Slouching towards a Pyrric victory
I think that this will have to be my last Watch for a while. It has been fun for me, and therapeutic in some ways, but I think I am in danger of losing my proper emotional perspective, especially now that people are dying. Thanks to everyone for the articles and the notes of encouragement. After this last set is archived, I will probably continue to add resources. In the meantime, keep visiting mediawhoresonline.com, dailyhowler.com, democraticunderground.com, americanpolitics.com, buzzflash.com, smirkingchimp.com, americaheldhostile.com, liberaloasis.com, talkingpointsmemo.com, atrios.blogspot.com, hismodernworld.com, digbysblog.blogspot.com, uggabugga.blogspot.com, tbogg.blogspot.com, tompaine.com, consortiumnews.com, makethemaccountable.com, legitgov.org, Gregpalast.com, barrycrimmins.com, whitehouse.org and the- hamster.com for news you can use. I will most likely try to find a different positive outlet for my energy, maybe signing on to help out a doomed but noble cause, like trying to help Dean get elected. I've got such a tremendous backlog of links to get to - regarding the details of how Florida was stolen in 2000, of the energy price gouging of California, about the Afghani oil pipeline, about Al Gore myths, about Whitewater, Bush nepotism, missile defense, media bias, etc. They will have to wait.
Some more random thoughts:
We will probably sooner rather than later "win" this war, and then our troubles will really begin. The people who actually know something about the middle east and policy agreed that we would win the war easily (how wrong they were), but that after that there would be real trouble. What exactly is our policy for re-structuring Iraq? Does anyone know? Now that we cannot count on the Iraqi populace to be happy we are there, we will have only two choices if we get rid of Saddam: to leave immediately, creating a power vacuum, civil war, and internal strife, or to stay as armed occupiers, suppressing the population. Obviously the second choice is more practical from the Bush administration's point of view, as they will not admit their error in getting us into this, and they wanted to occupy Iraq (as welcome or unwelcome conquerors) all along. So, we will occupy it. There will be horrible stories of our troops committing atrocities against the civilian population, because they will be frightened of the guerilla attacks which will continue there. Our troops will be acting as a police force, something they are not trained for and for which the armed forces have always been reluctant to do. And what will the good of it be? We might not have been able to afford to occupy Iraq even with a happy and complacent population (it is, as people never get tired of saying, as big as California or France), but with a hostile population it will be a big financial drain on us. We have painted ourselves into a horrible, Pyrric victory.
On a not-entirely-unrelated topic, this country relies heavily on foreign investment to keep our economy running. Since numbnuts has antagonized the entire rest of the world, foreign investment in the US has been dropping like a stone. Good job, Dim Son.
While I was out of town, I saw a couple minutes of a show on one of the cable news networks. It was a classic example of the wish-fulfillment philosophy which drives our self-delusional executive branch and media. The topic of the segment, which seemed to be a financial show, was "Will the War in Iraq Cure our Economy?" Why not? This war will bring peace to the Middle East, make us safe forever, and get rid of Saddam, leaving behind only a minty fresh taste. Why shouldn't it cure our economy, too? And in the end, isn't that a brilliant plan from our commander-in-chief? Making it look like he couldn't care less about our economic woes and driving us into a war he wouldn't even budget for, and then using that war to cure our economy? Brilliant, and unsuspected.
Finally, as we continue to see our fellow Americans harassing people who would work for peace (and shooting them, shouting at them, driving 18 wheelers at them, trying to get them fired, etc.) (not to mention the little petty dictators filling minor positions of power like local police officers and security guards, to whom the fascistic stench of this administration is a sweet call to hassle anyone they want), I'd like to ask why the concept of "supporting the troops" has been stolen and is now synonymous with "supporting the war". If I hear one more person tell me I have to "support the troops", my head will split in half and what is left of my brain will run away shrieking. Peace activists need to take this phrase back by adding it to their signs. Things like "I support the troops - bring them home NOW!" or "We want our troops alive". Pro-war advocates need to be pushed into changing their signs from "I support the troops" to "I support the war", which is really more honest, and keeps everyone from attacking the peace protestors - at least it ramps down the rhetoric. The rightwing hate- talk radio shows are going to have a lot of American blood on their hands before this is all over. Good luck and stay safe everybody!
Operation False Pretense Watch
A Buzzflash editorial on this "perfect war".
If At First You Don't Succeed, Rig the Game (Kobiashi Maru) Watch
Last summer, the pentagon played some war games out against a simulated Saddam. It turns out that the play commander of the Iraqi forces used cunning and creativity to create problems for the US forces in the war game. At one point, he sank their ships with suicide bombs. No problem, said the commanders, who stopped the simulation and "re- floated" the blue ships. No wonder we thought Iraq would be a cakewalk. So much for not underestimating your foe.
The Road to Baghdad Watch
As we face the growing horrors of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and more Iraqis are "freed" from the burden of breathing, it looks as if we may never have really had a plan for sacking Baghdad. We thought the game would be up by the time we got there. And now we may face conquering that city without a plan. Let's hope the reports of our hubris have been greatly exaggerated . . .
