realised the actual issue was about long-term access to oil
By Leo Docherty:
05/09/07 "The Independent" -- -- Four years ago, I watched, with other young officers, the invasion of Iraq on TV in the mess. We were sick with envy. Our brother officers were having the most exciting time of their lives, at the centre of history, while we, on ceremonial duties in London, marched about in red tunics and bearskin hats.
The invasion, it seemed, was a necessary evil to be redeemed by the creation of a free, democratic Iraq. The WMD issue was a pretext, we all concurred, an honourable white lie to knock an evil dictator off his perch and breathe new hope into the lives of a brutally repressed people.
Our turn soon came, and the ground truth in Basra and Maysan provinces was a shock. The statue-toppling euphoria had been replaced by the horrific chaos of a state in collapse, exacerbated by a rising insurgency and sectarian bloodshed. The truth gradually emerged. The police and army we were training were corrupt and probably loyal to the insurgency. The first supposedly democratic elections for half a century were a façade, dependent on the presence of our Warrior fighting vehicles at polling stations.
Then we realised the issue was not replacing tyranny with democracy, but gaining long-term access to oil. Blair, in bowing to American oil-mad energy hunger, had deployed the British Army on a lie, a much bigger lie than the one about WMDs. Today, the appalling sectarian violence killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians every week is the direct result of our invasion and botched occupation. As Blair prepares to leave office, Iraq is descending into deeper human tragedy, and British troops are still dying.
Those in the forces who, like me, were frustrated and disillusioned after Iraq, took new optimism from British intervention in Afghanistan. It looked like being everything Iraq should have been: reconstructive nation-building to improve the lives of poverty-stricken Afghans.
Sadly, political ill-preparation and haste dropped the military, again, into lethally hot water. Last year, British forces were sent into volatile Helmand, ill-equipped and inadequately supported. Scattered across the north of the province (the size of Wales), small teams occupied "platoon houses" in remote towns.
I was in Sangin where, as in everywhere else, we had no means of starting developmental reconstruction and stood no chance of winning Afghan hearts and minds. To the locals, the presence of British soldiers seemed to presage destruction of their poppy crop and their livelihoods.
Helmand produces 40 per cent of Afghanistan's opium crop, the source of 90 per cent of global heroin. And the people there are tribesmen, infamous for their ferocious hostility to foreign interference. The savage backlash rages still; more than 50 British servicemen are dead in this sub-campaign, countless Afghan civilians have been killed, and opium production is at an all-time high.
The Taliban are thriving on this: every Afghan civilian killed by the British artillery round or helicopter gunship has a dozen brothers, cousins, and friends seeking British blood for vengeance. Today, our troops are risking their lives in a pointless conflict, a nightmare scenario of counter-insurgency gone wrong.
There is the mismatch between Blair's huge military ambition overseas and the scarce resources the forces get to fulfil it. The Army has lost four infantry battalions. Soldiers serving a fourth tour struggle to maintain relationships at home. Half the Navy's fleet is threatened with mothballing.
When you join the Army, you swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and, by extension, the Prime Minister. We commit ourselves, with unquestioning loyalty, to the State. This is founded on trust in our political masters, and the belief that they are honourable people who will not lie to us, will resource us correctly and deploy us with sound judgement, after thorough strategic planning. This bond is unique, set in stone regardless of party politics. Today, this bond is broken. Catastrophes in Iraq and Afghanistan and years of resource-starvation have taken their toll; this is Blair's legacy.
Late last year, the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannat, publicly called for our withdrawal from Iraq. Other senior officers voiced concern. Such public statements, unthinkable before Blair, are a glimpse of the military's anger and frustration.
Of those officers I sat with in the mess four years ago, many, like me, have left the Army. Those who remain have no trust in the Government. One told me: "We won't be fooled again."
Leo Docherty is author of 'Desert of Death: A Soldier's Journey from Iraq to Afghanistan', published by Faber and Faber
LOL........so the anti-war movement is responsible for the upsurge in terrorism? Did we lose the Viet Nam war because of the anti-war movement? Did the Russians get beat in Afghanistan because of a Russian anti-war movement? Ridiculous! When you’re invading another country and you don’t squash them immediately, resistance will grow. As resistance grows, the enemy will be emboldened, losses grow and anti-war voices increase. It’s just that simple.......talk about reaching. I don’t know, but it seems that most of the terrorist attacks you listed are nothing more than stupid individuals taking out their aggression on helpless victims. Certainly not an orchestrated game plan to bring down the US.
