OK, throw another $50 billion down the rat hole that is the Iraq occupation. It's only money, if you ignore the lives being destroyed. That's what the White House is asking for, in addition to the $147 billion in supplementary funds already requested, and Congress will grant it after Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker follow President Bush's photo op in Iraq's Anbar province with a dog and pony show of their own. Meanwhile, the Democrats are totally cynical about this continuing waste of taxpayer dollars and of American and Iraqi lives, and, wanting Bush to hang himself with his own rope, they will deny him nothing.
In the effort to retaliate against terrorists who hijacked planes six years ago with an arsenal of $3 knives, this year's overall defense budget has been pushed to $657 billion. We are now spending $3 billion a week in Iraq alone, occupying a country that had nothing to do with the tragedy that sparked this orgy of militarism. The waste is so enormous and irrelevant to our national security that a rational person might embrace the libertarian creed if only for the sake of sanity. Clearly, the federal government no longer cares much about providing for health, education, hurricane reconstruction or even bridge safety, as the military budget now dwarfs all other discretionary spending, despite the lack of a sophisticated enemy in sight.
Numbers are boring, and the media act as if there is no difference between a million and a billion dollars thrown at the military -- let alone the trillion-dollar projected cost of the Iraq war. That last figure is well documented in a solid study out of Harvard co-authored by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz but ignored by the mass media So too a recent authoritative report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office that, despite the $44.5 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars already poured into reconstruction, little detectable progress has been made in Iraq's crucial oil and electricity systems.
Remember when Paul Wolfowitz, then the Pentagon's resident neocon genius, assured Congress that Iraqi oil money would easily bear the entire cost of America's Iraqi adventure? Now the GAO tells us that, even after spending an additional $57 billion on the Iraqi oil and electricity infrastructure, and assuming peace is restored, Iraq would still not produce enough oil and electricity to meet local demand until the year 2015.
Aside from corruption and the lack of security, the biggest problem in supplying Iraq with electricity is that the national electrical grid has broken down, and different factions, divided largely along ethnic and religious lines, are grabbing what they can. This kind of anarchy is emblematic of the new, emerging Iraq, in which the central government has declining sway over the nation's decisions.
That latter point was underscored this week by Bush's happy-faced visit to a highly fortified and isolated American outpost in Anbar province. After posing gamely with the troops at the Al-Asad base, Bush celebrated the return of Sunni areas to the control of U.S.-armed militias -- composed largely of former insurgents who have at least temporarily decided that their Shiite rivals, currently in control of the central government, are a more pressing enemy than the American occupiers. Speaking of one such group of Sunnis trained by the Americans and dubbed the "Volunteers" by their instructors, a U.S. soldier told The Washington Post, "I think there is some risk of them being Volunteers by day and terrorists by night."
That is exactly what has occurred on the Shiite side, where anti-U.S. religious groups have completely infiltrated the American-trained Iraqi military and police forces. In Iraq's Shiite-controlled south, the domination of the military and police by the fiercely anti-American Madhi Army and other militias was ensured by the final withdrawal of British troops from Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and a vital center of oil production, on the same day that Bush visited Iraq. Instead of the liberated, united and democratic Iraq promised by this invasion, we are left with a nation ruled by religious fiefdoms sustained far into the future by U.S. taxpayers.
The French and the Germans, hoary veterans of various failed European adventures in imperialism, warned us about precisely this outcome. While U.S. troops spill blood to guard broken oil pipelines, the Chinese and others go merrily about the world buying up black gold on the open market. But hey, don't worry about your tax dollars and the waste of lives -- eat some freedom fries and learn, like our president, to keep smiling.
Originally posted at TruthDig.com
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SMILING US RIGHT IN TO IRAN !!
I subscibe to no religious doctrine- but I am starting to see a self fulfilling prophecy emerging fom the smoke & mirrors.
The 'Fat Lady' can come on stage NOW !!
This murderous/suicidal opera is over !!!
What infuriates me to no end is how our top elected Democrats act supremely confident that if they simply cave in to Bush, he will sink like a stone and bring the GOP along with him. They condescendingly dismiss critics of their self-proclaimed savvy, sophisticated approach as hopelessly naive or too politically obtuse to comprehend "how things work" in Washington.
