politics

“I woke up beside a running sewer and did not expect the day to smell of roses.” Democracy speaks, and in Baghdad at least, the jubilation speaks volumes. Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

Iraqi Ambassador to th UN: “It’s Game Over” Whitehouse: “Its not a game and its not over” Two months ago. Whitehouse: “It’s Game Over” French Ambassador to the UN: “It’s not a game and its not over” Oh well the French are in agreement with one thing then.

“I have in mind those men in Washington who have given a new life to the missionary impulse in American foreign relations: who believe that this nation, in this era, has received a threefold endowment that can transform the world. As they see it, that endowment is composed of, first, our unsurpassed military might; second, our clear technological supremacy; and third, our allegedly invincible benevolence (our “altruism,” our affluence, our lack of territorial aspirations). Together, it is argued, this threefold endowment provides us with the opportunity and the obligation to ease the nations of the earth toward modernization and stability: toward a fullfledged Pax Americana Technocratica. “ The Atlantic monthly whose former editor Michael Kelly was tragically killed yesterday. April 2003? – no, 35 years ago, April 1968. Then: “Who was the aggressor — and the “real enemy”? The Viet Cong? Hanoi? Peking? Moscow? International Communism? Or maybe “Asian Communism”?”…

“As a member of one family that survived a bomb, I can tell you from the bottom of my heart: Bombing will never be the solution. “ The interesting thing about the Washington Post article is that although it raises an issue that I believe in, it is completely illogical. The argument is that bombing people makes people angry and increases the risk of terrorism. This argument is being put by someone who survived an Al-Qaeda bomb, but instead of reacting angrily and being in favor of the war she is against bombing. However noble her intentions, she disproves her own argument in the very act of proposing it. Its an interesting conundrum for newspaper editors – a victim of terrorism is a more credible proponent of anti-war, much like anti-war Vietnam vets, but the argument, that bombing only creates anger and revenge can only be made by someone who…

“Former CIA director James Woolsey said Wednesday that the United States is engaged in World War IV, and that it could continue for years. “ Oh super, excuse me while I slit my wrists. In case you were wondering, World War III is already over. Don’t worry, the US won, you can come out from behind the sofa now. CNN.com – Ex-CIA director: U.S. faces ‘World War IV’ – Apr. 3, 2003

“Umm Qasr is a town similar to Southampton,” UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons yesterday. “He’s either never been to Southampton, or he’s never been to Umm Qasr,” said one British soldier, informed of this while on patrol in Umm Qasr. Another added: “There’s no beer, no prostitutes, and people are shooting at us. It’s more like Portsmouth.” Thanks Adam

Under normal circumstances you would think that this story in the Guardian was an April’s fools joke:Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US draws up secret plan to impose new regime on Iraq Having defended Rumsfeld yesterday, time for some counter argument. An imperialist post war agenda for Iraq would be a disaster, but a Rumsfeld with his tail between his legs may allow for a way out. Both Blair and Powell should seize the moment of neo-Con weakness to push for a multilateral, UN-backed post-war plan.

People who know me might imagine that I would be pleased at the criticism of Rumsfeld, since much of it has been criticism that I have had about the war, a war that I thought was too risky in the first place. In fact I think Rumsfeld is probably right about many things that he will ultimately carry the can. Of all the hawks, Rumsfeld is the only one I have any time for – he has the personality that the spin doctors try to give Bush – he is a straight talker who does not like bureaucratic bullshit or state run inefficiency. His approach to the military is like a CEO from the private sector coming in to run an anachronistic public utility. The war is clearly not going according to plan, and because Rumsfeld went against the advice of some of the military the responsibility rests with him…

Now I may be wrong, but MSNBC seems on the defensive about the Internet now. An Internet pundit has been dragged up to say that the problem with the news on the Internet is that it is untrustworthy. Pretty Ironic considering that the MS in NBC stands for Microsoft. Well, does that include MSNBC’s own site or any of the other 2500 newspapers online? No this is a jibe at other news sources. I wonder if the cable networks will start to get irritated by the limelight that will increasingly fall on decentralized news coverage on the web, stranger things have happened.

On MSNBC (Moronic Simplistic News Befitting Cretins?) at the moment they are on a witchhunt, referring to ’embedded liberal’ Geraldo Rivera, no mention of Arnett of course. Shocked faces as quotes from Edward Said are read out and outrage expressed by Michael ‘Savage’. Michael is founder of the Paul Revere society. Here is their 9 point charter (comments in parens): 1. Make tax cuts permanent. (This would require permanent GOP government – so scrap democracy?). 2. Close the borders now. 3. Deport all illegal immigrants now. 4. Eliminate bilingual education in all states. 5. Require health tests for all recent foreign born immigrants. (get rid of ‘foreigners’ they are unpure?) 6. Eliminate as many entitlement programs as possible. (cleanse the country of poor people?) Up to here, standard neo-fascist stuff, but this is where it gets weird (and why I will never really understand ultra-right libertarians) 7. Reduce the number…

“Our best estimate of the likely duration of the war (given the evolution of the war thus far, and assuming that the United States is able to maintain its maneuver-based strategy) is approximately 3

There is a nasty air of schadenfreude around the doomsayers just as there has been too much gung-ho jingoism by the optimists. Neither are healthy and the fact is that it is too early to judge the success of failure of the Iraq war. What is clear, however, is that everything hinges on an uprising.