Monday, May 31, 2004
Memorial Day Salute
"Dulce et Decorum Est"
by Wilfred Owen, October, 1917
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks
Knock kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the hunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outsripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dream, before my helpless sigh,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dream you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, -
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: "Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori."
(The Old Lie: "It is sweet and glorious
to die for one's county.")
"Dulce et Decorum Est"
by Wilfred Owen, October, 1917
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks
Knock kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the hunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outsripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dream, before my helpless sigh,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dream you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, -
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: "Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori."
(The Old Lie: "It is sweet and glorious
to die for one's county.")
Our Prisons
Bob Herbert in the NY Times does a good job explaining that the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib is "who we are".
I was pleased that Gore made reference to the often brutal US penal system in his terrific speech. Although the Clinton Administration made things worse by signing The Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996 that Herbert references.
Most Americans were shocked by the sadistic treatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. But we shouldn't have been. Not only are inmates at prisons in the U.S. frequently subjected to similarly grotesque treatment, but Congress passed a law in 1996 to ensure that in most cases they were barred from receiving any financial compensation for the abuse.
We routinely treat prisoners in the United States like animals. We brutalize and degrade them, both men and women. And we have a lousy record when it comes to protecting well-behaved, weak and mentally ill prisoners from the predators surrounding them.
Very few Americans have raised their voices in opposition to our shameful prison policies. And I'm convinced that's primarily because the inmates are viewed as less than human.
It has bugged me for a long time that we are a nation that laughs at prison rape. I give blood from time to time and was shocked recently when the Red Cross added a question to its long list of questions that if answered in the affirmative meant that you should not give blood. The question was (I am paraphrasing): Have you spent more than 48 consecutive hours in a prison or jail in the United States within the last 3 years?
Think about the implications of the Red Cross advising you to not give blood if you answered yes to this. This question means that the Red Cross has determined that the odds are great enough that you have contracted AIDS or Hepatitis C if you answer yes to this question that they do not want your blood. The list of questions covers a lot of overseas travel related items but nothing about serving jail time in other countries.
So when you are sentenced to jail time in this country I suppose you are in effect receiving a death sentence. Land of the free and home of the incarcerated (not to mention frequently disenfranchised). This is who we are.
Bob Herbert in the NY Times does a good job explaining that the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib is "who we are".
I was pleased that Gore made reference to the often brutal US penal system in his terrific speech. Although the Clinton Administration made things worse by signing The Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996 that Herbert references.
Most Americans were shocked by the sadistic treatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. But we shouldn't have been. Not only are inmates at prisons in the U.S. frequently subjected to similarly grotesque treatment, but Congress passed a law in 1996 to ensure that in most cases they were barred from receiving any financial compensation for the abuse.
We routinely treat prisoners in the United States like animals. We brutalize and degrade them, both men and women. And we have a lousy record when it comes to protecting well-behaved, weak and mentally ill prisoners from the predators surrounding them.
Very few Americans have raised their voices in opposition to our shameful prison policies. And I'm convinced that's primarily because the inmates are viewed as less than human.
It has bugged me for a long time that we are a nation that laughs at prison rape. I give blood from time to time and was shocked recently when the Red Cross added a question to its long list of questions that if answered in the affirmative meant that you should not give blood. The question was (I am paraphrasing): Have you spent more than 48 consecutive hours in a prison or jail in the United States within the last 3 years?
Think about the implications of the Red Cross advising you to not give blood if you answered yes to this. This question means that the Red Cross has determined that the odds are great enough that you have contracted AIDS or Hepatitis C if you answer yes to this question that they do not want your blood. The list of questions covers a lot of overseas travel related items but nothing about serving jail time in other countries.
So when you are sentenced to jail time in this country I suppose you are in effect receiving a death sentence. Land of the free and home of the incarcerated (not to mention frequently disenfranchised). This is who we are.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Balance
I have been told that someone reading this blog could be concerned that I had come unhinged. Maybe I have lost perspective and am focusing too much on the bad news that is Iraq. Guilty as charged.
So to change the subject - this year's Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, OR over the 4th of July weekend is gonna be the bomb. There is an unbelievable lineup of talent for the 4 day festival. Entry each day is $5 and two cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank.
Acts that I am really looking forward to are: Keb Moe, The Holmes Brothers and Mark Lemhouse - all performing on Friday 2nd. Johnny Lang will be playing Monday as will the sensational Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's guitarist for many years).