You’re correct that making drilling in certain areas and limiting our refining capacity is playing into the hands of our enemies. On the other hand, to trust precious environments to oil companies is like asking a wolf to baby-sit your children. The latest BP fiasco is a good example. There are other solutions which I alluded to, conservation, better rails, and more investment in public trans and alternative sources of energy would go a long way.
I say the Constitution is outdated, because the combination of a controlled media, the intentional dumbing down of the average American, forcing people to work 2 jobs to make ends meet, so that they have no time to inform themselves, all contribute to empowering the worst people to run for office. No sane person would run for president in this day and age. They either have egos larger than Texas or are part of an agenda and are bought and paid for. The world is too complex for a retard from Texas to be the president of the US. I don’t know exactly what I would replace it with, but the status quo isn’t working. No one is happy with their representatives and rightly so. Every American, man, woman and child owes $30,000 to the national debt.
Imo, Democrats are useless, but Republicans are dangerous. If I have to choose, I’ll vote for the former, but that doesn’t make me one of them. As long as I can think, I will never be a label. Democrats are making a political issue of the war, but they have the support of a large majority of the country. If you read the news article in my post of a few days ago, even Republicans are going to jump ship soon, so, this is not a partisan issue. It’s a matter of success or failure and Bush is failing miserably. I would argue that the insurgents are being empowered by our continued assault on Islamic countries, starting with our shameful support of anything that Israel does, and our dependence on their oil which forces us to meddle in their affairs. They want us off their land and they have every right. Somehow, one needs to find a balance between using force to get what you want and diplomacy. We need oil. Is it right to steal it? That’s what we’re doing! And in the process, thousands have died. Let’s say we get what we want from Iraq. Do you think the average American will benefit from it? The oil companies will, Bechtel will, the Carlyle Group will, Halliburton will! But wars also justify the existence of another industry.......defense. We spend almost as much on defense as the rest of the world combined! As a human being, not conservative or liberal, I can’t condone starting wars in order to keep the military fat. If you can, we might as well be from different planets. Maybe you have a little Klingon in you, lol.
Maybe I wasn’t clear enough when it comes to Bush. He is a member of a cabal who cares nothing for human life.......control and profit is their only goal. Such a person is not to be trusted in ANY endeavor. I’ve said this before and you haven’t touched it.........the war is being conducted so badly that one can only conclude that it’s intentional. Chaos, fear and death are the weapons that the neocons and their bosses use. It’s an overused analogy, but they are or want to be, “Big Brother”. That’s why I want control of the war taken out of Bush’s hands. How long should we continue to fight a losing, unjust cause? If you were in charge, how would we win? If we “handed the victory to the terrorists”, you asked, “what happens next?” We are currently building 14 Army bases, and the largest embassy in the world in Iraq. So there will never be a real “pull-out”. That’s a canard. There will still be 70,000 troops there in Iraq, but not in the cities except for the embassy in Baghdad. The “bogeyman” will be gone and also the excuse to recruit insurgents. Who will they fight......each other?........fine.......let them. Have you read Bin Laden’s plan to bring America down? It says nothing about defeating us militarily..........he wants to bankrupt us, and, imo, he’s doing a good job with Bush’s and your help. This is a replay of the Soviets in Afghanistan.......the war broke them. Now they are doing quite well, fiscally much better than we are. They have paid down their debt, they have natural resources that make us drool and soon they will emerge again on the world stage as a major player. The days of our adventurism in the Middle East will soon be over.
