Saturday, January 20, 2007

Our Rogue President

I’ve been going over in my mind the road we have traveled over these last six years and how little we resemble the country we were when Bush first took office. We are the stories we tell ourselves and our American story has been charred by the reckless behavior of a man that would rather burn books than read them. As the ’08 Presidential race gets prematurely underway, it’s hard to be seduced by the traditional rhetoric of “a better future” and our “better natures” when what we are as a country, our story that we’ve written together, has been so drastically altered. Whether or not our national identity was based on fact or fiction, we agreed to suspend disbelief and consider ourselves free, just, and if not altruistic, at least humane. What are we to tell ourselves now?

As Americans, perhaps we prefer to be lied to. We don’t want to know about our government torturing people, subverting democratic movements around the world or supporting brutal dictators once we’ve struck a deal to gain access to their resources. These practices must be hidden from the American people and they must be carried out in a clandestine way that work outside our domestic laws so that if they are discovered, We The People can absolve ourselves of any responsibility with the simple “truth” that it was done without our permission. Members of the Bush administration have been such bad liars, have not covered their tracks and have been so completely incompetent that they have implicated the American people in every single illegal, illogical and immoral move they have made. The result is that we cannot claim ignorance, nor can we sit idly by while they continue to engage in reckless behavior in our name. Iran must be taken off the table.

Tuesday, President Bush will give his State of the Union address and while usually I look forward to watching the train wreck that is any Bush speech, I’m not hearing enough of what will be covered in the speech to quell my fears that he is about to expand the war we are currently losing to include a country that he doesn’t understand. Sane people find this somewhat frightening, or as Senator Rockefeller put it, “This whole concept of moving against Iran is bizarre.” The move makes no sense from a strategic standpoint, is not backed up by the intelligence community and is not in the best interest of our country. The same was true about Iraq, so the Bush administration is almost sure to dive right in.

This president has got no game when it comes to domestic policy and the disaster in Iraq has consumed his presidency. I doubt that what’s best for America has ever factored into his plans and if he continues to use his office for the purposes of enriching his friends, sticking it to his old man, securing his place in history and playing geopolitical chess for the sheer fun of it, we can expect, at the very least an aggressive (provocative) statement on Iran and at worst, an announcement of pending air strikes against a country that is in the process of reining in their fundamentalist leader. I only hope we have the will to rein in our own.

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am amazed how you are able to type with your head burried in the sand. We have been at war with Iran since they took our embassy in late 70's. They have murdered hundreds of American servicemen since then and are currently manufacturing weapons that are killing Americans in Iraq. To all you "head in the sand" democrats I have a simple question.

Should Iran be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon? If they do, what should be done? Real simple, maybe Sen. Rockerfeller would still claim, taking action against Iran is just bizarre.

3:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who has their head buried in the sand? When has Iran 'murdered' hundreds of American servicemen? I only count the 8 crewmembers of the helicopter that crashed in the desert attempting a special ops to rescue the hostages. And they died accidentally.

The embassy incident of 1979 involved students engaged in a sit-in protest. It happened during a revolution that involved the "regime change". The brutal dictatorship of the Shah of Iran, who was put on the Peacock Throne when the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government, was put to an end.

And if America was at war with this country, what was Reagan, Bush Sr, and Ollie North doing trading arms for hostages ony a few years later? Surely you're not saying those three are guilty of high treason?

To all you "heads up your wazoos" neo-con Republicans I have a simple question. (And I don't mind Lincoln/Eisenhower/Rockefeller Republicans, but they are an endangered species.)Why are you giving India the latest in nuclear weapons technology? Why is it okay for Israel to have nuclear weapons? Why is the USA making a new generation of mini-nukes? Why is it the USA ony respects the international rights of a country if it has nukes? Indeed, I'm surprised the NRA doesn't consider owning a nuke a constitutional right under the second amendment.

It's considered folly to compare contemporay leaders to Hitler. But I must say, invading Iran would be as stupid as Hitler's invasion of Russia. But then Hitler was told if he did it he would be as stupid as Napoleon, who did it. Or the Roman emperor who had the bright idea of invading Germanica. In each case a foolish and unnecessary invasion marked the beginning of the end.

3:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for stepping in and demythologizing the distorted views of drm, David.

Prior to Blogs, correcting these fallacies wouldn't have been possible and the neo-con lies continue to spread unchecked.

Many of our nation's Founding Fathers such as Thomas Paine would be Bloggers in 2007 at a time when Bush and Congress distort the TRUTH so precariously.

In a response to a Comment posted on my site recently, The Cosmic Message I said I wasn't too optimistic about Congress's desire to uphold the Constitution though.

"Even the new Democrats have embraced the ostensible gestures practiced by the Bushies by proposing to introduce non-binding resolutions criticizing the "Surge" policy.

What a let down for the American people and a monumental betrayal of the Constitution akin to the actions of the Executive cronies.

The only way to stop the troop esculation is by passing legislation which makes it a crime for the President to send more soldiers or request funding without Congressional approval. If Bush chooses to violate this, he will have commited an impeachable offense and should be held accountable for his actions.

Non-binding resolutions are like paper protests without consequences and an insult to all Americans. They're the product of the gutless wonders now waundering the hallways of our nation's capitol who're to scared to stand up and be counted at a time when our citizens need their representation most."

I believe a March on Washington might cause our Legislators to pass more stringent measures though which make it illegal for Bush to act w/o Congressional approval.

Delusional rhetoric like the remarks posted here by drm serve no one's interests but the corrupt influences trying to shape U.S policy for ideological or financial reasons.

Marching to the steps of Congress on January 27 will be the most powerful message our citizens can send to demand change. Our nation's leaders can ignore it at their own political PERIL !

