Article

2005-04-17 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2005-04-17 00:00:00 AM|| || Front Page|| [11138 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 An Unjust War

It would pay us all to remember that the war in Iraq was both unjust and illegal. We launched a war of aggression against a country that was not attacking us, did not have the means to attack us, and had never expressed any intention of attacking us.

Thus, America's attack against Iraq is the same as Germany's attack against Poland in 1939. We were the aggressor, pure and simple, and for whatever real reason we attacked Iraq, it was not to save America from any danger, imminent or otherwise.

You can believe the two whitewash jobs blaming everything on intelligence if you wish to do so. I don't believe them. Our intelligence agencies make plenty of mistakes, but I don't believe that the information they provided the Bush administration was as clear-cut as the Bush people claimed. In other words, I think the Bush administration lied to the American people about weapons of mass destruction.

This illegal, unjust and unprovoked war against a sovereign country is what has alienated the rest of the world. This alienation runs deep and will have very long-term implications.

No sane leader of any nation in the world can trust America anymore. We have demonstrated that if we desire to attack a nation, we will fabricate the excuse and attack it, despite international law and international opinion. We have demonstrated that a nation need not provoke us or threaten us to become a victim of our aggression. We have said to the world that the only law we respect is the law of the jungle, and that might makes right. That's why so many people consider us to be a rogue nation and a threat to world peace.

The sad part is that the American people have been so sheeplike. They believed the blarney about weapons of mass destruction, even the stupid parts such as Bush claiming Iraq's tiny little drone airplanes could attack the U.S. When those lies were exposed, they believed that the war was justified by Saddam Hussein's cruelty. We've slept with many bloody dictators, including Saddam. Now they believe that we went there to spread democracy.

That's a bunch of hooey. The present interim government is corrupt to the core. The British Broadcasting Corp. did a lot of interviews with Iraqis, and not one of them mentioned wanting democracy or freedom. They all said they want a strong government that can provide security and end corruption.

Given the world's distrust and alienation, how do you think the Bush administration is going to garner support to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons? Do you think Russia, China, India and other countries love us? Do you think even the Europeans will not try to weaken our global monopoly on the use of force?

There is a great irony here. Imperialism produces exactly the effects that the critics of isolation claim it produces. Imperialism isolates America. An American policy of noninterference and cooperation would produce allies.

I don't intend to blame the Bush administration entirely. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are committed to an imperialistic policy. Nor was the war against Iraq the first instance of unprovoked and illegal acts of aggression. We invaded Grenada and Panama, and launched aerial attacks against Libya and Serbia.

Don't take too much comfort in the fact that we are, at the moment, the 800-pound gorilla. Everybody hates the gorilla and will try to do everything to weaken it. Given the venality and incompetence of our government, the shaky state of our economy, the apathy of our people and the decadence of our culture, I don't think we'll be king of the jungle for very much longer.

Posted by American sheeplike people 2005-04-17 5:59:24 AM|| 2005-04-17 5:59:24 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Keep your eye on the Azeris who are 20% of Iranians. They are Turkic same as the Azerbaijanis. Cousins of the Azerbaijanis and mostly live in the sector of Iran bordering Azerbaijan. Anyone know if there is oil production there?

Posted by sea cruise 2005-04-17 6:44:36 AM|| 2005-04-17 6:44:36 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Imperialist, expansionist governments aim to profit from their colonies and subject territories. Witness The Netherlands and their behaviour on the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, where the population was enslaved, the spice trees cut down entirely -- for the delectation and trade opportunities of the ruling country -- and even now their ecologies have been permanently changed to hot, dry, sparse, thorny scrublands from their erstwhile cooler and lush, rainy, tree-covered environment. The economies are dependent still on the Dutch oil industry, which is very active there, and on tourism, and very little in the way of life's necessities are produced by the islanders, themselves.

Another example of true imperialism would be any of the Hispanic countries of the Americas -- North, Central or South. The countries were originally raped of their valuable resources, particularly gold, and their people enslaved and treated as beasts of burden to be literally worked to death. Millions died at the hands of the Conquistadores and the Royal Administrators who followed on their heels. Hundreds the ships with their holds filled with gold and valuable raw and finished goods sent back in Spanish ships for the profit of the Spanish Crown.