Morally, we are a disgrace. Americans are fat pigs, literally and figuratively, who think that the rest of the world is their toilet bowl. Bush says the terrorists are jealous of our way of life, ROFLMAO. Why would anyone send their children to die in order to get Barbie dolls, Rambo, Guchi and Hummers? Why would anyone want to live in a workplace where your job is to kiss your boss’s ass? Why would anyone want have a meaningless life where the only goals are money and escapism? No.......he’s wrong and so are you. The US has been the exploiter and the rest of the world is beginning to wake up and say enough! As far as Americans are concerned, we are giving away our birthright to the rich and powerful. Dumb and dumber. This is the result of watching too much TV and not talking to your neighbors instead. The controllers have divided us every which way, but it’s easier to blame someone else for our problems and throw tantrums.......it’s easier to kill and steal than than to accept the fact that we are living beyond our means. And as we are flushing ourselves down the toilet, we will not go gracefully.
Heh.....your obsession with communism led me to believe you were older. I got a few years on ya, bud. I guess I'm the old man, lol.
Btw.....most of our recent wars had nothing to do with Communism.
I have no love for Radical Islam, Islam, Christianity or any other fable of how to get to heaven written thousands of years ago. The practices you mention are barbarian and totally out of sync with with any human feeling. Just goes to show ya that people can be trained to believe almost anything if you get them young enough. It's a good thing Christians don't pay much attention to the Bible.....there are some whoppers there too.
We can keep trading statistics, but there doesn't seem to be a point to it. That said, I hope you'll indulge me with your opinion on these.
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 million in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Dec 2006 - 185
In my mind there are 2 issues:
1)Should we have gone to war with Iraq
2)How is that war being conducted
The first is tough.....we are addicted to oil! My answer would be to have never gotten myself into a situation that requires that decision. As I said before, 1970 was a clear enough warning of the future. Why didn't we do anything, not even try.......because oil men run this country and there were profits to be made. This is where leadership comes in and we don't have any. Whores and pimps is what we have.
I don't think there's any disagreement as to how the war is being conducted.......Bugs Bunny could have done a better job. One example.....why did we leave ammo depots unguarded? Why not just put a sign up in Arabic, "Get your weapons here". I still think the handling of the war is so bad that the bungling has to be intentional.
I think our main disagreement is the seriousness of the threat that radical Islam poses. Imo, we are making the situation worse. See the statistics above. We are consolidating the feeling among moderate Muslims that we are out to get them, and listening to you, we are. Most of these people are just like us, until they have sons and daughters killed by collateral damage. What would you do if your kids got killed by a "liberator"? I know what I would do. I'd go to the nearest terrorist and ask them to strap me up......take out as many of the asshole "liberators" as I could.
What would I do now?......I think that's the more immediate question. I'd take the control of the war out of Bush's hands.
In the meantime, those of us who care, should make a concerted effort to clean-up our own house before we go into theirs. The corruption is over the top and if we want to continue living in a Democracy, this has to stop. Reasonable people can find a middle ground if they leave the extremes. You didn't address most of the points made on corruption. I'm assuming it bothers you. If it does......that's where we start. Build a consenses, instead of arguing extremes. Create our own agenda instead of playing into theirs.
Some specifics that I would address:
The president cannot commit ANY troups, anywhere, without the approval of Congress.
The constitution needs to be revisited and overhauled. It's 200 year old thinking and needs an upgrade.
We need to practice what we preach. I hate hypocrites! The support for Pinochet comes to mind.
The CIA needs oversight.
International corporations and the defense industry need to be pulled by the ears and made to behave like good citizens.
Pass an amendment to the constitution requiring a balanced budget unless 3/4 of the Congress think otherwise and then the spending would be temporary.
These things would be difficult to achieve, but not impossible. Imo, the easiest solution would be Len's. Shoot all the politicians, lol. Btw.....I'm not a liberal or lefty. I'm just a guy who recognizes shit even when it comes disguised as a birthday cake.
Is that the best you can do old man? I’ll bet your hands were shaking as you were typing.
“I do hate radical Islamists. I hate serial killers. I despise anyone that is so cowardly they would use a child to cause destruction and further a fascist agenda.”
Wow.......you really go out on a limb.......you hate serial killers. Hard to argue with that, lol. I agree with you on the last part 100%. Problem is that you don’t seem to see the US in that light. Our “children” are a little older (18-25), but, they also cause a lotta “destruction and further a fascist agenda.” Let’s look at the word “Fascism”. Wikipedia says:
Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests inferior to the needs of the state, and seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on ethnic, religious, cultural, or racial attributes.