Peace,
Cosmic

3:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You wrote: "if he continues to use his office for the purposes of enriching his friends, sticking it to his old man, securing his place in history and playing geopolitical chess for the sheer fun of it,..."
Chess? And Bush? In same sentence?
What a wicked thing to do....lumps of coal for you next year...

Regarding Iran:
1980 Operation Eagle Claw fails against Iranian hostages.
1984 -- Persian Gulf. On June 5, 1984, Saudi Arabian jet fighter planes, aided by intelligence from a US AWACS electronic surveillance aircraft and fueled by a U.S. KC-10 tanker, shot down two Iranian fighter planes over an area of the Persian Gulf proclaimed as a protected zone for shipping.
1987-88 -- Persian Gulf. After the Iran-Iraq War resulted in several military incidents in the Persian Gulf, the United States increased US joint military forces operations in the Persian Gulf and adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Gulf. President Reagan reported that US ships had been fired upon or struck mines or taken other military action on September 23, October 10, and October 20, 1987 and April 19, July 4, and July 14, 1988. The United States gradually reduced its forces after a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq on August 20, 1988.
Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 - 26 September 1988) was the U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iraqi and Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988 during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.

1988 -- USS Vincennes shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655

And, of course, the US support of Saddam Hussein's war against Iran, which he would have lost had it not been for our involvement.

No war with Iran? It is unlikely this is true...

7:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

An interesting overview, kindlingman, but I'm not sure what to make of it? Are you agreeing with Bush that we already are at war with Iran?

Going down that list, I can't help thinking the USA has been trying to provoke a war for 25 years. Luckily, the Iranians haven't taken the bait. Even when the US shot doww that passenger plane.

There is no war with Iran unless Bush chooses it. Don't let war become inevitable. That's how Europe got into the First World War. And that was a useless waste of a generation.

4:55 AM  
Blogger Godlessfriend said...

These are good points. I completely agree. It is unfortunate that folks like drm are too shallow to see past the talking points and U.S. propaganda. But I must add to this. The dollar is no longer backed by gold. Instead, it is backed by F-16’s and MI Abrams battle tanks, operating in some 130 US bases around the world, defending liberty and the dollar. It is ugly. It is sometimes horrible. It is absolutely necessary to maintain that 'Super' in that whole 'Superpower' baddest mother thing. The problems arise when you are so blatantly undeserving of that status as GW Bush has clearly demonstrated for us Americans. To learn more about the Iranian issue, look into Kissinger's policies regarding them. He lays it all out in pure Right wing sermons.

David, aren't you Canadian...well you've been a faithful and intelligent contributor to this blog, so I'll understand why you might feel left out on this one(Superpower and blatantly undeserving).

10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

david, are you so clueless to be unaware of the hundreds of servicemen killed by the Iranians? What about the Kobar Tower bombing in the 90's or the marines killed in their quarters in Lebanon in the 80's, or how about the IED's being manufactured in Iran today that are killing our soldiers.

The embassy take over was a sit in? You have got to be kidding.

hmmmm, you see no difference in Iran having nukes then you do with Isreal, India, U.S., France. Say no more. Let's see, Iran is the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world today, their leader has called for the destruction of Israel, called for them to be wiped of the face of the earth.

So I guess it is you position that it is perfectly fine if Iran develops nuke weapons. Snow White and the 7 dwarfs (the Dem presidential candidates) all should be asked:

Should Iran be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons? If they do what should be done?

It is time Queen Hillary be put on the spot and address the Iran issue.

9:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

At war with Iran? I don't think America has a precise word to describe the low level, occasionally hot conflict, between nations.
I think we fight three types of wars:
1. CIA proxy wars: we support others to overthrow or oppose some type of institution or government. We provide arms (money for arms) and guerrilla training.
2. Combo wars: CIA proxy wars with DOD support. Sometimes the CIA needs muscle, when they do, they get it from Defense.
3. Conflicts which are primarily DOD muscle.

The Iranian fight (and some others)may best be described as "muddied". It sometimes appears as if we are fighting under specifc limitations; as though our world partners have said "This far and no farther." Perhaps 'under-the-radar' conflict is a better term for it.

I agree with drm. We have been jousting with Iran since the fall of the Shah.
At some point in time, this will go HOT. Have we been provoked enough to do that yet? I think so. Ahmadinejad, Ann Coulter's secret identity, is deliberately challenging us (and so is Chavez.) We will not let this pass for too long. The question though is 'who'; who is the muscle behind Iranian taunts that leads us to think this through so carefully.

3:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

He's done his job and has made a fortune in doing it. It's about the new world order or NWO and the north american union or NAU. It was scheduled to take off in 2000, full speed. The schedule was behind for the one world government to become completely empowered for the full spectrum dominance, in place by 2010.

Very complicated on a global scale and it is beginning to come apart at the seems as the saying goes. The problem is that America has yet to learn how asleep we really are.

Hillary is the pick to complete the chaos as a weapon of terror against the American citizens - right here on our own soil.

The Nuclear Option MUST NOT be allowed. Period. This is the only way to stop the criminally insane Cheney-Bush Presidency

8:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

drm, so you are going to blame every terrorist incident that happens, no matter where or when, on Iran. Well, that makes sense. And every terrorist act commited against Iran by the USA or its allies is quietly forgotten.

Let us fact the fact that if you want to get rid of nukes, you don't threaten to nuke somebody. That's what the USA and Israel have done.

Ahmadinejad is not THE leader of Iran. It's not a one person dictatorship. And his popularity is as precarious as Bush's right now.

Americans are just sore losers. And they can never forgive countries that buck their puppets and the multi-national corporations.

My advice is Get Over It. And don't be conned into fighting wars for Likud or Kadima. It's not really in America's interest to be the World's cop.

4:57 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home