If you are reading this and cannot get to PDX for this festival go out right now and buy Mark Lemhouse's debut CD - Big Lonesome Radio. If you don't like it - you have no soul.
I have been told that someone reading this blog could be concerned that I had come unhinged. Maybe I have lost perspective and am focusing too much on the bad news that is Iraq. Guilty as charged.
So to change the subject - this year's Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, OR over the 4th of July weekend is gonna be the bomb. There is an unbelievable lineup of talent for the 4 day festival. Entry each day is $5 and two cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank.
Acts that I am really looking forward to are: Keb Moe, The Holmes Brothers and Mark Lemhouse - all performing on Friday 2nd. Johnny Lang will be playing Monday as will the sensational Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's guitarist for many years).
If you are reading this and cannot get to PDX for this festival go out right now and buy Mark Lemhouse's debut CD - Big Lonesome Radio. If you don't like it - you have no soul.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Gore's Speech
Al Gore's speech before the MoveOn.PAC at NYU was one of the best speeches that I have ever seen/heard in my life. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Currently it is the number one most requested clip on CSPAN's website. The speech was delivered 5/26/04. The speech runs for 69 minutes. If you're short on time skip over the introductions in the first 5 minutes of the clip. I never in a million years thought Al Gore was capable of moving me to tears. This speech is a masterpiece. If Gore ever runs for office again I will work for his election any way that I can.
Al Gore's speech before the MoveOn.PAC at NYU was one of the best speeches that I have ever seen/heard in my life. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Currently it is the number one most requested clip on CSPAN's website. The speech was delivered 5/26/04. The speech runs for 69 minutes. If you're short on time skip over the introductions in the first 5 minutes of the clip. I never in a million years thought Al Gore was capable of moving me to tears. This speech is a masterpiece. If Gore ever runs for office again I will work for his election any way that I can.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Case In Point
After my post below I checked my e-mail and got this little gem from a conservative friend from work named Jeff:
Subject: POLITICALLY CORRECT!!!
POLITICALLY CORRECT!!!
We have been informed that the Arabs do not like to be called "towel heads."
The item they wear on their heads is actually a small sheet.
Effective immediately, please call them "little sheet heads."
Thank you for your cooperation.
So I fired off this response to Jeff:
Great Jeff. Racism goes so nicely with war. Did you ever stop to consider that racism is actually a prerequisite for war? It is. See it is very difficult to get the average nice guy to go and kill another nice guy thousands of miles away. The first thing you have to do is help him understand that the other guy is not a nice guy. In fact he is not really like me and you. He is backwards and cruel and doesn't love his children and is fond of rape and murder. He is also not intelligent. This last bit of information is important not just because it is evidence of his sub-humanness but it is also a good confidence builder. He is not smart like us so it won't be too difficult to defeat him and since he is a moron it is a nice thing to do to teach him how to be like us. Thanks for your help in furthering our nation's war effort.
I'm just confused about one thing. Your note refers to Arabs as "little sheet heads" but I'm given to understand by our leader, who I'm duty bound to support in time of war, that the Arabs are a great noble people capable of democratic self government. That the war that we are fighting is only partially to prevent us from being attacked by WMD but more importantly it is fight for the liberation of Arabs under despotic rule. Our fight is not with "Arabs" but with a few bad apples who hate our freedom. If they are just a bunch of "little sheet heads" are they worth $200 billion of our hard earned money and the lives of over 700 of our superior bred youth?
Oh I get it, they will be good "little sheet heads" once we teach them how. Just like the savage Japs who used to like to impale babies on their bayonets until Douglas MacArthur straightened their little yellow arses out and made them so charming, quiet and civil. Now I understand.
After my post below I checked my e-mail and got this little gem from a conservative friend from work named Jeff:
Subject: POLITICALLY CORRECT!!!
POLITICALLY CORRECT!!!
We have been informed that the Arabs do not like to be called "towel heads."
The item they wear on their heads is actually a small sheet.
Effective immediately, please call them "little sheet heads."
Thank you for your cooperation.
So I fired off this response to Jeff:
Great Jeff. Racism goes so nicely with war. Did you ever stop to consider that racism is actually a prerequisite for war? It is. See it is very difficult to get the average nice guy to go and kill another nice guy thousands of miles away. The first thing you have to do is help him understand that the other guy is not a nice guy. In fact he is not really like me and you. He is backwards and cruel and doesn't love his children and is fond of rape and murder. He is also not intelligent. This last bit of information is important not just because it is evidence of his sub-humanness but it is also a good confidence builder. He is not smart like us so it won't be too difficult to defeat him and since he is a moron it is a nice thing to do to teach him how to be like us. Thanks for your help in furthering our nation's war effort.