So, radical Islam, is religious Fascism. Pray to Allah 5 times a day or die. “Strap on this bomb, kill the infidels and get your virgins”. Ok......I get it......there not nice people and they lie. The only difference between them and our leaders (cough) is the lies they tell. I would argue that the ruling elite in the US practices corporate Fascism. Let’s see how that reads: “Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology that considers individual and other societal interests inferior to the needs of the corporation.” Sounds about right?..........no? This is what should concern us: The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $1.42 billion per day since September 29, 2006!
We, the people of the US, have no business in Iraq, but George Bush does. The Carlyle Group, with GHW Bush as their top salesman, is busy profiting from the war that GW started. Let’s forget morality for a minute.........it’s a CONFLICT OF INTEREST! These guys are abusing their time in office. What a public disgrace. Profiteers..........and you think they give a rat’s ass about you or me?
THERE ARE NO WMD..........but it is interesting why we were so certain he had chemical and biological weapons...........WE SOLD THEM TO SADDAM! What a surprise when they weren’t there! Ha! Could the Champion of Democracy for the whole world, the United States, defender of Human Rights, (yes, we preach it to the Russians and the Chinese..........hmmmm......wonder why we don’t make such a big deal about it with the Saudis?) have sold WMD to Saddam?!! Why would we do that? Btw.....do you know that many children died because of what we sold Saddam? An accessory before the fact is just as guilty as the perpetrators. They obviously weren’t intended for agriculture.
“It is the radical Islamists that videotape beheadings.”
And we videotape bombings! Does that make us more civilized? I grant you, I’d rather be blown to pieces than having my head cut off, but DEAD IS DEAD. And until they start mass beheadings, they ain’t got nothin on us. Bombs can kill soooo many more than a dull knife. The longer they hang around with us, though, the faster they learn. But we make them pay........for everyone of our guys, we kill hundreds of theirs. We pay also and for what? The rich get richer and I don’t know about you, but my money isn’t going as far as it used to. I know...it’s the Democrats fault, lol. The following is from the Brooking Institute: you can justify this?
US SPENDING IN IRAQ
Spent & Approved War-Spending - $505 billion of US taxpayers' funds. President Bush is expected to request another $100 billion in war-spending for 2007 and $140 billion for 2008, which would bring the cumulative total to over $700 billion.
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 million in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion
US AND COALITION TROOPS IN IRAQ
Troops in Iraq - Total 161,920, including 149,700 from the US, 7,100 from the UK, 2,300 from South Korea and 2,820 from all other nations
US Troop Casualities - 3,356 US troops; 98% male.
90% non-officers; 78% active duty, 13% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 10% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed by non-hostile causes. 54% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 68% were from the US Army
Non-US Troop Casualties - Total 272, with 147 from the UK
US Troops Wounded - 25,090, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)
US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq - 61 total, at least 32 by enemy fire
IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ
Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - 84,105 (NOTE - The US has not updated this count since Oct 2005)
Journalists killed - 98, 61 by murder and 37 by acts of war
Journalists killed by US Forces - 14
Iraqi Military and Police Casualties - 6,555
Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualities have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000
Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 520
Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 300, including 54 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Dec 2006 - 185
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, March 2007 - 70,000
QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS
Iraqis Displaced by Iraq War, as of Feb 2007 - 1,765,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 1.3 million to 1.75 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 25% in May 2006
Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%
Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000
Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6
Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24
Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%
Percentage of Iraqi Homes with Access to Piped Water - 78%
Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%
RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)
Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%
Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%
Iraqis who feel less secure because of the occupation - 67%
Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%
Or this?...........
LONDON - The chance that an Iraqi child will live beyond age 5 has plummeted faster than anywhere else in the world since 1990, according to a report released Tuesday, which placed the country last in its child survival rankings.
ADVERTISEMENT
One in eight Iraqi children died of disease or violence before reaching their fifth birthday in 2005, according to the report by Save the Children, which said
Iraq ranked last because it had made the least progress toward improving child survival rates.
Iraq's mortality rate has soared by 150 percent since 1990. Even before the latest war, Iraq was plagued by electricity shortages, a lack of clean water and too few hospitals.
The publication, which used data from 1990-2005, also determined that gains in survival rates in some of the world's poorest countries — including Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland — were declining.
