Must-See of the Day: War comes to reality video

I am sorry to do this to you but this must be seen by anyone living in any country that has any troops in Iraq. And everyone else in every country that might some day send some troops somewhere. Unless you have witnessed or fought or suffered through war first-hand, even if you *think* that you think War Is Wrong, watch this classified video.

This is what our taxes fund. This is what we are not out in the streets protesting. This is our shame. This RIPS MY HEART.

(Props to Julian Assange and any/all others involved in creating Wikileaks ... a whole new breed of citizen journalism that our society so desperately needed.)

Journalist of the Week Award:Pat Buchanan

Yup, you heard me right. Pat Buchanan . Here are some snips from "Where Did Bush Go Wrong?:

After losing control of the Senate and 30 House seats in 2006, the GOP is bracing for losses of six to nine in the Senate, and two dozen to three dozen additional seats in the House.

If the party “were a dog food,” says Rep. Tom Davis, “they would take us off the shelf.”

... Two-thirds of Americans now believe the Iraq war a mistake. Yet, all but a few Republicans backed the war. At the time of “Mission Accomplished!” in May 2003, the nation gave Bush a 90 percent approval rating, as his father had after Desert Storm.

... How many Republicans have repudiated the Bush Doctrine that got us into Iraq—the belief that only by making the world democratic can we keep America secure and free?

... In Afghanistan, we are entering the eighth year of war with victory further away than ever.

... These two wars helped to cripple the Bush presidency and end the GOP ascendancy. Yet, at the highest levels of the party, one hears no serious questioning of the ideology that produced these wars. McCain has pledged to stay in Iraq until “victory” and send 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Nor have Republicans objected to the U.S. air strikes that have killed hundreds of Afghans, or the Predator strikes that have inflamed Pakistan or the helicopter raid into Syria that humiliated Damascus and enraged the population. If Republicans disagree with these policies and actions, their voices are muted.

... The GOP needs to confront the truth: The failure of the Bush presidency lies not in a failed execution of policy but in the policies themselves and the neoconservative ideology that informed them.

Yet, still, the party remains in denial, refusing to come to terms with the causes of its misfortune. One expects they will be given the time and opportunity for reflection soon.

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.”

Sorry, You Can't Take the Sandbox Home With You

Washington Post: Maliki Suggests U.S. Troop Timetable

Iraq's new government should determine Iraq’s future. I'm glad to see that steps are being taken. Of course, I am concerned about the stability of the country, but nobody's saying the US should pull out all troops tomorrow. They're working on a timetable, and I'm sure that if the ground situation calls for it, Iraqi government will accept our helping hand. To stay in Iraq for the next 100 years would be an act of imperialism. Permanence of US bases on Iraqi soil would constitute, I believe, a quartering of soldiers, something the US Bill of Rights strictly prohibits here on American soil. The Declaration of Independence listed among the many usurpations by the king of England:

1. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws…

We cannot continue to hold troops in Iraq indefinitely and pretend to control their affairs. Iraqis are their own people. While they may be in need of resources we are (somewhat) capable of offering, they can make their own decisions. They’re not stupid just because their country is built on sand.

2. For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us…

I think you can see how this correlates to the “War”

3. For protecting them [troops], by a Mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders that they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States…

The Administration doesn’t even bother with mock trials. Do some research on BlackWater and other US contracted commando/mercenary organizations. Not to mention Abu-Ghraib type situations.

4. He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

Oil fields anybody? How about the fact that US forces were totally ill prepared for the initial invasion (which everybody who was anybody knew) and allowed countless precious artifacts to be plundered that dated back to the birth of civilization? And of course we’re killing innocents, they look just like the “insurgents.”
(Aside: Isn’t it funny that we call the enemy the “insurgents” when we’re the ones committing to a surge of troops entering the sandbox?

5. He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.

Again, BlackWater. Waterboarding and other forms of torture were suggested/supported by Cheyney. Don’t let anybody tell you higher-ups in the Administration don’t support torture — they condone it.

6. He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us

We are responsible for the Iraqi civil war.

So, my message to al-Maliki (if you don’t know who he is, read a fucking newspaper article once in a while):
Be strong. Don’t allow US imperialistic values to bamboozle you. YET, we can be helpful. Meet diplomatically with leaders from the main political groups within Iraq and the leaders of surrounding nations (yes, even Iran). Figure out a plan that will lead to lasting stability, and use the US to your advantage. It will be difficult, there’s no doubt about that, but security is NEVER a reason to give up freedom, and freedom is not something to be trusted in the hands of US government.