This Rant got to me this morning as being right on the money. It is and has been the agenda of the neoconservative for years. How do we break it? How do we focus on American values? I will never believe that Americans have morphed into a killer nation.

Was it the religious right who wants to force us into the Great Crusade that destroys Islam? Was it simply boredom with television that Americans wanted a real action to watch?

I hope this Rant brings in hundreds of replies as it sits on the number one problem in America at this time. Thanks, Chief....

I guess this is how

...they intend to handle the pesky little problem of unemployment and job creation in this country -

...even MORE offshoring - only this time, it is OUR fellow citizens being shipped -

LFTL

I find it interesting the a Republican, President Eisenhower, warned half a century ago about the power of the Military Industrial Complex.

(Man that's a BIG LONG title)

Many believed that it was the Military Industrial Complex that was behind the assassination of John F Kennedy.

Since then EVERY PRESIDENT has been involved in some kind of military conflict during their presidency.

They have even influenced elections.

There are many people who believe that it is the plan of this group and others RICH FATCAT CORPORATE GROUPS to change the emphasis from the WAR (which they don't believe the GOP can win on foreign policy) to the economy (which they do believe the GOP can win on).

The only 2 candidates that will pull us out of Iraq right away are Ron Paul and John Edwards.

Everyone else will be under the influence of the BIG $$$ of the same groups.

The military-industrial complex is one of the few remaining large industries in the USA that are not outsourcing jobs to China.

Could it be that this is simply just another chapter in Mr. Bush's attempts to obtain "full employment"?

I'm all for seeing the US get out of Iraq asap too...

But let me ask people here a question -- because I'm fairly certain that it's going to come up whenever someone does start trying to withdraw troops from Iraq:

Are you okay with our leaving behind some very expensive infrastructure, bought with American taxes? I'm talking about stuff that we might not yet be aware exists. What if some of this infrastructure is in highly strategic locations that might actually endanger "American interests" abroad, were it to fall into the wrong hands? And if the threat of abandoning this infrastructure unnerved the petroleum industry and they responded by ratcheting up the price of oil in ways that aren't even imaginable right now, would that be okay too? And if, all the sudden, there was a public relations backlash against any president who decided that it was more important to get us out of Iraq than to protect assets there, can you guarantee that you wouldn't be swayed?

I suspect there's quite a bit the American public doesn't know about the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq -- and indeed, I think he's even kept some serious secrets from Congress. There may be some things that only this administration and perhaps some private industry types know.

I suggest that before we decide what the next president do, we first find out how much we don't know. It might be better to support a candidate who can't yet make any promises on Iraq, but commits to keeping Congress, the Defense Dept, the intelligence community, the international community and the American public in the loop. Someone who will commit to not lying to us or going behind our backs.

Let's be honest with ourselves: this administration has us playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey. Let's remove the blindfold before we decide on our next move.

"I suspect there's quite a bit the American public doesn't know about the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq"

On this you would be correct although it is not what you think. And you probably wouldn't believe it anyways.

I'm not sure what you are referring to as infrastructure in Iraq, but if it is military equipment well -- that will be left behind anyways so our Military can buy new stuff. (Remember this is about the "Military Industrial Complex?)

If you are referring to the billions of dollars of squandered tax payer dollars on fiascos to rebuild Iraq, that's lost money. It's long gone...out the door....nice and snug in somebody's bank account leaving a bunch of unfinished projects.

How about this for logic? WE CAN'T AFFORD TO FUND BUSH'S WAR ANY LONGER! IT IS FINANCIALLY BREAKING OUR COUNTRY!

But then maybe this was the terrorist's plan all along and Bush/Cheney just capitalized off it.

Doug, you make a very salient point.

There are two very different viewpoints in the US about how the world should work. The one thing both sides agree about is that their side has all the answers for the entire world.

American greed is turned into virtue. The need for cheap oil becomes the quest to export democracy to any country unable to defend itself.

Rather than work on slightly more expensive alternative energy sources, corrupt governments are installed or propped up in oil rich countries. Said regimes are removed when they have the temerity to defy their American masters.

Allies are ridiculed when they refuse to join the latest quixotic quest. Ignorance of other cultures and history is used like a weapon. If Americans don’t understand another culture or political system it must be wrong and therefore changed through diplomatic pressure or war.

Rather than confront the looming issue of scarce potable water, plans are drawn to divert Canadian rivers south to non-viable desert cities. I fully expect before I die to see an American president exhorting his / her fellow citizens to stand up to the greedy Canadians who would stand by and watch their brothers die of thirst. The only thing I’m not sure of is whether that president will be Republican or Democrat.