The vast majority of child deaths — more than nine in 10 — occur in just 60 developing countries, the report said. Of the approximately 10 million children under age 5 who die every year, most could be saved with cheap solutions, like nets to protect against mosquito-borne malaria or antibiotics to treat pneumonia, according to the report.
"These aren't intractable problems," Dr. William Foege, of the Emory University School of Public Health, wrote in a foreword to the report. "It is simply wrong for only the few to have access to all of the tools for survival because of where they live."
About 4 million children die of complications in the first month after birth every year, according to Save the Children. Other causes of death for young children include diarrhea, pneumonia and measles, the group reported.
Al Queda got us on 911, but I can’t recall any country ever invading us.......the US, though, hasn’t been idle.....busy, busy little bees:
Bay of Pigs (1961) The U.S. orchestrated the invasion, an unsuccessful attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime in Cuba.
Vietnam War (1961–1973) In 1955, communist North Vietnam invaded non-communist South Vietnam in an attempt to unify the country and impose communist rule. The United States joined the war on the side of South Vietnam in 1961, but withdrew combat troops in 1973. In 1975 North Vietnam succeeded in taking control of South Vietnam.
Dominican Republic (1965) President Lyndon Johnson sent marines and troops to quash a leftist uprising in the Dominican Republic, fearing the island nation would follow in the footsteps of Cuba and turn communist.
Lebanon (1982–1984) U.S. troops formed part of a multinational peacekeeping force to help the fragile Lebanese government maintain power.
Grenada (1983) President Reagan invaded the Caribbean nation of Grenada to overthrow its socialist government, which had close ties with Cuba.
Panama (1989) President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama and overthrew Panamanian dictator and drug-smuggler Manuel Noriega.
Gulf War (1991) Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a U.S.-led multinational force came to Kuwait's aid and expelled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces.
Somalia (1993) A U.S.-led multinational force attempted to restore order to war-torn Somalia so that food could be delivered and distributed within the famine-stricken country.
Bosnia (1994–1995) During the Bosnian civil war, which began shortly after the country declared independence in 1992, the U.S. launched air strikes on Bosnia to prevent “ethnic cleansing,” primarily by Serbs against Bosnians. The U.S. became a part of NATO's peacekeeping force in the region.
Kosovo (1999) Yugoslavia's province of Kosovo erupted into violence in the spring of 1999. A U.S.-led NATO force intervened with air strikes after Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces uprooted the population and embarked on the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population.
Afghanistan (2001– ) The Taliban government harbored Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist group, responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. After Afghanistan refused to turn over Bin Laden, the U.S. and UN coalition forces invaded. The Taliban government was ousted and many terrorist camps in Afghanistan were destroyed. U.S. and NATO troops remain in Afghanistan to support its fragile new government.
Iraq War (2003– ) The U.S. and Great Britain invaded and toppled the government of dictator Saddam Hussein. Troops remain in Iraq to combat the insurgency that formed after Hussein's defeat.
That list doesn’t include Nicaragua, Columbia, and a second round in Somalia.
This is the point where you tell me to leave if I don’t like it. I’ll tell you somethin.......being a citizen of the US means that you defend the country from without AND from within. And as a member of the human race, I would like the country I call home to practice “do no harm, if you can help it”. I’d like it to be a good citizen of the world. That’s not possible with the current foreign policy.
The US has troups in a 170 countries........why? Is it to promote Democracy, lol?
We are the #1 arms dealer in the world!
We refused to sign a landmine treaty, one of a few nations not to sign.
Yatta, yatta........if you’re really interested, you can find your own examples. Not gonna do all the work for ya.
Don’t you get it?........... Yes, it is our fault. We stick our noses into everything to see if there’s a profit to be made. After the first oil scare in 1970, Brazil started on it’s road to energy independence. They’ve arrived at the goal. Where are we? Still buying oil from our enemies.........doesn’t any of this bother you? Did that just happen? We were even encouraged to buy bigger cars......yeah......wow.......everybody needs a Hummer.