If our Democratic leaders could take a pause in congratulating themselves on their tactical brilliance, they might notice that their strategy necessarily involves the continued deaths of U.S. soldiers and innocent Iraqis. Although they probably would deny it, I can't help but think that top Democrats are still terrified at the prospect of being called unpatriotic, America-haters, unwilling to "support the troops," blah, blah, blah.
In other words, Democratic leaders are willing to talk tough until the Republicans start saying black is white, up is down, the surge is working and all of the other bogus talking points they inevitably trot out.
Here's an idea: Instead of cowering and retreating at the first sign of criticism, how about pushing back? With vigor and passion? The beauty of this approach is that to do this, all you have to do is tell the truth. Call this administration on its lies, and don't be reluctant to call them exactly that.
Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich are the only Democratic candidates who come remotely close to doing this. If the top-tier candidates did the same, they might be surprised at the reaction. Instead of driving people away, they might find voters flocking to support a candidate who's willing to say that the emperor is buck naked. I know I would, but I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks for your hard and heavy report. Like you have laid it out, it's the only way to really tell it.
Emabarasses me for our national media, and what it's become.. Spineless, infected with a fear that has a rank STINK.
We got stuck in Nam and reeled and reeld in it until when we finally got out, it was like we'd been in a national drunken stupor, Fueled by napalm and the billions we spent trying to swat the enemy bug-beast; like we were intoxicated, messed up with the lives of so many young soldiers, wasted in the jungles. I remember with my soul the tinge of fear & horror listening to Morrison singing the Unknown Soldier... It touched deep in our national conscience. How could America allow anyone to benefit from such horror? What could be worse then a wasted life?
Over 57 thousand, Lord.
Of course they died honorably and like heroes. but there is a strong warning left by their souls that we'd better not ever do that again... Better not ever be so F*C#@D up we get stuck again, and go through that meatgrinder s#*t again.
This is why so many of us know we need to get out, and get the hell out now. Hell yeah, we could rock and roll on 'em till they're ALL friggin' dead!
But it's a loser's fight. A fight that has no kung fu, (inner truth) and no exit plan, either.
It has the capacity to pull Americans for generations behind it, and I dont want my kids paying the price 20 years from now, but it looks like its too late.
We need to pick our battles from here out, and exclusively fight them to win.
Thanks for given us facts and lining 'em out like our media obviously has NO BALLS to do, Robert.
Great post.
Look at the one thing going well in Iraq, and that is: the money continues to flow.
That is the only aspect that matters. That was the plan.
But follow the money, where is it going? Not to Iraq, not to the troops (they voted down their raise). The vast majority is going into the pockets of the war industry and oil companies. The bush/cheney/rumsfeld people.
THIS WAS THE GOAL. No Conspiracy. the war is not against terrorism, but is about robbing the American Taxpayers.
"...even after spending an additional $57 billion on the Iraqi oil and electricity infrastructure, and assuming peace is restored, Iraq would still not produce enough oil and electricity to meet local demand until the year 2015."
$60 BILLION (more) being spent on oil production infrastructure...meaning more heavily guarded tank farms, pipelines and production facilities - gun posts, mine fields, aviation support, barracks, underground ammunition depots, and every electronic goodie that Halliburton or Bechtel can convince Cheney that they need to control the production and disbursement of someone else's resource. You can be sure that, despite the GAO's nonpartisan oversight, Cheney is following - to the letter - the plans that he and his cohorts in the oil industry developed IN SECRET over seven years ago.
Not surprising are the reports coming out that confirm that Bush dismissed Tenet's reports in 2002 that underscored the fact that NO WMDs were in Iraq and that the NIE - AT BUSH'S DIRECTION - withheld that empiric information.
Jesus, these guys could rape a two year old goat on camera and their supporters would continue to whine about how the lefties pick on Georgie and Dickless.
Question of the day: what WOULD compel Pelosi/Reid to initiate impeachment proceedings?
Answer: No chance on the impeachment. Pelosi/Reid represent "Imperial America", not its citizens. Mr. Scheer is right, they are all about acquirring power. They will give to Bush all the rope he and his party need. Sen. Craig is just a bonus.
Only a complete and ignorant fool would think that The Iraqi fiasco would actually make for democracy,
That Iraq had anything to do with 9-11
That Iraq had WMDs
That our current policy in Iraq and Afghanistan will do anything except help recruit and create more religious extremists
That anything said by Bush, or the Republicans and most Dems is the truth.
