August 2004

August 31, 2004

Sumbitch Finally Tells The Truth...

...and this is the thanks he gets?

In an interview on NBC-TV's Today show, Bush vowed to stay the course in the war on terror, saying perseverance in the battle would make the world safer for future generations. But he suggested an all-out victory against terrorism might not be possible.

Asked "Can we win?" Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the -- those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."

...

"The war on terrorism is absolutely winnable," [John] Edwards said later on ABC's Nightline.

...

"To suggest that the war on terror can't be won is absolutely unacceptable," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Hey John? Hey Joe? Go (to paraphrase the Vice President) fuck yourselves. Not only was the President correct in stating that the "war" cannot be won, but to "suggest" that the "war" should be won, on the terms the Democrats find "acceptable" (bombing, shooting, and torturing innocent civilians; occupying sovereign nations and re-writing their economic laws while serving as de facto guarantor of Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestine; firing off hundreds of tonnes of radiological munitions and developing a new generation of "useable" nuclear weapons for future use against the "bad guys"; destroying homes of "suspected" "insurgents"; holding detainees indefinitely without charge, or simply offing "suspected" "terrorists" on sight; laying siege to whole cities, and razing them to the ground; "allying" with savage dictators, warlords, and fundamentalist regimes -- even those responsible for wanton nuclear proliferation; "spanning the globe" with dozens of military bases; staging coups d'etat against elected leaders; destroying peasants' lives and livelihoods via chemical warfare, in the name of fighting "narco-terrorists") is a fucking travesty.

You want to "win" the "War On Terror", Joe? How about putting on Dubya's fucking flight suit, setting your ass in a bomber, and getting to work using these methods against the world's most dangerous terrorist state -- namely, the USA? You think that would be "acceptable" to the American people, fuckhole?

No? Then why should it be "acceptable" to any other people? Why should we be surprised when they resist?

August 27, 2004

Hey, At Least It Ain't Dresden!

As reported by the Post, there's a healthy debate among troops of the US Army's 5th Calvary about what Najaf looks like:

"It's like Stalingrad," a senior 5th Cavalry officer said.

"Sarajevo," (Lt. Col. Jim) Rainey maintained.

"Beirut," a Marine commander said.

"Not Dresden," an Army field officer said while standing watch at a panorama of blackened, half-destroyed buildings a few dozen yards north of the glittering shrine. "Not enough fire."

Later in the article, there is a strong contender for the war's Most Ironic (or most Idiotic?) Statement, courtesy of Maj. Scott Jackson:

"The way you defeat an insurgency is by co-opting the population. You don't end an insurgency by leveling the city."

August 20, 2004

Gooooooooooal

So George Bush is touting the success of the Iraqi soccer team at the '04 Olympics in a campaign ad and on the stump. But the players ain't down with that shit. Midfielder Ahmed Manajid said that if he weren't playing soccer, he'd "for sure" be part of the resistance. (Read: killing Americans.)

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign. He can find another way to advertise himself."

-- Midfielder Salih Sadir

"How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women? He has committed so many crimes."

-- Midfielder Ahmed Manajid

"My problems are not with the American people. They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?"

-- Coach Adnan Hamad

"I want the violence and the war to go away from the city (Najaf). We don't wish for the presence of Americans in our country. We want them to go away. I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists? Everyone [in Fallujah] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq."

-- Midfielder Ahmed Manajid

August 18, 2004

He Gets It

Although about 9 out of 10 Republicans apparently still believe the earth is flat, at least one Republican House member sees that the earth is, in fact, round. Good on ya, Mr. Bereuter (R - Nebraska).

Bereuter: War in Iraq not justified

Bereuter pointed to a list of negative consequences arising from the war.

"The cost in casualties is already large and growing," he said, "and the immediate and long-term financial costs are incredible.

"From the beginning of the conflict, it was doubtful that we for long would be seen as liberators, but instead increasingly as an occupying force.

"Now we are immersed in a dangerous, costly mess, and there is no easy and quick way to end our responsibilities in Iraq without creating bigger future problems in the region and, in general, in the Muslim world."

August 10, 2004

On the Wrong Side

The New York Times' David Johnston and David Sanger report that a new generation of leaders is emerging for Al Qaeda, with "upper ranks being filled with lower ranking members and more recent recruits," and that "the organization is regenerating and bringing in new blood."

The article highlights the fundamental problem with the current "War on Terror": We will always lose fighting it on the supply side. No matter how many countries we bomb, or sovereign nations we invade and occupy, or prisoners we detain in gulags around the world, there will be thousands of people lining up to do America harm, until we address the demand side.

Based on a recent Zogby poll of Arab views of the United States, it would seem to start with a sensible foreign policy:

"In 2002, the single policy issue that drove opinion was the Palestinians; now it's Iraq and America's treatment, here and abroad, of Arabs and Muslims," said James Zogby, who commissioned the report with the Arab American Institute.

In Zogby's 2002 survey, 76 percent of Egyptians had a negative attitude toward the United States, compared with 98 percent this year. In Morocco, 61 percent viewed the country unfavorably in 2002, but in two years, that number has jumped to 88 percent. In Saudi Arabia, such responses rose from 87 percent in 2002 to 94 percent in June. Attitudes were virtually unchanged in Lebanon but improved slightly in the UAE, from 87 percent who said in 2002 that they disliked the United States to 73 percent this year.

Those polled said their opinions were shaped by U.S. policies, rather than by values or culture. When asked: "What is the first thought when you hear 'America'?" respondents overwhelmingly said: "Unfair foreign policy."

And when asked what the United States could do to improve its image in the Arab world, the most frequently provided answers were "Stop supporting Israel" and "Change your Middle East policy."