Veterans Care...

The Iraq story just took a turn that many had foreseen, the care of the injured soldiers as a measure of how much this Administration and ruling political party really care about the heroes of their war in Iraq. The first middle east war was far more righteous following the incursion into Kuwait but the treatment of gulf syndrome as a political football bothered a lot of people...this one shocks the conscience of a nation.
Yet we have really seen this before, once taken away from creating political divisions, this group has not shown an adequate ability to manage. It boasts often of the contracting out of it's work but rarely of it's own demonstrable achievements in management. Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans showed that even in a crisis that takes lives of innocent Americans, political considerations remain at the top of the agenda and the costly hours spent on how to create political gain in Louisiana in the face of the killer storm has come to light and may not go away.
This administration also gets very high marks for its news management and even from the ridiculous spectacle of "embedded reporters" in the Iraq invasion to now, they have shown excellence in keeping certain news items in a narrower range than expected or due...this will be a test given the new makeup of Congress. Shabby treatment of wounded soldiers makes the pro-military positions and attitudes seem like something completely insincere.

More Hiding Behiond the Troops

Don't they have enough to do...trying to keep count of things in Iraq: tons of money, tons of weapons and Munitions; tons of terrorists bent on attacking the U.S.( they really say this stuff); keeping track of who is whom in a layer caked civil war;.... and now ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT they have to protect the politicians who blundered into this mess. Yes we cannot even debate the war and its civilian management or the hundreds of billions that we have been ordered to spend BECAUSE..it would be disloyal to the troops... now why didn't i think of this ..in my own life...got a bill at MasterCard that you can't pay..send in some troops and nobody should even mention it again...might discourage the troops.. OK...enough said. Our troops deserve the benfits of the democratic process they the so bravely defend including debate and the will of the people on the important question of wheter we go to war. I think the real problem is that people will become so cynical from hearing this lame brained stuff that they really will stop thinking about our service people..who are not part of the money grab in Iraq nor the politics of wars for elections... .

Hiding Behind the Troops

Americans love and support its military...no, not the billionaires that have been created by the spending associated with the Iraq invasion...the real troops --your children and mine who serve. We want them to be safe and back home after doing the brave parts to protect our country. The civil war in Iraq is a threat to world peace. True and the nations of the world should be fixing it. Now service in Iraq was directed by a civilian non-combatant and now it is proposed that if anyone disagrees with the civilian decisions on Iraq THEY ARE DISLOYAL TO THE TROOPS.... Well... Imagine you are the survivor of a soldier killed in Iraq and you oppose the war...so this is a disloyal person? or you gave up a child in Vietnam..disloyal now? And who is making this loyalty call... probably a man who never served in combat or one who is simply hiding behind the troops for political convenience. There is a shamelessness to this which is appalling in the context of the sacrifices this nation has made to pursue what history may properly regard as a "folly" in Iraq- a policy that had virtually no chance of success from its start...unless you consider the re-election of Bush and GOP domination of government as success ... to most hardly.

If Iraq recovers then what

What does it mean to Americans if Iraq pulls itself back into a path towards peace and civil order? Victory? Well this might be the most shallow victory pool in the history of the country even less rewarding than Reagan's stunning triumph over Grenada. A success in Iraq would mean mercifully that a few troops might return before Bush leaves office unless they move on to Iran. It might mean increased oil production and higher prices... nothing like peace or war to drive up oil prices and Iraq needs money to rebuild where they can pick the contractors.
And in America the Republican Party would stick out its Elephant and claim credit, the military would be in for more praise than we could give; and President Bush would be hailed as the greatest President of all for defeating the nation that attacked us on 9/11 with video of operation Thunder and Awe embedded like newsmen during the invasion. Still for most Americans it would not resonate... 600 Billion dollars could have changed life here for the better( except for that rule against Americans helping each other to better lives) but now it is a mountain of debt that will be felt and then when the new Iraq charges us $3.00/gallon...whew!

Can Iraq Save Itself?

Perhaps with a typical error of focus we look at Iraq as political or military theater: as a contest of interest to the U.S. domestic political agenda. Iraq is also a home to millions with little connection to the U.S. except that we have seized control of a part of their physical place with our military, displaced an autocrat, and have presented them with an opportunity to select government leaders. The civil war-- that has gripped the country almost as soon as the U.S. military deposed Saddam has apparently worsened and has had a dreadful cost in lives and casualties-- has had little to do with global forces but rather with the willingness of a population to find a common interest in security. Thus far a significant number of people have actively engaged and a more significant number seem to acquiesce in the cycle of violence/vengeance among warring factions. As with Saddam, one faction seems in control of the Government...people are treated with regard to their ethnic or religious affiliation. It is unclear how much effort from the U.S. and allies has been aimed at fostering understanding and civil acceptance among these groups... but that would seem far more useful than more weapons or more soldiers...or a new front against Iran. The elements for an ascendant nation of Iraq are in place... but it remains: Can they stop the violence and save their country?