Bush borrowed 2 trillion from China to hide the cost of the war.Which would allow the Chinese to crash the American comedy.
Do not trust ANY figures ,numbers,studies from the government because they take advantage of the scientific illiteracy of Americans and tell you what you want to hear or what puts them in a good light.
The lunatics are SO running the asylum.
If all of al qaeda is fighting in Iraq where did the German ones come from?.Combating terrorism is a police function,not a military one.If we follow W's lead then Germany should invade some totally irrelevant country next.The Dems are playing a dangerous game and abdicating their responsibility to the people to end this catastrophe.An aggressive attack on this house of cards that is the Republican front would topple it.I get ill when I hear McCain et al.keep defending this illegal invasion,his nukmbers are in the toilet and only need a flush,these madmen will extend the war to Iran as an end move.I agree with above writer,history may point to this as the turning point in America's power,but even dying wasps have a sting.
Thank you Mr. Scheer for another great post and great comments follow. Both political parties support American imperialism and will fund it(military), no questions asked. Let's talk NATO. The only pundit I have heard call for the elimination of this cold war dinasour is, of all people, Pat Buchanan. The United States keeps pushing eastward swallowing up small countries still in fear of the Soviet Union. What they don't understand is they are being occupied to protect their "democratically elected" chicken in charge. The question is, what is this costing us, the taxpayers, and what are the benefits? Is this all about the military/industrial complex? Someday this will all have to end, and we just might find ourselves in a hole we won't be able to get out of.
"we just might find ourselves in a hole we won't be able to get out of."
We are there right now.
President Bush voted WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.
Over five hundred college/university history professors took a poll of American Presidents and their legacy.
Bush was THE WORST, dead last.
America is paying the price for his ineptitude and careless fratboy leadership. He's got his ranch in South America to escape to, where do the citizens of America run to for relief? Shame on Bush and Cheney-cowards and yellow-bellys.
No, no. Shame on Republicans who would vote for a W, praise a Clarence Thomas, nominate a Harriet Miers, support a Gonzalez, pick a Dan Quayle...all to fool the voters they so flagrantly despise.
Their cynicism is pure treason. Are Democrats really so wicked as to justify any one of these promotings of incompetence into power? What made Strom Thurmond a welcome Republican, his way with the ladies?
I am sick to death about all the money that has been wasted in the name of George W's little war, but most of all I'm sick of all the young American lives that have been lost. While the military and all the agencies bicker over whose numbers are right in justifying this war, 8 MORE SOLDIERS DIED YESTERDAY !!! THAT'S 8 MORE SOLDIERS, 8 MORE FAMILIES !!! The press needs to launch its own all out assault and investigate this sham. Guess what? Chertoff said it yesterday - Osama and his bunch are still out there, and George W has not done anything to address THAT !! He's been too busy playing with his war buddies in Iraq. I want to scream at everyone - 8 MORE SOLDIERS DIED YESTERDAY, AND NOBODY NOTICED !!!!
What I resent is the fact that people go on and on about our soldiers, but there is little if any acknowledgement that thousands and thousands of Iraqis have been blown up, murdered and tortured, and massacred. Why do not Americans focus on that more? Denial or lack of caring? They are not from here? Women and children blown up? And why? Because of this administration and their lies. And for what? And for what?
Saddam Hussein? Really.
I do realize what has been unleashed in My name, I am a citizen of the USA and this war was started in my name weather I believed in or backed it is irrelevant to the rest of the world. My government started a stupid, illegal war and now after all these years and all this money and all these people that have had their lives torn apart we are still at the bottom.
Let us not only think of those killed, but also the huge number of people maimed. When they talk about Killed and Wounded the second number is always many times more than the first.
I am ashamed at what My country had allowed. What my Government had done and that my fellow Americans have not taken to the streets with pitchforks and torches to put a stop to this madness. Oh look something shiny on American Idol!
If we do not make a stand shortly the Blackwater Brownshirts will be up to speed and we will be under "Control'. Remember we are but one 'Terrorist Attack' away from martial law and a never-ending Bush Government of the Corporation, by the Corporation and for the Corporation. "Let them eat cake!" (Made in China.)
Viva la Revolution.
I agree with sadnmadinvirginia. I feel depressed and feel hopelessness and impotent in my ability to do anything about it.
