Is this really you candletrader? I remember your posts several months ago where you advocated that our enemies should be chopped up and feed to animals.......How did you become so enlightened. The transformation is akin to a trailer park redneck suddenly wearing tailored clothing(I hope I was not too uncouth in that analogy) . The average American does not know what is going on in the outside world nor do they care. Pudgy and proud, why do we need the rest of the world(except Japan because of their cars ) There have been and continues to be, many world conflicts that America had the power to stop but did not because it did not serve "American intrests". One example is the IRA conflict. Another related example is the bombing of the United States Embassy in East Africa. The local police force using not very subtle but effective methods of interrogation was able to unearth evidence that the 'bearded one' was responsible for those attacks. Although hundreds of Africans died and many more were injured, the American body count did not warrant any retribution. Then 9-11 happened and we know what the response to that was. Saudi Arabian terrorists were the majority in the crew that attacked our country yet not a single bomb was dropped on Mecca. Selective enemy elimination is a craft we have developed to perfection.
I woke up to the true facts... I realised that what I was supporting (US foreign policy) was often no better than what Al-Quaeda stands for... US foreign policy and Al-Quaeda foreign policy are merely two sides of the same coin, equally bad, equally Evil Doing Murderers... bring back the 1970's.... bring back the Beetle's, peace and love and, for God's sake, legalise dope!! God Bless America, God Bless Iraq, and God Bless any Brave Survivors of US Foreign Policy who didn't become "collateral damage".... The US Government can be a force for Global Good, if she so chooses... unfortunately she seems to be choosing the path of Evil, which makes her no better than Osama (who in fact was another CIA creation)... it is the responsibility of citizens to educate eachother so that they are not duped by what they hear on CNN, MSNBC and Fox... If the voice of the simple man on the street is cryng foul, maybe the Government will change its ways... Vietnam, case in point...
As the market depicts so goes the world. The market is a thermometer on the world. We see the war on IRAQ because Oil is the basis of power. You cannot have power without oil. That is the bottom line. If anyone controls the oil they control the balance of power. Saddam Hussein is holding the cards as a disobedient player. He sais what he feels and needs to play along and let the giant step on his balls as the MEdia explains. The reason Israel is being attacked now is because the Oil is being used as a weopon. The Israeli finance structure is teid to the American economy. If that economy flounders so does their financial capacity to get fuel for their tanks. No Fuel you have to get to hand to hand combat which is a losing battle. Watch the markets and see the results before and after the attacks. We are going down and the oil is going up. Oil is the war weapon of choice for terrorism and that is the bottom line. No oil no power. Follow the money and you will see the money leads to oil. Oil is the most important resource in this world next to air and water. Without it we would be living in the dark ages.
Great points Candletrader! <begin long rant, not really directed at anyone> I believe that we should go into Iraq, but we'll end up doing it for the wrong reasons... I'm all for removing insane dictators, and saddam falls into that category quite nicely. I wouldn't say that the people of Iraq love him, in fact I'm sure any Iraqi with mild intelligence fears him. Don't forget, he murdered a couple uncles to consolidate his power in the baath party years back. Just for reference, I lean towards the U. n. style of dealing with conflicts, and there wasn't a real U.N. presence back in the USA's old days of installing puppet governments. Don't forget, we had a few puppet successes, ie. Japan. With today's amount of media coverage, it would be hard to put a truly bad person into power. Granted, whoever gets installed in Iraq will be U.S. friendly, but I'll bet we also see a large influx of aid and development through the United Nations, etc. IMHO, we were in a PERFECT position after sept. 11 to (attempt to) forge a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. If Palestine got immediate support from the US for statehood, it would've changed many middle easterners views about us. So what'd bushjr do when the pot boiled over? Jump on a plane to forge a peace accord? Send the secretary of state? Nope, he sent some lame envoy over to watch the whole thing blow up... Months later, arafat is a non factor, and there's a fence going up between the sides. What a mess... The current political machine that controls washington just loooves fear and conflict. And I miss bubba!
Saddam is the most mis understood scapegoat in recent global history. His record is one of FIGHTING TERROR!!
