Current Events Watch

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, 8:46 AM. George W. Bush observed a moment of silence in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. That’s cool. Any time Bush is silent, that’s a good thing. Even if for a moment.

Of course, later in the day he was babbling about why we need to be in Iraq because of what happened on 9/11. Doesn’t everyone know by now that Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with what happened six years ago? I would certainly hope so. Still, I suppose it’s worth a shot to try to convince the ignorant with a 15 million dollar media campaign to justify the mess that is Iraq. What’s another 15 mil when you’ve already spent over 450 BILLION on the war? That’s nothing, I guess it’s worth a shot. Some people might be stupid enough to believe it.

According to the Washington Post:

The television commercial is grim and gripping: A soldier who lost both legs in an explosion near Fallujah explains why he thinks U.S. forces need to stay in Iraq.

“They attacked us,” he says as the screen turns to an image of the second hijacked airplane heading toward the smoking World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. “And they will again. They won’t stop in Iraq.”

Every investigation has shown that Iraq did not, in fact, have anything to do with the Sept. 11 attacks. But the ad, part of a new $15 million media blitz launched by an advocacy group allied with the White House, may be the most overt attempt during the current debate in Congress over the war to link the attacks with Iraq.

Sorry about the soldier losing his legs and stuff. If not for Iraq, he might be training for an upcoming marathon, or at least would be able to walk to the fridge for a midnight snack. Blame George. But that same soldier apparently has lost more than his legs, he has also lost his mind! To even consider being part of such a Bush propoganda campaign, to make the statement, “they attacked us” in reference to Iraq, well, legless or not, he’s an idiot. Perfect spokesman, though, I suppose, for the target demographic of this media blitz.

At least he’s still alive, as are so many other needlessly maimed and wounded victims of Bush. Others weren’t so lucky, both American and Iraqi.

iraq war, george bush, american soldiers, wounded soldiers, 9/11

Magnets are cool, they stick to stuff. The fender of your SUV, for example. Like the yellow “Support Our Troops” ribbon magnet that you picked up for a buck when you were checking out at the 7-11 because, well, it was right there, and you were already paying for the nachos and Slurpee, so why not? And it made you feel good. Doing your part, showing your support.

But which troops are you supporting? Because of our invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Iraqi citizens have no, or sporadic, electricity and other utility services, and water supplies have been cut off for days at a time. I guess, on the bright side, at least they’re not dead yet.

For many Iraqi citizens … trying to stay cool or find sufficient drinking water was a(n) urgent problem. The Baghdad water supply already has been severely affected by power blackouts and cuts that have affected pumping and filtration stations.

And now water mains have gone dry in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where the whole province south of Baghdad has been without power for three days. Power supplies in Baghdad have been sporadic all summer and now are down to just a few hours a day, if that.

At least under Hussein, bad guy that he was, they had electricity and water. We move in and invade the country and now, well, sorry, we kind of blew up too much stuff, screwed up those kinds of things. OK, our bad. But hey, don’t forget we’re the liberators. The good guys. Give us a break.

I digress, back to supporting our troops, and that yellow ribbon magnet stuck to the fender of your Suburban. Showing support for the troops is great. Particularly, those soldiers who make the effort to spend time with the Iraqi children! And apparently those thirsty kids, the ones who have no water, they are the most fun of all!

Okay, support the troops, but do so selectively. You might want to pencil in “some of” on that 7-11 feel-good ribbon. Because if the soldiers are going to play with the kids, there is perhaps a better way. Not all soldiers are assholes, I know, but some are, obviously, and making a blanket statement that you support the troops is just wrong. And, by the way, those magnets are annoying.

iraq war, support our troops, iraqi war, soldiers

Jerry Falwell would roll over in his grave, might even resurrect (now that’s a scary thought), if helicopters spontaneously began flying over our neighborhoods bombarding residents with soccer balls with images of Jesus Christ. Kicking Jesus in the face? Well, that would be very disrespectful, I suppose. Not to mention tossing JC out of a helicopter in the first place. No doubt gays, lesbians, anti-abortionists, non-Christians and perhaps even teletubby Tinky Winky would be to blame for such a blasphemous scheme.

But, nonetheless, we thought it would be a great idea to do some gifting to the children of Afghanistan by doing just that. Not with the Jesus pic, of course, they probably wouldn’t care. No, we dropped soccer balls from helicopters, displaying flags of countries from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, which features the shahada, a verse from the Koran, recited in prayer daily, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and includes the name Allah.

Afghan MP Mirwais Yasini said: “To have a verse of the Koran on something you kick with your foot would be an insult in any Muslim country around the world.”

I’ll admit I don’t really understand why the ball caused such outrage or led to the subsequent protest demonstration. Even as a Christian, I’d scrum with a Jesus soccer ball. Wouldn’t necessarily appreciate it having been dropped on my head from a helicopter, but once here, yeah, I’d play with it.

However, I do think we literally “dropped the ball” in this case. Muslims, we should know by now, are an extremely dedicated religious bunch. Moreso, I’d daresay, than most Christians in the US of A. I would think that had we really been making “significant efforts” to work with the mullahs and Islamic leaders, as we claimed, to understand and respect their culture, we should have known that this was a bad idea. Despite our best intentions.