Iraq in many ways, is a far worse nightmare than the 9/11 which sparked this insane war. At least with 9/11 there was some sense of honor and nobility in America and its people. But Bush twisted that into this mechanized disease he so believes in. Keep smiling all the way to hell Mr. Bush.
It looks like the U.S. strategy in Iraq may soon go full circle.
We invaded to overthrow one Sunni dictator, and now we are taking sides with the Sunnis in the civil war, for the purpose of what, to install a different Sunni dictator?
We have historically helped to install dictators all over the world, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out a plausible (to Fox News) way of installing one more.
Quite possibly. Perhaps Bush realizes (four years too late) that there was and is value in maintaining a balance in the region between the Sunni and Shi'i nations. Bush's invasion and toppling Saddam destroyed that balance that had benefitted the US for fifty years.
Our current course can only result in a Shi'i-dominated Iraq which will be, to some degree, an ally of Iran and no friend of the US. That will make Iran the dominant force in the region, replacing the loose alliance among the Saudis, Jordan and Egypt that has been the dominant political force.
Perhaps breaking up Iraq into Shi'i, Sunni and Kurdish states is the only strategic answer left to the US. The Kurds are likely to be friendly to the US, if we can keep them from openly fighting Turkey. The Sunni state will be no friend of the US but at least they can serve as a balance to the Shi'i state. The Shi'i state will be a client of Iran but at least a smaller client than all of Iraq.
When international criminals can steal, rape and kill hiding behind the rule of law, it is time to ignore that rule of law and drag the Bush scoundrels physically out of their hiding and stand them up against the wall. This is what 70% of Americans are thinking. Why haven't the Generals acted to save this country with a coup, before this madman invades Iran to justify establishing Marshall Law and canceling all elections indefinitely. Bush & Co. know the 2008 elections will be the end of their power, and Bush's financial backers are not about to let lose of the golden goose.
what on earth possessed me to read this crushing column right before bedtime? leave it bob to tell the raw truth. at least when historians look back at the collapse of the USA, it will be a well-documented one.
Relax, the plan is still salvageable. Big oil will coerce the Iraqi government to comply with abusive oil contracts through threats to withdraw U.S. troops, courtesy of the American public. The Bush administration will continue to promise security to the Iraqis, if and only if they will sign abusive oil contracts. When they sign, and they will or be replaced with somebody who will, the whole argument for maintaining troops in Iraq will change from supporting a fledgling democracy to protecting American interests in Iraqi oil.
The only problem remaining is that the Iraqis are not as stupid as the American public seems to be. As they deal with a sectarian split over distribution of oil revenues, they are more importantly dealing with how big a pie they will be splitting. If they sell out to Cheney"s pals, they will get a pie of 20% of total oil revenues. If they hold out maybe they can get more, but the security and political situation argues that they can"t develop their own domestic production operation which could net 100%.
Tough call. I"m guessing that they will just wait and see what the next government of the U.S. is going to be like. Maybe either the rock or the hard place that they are between will get more comfortable. Bush washes his hands, to his way of thinking, and we foot the bill.
Welcome to an America run by corporations. Sucks doesn"t it?
"the whole argument for maintaining troops in Iraq will change from supporting a fledgling democracy to protecting American interests in Iraqi oil."
That is NOT a change. That is what we have right now. American presence in Iraq will NEVER be acceptable. America is a criminal trying to steal Iraqi oil, and thus this adventure can NEVER be salvaged.
Right you are Marlyn, but no one is admiting that it is for oil right now and that democracy thing is a cover story.
The "salvage" was a joke, perhaps too dry.
Oh, and like the dems KNOW the difference between a million and a billion...give me a break.
"A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money." attributed to Sen. Dirksen.
More to the point, people talking about whether it's democraps or repuglicans need to begin looking for a way out of this mess that our "two-party system" has gotten us into. While third party runs at national elections (and most local & state elections) are chimerical at best it may be possible for people to push forward the idea of single transferable vote / choice voting. Wherein a voter votes for all the candidates or parties in the race in order of preference.
The D&R hacks will denounce it as violating the supposed "one white propertied man , one white propertied man vote". But, it may be an easier sell than selling personalities of the minor parties. It would also give the minor parties a truer understanding of their latent strength, expose the weakness of the two dominating parties, and most importantly re-enable and re-empower the voter.
A chapter that will eventually be written and not forgotten, will be the Democratic funding of everything Bush in IRAQ. Democratic incumbents must pay heavily for this disaster.