Now On to Iran

Time tested formula...lose political support: start shooting. Or if your only tool is a hammer then treat all of your problems like nails. Any way it is seen, the US has taken the first step towards a round of hostilities with pre-nuclear Iran. And there is the obvious sarcasm that it must be done now before the window of opportunity to hammer a non-nuclear opponent disappears. So far the war/Republican election cycle has avoided nuclear opponents: Grenada, Panama, Iraq #1, Iraq#2. We have avoided Cuba, Somalia, Kenya, the Balkans and a host of others. So far the Democrats have not joined in...they seemed to have learned something from Vietnam.
For all of its success the war in Iraq has deteriorated into a civil war which cannot be disguised in the western press as anything resembling a military conflict. The US has armed one side intentionally but may have armed both over the years. Now i it is to be on the Iran there is a flimsy pretext that is more compelling than the WMD nonsense that preceded Iraq, we have put soldiers in the theater and now we must protect them. That will provide a surface plausibility until the decision to begin withdrawing by which time we could be fully and deeply engaged in Iran. The Public has lost confidence in the Bush Administration and this could be a test of the power of thew presidency of an historic proportion.

China and the Test

One result of the commitment of the U.S. Government to Iraq and Iran is that there is a vast opening for China and Europe to move forward and expand their respective areas of influence. China has taken bold and constructive(Darfur) steps in Africa. China has also moved ahead with its missile defense program. China may have determined that it needed to separate itself from the class of nations which could be blinded by US air power in the initial stages of an attack or an invasion..in the post Iraq world nearly every nation might reasonably regard the U.S as a potential aggressor per the Bush self defense doctrine. China now has tested the Bush Space defense doctrine and has clearly challenged the U.S. to back its policy of aggression against any potential threat to its use of space. China is now such a threat... but so is France and Britain..the doctrine is so broad it simply provides a pretext for a potential use of force or a selective aggression. China is simply too powerful to fall prey to the kind of in-your face build up and action in Iraq I and II. The U.S. then in part because it has exhausted its resources in the middle east is even poorly positioned to put on a show of force. So finally it seems the U.S. under Bush will have to negotiate with an equal and find a bloodless accommodation to sharing a resource : near Space. Obviously there will be difficulties but technology has pushed us further and further into near space so the resource itself is potentially unlimited.

2008 Clinton- Obama and the Buzz

The dream ticket for 2008 could be Clinton- Obama because these two will dominate the press in the big cities like no other two candidates on either side. They will also dominate international press coverage of the race...so why is this important... 2008 might become the year of the Buzz. The year when a presidential election got fully saturated in the modern media mix which has a new center of gravity in cyberspace.
Video on the web,news on the web, opinion on the web... the Republicans and their shock jock radio saturation...so big in 2004...might not be a blip on the screen in 2008. This might cost in the repeat -after- me -Republican voter machinery...what I call the cloning planet ( ..like in Star Wars..the Clone Army..never mind) radio was used to pound home the most emotion filled diatribes about Democrats, taxes, abortion, and anti gay stuff that perhaps occurred in the entire cycle. Those listeners may now be at their computers or You Tube, MySpace, Skype TV or on their PC phones or listening to techno or gospel on subscription radio while driving... point is the news coverage will matter because it is more difficult to purchase and it could even be... (gasp) news driven... go figure....

Iraq Is Not Vietnam

Iraq is not Vietnam...Iraq is a nation with a huge amount of a critical resource..its role in international commerce will not be overstated rather it emerges as the world turns to more and deeper energy needs. Iran -its dominant neighbor- is energy starved and seemingly bent on regional domination - so Iraq is not Vietnam it is far more critical to world peace. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has been a success. It appears the primary goals have been met: It was a foundation for the reelection of Bush, it provided tens of billions in profits to firms linked or closely linked to the Republican party; it still as the potential to deliver scores of billions in the future to businesses and individuals with ties to the Party and to enhance its fundraising apparatus. The destruction of Saddam was an incidental benefit fitting in with the theory that he or his government was responsible for the terror attacks on 9/11... a belief still held by millions of Americans. There have been economic benefits to the economy as a whole from the spending of an additional 3-400 Billion for the war. The conditions in Iraq were ultimately intended to be the bragging points for the 2008 election based on U.S. military dominance...this seems in doubt at this time but there is still time for change. The war of course crowds out domestic spending especially in States and cities with effective Democratic voting bases. The problem for the Republican Party may be in getting out of Iraq on a schedule consistent with the 2008 elections and the next generation of conflicts which might appear to be useful in the future. Iraq it appears has been far more useful than Vietnam in the context of domestic politics.