Mark Morford on collateral damage.
Thugs Watch
William Rivers Pitt on "Our Flag, Too".
Propaganda Watch
This is one of the most worthwhile little essays ever written. Print it out and keep it handy as you sift through the "news". A must for every moron that ever picked up a paper:
1984 Watch
It turns out we are actually fighting WWIV, which will last for years and years, against Iran, Iraq, Syria, Al Qaeda, and others to be named later. Oh. Well, I guess it must be true then. We have always been at war with Eurasia . . .
Voice of Reason Watch
Here is an amazing article, covering many facets of the world's reaction to the US through the lens of our invasion.
Some more random thoughts:
We will probably sooner rather than later "win" this war, and then our troubles will really begin. The people who actually know something about the middle east and policy agreed that we would win the war easily (how wrong they were), but that after that there would be real trouble. What exactly is our policy for re-structuring Iraq? Does anyone know? Now that we cannot count on the Iraqi populace to be happy we are there, we will have only two choices if we get rid of Saddam: to leave immediately, creating a power vacuum, civil war, and internal strife, or to stay as armed occupiers, suppressing the population. Obviously the second choice is more practical from the Bush administration's point of view, as they will not admit their error in getting us into this, and they wanted to occupy Iraq (as welcome or unwelcome conquerors) all along. So, we will occupy it. There will be horrible stories of our troops committing atrocities against the civilian population, because they will be frightened of the guerilla attacks which will continue there. Our troops will be acting as a police force, something they are not trained for and for which the armed forces have always been reluctant to do. And what will the good of it be? We might not have been able to afford to occupy Iraq even with a happy and complacent population (it is, as people never get tired of saying, as big as California or France), but with a hostile population it will be a big financial drain on us. We have painted ourselves into a horrible, Pyrric victory.
On a not-entirely-unrelated topic, this country relies heavily on foreign investment to keep our economy running. Since numbnuts has antagonized the entire rest of the world, foreign investment in the US has been dropping like a stone. Good job, Dim Son.
While I was out of town, I saw a couple minutes of a show on one of the cable news networks. It was a classic example of the wish-fulfillment philosophy which drives our self-delusional executive branch and media. The topic of the segment, which seemed to be a financial show, was "Will the War in Iraq Cure our Economy?" Why not? This war will bring peace to the Middle East, make us safe forever, and get rid of Saddam, leaving behind only a minty fresh taste. Why shouldn't it cure our economy, too? And in the end, isn't that a brilliant plan from our commander-in-chief? Making it look like he couldn't care less about our economic woes and driving us into a war he wouldn't even budget for, and then using that war to cure our economy? Brilliant, and unsuspected.
Finally, as we continue to see our fellow Americans harassing people who would work for peace (and shooting them, shouting at them, driving 18 wheelers at them, trying to get them fired, etc.) (not to mention the little petty dictators filling minor positions of power like local police officers and security guards, to whom the fascistic stench of this administration is a sweet call to hassle anyone they want), I'd like to ask why the concept of "supporting the troops" has been stolen and is now synonymous with "supporting the war". If I hear one more person tell me I have to "support the troops", my head will split in half and what is left of my brain will run away shrieking. Peace activists need to take this phrase back by adding it to their signs. Things like "I support the troops - bring them home NOW!" or "We want our troops alive". Pro-war advocates need to be pushed into changing their signs from "I support the troops" to "I support the war", which is really more honest, and keeps everyone from attacking the peace protestors - at least it ramps down the rhetoric. The rightwing hate- talk radio shows are going to have a lot of American blood on their hands before this is all over. Good luck and stay safe everybody!
Operation False Pretense Watch
A Buzzflash editorial on this "perfect war".
If At First You Don't Succeed, Rig the Game (Kobiashi Maru) Watch
Last summer, the pentagon played some war games out against a simulated Saddam. It turns out that the play commander of the Iraqi forces used cunning and creativity to create problems for the US forces in the war game. At one point, he sank their ships with suicide bombs. No problem, said the commanders, who stopped the simulation and "re- floated" the blue ships. No wonder we thought Iraq would be a cakewalk. So much for not underestimating your foe.
The Road to Baghdad Watch
As we face the growing horrors of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and more Iraqis are "freed" from the burden of breathing, it looks as if we may never have really had a plan for sacking Baghdad. We thought the game would be up by the time we got there. And now we may face conquering that city without a plan. Let's hope the reports of our hubris have been greatly exaggerated . . .
Mark Morford on collateral damage.
Thugs Watch
William Rivers Pitt on "Our Flag, Too".
Propaganda Watch
This is one of the most worthwhile little essays ever written. Print it out and keep it handy as you sift through the "news". A must for every moron that ever picked up a paper:
1984 Watch
It turns out we are actually fighting WWIV, which will last for years and years, against Iran, Iraq, Syria, Al Qaeda, and others to be named later. Oh. Well, I guess it must be true then. We have always been at war with Eurasia . . .
Voice of Reason Watch
Here is an amazing article, covering many facets of the world's reaction to the US through the lens of our invasion.