I'm just confused about one thing. Your note refers to Arabs as "little sheet heads" but I'm given to understand by our leader, who I'm duty bound to support in time of war, that the Arabs are a great noble people capable of democratic self government. That the war that we are fighting is only partially to prevent us from being attacked by WMD but more importantly it is fight for the liberation of Arabs under despotic rule. Our fight is not with "Arabs" but with a few bad apples who hate our freedom. If they are just a bunch of "little sheet heads" are they worth $200 billion of our hard earned money and the lives of over 700 of our superior bred youth?
Oh I get it, they will be good "little sheet heads" once we teach them how. Just like the savage Japs who used to like to impale babies on their bayonets until Douglas MacArthur straightened their little yellow arses out and made them so charming, quiet and civil. Now I understand.
Depression
I have to confess to being very depressed lately about the support that Bush seems to still enjoy. Many Bush detractors have been celebrating his decline in the polls of late. To me the fact that he has any measurable support after the horrendous flood of damning news since the bloody month of April is astonishing. I expect that those devoted to overturning Roe v. Wade would stay with him to the end but how could he still have any support for his policy (or lack of policy) in Iraq, even after the chorus of criticism from retired military elites?
Last night I received a real shock when watching an episode of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, a terrible show by the way. Quinn is nuts, not to mention the least funny person every to appear as a regular on SNL.
The guy cannot distinguish one "A-rab" from another and is clearly out of his mind with anger over 9-11. He lives in NY, close to the carnage, so I'll respect his anger, I'm angry about it too. But man, this guy comes across as an over-the-top racist fool. He kept showing a picture of a naked pile of Iraqi prisoners (as if that was the extent of the "abuse")next to a picture of the Twin Towers in flames and saying - "No comparison!! No need to apologize!"
Why do I let this bother me since it is so clear that this is a bankrupt statement? Because it just fully hit me while watching this that Quinn's fear and hysteria is not open to discussion and it is shared by millions in this country. Quinn had 4 panelists on the show from Air America all trying to explain why Abu Ghraib was wrong and they could not be heard over his sputtering rage about the inhuman Arabs. He, like legions of others, absolutely was not open to being persuaded to consider another point of view and clearly felt almost the same level of rage at those who opposed the Iraq invasion as at the suicide bombers who attacked us.
I fear that this country is coming apart at the seams. I still feel that the tide has turned and Kerry will probably take the White House but there will be a lot of heavy lifting to do to undo the damage Bush has wrought. It will be very easy for Quinn and his ilk to blame Kerry when the inevitable mess we are in becomes apparent to even the sleeping.
I have to confess to being very depressed lately about the support that Bush seems to still enjoy. Many Bush detractors have been celebrating his decline in the polls of late. To me the fact that he has any measurable support after the horrendous flood of damning news since the bloody month of April is astonishing. I expect that those devoted to overturning Roe v. Wade would stay with him to the end but how could he still have any support for his policy (or lack of policy) in Iraq, even after the chorus of criticism from retired military elites?
Last night I received a real shock when watching an episode of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, a terrible show by the way. Quinn is nuts, not to mention the least funny person every to appear as a regular on SNL.
The guy cannot distinguish one "A-rab" from another and is clearly out of his mind with anger over 9-11. He lives in NY, close to the carnage, so I'll respect his anger, I'm angry about it too. But man, this guy comes across as an over-the-top racist fool. He kept showing a picture of a naked pile of Iraqi prisoners (as if that was the extent of the "abuse")next to a picture of the Twin Towers in flames and saying - "No comparison!! No need to apologize!"
Why do I let this bother me since it is so clear that this is a bankrupt statement? Because it just fully hit me while watching this that Quinn's fear and hysteria is not open to discussion and it is shared by millions in this country. Quinn had 4 panelists on the show from Air America all trying to explain why Abu Ghraib was wrong and they could not be heard over his sputtering rage about the inhuman Arabs. He, like legions of others, absolutely was not open to being persuaded to consider another point of view and clearly felt almost the same level of rage at those who opposed the Iraq invasion as at the suicide bombers who attacked us.