Come on, OTC..........we’re being fed a bunch of lies, and you just swallow them like a good boy scout. The US is a bully on the world stage with no regard for anyone’s human rights if it conflicts with our interests. The info is out there. You can choose not to believe what I’m saying, but you can no longer claim ignorance. You are an accessory. Qui tacet consentit. There will be no innocent bystanders. This war has been so mismanaged that one can only come to the conclusion that the result is what was intended. Remember.........we defeated the Soviet Union and it’s considerable arsenal, without ever having a direct encounter, and now, we have trouble with a a bunch of ragtag terrorists without a country. This is what I should be afraid of? What am I paying taxes for? So we can antagonize a third of the world, when 99% of the people had nothing to do with 911? Yeah, that’s a good strategy. In the meantime, we’re creating, in reality, the cartoon monster we’ve been afraid of. BTW......why aren’t we lookin for Bin Laden? I’ll tell ya.........cause there ain’t no oil under his ass.
Just dug this outta the news.....different catastrophe..........same shit:
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (Reuters) - A shortage of trucks, helicopters and other equipment -- all sent to the war in
Iraq -- has hampered recovery in a U.S. town obliterated by a tornado, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said on Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There is no doubt at all that this will slow down and hamper the recovery," Sebelius, a Democrat, told Reuters in Kansas where officials said the statewide death toll had risen to 12 on Monday.
"Not having this equipment in place all over the state is a huge handicap," Sebelius said.
The tornado that devastated Greensburg, 110 miles west of Wichita, started a weekend of violent weather in Kansas, a state in the heart of the central United States region known as "Tornado Alley."
Ten died in Greensburg, a town of 1,600 people. An 11th died in nearby Pratt County and a 12th in a separate tornado in Ottawa County.
The twisters were accompanied by widespread flooding on Sunday and Monday that required more than 200 water rescues and closed many roads and shuttered several schools in another part of the state.
"We're getting pounded in Kansas. We have the need for National Guard in two different parts of our state now. This is really going to be a problem," Sebelius said.
Sebelius and other Democratic governors earlier this year assailed the Republican Bush administration for the strains they said the war had placed on their states' National Guardsmen, frequently mobilized for state emergencies.
On Monday, anti-war groups, including the National Security Network and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq cited the shortage of equipment to deal with the Kansas disaster as the latest example of what they see as the war's detrimental impact on domestic security.
OTHER STATES
A
Pentagon spokesman in Washington said other states were supposed to help provide resources in an emergency. White House spokesman Tony Snow said the administration was doing what it could and equipment would arrive if it was needed.
Kansas Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson said because of the shortage of National Guard equipment, the state was rushing to hire contractors to help clear debris.
Nearly 70 Kansas National Guard troops were arriving in Greensburg on Monday to supplement about 40 troops already on the ground, and some guard Humvees were available to start clearing wreckage, Watson said.
Sebelius said the failure by Washington to replace or return state National Guard equipment deployed to Iraq was "not a very satisfying effort."
The governor said Kansas lacked about half the large equipment it could use for recovery efforts and debris removal, including dump trucks and front loaders. More than 20 percent of its Humvees and 15 of 19 helicopters were sent to Iraq, the governor said.
The
National Weather Service said the twister that hit Greensburg on Friday about 9:45 p.m. was an F5, the highest on the scale. With winds of 205 mph (330 kph), it stayed on the ground about an hour, traveling 22 miles and wreaking a path of destruction nearly 2 miles wide.
"It's been one of the most destructive tornadoes in the last 10 years," said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Gerard.
Here’s another news story.......the rats are leaving the ship.......better hurry:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate said on Monday there must be "significant changes" in
Iraq well before the end of the year, signaling
President George W. Bush could face new challenges on war policy from members of his own party.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) of Mississippi, who holds the No. 2 leadership position in his party, made his comments a day after similar remarks by another powerful Republican lawmaker, House Leader John Boehner (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio.
"I do think this fall we've got to see some significant changes in the situation on the ground, in Baghdad and other surrounding areas ... or else," Lott told reporters.
Lott would not elaborate on possible consequences.
Boehner also discussed the need for progress in an appearance on the "Fox News Sunday" television program.
"By the time we get to September, October, (Republican) members are going to want to know how well this is working and if it isn't, what's Plan B," he said.
"Yes, generally I agree with him," Lott said of Boehner on Monday.
Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, is expected to deliver a progress report in September.
I see you're a member of the thumb people. If I were you, ha, I'd pay more attention to the money slipping out of your wallet and into the hands of the neocons and their friends than Osama Bin Laden.
"Only someone totally oblivious to the facts would make such a lamebrained statement."
I see you didn't provide any "facts". How does that go?........"If you can't dazzle 'em with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."
Read some history beyond High School textbooks, and maybe, we can have an intelligent discussion. I'm not holding my breath. BTW, save your sadness for yourself and the others like you who need something to hate to justify your existence.
I guess I got the response I expected from you. Everyone that doesn't agree with you is a communist. Also shows you're an old man living in the past. What kind of reaction do you expect from people the western world has been exploiting for generations? They will be a danger if we don't quit fuckin with them. But only in so far as they can provide an excuse to keep spending money we don't have on defense. Islam a real danger?......give me a break. What are they goin to do?........invade America? ROFLMAO! I didn't know that camels could swim.
All religions are divisive and claim theirs is the only way to salvation. Most rational people don't live their lives based on that drivel. As far as Radical Islam is concerned, I'm more afraid of fundamentalist Christians. Here are some quotes from the Bible:
God's Human Slaughter Fest
Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the LORD's judgment has come. The LORD has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. "On that day of judgment," says the LORD, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who steal and kill to fill their masters' homes with loot. "On that day," says the LORD, "a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the newer Mishneh section of the city. And a great crashing sound will come from the surrounding hills. Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all who buy and sell there will die. "I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to the LORD, thinking he will do nothing at all to them. They are the very ones whose property will be plundered by the enemy, whose homes will be ransacked. They will never have a chance to live in the new homes they have built. They will never drink wine from the vineyards they have planted. "That terrible day of the LORD is near. Swiftly it comes – a day when strong men will cry bitterly. It is a day when the LORD's anger will be poured out. It is a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness, trumpet calls, and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and strongest battlements! "Because you have sinned against the LORD, I will make you as helpless as a blind man searching for a path. Your blood will be poured out into the dust, and your bodies will lie there rotting on the ground." Your silver and gold will be of no use to you on that day of the LORD's anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth. (Zephaniah 1:7:18 NLT) Natural Disasters are God's Wrath
God Will Kill Everyone
"I will sweep away everything in all your land," says the LORD. "I will sweep away both people and animals alike. Even the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will die. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, along with the rest of humanity," says the LORD. "I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. For they go up to their roofs and bow to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the LORD, but then they worship Molech, too. So now I will destroy them! And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the LORD's guidance or seek my blessings." (Zephaniah 1:2-6 NLT)
Kill All of Babylon
"Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Yes, march against Babylon, the land of rebels, a land that I will judge! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you," says the LORD. "Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction". (Jeremiah 50:21-22 NLT)
The LORD is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and furiously destroys his enemies! The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans and rivers dry up, the lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wilt. In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence. The LORD is good. When trouble comes, he is a strong refuge. And he knows everyone who trusts in him. But he sweeps away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He pursues his foes into the darkness of night. (Nahum 1:2-8 NLT)
Exterminate 7 Nations
You must destroy all the nations the LORD your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy and do not worship their gods. If you do, they will trap you. Perhaps you will think to yourselves, 'How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?' But don't be afraid of them! Just remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the LORD your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the amazing power he used when he brought you out of Egypt. The LORD your God will use this same power against the people you fear. And then the LORD your God will send hornets to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you! "No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, for if you did, the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you. But the LORD your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed. He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all. (Deuteronomy 7:16-24 NLT)
Kill False Prophets
If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord." When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through. (Zechariah 13:3 NAB)
An Angry Jealous God
"I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their cities are now deserted; their streets are in silent ruin. There are no survivors to even tell what happened. I thought, 'Surely they will have reverence for me now! Surely they will listen to my warnings, so I won't need to strike again.' But no; however much I punish them, they continue their evil practices from dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn." So now the LORD says: "Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy. "On that day I will purify the lips of all people, so that everyone will be able to worship the LORD together. My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings. (Zephaniah 3:6-10 NLT)
God Will Kill Ethiopia
"You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword," says the LORD. And the LORD will strike the lands of the north with his fist. He will destroy Assyria and make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland, parched like a desert. The city that once was so proud will become a pasture for sheep and cattle. All sorts of wild animals will settle there. Owls of many kinds will live among the ruins of its palaces, hooting from the gaping windows. Rubble will block all the doorways, and the cedar paneling will lie open to the wind and weather. This is the fate of that boisterous city, once so secure. "In all the world there is no city as great as I," it boasted. But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a place where animals live! Everyone passing that way will laugh in derision or shake a defiant fist. (Zephaniah 2:12-15 NLT)
OTC........