Heck, even I knew, and I’ve never spoken with a mullah, that Saudi Arabia had complained in the past to the World Cup committee about their flag being on the soccer balls because it was blasphemous to Muslims.

Nice try, though. I know it’s the thought that counts, but better luck next time. However, I’d suggest a change in distribution methods. Haphazardly dropping anything from a copter seems, well, hazardous! You could take out small pets, or even small children, perhaps one for whom the gift was intended. That wouldn’t be good. On the other hand, when the Afghans see a US helicopter overhead they probably run for cover, anyway, since that usually means “Bombs Away!” Not so often “Balls Away.” Still, fly-by gifting isn’t really such a good idea. It certainly wasn’t this time.

afghanistan war, muslims, helicopter soccer balls, afghan children

I am very confused. For whom should I cast my next Presidential vote? Frankly, just about anyone would be better than the smirking chimp. But still, I want my vote to count and, at least at this point, I think only the front runners, Hillary and Barack, will have any chance of winning for the Democrats.

I’ll admit I am beginning to get a bit annoyed with the feuding between the two. Of course they both know they’re the most likely candidates as it stands now, so they make a point to bicker with one another. Still, a bit annoying. And although I do like both of them, between the two, I would probably punch Hillary’s chad if I had to choose today, although neither one of them has totally won me over. Too much typical and predictable political rhetoric.

All campaigning politicians spew the same, I know. But even when I agree with something either Clinton or Obama say, I get the impression it’s just another banal platitude.

Here’s the dilemma. When it comes down to the wire, I think I’ll be left to decide between one or the other. Because, like I said, I want my vote to count, and not waste a vote for someone who doesn’t stand a chance in hell. Remember Ralph Nader? I could just as well vote for myself as a write-in, but that wouldn’t be wise.

The two candidates in the race that I agree with most, and both of which I think speak most honestly (probably because they know they really don’t stand a chance and feel free to do so), are Dennis Kucinich and, well, it pains me to say it, but a Republican, Ron Paul. I think he needs to switch parties.

Kucinich is the only candidate who has voted against the war in Iraq and against funding its continuation. I like that. As I’ve pointed out before, he’s also only one of two Dem candidates who support full marriage rights for same sex couples, not just civil unions. I like that, too. The rest of his platform seems pretty spot on, also, in my opinion.

Ron Paul, well, is a Republican, as I said. That pains me, because I do like him. And there are some issues on which I completely disagree with him, like his adamant pro-life stance. But I’ll cut him some slack, he was an OB-GYN for 40 years, delivered lots of babies, so I’m sure that would probably have some pretty major influence on his opinion. However, for the record, those of us who are pro-choice, well, that doesn’t mean that we are pro-abortion or anti-life. We’re simply pro-choice, and want that right protected. Is it that difficult to understand? I am pro-choice but personally anti-abortion. The concepts are not mutually exclusive.

The thing I do like about Ron Paul, though, is best said in his own words in this video, from Real Time With Bill Maher, about this country’s need to rethink international policy. By the way, Bill Maher is one of my heroes, probably more liberal than I am (if that’s possible), and yet even he has become a Ron Paul fan.

ron paul, bill maher, presidential election, election 2008, foreign policy

We invaded a country we had no business attacking in the first place. The country posed no threat, our leaders lied to justify an invasion, and now we have created the quagmire of a full-blown civil war in Iraq.

Then there are the insurgents! The suicide bombers, the bad guys. Yeah, they are bad guys, actually. And gals. Extremism always brings out the worst in folks. George W. Bush comes to mind, as well. But the constant bombardment of the term “insurgents” in the media pisses me off. In countries that are, or were, our friends (there are so few anymore), or even in our own country, folks that would be willing to sacrifice their own lives for sake of country or cause would probably be labeled “freedom fighters” in the media. The difference? Per Merriam Webster:

Insurgent: a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government; especially, a rebel not recognized as a belligerent.

Freedom Fighter: a person who takes part in a resistance movement against an oppressive political or social establishment.

Hmm. Well, the “insurgents” in Iraq have certainly proven to be belligerent, that goes without question. Doesn’t really fit the definition of an insurgent, but it’s as good a name as any to pin on the bad guys by the media and the administration. Sounds evil. Other than the media spin, though, I really don’t see any difference between the two. Except that the insurgents “revolt.”

Revolt: 1: to renounce allegiance or subjection (as to a government)
2 a: to experience disgust or shock b: to turn away with disgust.

So call me an insurgent. Against my own government. Doesn’t mean I’m going to blow myself up and kill innocent people. That would be wrong, and somewhat belligerent, which is very uninsurgent-like according to Merriam-Webster. Probably painful, as well. But I’m not an extremist, unlike this country’s leaders, and a few crazy folks across the pond.

Still, I don’t understand the difference between an insurgent and a freedom fighter. I guess only Republicans know, so I apologize for my ignorance.