In comparison, America has in general ruled other nations reluctantly, at a great cost to her of her own blood and treasure, and intentionally to benefit the other people by establishing viable democracy, thus enabling those peoples to rule themselves in peace. Japan and Germany, even Puerto Rico spring immediately to mind. Shoot, at least once a decade the Puerto Ricans vote on what status they really want -- free nation, 51st state, or a continuation of the current situation where they have all the rights but none of the responsibilities of either. Each time the PR people have chosen to continue the status quo. For Germany, the Marshall Plan enabled them to re-establish industries destroyed by two world wars and Nazi rapacity. The first ever viable democracy was enacted by American edict, nursed to strength by American governance and revamped education, and remains one of the strongest and most inclusive democracies in Continental Europe today.

As for the world disliking us, the world has long been in that habit... since the New World was discovered in fact. In each generation the reasons have changed, but the dislike and disdain have been unchanged, only deepened as America became the powerhouse economy of the world and the preeminent military power -- not because we prevented them from being so, but because they made choices (again, the destructiveness of two world wars comes to mind) that weakened themselves.

So long as they choose to continue to hold themselves back, America will perforce lead the world -- a situation that, based on the rhetoric coming out of various seats of government, mass media and education, is unfortunately not likely to change for yet another generation.

Sorry, Mr. Sheep.

Posted by trailing wife 2005-04-17 7:15:05 AM|| 2005-04-17 7:15:05 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Trailing Wife

"The Mission" is a fine movie about Spain's conquest of the New World. The Anglos (English) were much better with "their" Indians because the Spanish were driven by a rapacious gold fever. Silver too.

Posted by sea cruise 2005-04-17 7:21:27 AM|| 2005-04-17 7:21:27 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 The Sheep is starting to SPAM, this is the second iteration of his homily.

Posted by Shipman 2005-04-17 8:21:34 AM|| 2005-04-17 8:21:34 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Here is one clue for you,Sheep.The attemted assasination of GB Sr. is an act of war.

Posted by raptor 2005-04-17 9:08:32 AM|| 2005-04-17 9:08:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Firing on US aircraft is also an act of war.

Posted by badanov 2005-04-17 10:17:41 AM|| [http://www.rkka.org] 2005-04-17 10:17:41 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 I'm beginning to see persistent and strong indications that there is a kinky aspect to the political divide. The Hate America crowd seems to have a penchant for punishment - the receiving end. They are, rather obviously, projecting. They want Mistress WhoopAss to discipline them, personally, and have projected that desire for pain onto the entirety of America.

There's just too much Good News these days for these twisted sisters (used generically, lol) so out of the woodwork they crawl - craving some serious flagellation and humiliation. Hell, we ought to accommodate them. I'd support a program for PEST and BDS sufferers to receive subsidized visits to domination dungeons, humiliation houses, and pain parlors - presuming the practitioners are dedicated professionals using the real deal - none of that fake shit like a Nerf cat-o-nine-tails. I want the visits to be mother-loving effective doses of hardcore pain... to ease their emotional angst, of course.

As for the clintoonian catch-phrases, we "feel your pain" and "share the pain", yeah right, PudPuller. Fuck that noise. Secular and Socialist ideologies leave a sizable vacuum in the psyche where religion and common sense used to reside. These sick witless wonders want some deep humiliation - to assuage the screwed-up contradictory nonsense with which they've filled that vacuum, thanks to New Age idiocy, self-help nonsense, Hollyweird, et al - and I say let's give it to them.

It's the kind, caring, brotherly / sisterly thing to do.

Applications for facility inspection, licensing, and quality control are now being accepted.

Posted by .com 2005-04-17 10:53:47 AM|| 2005-04-17 10:53:47 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 and had never expressed any intention of attacking us.

Didn't Saddam threaten Saudi Arabia back in 1991, and didn't the U.S. have troops there at the time?

Nice try, troll-boy...

Posted by Raj 2005-04-17 11:03:45 AM|| 2005-04-17 11:03:45 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 despite international law and international opinion.

Seventeen U.N. resolutions against Iraq, and Iraq violating most of them, don't mean squat to you? Is your memory, um... selective?

Never mind, I know the answer.