America is becoming the schoolyard bully of the world. Unfortunately the power of the US military makes it like a baby with a machine gun.

jwalteru

Tom Lehrer said a lot of things in song about 45 years ago in a basement in the town of Harvard University. You can probably get all of the words to "WW-III" and "Whose got the bomb" off the web or try to get a copy of "Tom Foolery" which has both the words and music to many of his controbution to sociaty. "Polution" even made it to octavo choir form. He was forced out of the Math department at Harvard and I believe ended up at U of I. I think his recording are still available.

Great rant - might I direct you to the lyrics penned by the late, great Phil Ochs in his song "Cops of the World" - very sad to say they still ring very, very true. Ochs may have been hounded by internal demons that, eventually, caused him to take his own life, but he was a man of truth, understanding and vision.

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/cops-of...

Peace

Steve

Doug..ya said a mouth full...and its all true.

It's taken the better part of 8 yrs to get us mired in the messes we're in. The truth is, we don't have a clue just how deep we are actually in but we all know its a serious situation on many fronts. This adminstration has been the most secretive in history thus...we have been kept in the dark as to exactly what we have been dying and paying for.

I don't personally believe there is any way that we are going to find these secrets out until the after a new president is elected and fully briefed, then still more time as the mulitude of untold lies,greed and stupidity begin to unfold.

It has been clear to me for a long time that it's going to take the dedicated and diligent work of the next few administrations to get these complicated mop-up jobs completed.

If we are fortunate enough to get a new president that is honest, open and is not beholden to a corporation.. it will be a step in the right direction. This will not mean an instant cure-all and we won't necessarily like all the steps that will have to be undertaken.

We have all seen pictures of the bombed out and war torn devastated cities...my minds eye keeps recalling a picture I seen as a little girl..it was during WW2 of a mother and child wondering through the rubble caused by the bombs, once the area of their home.
This to me is sybolic of the devastation that now exists in all things Bush and his crew have had their hands in.

Arm yourself with information..VOTE RESPONSIBLY!
Folks..we are a long way from having this behind us but as Churchill one said "NEVER NEVER NEVER give up."

"Call it the endless war syndrome - the result of too many years of out-of-control policies that have left us with little choice but to fight on and on for fictitious reasons and an arrogant illusion of superiority."

At least 40% of the economy depends on "defense". Stop the wars, crash the economy. We are screwed, blued, and tattooed.

One of the better rants, simple eloquence and straight to the point.

-- Kent Shaw

ONE MORE TIME..........

Doug wrote:

"Call it the endless war syndrome - the result of too many years of out-of-control policies that have left us with little choice but to fight on and on for fictitious reasons and an arrogant illusion of superiority."

Thanks Doug. Actually, I can think back many months ago when so many of the Democrats candidates were hoping to win the majority in both chambers...who made claims to do undo so many problems created by our current administration, especially the war.

There were many Rant Forum and Frontpage members...posting, "it's not going to happen." The Democrats won't fix anything, especially ending the war in Iraq when they realize the economic cost of shutting down the war.

Kent...ditto to your posting.

anthny
The link I provided below is a very interesting little story that you can take or leave as true or false.
I think this story is true, and I just did not fall off the turnip wagon in last nights rain.
I have read other conspiracies about zionists brought the communists into power and it can still be in power with-in the powerful money business'.
http://www.savethemales.ca/000447.html

Thanks Doug Thompson for the heads-up on this ongoing deadly development...!

In the Terminator III movie, starring "Arnold" the robots and machine intelligences take over the world through Skynet; ie., a complex MIC scheme that links all the worlds satellites, mainframes, PC's and everything that's program driven as one...! The machines' new goal is to destroy "all" humans...?!

What we are witnessing is a variant of the Terminator III plot in that the MIC has taken over the U.S. government along with many other governments of the world with its citizenry being taken along for a deadly ride to technocratic-based, tax-sucking hegemony...then on to oblivion! Unfortunately little do they realize their terminal, unfettered greed is going to destroy the very hand that feeds them.

It's insanity for sure, but it seems to feel AOK to the brain-dead, uninformed citizens of the "Big Mall"; i.e, planet earth... :|

Carl Nemo **==

These wars will come home. I fear that's their purpose. The "War on Terror" will become a war between the government and its people. Make no mistake. What's going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, etc. etc., is all about creating the mechanisms for total control within the United States. What's being created is an internal atmosphere of complete mistrust of anything external, a sort of xenophobia, with the government as the only savior. Anyone who speaks against Bush policy already is an enemy. This week the head of our intelligence agencies said that the government needed to monitor every internet communication. We will see those troops coming home, eventually, to fight anyone who this government labels a threat. Nightmare time.

I'm afraid you are right, Warren.

-- Kent Shaw

Warren, your nightmares are what keep me actively writing and sending warning signs to as many people as possible. It has been many years since I trusted the American government. I often sit back and blame it on the amount of reading I do and blame it on my imagination. I saw this monster movement start after WW2 and Korea when the John Birch Society began their dreadful movement to destroy American values. It was my first hint of a movement to make America for white Christians only.