An interesting point of view here. But why did you not address the other influences and their impact so that the question could be properly framed and evaluated? In both instances you did not mention the political motivations of this country that are inflicted by the special interest groups who are always demanding their place at the table. Be they needed or not, they have no intention of not having their hands in the financially enhancing pot. Let's face it, right now the democratic party is on the ropes in many aspects. Mostly, they have the goal of recovery of power loss from the Clinton covering of the past (He still won't go away quietly). So whatever move America makes it must be at their benefit politically. No matter what the country cost! Lest it be for direct loss of American democratic party votes, it will be stonewalled until they can regain TOTAL political voice. If they can't take credit for the move, it won't happen. Hence all the talk of the need to "Convince and come before the senate for approval" at a time when the polls show over 50% public support for most of the current administration stance on Iraq. For now, we will continue to hear the democratic party cry about the need for 100% support and approval. There is also a perception that the obedient democratic leaning media will garner support for the administration. Personally, it will happen in spite of the media. If media supporting the president were the case, they would be headlining in every paper that we "MUST DO THIS NOW" and the White house would be saying slow down a bit. The media would be beating the masses into a controlled frenzy so the administration could put its plan in place. Doing so confidently knowing that the media would take care of any errant positions that arose. The media has its own agenda. Mainly feeling that they should be insiders on any pertinent decisions and information circles. They want to control any dissemination of news that they deem we need to know. The real dedicated types remain pissed when they are not given the secret attack plans and routes in advance so they can get that crack reporter out there (with camera crew and mikes) to be the one to bring the event into our homes -- Exclusively and First!!! Imagine the accolades when the selected outlet takes the lead. Your television is snatched from your control (every conceivable channel) and you are whisked to some stern faced suit for a desperately needed "News Alert." You gaze in awe as the chap says that America has launched its assault and you are jumped out to some missile cruiser in the gulf where a reporter in camoflague gear shows you a cruise missile launch and says, "There goes the answer that the president is sending directly to Iraq!" You are then thrust to another remote location somewhere out in the desert. Deserted and barren, except for this camera crew shown gazing to the heavens. The reporter comments on how dark and foreboding the night sky is. He paints a picture of the haunting serene beauty of the silence. And then he screams, "There, there, see it. America's answer to Sadamn is on its way! There goes our secret launch present carrying the club of justice to beat Sadamn, and all the others like him, around the head. At Oh-dark-thirty, it is passing our check point here. It should take another thirty minutes to get from here to a sleeping Baghdad. And we'll be tracking it in our studios and at various points along the super-secret flight path." You're thrown back to the studio where the media chosen panel of analysts and experts now detail to you the unknown, super-secret path of the missile along with the time-needed-to-get-there guesses. Each point has digital timer next to it with two displays marked "Projected" and "Actual." You are then given a split screen with six correspondents with full camera crews and lighting that are stationed along these possible routes. They are introduced to you with brief bios and you are told that you'll jump to the locations should the missile be in view. Then the cameras switch to the hill, where the Rev. Jackson and several others are standing (an impromptu gathering with impromptu signs declaring "An illligit president starts an illigit war, Vote Hillary/Gore in '04") hand-in-hand in singing "We Shall Overcome." As the choir's voices soften, Jackson walks to the mike and says: "America, has made, a terrible error today. This Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Dick Chenney Enron Worldcom big tobacco big corporations right wing republican war, is wrong. The message, that America is sending out today, is not fair. There was no vote cast in favor of this action. This unjust theft, of the right to a judgement of the whole world of Iraq and its actions, is not supported by our allies around the world. Mr. Bush, has clearly made a wrong decision here. He has chosen to launch this horrific attack on women. This attack is a violation on, the children! This is an attack on, the elderly! This is an unjust attack on sons and daughters, sleeping in their beds and dreaming of the day when they will be given the opportunity to have health care, and medicare, prescription drugs and a fair and democratic election where all votes cast are counted." You are now becoming dizzy as we fade to black... Without the hidden internal agendas calculated in, you can't properly frame this question. These are but a few of the special interests who'll be putting their individual voices in the mix. So in analyzing it all, say so! This IS truly about a whole lot more than OIL!
.....Without the hidden internal agendas calculated in, you can't properly frame this question. These are but a few of the special interests who'll be putting their individual voices in the mix. So in analyzing it all, say so! This IS truly about a whole lot more than OIL.... Great post. How can we change this madness on humanity? The special interest groups control the media. Ego and greed runs at all time high levels. Human lives mean nothing, oil is more valuable than blood. Laws both domestic and international are only applied when it is convenient. He who has the bigger guns wins now. We might as well go ahead and bomb everyone out there. Iraq was one of our best allies when we wanted to mess with Iran. Who is next? North Korea? China? Russia? Hey throw in there France too for good measure. Democracy? where is it? If we are the leaders of the world we should lead by example. The rest of the UN members disagree with us and we want to attack anyway? We might as well attack and destroy all the UN members. Hey we got the military power, and who is going to stop us? Unfortunately we are becoming the true Evil Empire on this planet. Sad times. Josh
Hmm, leaders of the world. I think we make the statement a lot, but rarely do we step up to the plate ready for the consequences. As a leader, one should seek out advice of those it values as having insight. Carefully weighing the input and determining how it plays into the scenario. But then as a leader, one should make a firm decision fully appreciating and understanding that it is probably the only one who can (and will) implement the solution chosen. Suppose America were to opt out of an event like the UN deciding to take Sadamn down. Suppose we were to say "No confidence in the decision so we won't take a side, finance, assist, or sanction the actions of either side." Just how far do you think this phantom coalition would get? Saab fighters, Russian MiGs, everybody else's tank platoons, it might truly be a disaster. As for South Africa's input. How many destroyers do they have again? So they really could advise on realistic deployment huh? Most of the resenting countries are really showing stellar internal operations also. The Saudi royals are sharing all that wealth with the masses there to develop a more balanced and prosperous populace. Hmm, human rights. Fully supported and lead by China, Russia, Korea, Iran. The development of all of their infrastructures is just amazing. Could they march backwards any faster? Innovative developers and forward thinking political forces that they are, yet not a one capable of the depth and breath of the technological giant called America. With all their wealth, which of these countries are showing any growth in their mainstream middle classes? In those countries who would challenge our decisions, where are their middle classes? Therein lies the true difference for me. There is a middle class in America. Free to grow of their own vices into the top, or the bottom, without fear of their demise for achieving (except for overtaxation that someone has convinced you that you should give more of so they can do more good on your behalf). Just how many American tax dollars did we hand out to these official international critics anyway? Hating America, the hi-society traveling elite of these countries buy large custom airline sized jets for personal pleasure and partake of tons of international luxuries. They purchase the finest garments and eat of the finest foods from the best locales on the globe while their own peoples starve. And almost to a person, not one of them has held any REAL job, developed any product, run a company and become wealthy from that good ole' sweat equity. And yet, they condemn America (and Americans) for not doing what again? Obviously, I am totally confused.
"To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogmas". -Brock Chisolm, former Director of the World Health Organization Josh