I fear that this country is coming apart at the seams. I still feel that the tide has turned and Kerry will probably take the White House but there will be a lot of heavy lifting to do to undo the damage Bush has wrought. It will be very easy for Quinn and his ilk to blame Kerry when the inevitable mess we are in becomes apparent to even the sleeping.
I'm Impressed!
Honestly I did not think Al Gore had it in him. He managed in his remarks to hit on just about every complaint that I have with the present regime in Washington.
This is a must read.
Honestly I did not think Al Gore had it in him. He managed in his remarks to hit on just about every complaint that I have with the present regime in Washington.
This is a must read.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
NEWSFLASH: Iran Finally Wins Iran-Iraq War
Bush played for chimp. Richard Perle chokes on his own puke. Advocates of Iraq invasion disgraced. Iranians avenge the 1954 US sponsored coup installing the Shah after 50 years of patience interrupted by savage chemical weapons attacks from US sponsored Saddam.
The word: Chalabied becomes verb meaning to be made a complete ass of with the added indignity of having paid for your own humiliation. As in; "Man you got chalabied!"
Details here.
Bush played for chimp. Richard Perle chokes on his own puke. Advocates of Iraq invasion disgraced. Iranians avenge the 1954 US sponsored coup installing the Shah after 50 years of patience interrupted by savage chemical weapons attacks from US sponsored Saddam.
The word: Chalabied becomes verb meaning to be made a complete ass of with the added indignity of having paid for your own humiliation. As in; "Man you got chalabied!"
Details here.
Friday, May 21, 2004
The NYTimes And Chalabi
Now that Chalabi is going down in flames what does Judith Miller's future look like at the newspaper of record?
Now that Chalabi is going down in flames what does Judith Miller's future look like at the newspaper of record?
Chalabi - Post Script
Yesterday's rant regarding Chalabi was probably premature. The allegations making news today of involvement in passing secrets to the Iranians appear pretty serious. This disgusting weasel of a man may not have a bright future ahead of him after all. The CIA by now has got to be in a pretty foul mood, I would think those folks could be pretty vindictive. The neo-cons will have a lot of trouble distancing themselves gracefully from him, should make for interesting reading.
I still think he needs to be delivered to the Jordanians.
Yesterday's rant regarding Chalabi was probably premature. The allegations making news today of involvement in passing secrets to the Iranians appear pretty serious. This disgusting weasel of a man may not have a bright future ahead of him after all. The CIA by now has got to be in a pretty foul mood, I would think those folks could be pretty vindictive. The neo-cons will have a lot of trouble distancing themselves gracefully from him, should make for interesting reading.
I still think he needs to be delivered to the Jordanians.
Is Bush Stupid?
Mark Morford is my new favorite Bush attacker. This guy writes with such incredible venom, and humor, he is a real joy to read. Great righteous spleen venting.
This one is even better.
Mark Morford is my new favorite Bush attacker. This guy writes with such incredible venom, and humor, he is a real joy to read. Great righteous spleen venting.
This one is even better.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Chalabi
Check out this article in the NY Times.
No perceived friend of the US has a chance of gaining Iraqi acceptance as a ruler. Therefore - first Chalabi starts attacking the US - after we delivered him a country to rule over and paid his group $27 million for lies to justify the invasion. Now the circle is completed by Bremer appearing to attack Chalabi. Notice that Chalabi is now distancing himself from the US - saying he no longer is associated with the CPA. From the Times article:
"When America treats its friends this way, then they are in big trouble," Mr. Chalabi said. "My relationship with the Coalition Provisional Authority now is nonexistent."
Why is this important? Because the UN plan proposed by Lakhdar Brahimi for choosing the sovereign Iraqi leadership specifically says that no member of the US created Iraqi Provisional Authority (IPA) would be eligible. Chalabi is desperate to get off the IPA in order to have a chance to claim his prize. Bremer will help him by removing him from the authority.
These guys schemes are so transparent that the Iraqis will see right through it, but will Americans buy this subterfuge? Sure gullible is our middle name.
When the dust clears and Rumsfeld gets his wish that Richard Perle's good friend Chalabi becomes the ruler of Iraq "Gloom and Doomers" will say; "See this was never about democracy it was about installing our puppet Chalabi in power". The neo-cons will counter, "Ha, Chalabi has been a vocal critic of the US, he is his own man. We do not control him." This will not be altogether untrue because like other puppets we have installed before we will not completely control this conniving, greedy, rat-bastard.
