Well, It's About Time!

Iraq: What Will Last 50,000 U.S. Troops Do?

To be fair, the official end of combat activity in Iraq by US military forces will be August 31st, 2010. The troops left behind are scheduled to pull out January 1st, 2012.

Still, to the Army's 4th Stryker Brigade coming home to Fort Lewis, WA: Welcome home!

War on the Installment Plan

I've been a member of Move On for some time now, but I don't usually use my blog as a platform for their ads. Having said that, I'd like to post a little video they made. I think it makes a point worth thinking about.

Roy Zimmerman

A music video about how much our soldiers appreciate our support.

Blame Peak Oil

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I have been wondering why. What are we doing there? Osama was not in Iraq, nor was Al-Qaeda. The inspectors never found any WMDs.

The continued occupation of Iraq is costing us a lot of money, but it looks like we have no plans to leave. Ever.

Why?

I went looking deeper for the answer, but nothing made any sense. Bush might be an idiot, but you don't commit the resources of the most powerful nation on the planet without a good reason, or nobody would go along with it.

I looked at the background of the President and Vice President, reading about their ties to the oil industry. Was it really all about the oil?

The answer I found was: Yes. Yes, it is all about the oil.

First, a little research. Check out these sites:
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.theoildrum.com/
http://www.oilcrisis.com/
http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbert_peak

That should be enough to get you started, anyway...

The oil companies are aware of the problem, which means Bush and Cheney are aware of the problem of Peak Oil. They are lying about the reasons for the war because they don't want anyone to know the real reason.

The problem is that oil production is maxed out, and has already begun to diminish. All the cheap oil is already gone, and what is left is harder to reach or harder to refine. In other words, it will get more expensive. Many experts are predicting that there will be a fight for the remaining oil reserves, largely focused on the middle east.

The plan of the Bush administration, and the reason for the war, was to establish control over the middle east before the problem becomes obvious. They intend to control the oil until the last drop is gone. By whatever force is necessary. Whatever it takes.

They could have been using our nation's resources to find alternative energy sources, find a way to ease us out of our oil dependence. If we have enough of a head start we could change over to electric cars, solar and wind power, alternative fuels... We might have had a chance to get through this with our economy intact.

But that is not going to happen. It was never about doing what was best for the country. For the people. It was all about securing the incomes of the most powerful corporations in the world - the oil companies - for just a few more years. Eventually the oil will be gone, but by then the current CEO's will all be retired.

It was all about the oil. Still is.

For all Bush and Cheney care, the rest of us can GO TO HELL.

How badly have they screwed us? We have the largest national debt in history. The American dollar has become worth less than the Canadian dollar for the first time in about 40 years. Gas prices continue to rise. Global warming has finally been recognized as a serious problem, but the United States is still doing nothing about it.

And more American soldiers are dying in Iraq. Not for our freedom. Not to make America safer. But for the OIL.

And they will get away with it, because we will let them. They will leave office in 2009 and retire to their fortified mansions, secure with their oil company incomes. Mission Accomplished.

Remember

Here in the USA, we call this Veterans' Day. In Canada they call it Remembrance Day.

For most people, it is just another National Holiday. Some will get to take the day off. Sometimes there is a parade that blocks a street. Whatever. It is just another day.

For those who wore the uniform, or wear it today, or had a loved one that wore it, this day is a special one.

We remember.

Political Update

Summer hiatus is over. Time to get back to the ranting...

Do you remember when they told us that there was a connection between Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein? THEY LIED!

Did Congress do anything about that? Did Congress say anything about the blatant mudslinging against Senators John Kerry or Max Cleland? Did they speak up when Colin Powell lied to the UN about Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq? How about when President Bush ordered unconstitutional phone tapping?

They don't seem to have time in their busy schedule to stop the war in Iraq, but they do have time to vote on rebuking a newspaper ad that criticizes General Petraeus.

Is it still a free country when private citizens can't speak their minds? Is the government so fragile that it can't take a bit of criticism?

George Bush is telling you to sit down and shut up, and Congress is agreeing with him.

All of you.

Everyone.

Yes, even you.

Just take a seat and let them run the country as they see fit, with no backtalk from the peanut gallery. You need to pay more attention to what Britney and Paris are doing, and let the old white men do as they please with your country.

Rights? Yes, you have rights. You have the right to remain silent. That's it.

What's that? Did I hear you say something?

The President and Congress just want you, all of you, to just SHUT THE FUCK UP!

What are you going to do about it?

Al-Qaida in Iraq?

Ironic it is, since one of Bush's arguments for the war in Iraq was to combat terrorism, even though the terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks (namely Al-Qaida) was never based in Iraq, nor had any major power in that country.

But, that's how enemies are. When you stop chasing them, they start coming after you.

What's even more ironic, if you read further down the article, is that some of the militant Iraqi groups that are fighting the US are also being attacked by Al-Qaida, and some have teamed-up with the Americans to combat Al-Qaida's aggressive attempts to insert their influence in the country.

Let me restate that last point for clarity: There are, apparently, Iraqi militant fundamentalist groups that hate Al-Qaida more than they hate the American military forces that invaded their country.

At least now, at long last, we are finally fighting Al-Qaida in Iraq!

Too much irony for one day...

Legacy of War

The things we do in times of war tell us something about ourselves. As individuals, that we are capable of acts of unspeakable evil, or unselfish courage.

But, as nations, war is only a tool. A means of forcing our policies upon others.

But, let's see what smarter people than I have to say about it:

"War is much too serious a matter to be entrusted to the military."
Georges Clemenceau, French politician (1841 - 1929)

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake."
Jeannette Rankin, US pacifist & politician (1880 - 1973)

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing
each other's children."
Jimmy Carter, US diplomat & politician (1924 - )

"Either war is obsolete or men are."
R. Buckminster Fuller, US architect & engineer (1895 - 1983)

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."
Robert E. Lee, US-Confederate general (1807 - 1870)

"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."
Thomas Mann, German writer (1875 - 1955)

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"
Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"
Indian ascetic & nationalist leader (1869 - 1948)

"If man does find the solution for world peace it will be the most revolutionary reversal of his record we have ever known."
George C. Marshall, US general (1880 - 1959)

Over-reaction

Having the right to keep and bear arms does not mean you can shoot people who annoy you.

That goes for NYPD, as well.

Granted, people can get very annoying. In most parts of the world, shooting them would be seen as an extreme over-reaction.

But, the United States is an extreme place. Here's an example:

To date, the number of US casualties in Iraq since the war began is 2886. The number of Iraqis killed is much higher, probably over 50,000. But we're not sure. After all: "We don't do body counts".

According to the CDC, the number of firearm-related deaths in the US in 2002 was 30,242. The number of people in the US who have been killed by gunfire since March 19th, 2003 (when the Iraq War began) is speculative, since we apparently don't do body counts in this country either. But, if we assume a steady average rate of 30,000 a year, it will be about 82,500 this month, give or take a few thousand.

I'm not going to insult your intellegence by suggesting that it is safer to live in a war zone than the USA. However, there are places in this country that are a lot like a war zone. You probably don't live in one of those places, or maybe you do, but you have learned to keep your head down and stay close to cover. You probably know better than to throw eggs at passing SUVs, too.

How about tomatoes? Can we throw tomatoes?