first of all, let's tell the truth. We are there for the oil, and in the meantime we can enrich Halliburton, Bechtel and the Carlyle Group. The admin you are supporting loves the profit from war and will always find or provoke a bogeyman to make people like you shiver in your shorts and wrap yourself around the American flag. To believe that Islam was a real danger is to believe the elephant is afraid of the mouse. On the other hand, if we continue to push, there will be consequences, but what else could convince most Americans that to continue to support this outrageous Imperialism? The story of 18 men with boxcutters defeating our multi-billion dollar defense system is losing its steam as a motivator, especially since Bin Laden is in the hills of Pakistan and not in Iraq. Hard to believe that a few people orchestrated this war for profit?........get used to it and please, open your eyes!
LOL.....better watch out.........that might get you on a Homeland Security watch list.
Seems to me, you guys are falling for the oldest tactic in history.......divide and conquer. Neither party has the average person's interest at heart. They BOTH steal our money. We pay 1B a day to finance the public debt and no one seems to care.
Maybe so.......but after what the stock did last week, it should be arrested!
A message From Ron Paul:
==========
Ron paul's texas straight talk - a weekly column
The Federal Reserve Monopoly over Money
April 9, 2007
Recently I had the opportunity to question Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke when he appeared before the congressional Joint Economic committee. The topic that morning was the state of the American economy, and many of my colleagues raised questions about how the Fed might better "regulate" things to ease fears of an economic downturn. The tenor of my colleagues' questions suggested that Mr. Bernanke's job is nothing less than to run the U.S. economy, like some kind of Soviet central planner.
Certainly it’s true that Mr. Bernanke can drastically affect the economy at the drop of a hat, simply by making decisions about the money supply and interest rates. But why do members of Congress assume this is good? Why do we accept without objection that a small group of people on the Federal Reserve Board wields so much power over our economic well-being? Is centralized, monopoly control over our money even compatible with a supposedly free-market economy?
Few Americans give much thought to the Federal Reserve System or monetary policy in general. But even as they strive to earn a living, and hopefully save or invest for the future, Congress and the Federal Reserve Bank are working insidiously against them. Day by day, every dollar you have is being devalued.
The greatest threat facing America today is not terrorism, or foreign economic competition, or illegal immigration. The greatest threat facing America today is the disastrous fiscal policies of our own government, marked by shameless deficit spending and Federal Reserve currency devaluation. It is this one-two punch-- Congress spending more than it can tax or borrow, and the Fed printing money to make up the difference-- that threatens to impoverish us by further destroying the value of our dollars.
The Fed’s inflationary policies hurt older people the most. Older people generally rely on fixed incomes from pensions and Social Security, along with their savings. Inflation destroys the buying power of their fixed incomes, while low interest rates reduce any income from savings. So while Fed policies encourage younger people to overborrow because interest rates are so low, they also punish thrifty older people who saved for retirement.
The financial press sometimes criticizes Federal Reserve policy, but the validity of the fiat system itself is never challenged. Both political parties want the Fed to print more money, either to support social spending or military adventurism. Politicians want the printing presses to run faster and create more credit, so that the economy will be healed like magic- or so they believe.
Fiat dollars allow us to live beyond our means, but only for so long. History shows that when the destruction of monetary value becomes rampant, nearly everyone suffers and the economic and political structure becomes unstable. Spendthrift politicians may love a system that generates more and more money for their special interest projects, but the rest of us have good reason to be concerned about our monetary system and the future value of our dollars.
==========
I've enjoyed your posts.Have you seen these?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8753934454816686947
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7336845760512239683&q=the+money+masters+part+2