If he were really out of favor with US officials we would pick him up and hand him over to the Jordanians to start serving his 22 year prison term for bank fraud. In the spirit of cooperation with allied governments shouldn't we be doing this anyway?
Check out this article in the NY Times.
No perceived friend of the US has a chance of gaining Iraqi acceptance as a ruler. Therefore - first Chalabi starts attacking the US - after we delivered him a country to rule over and paid his group $27 million for lies to justify the invasion. Now the circle is completed by Bremer appearing to attack Chalabi. Notice that Chalabi is now distancing himself from the US - saying he no longer is associated with the CPA. From the Times article:
"When America treats its friends this way, then they are in big trouble," Mr. Chalabi said. "My relationship with the Coalition Provisional Authority now is nonexistent."
Why is this important? Because the UN plan proposed by Lakhdar Brahimi for choosing the sovereign Iraqi leadership specifically says that no member of the US created Iraqi Provisional Authority (IPA) would be eligible. Chalabi is desperate to get off the IPA in order to have a chance to claim his prize. Bremer will help him by removing him from the authority.
These guys schemes are so transparent that the Iraqis will see right through it, but will Americans buy this subterfuge? Sure gullible is our middle name.
When the dust clears and Rumsfeld gets his wish that Richard Perle's good friend Chalabi becomes the ruler of Iraq "Gloom and Doomers" will say; "See this was never about democracy it was about installing our puppet Chalabi in power". The neo-cons will counter, "Ha, Chalabi has been a vocal critic of the US, he is his own man. We do not control him." This will not be altogether untrue because like other puppets we have installed before we will not completely control this conniving, greedy, rat-bastard.
If he were really out of favor with US officials we would pick him up and hand him over to the Jordanians to start serving his 22 year prison term for bank fraud. In the spirit of cooperation with allied governments shouldn't we be doing this anyway?
It's Been a While
I have not bothered to write in quite a while. I don't understand where the many talented prolific bloggers out there find the time. Part of the reason that I have not contributed here is that I was busy posting comments elsewhere. Still it is time to get a few thoughts down.
The Iraq war, as predicted by most thoughtful people from the beginning, is going badly. This is a mammoth understatement. I am trying to find some hope in the fact that of late even Iraqi invasion cheerleaders such as William Kristol have admitted that "Bush had driven the car into the ditch" in Iraq. The really annoying thing about Kristol is that he will not admit that the doctrine of pre-emption was dangerous and wrong from the beginning; only that setbacks were due to a "failure of execution". This guy is a total piece of garbage who should be made to spend the next year in Falluja.
The prisoner abuse scandal is getting worse by the day. We are now entering a new phase where outright murder is being revealed. Up to now, although plenty of evidence of brutality beyond so-called merely embarrassing prisoners has come out, many apologists for the administration from the blowhard media have been getting away with telling the uninformed that no actual torture has taken place just frat boy style humiliation. The story of the Iraqi prisoner beaten to death and then packed in ice while the CIA and US military intelligence argued over who was going to dispose of the body is the final straw.
A poll recently conducted in Iraq revealed that 90% of Iraqis believe that we are occupiers not peace keepers. There is no remaining justification for the invasion now that the always specious: "for humanitarian reasons" is clearly out the window.
It is essential that we listen to the advice of people such as Dennis Kucinich and immediately get our troops out of Iraq. Clearly we cannot "win" this war and every day that we stay we endanger the lives of anyone allied with us. We must announce a plan of unconditional, unilateral withdrawal of all of our combat troops, apologize to the world community and ask for help in forming a truly global effort to bring humanitarian relief and peace keepers upon our departure to prevent further bloodshed.
It is unimaginable that this could take place without regime change in Washington coming first. My concern is that waiting for January 20, 2005 for this to happen could prove to be very costly in terms of Iraqi and American lives not to mention long term relations between the US and the Arab world.
Therefore I believe that we should pursue any and all legal means for removing Bush/Cheney from office at the earliest possible time. In other words I am calling for immediate regime change. This could be accomplished in several ways including by seeking impeachment grounds relating to war crimes or the knowing cover-up of war crimes, intentional misleading of Congress and the American people to justify and invasion, Enron related crimes, and/or the Valerie Plame illegal outing.