Americans are too easily diverted to their guilt of sins and not having the ability to live by their own convictions, need the illusion of a higher being. This caused a majority of once proud independent Americans to fold up and follow their clergy.

Even the LP divided into social laws versus independent freedoms. I believe America is doomed to follow the most powerful leader that has morphed into the military comlex that Ike warned us about.

We apparently cannot stop this until we get into a serious revolution against D.C. I fear it will take a near extinction of our populations before some hidden survival instinct kicks in. My living on the San Andreas fault brought with it a natural survival action. I will never accept slavery as a natural way of existence. There is no movement for freedom left in America.

"I often sit back and blame it on the amount of reading I do and blame it on my imagination."

Its not your imagination. You are among the 1% who are awake. 99% live on in blissful ignorance. If everyone would read one relevant political book a year we wouldn't be in the mess we are in today. Just my humble opinion.

-- Kent Shaw

Sandra Price wrote:
Was it the religious right who wants to force us into the Great Crusade that destroys Islam?
___________________________

*** Well no, Sandra, if you're talking about Afghanistan, the reason we're there is obviously 9/11.

As with Pearl Harbor, no president -- Republican, Democrat or otherwise -- can allow an unprovoked attack on American soil without responding forcefully to it. Otherwise, you're only inviting more attacks on your soil and more death to thousands more of your citizens. That's a lesson as basic as observing what happens when you allow a bully to steal your lunch money.

We can always debate the merits of sending troops into Iraq, but Afghanistan was perfectly justified. I have a hard time believing that this country would be safer today if we'd just shrugged off the World Trade Center attack, buried the 3,000 victims, and invited Osama & Friends to join us in singing Kum-ba-ya and making S'mores around the campfire.

War is the ultimate government program.

As a libertarian, I disagree with liberals who want to expand so-called "social programs." But I disagree infinitely more with so-called "conservatives."

"Conservatives" want to use the coercive power of the state in its most destructive manner: WAR.

At least, in social programs, you produce something of marginal value, be it inefficiently produced school lunches or tacky, cheap "public housing." Even the most graft-ridden "liberal" bureaucrat doesn't want to destroy the housing project he just created.

But in war, you see government at its most essential: killing people, destroying property, torturing helpless prisoners--you name it.

Conservatives, you see, are really much more pro state than so-called "liberals." Their protestations against the "welfare state" are worse than hollow: if you don't believe this, observe how George Bush expanded federal spending across the board, with his allegedly "conservative" Republican majorities in both houses of Congress refusing to restrain him at all!

Libertarians and Liberals should unite against the very concept of WAR. War is almost never the answer to anything.

Thanks Paolo for one of your fine, thoughtful, humanitarian posts! :)

I agree, if we have to choose relative to which side of the welfare/warfare state coin we should wager in a coinflip, then I'll opt for the welfare side as you...!

What's the point of this continual, ongoing butchery of innocents simply to enrich the shadowy oligarchs that own the MIC, our government and other governments of the world; lock, stock and barrel...?!

Carl Nemo **==

Carl, the true innocents in America are those who did not learn a trade to support themselves and their family. It all comes down to better academic programs. I remember before Bush was elected and the RNC called in some successful educators across America. These were teachers who taught academics the way they learned them. I saw a dozen men and women try to influence the RNC by opening up the State Board of Education to gather to learn from those who succeeded in even the most poverty stricken areas of America.

This was all ignored for a federal mandate to test the kids. 7 years later not a single drop out came back and those who stayed ended up with a 5th grade reading ability.

Arizona has opened 20 some off charter schools to catch those students who were overlooked. Our drop out rate has fallen and the reading scores have improved. The Federal government does not have the authority to test any child in America. It simply wasted 7 years, and wasted millions of dollars.

We've known for 200 years how to teach children to read and write and somehow nobody understands the problem. How can private schools do this with a third of the cost of public schools? I think forced discipline might be the answer.

Sandra,

I actually agree with you that more federal government means less freedom, and I've already stated that I don't march in sync with the Bush administration. (Nor do I want federally mandated health care, which in effect would hand Hillary the keys to the respirator.)

So I'm not "defending" Bush per se, just pointing out that any president who allows this nation to be attacked without responding to it is inviting more attacks and thus less freedom for all of us by default. (Because I'm even less crazy about entrusting a foreign power with our freedoms -- particularly a fundamentalist Islamic state.)

But I must confess that I don't buy into your belief that Bush is a mere tool of the religious right. His "Crusades" remark was merely a bad word choice in my estimation (not exactly a first for the president), and besides ... how could he target Islam and simultaneously kiss up to the Arabs, as you contend? I don't see how the two could co-exist.

Frankly, if any religion is on a crusade these days, it's Islam (or at least the fundamentalist version), as evidenced by everything from the destruction of icons in Afghanistan to the bombing of Christian churches in the Middle East. And -- oh, yeah -- that little incident at the World Trade Center ...