Posted by Raj 2005-04-17 11:06:38 AM|| 2005-04-17 11:06:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Dear American Sheeplike People,

Thank you very much for your assistance in our propaganda campaign. As my thanks, I have set up a website dedicated to idiots such as yourself (http://usefulidiots4osama.blogspot.com/)to help me destroy the infidels. We are after all, a religion of peace and we mean no harm to anyone, except christians, jewzzz, homosexuals, and other infidel non muslims.

Please assist me with my website by sending me a picture so that i can post it. Furthermore, I request that you talk to that fatmouth infidel "Michael Moore" and have him make more movies demonizing America. Tell him to hurry because many of my underlings are being whacked one by one. (and living in a cave sucks)

Your friend, Uncle Bin L. O'Sammy

'Whom would Allah Bomb' (besides churches, busses, jews, christians, children, women, civilians, tall office buildings, embassies, ships, schools, and any other thing that infidels touch)

Posted by cantGOanywhere 2005-04-17 2:17:20 PM|| 2005-04-17 2:17:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 :-) sorry binny - we'll get right on it

Posted by Frank G 2005-04-17 2:26:51 PM|| 2005-04-17 2:26:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 This illegal, unjust and unprovoked war against a sovereign country is what has alienated the rest of the world. This alienation runs deep and will have very long-term implications.

Seventeen UN resolutions, including going back to the UN one more time to get backing.

France, Germany and Russia all having sizeable interests, outstanding loans, etc., vote no. Wotta surprise.

Funny how few of you clowns had a problem with moving into Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. WTF happened to 'national sovereignty' there? (Somalia, though a failed state, is still considered 'sovereign'.)

Everybody hates the gorilla and will try to do everything to weaken it.

As to other nations not liking, trusting, or trying to weaken us: well, welcome to F*cking Reality. It's been that way for centuries. Here's a clue: bending over and grabbing your ankles doesn't make it all go away.

Yeah, the "American people" are sheep, but only because they don't subscribe to your college-hothouse, self-hating, we-should-be-lemmings view of life. Go peddle your papers elsewhere.

Posted by Pappy 2005-04-17 2:51:24 PM|| 2005-04-17 2:51:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 "The Mission" is a fine movie about Spain's conquest of the New World. Thanks, sea cruise. I'll add it to my list.

Seventeen U.N. resolutions against Iraq, and Iraq violating most of them I would have said all instead of most, Raj, because each time Saddam was required to demonstrate that he'd actually done the required, and he never, ever did.

Mr. Sheep is a paid-up member of the "Speak out and prove your ignorance," crowd. And this is the wrong place to be one of those.

Posted by trailing wife 2005-04-17 3:36:11 PM|| 2005-04-17 3:36:11 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 sea cruise: "The Mission" is a fine movie about Spain's conquest of the New World.

I saw this when I was in my radical phase and nodded along with the rest of the crowd. The question is whether you can believe any of this stuff. I am seriously starting to doubt *anything* I hear about supposed Western perfidy. Understand that the Aztecs used to dissect and eat their victims while they were still alive, but nobody talks about that today. Indians used to carve out the back muscles of the early settlers, while they were still alive, for bowstrings and rape and kill the women and female children of the settlers, but no one talks about that today. Spanish and Portuguese settlers colonized big chunks of East Asia, and you never hear about the kinds of things portrayed in "The Mission". Further, the idea that the natives were a bunch of contented cud-chewers at peace in Xanadu with each other is a bunch of rot. They warred against each other incessantly, and were pretty genocidal in their approach to war in the manner of the pre-modern era.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-04-17 10:43:03 PM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-04-17 10:43:03 PM|| Front Page Top

00:04 Sherry
23:58 Huputch Jesh6219
23:08 Spemble
23:08 Frank G
23:02 Sock Puppet 0â Doom
22:58 mom
22:52 Frank G
22:50 mom
22:49 Frank G
22:48 Chinese Unoque7533
22:46 mom
22:43 Zhang Fei
22:41 phil_b
22:37 Frank G
22:34 Pappy
22:23 CrazyFool
22:12 smn
22:08 phil_b
22:08 smn
22:05 thibaud (aka lex)
22:02 .com
22:02 thibaud (aka lex)
22:00 Penguin
21:52 badanov