An approach I would prefer would be to seek allies within the Republican party who by now must be aware of the danger of continuing under Bush not to mention the folly of having him run as the party standard bearer in the upcoming election. Responsible Republicans (there must be a few) should put pressure on Bush to announce at the earliest possible time that, like LBJ before him, he will not seek a second term. He should immediately cease campaigning and work diligently not for victory but for the peaceful extrication of our forces with minimum harm to Iraqis. In this scenario Bush may be allowed to complete his term as a lame duck or be asked to resign along with the architects of the war including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. The line of succession would then point to Speaker of the House Hastert, then President Pro Temp of the Senate Ted Stevens of Alaska followed by Secretary of State Colin Powell. If Cheney were to resign first then succession could be controlled by the president naming a Vice President who would have to be confirmed by the Senate and then would become the President upon the resignation of Bush.
Who should this interim president be? If Colin Powell had not ruined his reputation before the UN I would suggest him. Senator John McCain may be acceptable to Republicans, I know he would have no trouble with Senate confirmation. He could then run for President as an incumbent and probably win. If the Republicans were smart they would jump at this last chance to retain the oval office. Still it's a long shot.
I have not bothered to write in quite a while. I don't understand where the many talented prolific bloggers out there find the time. Part of the reason that I have not contributed here is that I was busy posting comments elsewhere. Still it is time to get a few thoughts down.
The Iraq war, as predicted by most thoughtful people from the beginning, is going badly. This is a mammoth understatement. I am trying to find some hope in the fact that of late even Iraqi invasion cheerleaders such as William Kristol have admitted that "Bush had driven the car into the ditch" in Iraq. The really annoying thing about Kristol is that he will not admit that the doctrine of pre-emption was dangerous and wrong from the beginning; only that setbacks were due to a "failure of execution". This guy is a total piece of garbage who should be made to spend the next year in Falluja.
The prisoner abuse scandal is getting worse by the day. We are now entering a new phase where outright murder is being revealed. Up to now, although plenty of evidence of brutality beyond so-called merely embarrassing prisoners has come out, many apologists for the administration from the blowhard media have been getting away with telling the uninformed that no actual torture has taken place just frat boy style humiliation. The story of the Iraqi prisoner beaten to death and then packed in ice while the CIA and US military intelligence argued over who was going to dispose of the body is the final straw.
A poll recently conducted in Iraq revealed that 90% of Iraqis believe that we are occupiers not peace keepers. There is no remaining justification for the invasion now that the always specious: "for humanitarian reasons" is clearly out the window.
It is essential that we listen to the advice of people such as Dennis Kucinich and immediately get our troops out of Iraq. Clearly we cannot "win" this war and every day that we stay we endanger the lives of anyone allied with us. We must announce a plan of unconditional, unilateral withdrawal of all of our combat troops, apologize to the world community and ask for help in forming a truly global effort to bring humanitarian relief and peace keepers upon our departure to prevent further bloodshed.
It is unimaginable that this could take place without regime change in Washington coming first. My concern is that waiting for January 20, 2005 for this to happen could prove to be very costly in terms of Iraqi and American lives not to mention long term relations between the US and the Arab world.
Therefore I believe that we should pursue any and all legal means for removing Bush/Cheney from office at the earliest possible time. In other words I am calling for immediate regime change. This could be accomplished in several ways including by seeking impeachment grounds relating to war crimes or the knowing cover-up of war crimes, intentional misleading of Congress and the American people to justify and invasion, Enron related crimes, and/or the Valerie Plame illegal outing.
An approach I would prefer would be to seek allies within the Republican party who by now must be aware of the danger of continuing under Bush not to mention the folly of having him run as the party standard bearer in the upcoming election. Responsible Republicans (there must be a few) should put pressure on Bush to announce at the earliest possible time that, like LBJ before him, he will not seek a second term. He should immediately cease campaigning and work diligently not for victory but for the peaceful extrication of our forces with minimum harm to Iraqis. In this scenario Bush may be allowed to complete his term as a lame duck or be asked to resign along with the architects of the war including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. The line of succession would then point to Speaker of the House Hastert, then President Pro Temp of the Senate Ted Stevens of Alaska followed by Secretary of State Colin Powell. If Cheney were to resign first then succession could be controlled by the president naming a Vice President who would have to be confirmed by the Senate and then would become the President upon the resignation of Bush.
Who should this interim president be? If Colin Powell had not ruined his reputation before the UN I would suggest him. Senator John McCain may be acceptable to Republicans, I know he would have no trouble with Senate confirmation. He could then run for President as an incumbent and probably win. If the Republicans were smart they would jump at this last chance to retain the oval office. Still it's a long shot.
