Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Last Straw

Well, this is the last straw for me. I'm finished, done. This man has betrayed just about every purpose I had in voting for him. Latest: Obama is going to send another 34,000 troops to that hell hole in Afghanistan. For what purpose, you ask? For no purpose other than the man in charge cannot step up to the mark that he himself set, i.e., be a president who stands for peace. Hell, what is the difference between this guy and George Bush when it comes to war? No difference that makes any difference to me, that's for sure. I cannot believe we are going to kick this tar baby with our other leg. We've already got two arms and a leg already caught. Does this guy know anything about Vietnam and LBJ? He got handed an unwinnable war and, against his instincts let it take him over. Isn't this exactly what's happening here? How can this undoubtedly intelligent guy be so stupid? Does he seriously think that this time a foreign army is going to succeed in subduing the people of Afghanistan who have beaten every invader for the last 2,500 years?

You might want to listen to this excellent radio piece (23 min.) on this subject. Interview with reporter Gareth Porter. Highlights:
  • "Obama is LBJ all over again." He was handed a war by the national security state, and his advisers hamstring him into signing on to the ongoing war.
  • There's no rational explanation for this decision. This is just what the national security state does. 
  • "Too much power makes you stupid." -- Applies directly to the U.S. military, the most powerful institution in American society.
  • U.S. Army doctrine: "This is the era of persistent warfare." U.S. will be fighting these kinds of wars for the "foreseeable future." 
I frankly don't care what Obama is going to say on Tuesday night when he's going on TV to explain, doubtless in his most mellifluous tone and shiny rhetoric,  his rationale for escalation of this horrid war that's now in its 9th year. I'm not even going to watch. Let this post mark my official washing of my hands of this administration, which has done nothing but consistently back off  the progressive agenda upon which it was elected. He's trimmed on health care, on the environment, on rollback of the Patriot Act, on prosecution of the torturers, on punishment of the Wall Street criminals. And worst of all in my book, he's given unequivocal proof that he's just going to be another tool of the Pentagon. Eight years and hundreds of billions of dollars, almost 1,000 deaths, and he's going to increase the troops in Afghanistan by another 34,000??? This is absolute fucking madness!

5 comments:

Montag said...

Unlax and chill!

It's only the military-industrial-political complex up to their old shenanigans.
It makes total sense to me that we should spend more in the effort to round-up a coupla thousand wierd beards in the desert than we did when nose-to-nose with the USSR.

Good article on your topic:
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/10/qa-eugene-jarecki-talks-about-the-american-way-of-war.html

Anyhow................
I ducked over here for a breather...pant! pant!
things are busy in the kitchen and there are fights spilling out of the blog onto the streets.

May you and family have a good holiday.

Montag said...

...and it is madness because that's the only logical way left for us.

When we invaded in 2001 with total world support, it was over in two months.
That's no war you can support the military-industrial-political complex with. No way. A pittance.

On the other hand, if you totally ignore the place afterwards, and let the opium grow wild, and let the Taliban sneak back in, now you have a right and proper war.
Ought to cost in the trillions! That's a war for ya!

Unknown said...

And the very best of holidays to you and yours also, my friend. I will try not to think about all the Americans who will never have another Thanksgiving with their families because they've given their lives for the Empire in some God-forsaken mid-East hell hole.

Montag said...

Would you take some time and look at this fellow:

http://www.stiftungleostrauss.com/bunker/?p=2425

I have him on my links, spirit of zossen 2, and I think you may find him interesting.

Unknown said...

He's on my list. Thanks for turning me on to him.