Here's a handshake over the miles, Mr. Scheer.
The Liar-in-Chief's criminal misadventure in Iraq is surreal. Not only is it a military sinkhole--it's an economic sinkhole as well.
I certainly share your outrage at the Iraq fiasco, and I have opposed it from the beginning. It had already become apparent that Bush's decision to overthrow Saddam was as absurd and unthinkable as the trite but apt comparison of the frying pan calling the kettle filthy.
Bush's problem now is that he cannot or will not understand that Iraq will not have a central government anytime soon, and trying to recreate one when only the Administration wants one is spitting into the wind. Can't happen.
As for the Democratic Party, it is probably dangerous to intervene in Iraq at the Party level. Iraq cannot be salvaged by election day, and Democrats will be branded as the party that abandoned Iraq if it forces Bush to get out.
Our choices are horrible for the time being unless Bush takes it upon himself to follow the lead of the U.K.
There"s a reason Bush"s plan will meet with failure.
Because in a democracy, the majority of people rule, and in Iraq over 60% of the population is Shiite. Unlike the rats defecting from the GOP sinking ship, that demographic"s not going to change dramatically any time soon.
So while siding with the minority party the Sunnis, only 30% of their country"s population, might seem the humanitarian thing to do for this country, and certainly seems a welcome affiliation for the beleaguered Sunnis who will take any help they can get, perhaps hoping to reclaim power and oil, it counters everything democracy is about.
The majority rule, Mr. Bush. And it a year and a half when we oust your wretched ilk from the Oval office, you"ll understand that divine right had an expiration date. And the next time you decide to invade a nation, you best check with your people who exactly comprises the electorate. If it"s a country of impoverished, angry oppressed people who have put their trust in their god above government, don"t expect them to embrace the puppets you try to put into place.
We"re backing a losing horse. A dog that won"t run. A deposed aristocracy, like the Romanovs hoping to reinstill a semblance of order. But it"s too late. The peasants have tastes freedom, the Bastille has been busted open, and the Queens head was snapped on You Tube. The Shia are in power and won"t relinquish it, nor should they. They are the majority party. So leave them the fuck alone or stop using the term "democracy", because you clearly don"t understand its meaning.
Why Is This Man Smiling?
in 15 months it will be someone else's problem.
~
The Smiler in Cheif and the Vice scowler have dragged this country to the brink of disaster, not only are the Chinese buying up oil they also continue to buy up our debt.
Spending more money in Iraq is nothing less than Treason. It is wholesale aiding and abetting our enemies over there. It is destroying our Country. It is evedence for the U.N. to begin proceedings of War Crimes against our President and this Administration. We Need Health Care. We need Teachers paid more. We need Schools fully equipt to give our children the tools for learning real life skills to achieve living wage jobs. We need Bridges fixed. Roads repair. Water treatment plants updated. Sewer systems replaced/repared. We needleadership to govern this country towards a Democracy, away from Fascism, and quit asserting our military and corporate forces in other countries! This Government is nothing but full of Crooks, Criminals, and Racketeers.
NO MORE WAR!
Close all the US bases around the world, and bring the troops home (ALL of THEM)! We need them here.
The unexplanable irony of all this is that self described "conservatives" actually support the Iraq fiasco and Bush.
There is nothing conservative about this tragedy. It is radical and it is obscene. That's what US conservatism has become.
Bush and Bush Inc. (Halliburton, et al) are laughing all the way to the bank. The blood on the hands washes out when you're on the world stage.
Fighting this war on the cheap has proven to be spectacularly expensive, and a conspiracy theorist might argue they meant it so. Like their efforts to "starve the beast," throwing money down rat holes tends to ruin the social services they are charged to administrate.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are different from you and I, and he might have been writing about the Bush family. Their messes are always swept under the rug. Their friends excuse them their trespasses unlike those that trespass against them (Democrats) who strive howsoever weakly for accountability.
This mess in Iraq, this mess in New Orleans, these bridges to nowhere that waste money to repair bridges to somewhere, these are the tangible, emblematic scenes of misadministration. We have a government full of worst case scenarios gone worse.
We can only pray that the Democrats will summon the willpower and votes to return the Bushies to the private sector where their families can cushion their defeats and use influence to buy them new lives whenever necessary.
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their m
Posted September 5, 2007 | 07:05 PM (EST)