The 8 years Reagan was in office represented one of the most bloody eras in the history of the Western hemisphere, as Washington funneled money, weapons and other supplies to right wing death squads. And the death toll was staggering - more than 70,000 political killings in El Salvador, more than 100,000 in Guatemala, 30,000 killed in the contra war in Nicaragua. In Washington, the forces carrying out the violence were called “freedom fighters.” This is how Ronald Reagan described the Contras in Nicaragua: “They are our brothers, these freedom fighters, and we owe them our help. They are the moral equal of our founding fathers.”

iraq war, george bush, insurgent, freedom fighter, suicide bombers, ronald reagan

Thank God this week is over. We’ve got dead miners (come on, by now you know they are), dead rescue workers, Flossie in Hawaii, Dean in Jamaica (more dead folks there, and headed for Texas. Wonder if Crawford is in its path, and if George W. might be taking yet another of his many vacations? If so, maybe next week will be better after all…), a massive earthquake in Peru (lots of deaths there), and the deadliest month in Iraq with the suicide bombings in the northern Kurdish territory (despite Bush’s “troop surge”, keeping things more secure. Yeah, that’s working out really well.)

We still have to cross our fingers about the early Endeavor return on Tuesday because of Hurricane Dean, too, because there is that nasty gash on the shuttle’s belly. Of course, a similar gash killed the entire Columbia crew a few years ago, so maybe next week might not be any better, we’ll just have to wait and see. But, hey, the powers that be decided it wasn’t worth repairing, despite the ability to do so. That’s okay, we should always trust authority.

Pick a finger.

So the world, in general, sucked last week. So did mine. The cat puked on my pillow, and peed on my bedspread. I don’t know why, never happened before. And my washing machine is out of commission. A bit of advice, don’t ever try to handwash a bedspread in the kitchen sink. It doesn’t work out so well. If your washer breaks, grab some quarters and head for the laundromat. I learned my lesson.

Godspeed to the Endeavor crew. Hopefully next week will indeed be better. And if anyone wants a cat, let me know.

Hypocrites are everywhere, in politics, in religion, and we probably ought not trust any of our “leaders”, politically or spiritually. That’s not true, I know, there are some real and honest leaders out there. Somewhere. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

But when I read yesterday the official White House statement about the multiple suicide bombings in the Kurdish territory of Iraq which killed at least 250 people (and no doubt the number of casualties will continue to rise) as being a “barbaric attack on innocent civilians” I could hardly believe it. This administration is responsible for more than 650,000 innocent Iraqi deaths since we invaded Iraq.

So who’s barbaric?

Of course, George W. Bush refutes that number, only acknowledging 30,000. Even at 30,000, is that acceptable? Not to mention the 3,500 plus of our own soldiers who have been killed. I am supposing that the administration is not considering the numbers of innocent civilians killed due to the civil war we have created within the country, so we’ll only tally the 30,000 or so that we are directly responsible for killing.

Man, you’re as responsible for the deaths of every Iraqi who has died from every Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish attack since your invasion of that country. Thanks for the civil war, George. You’re the man. We’re talking 650,000 deaths, not 30,000, that you are responsible for. You can’t even justify your numbers without stumbling over your own answer to the question. Of course, that’s really no surprise.

Okay. That said (got that off of my chest), it prompted me to consider the hypocrisy of our other political, religious and media figureheads. So I put together a slide show of some that immediately came to mind, at the end of this post.

One of my favorites, and the latest fodder for the late night talk show comedians, is Republican Florida Representative Bob Allen, arrested this summer in a public restroom for offering a male undercover cop $20 if he would let him give him a blow job. Notice in his biography, he’s also into water sports. Wonder how much he’d be willing to pay for that?

Staunch family values supporter, of course, as are all Republicans. Married (I’m sure very happily!), token kid in tow, and so ultra-conservative he wanted to outlaw masturbation! Well, thank God that campaign wasn’t successful, or they could have just locked me up and thrown away the key. But, I guess blow jobs with anonymous men is acceptable, as long as you don’t touch yourself.

Seriously, dude, God gave you hands for a reason. You could have saved yourself $20. And have avoided that whole “being arrested” scene, which probably wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

I’m really sick of all of the two-faced “leaders” that have tried to shove their politics or beliefs down our throats, and govern right and wrong for the rest of us, while trying to hide the skeletons in their own closets.

So here’s what I put together today, my compilation of hypocrites that came to mind. I did the silent movie theme, well, just because I like it.

george bush, bob allen, undercover cop, hypocrites, iraq war

I was a sophomore in high school when I first read George Orwell’s novel 1984. Well, he missed it by a few years. Pretty close, though, all things considered, since he did write it in the 1940s, so let’s give him some wiggle room. He did apparently have the gift of prophecy, however, because he did get the story right when it came to the future George. George W. Bush. Of course, the novel was fiction, but still…

In the book: The state remained perpetually at war against a vague and ever-changing enemy. A permanent war. Kind of like the undefined and apparently unending “war on terrorism.”

In the book: The government set up the Ministry of Truth, serving as the propaganda arm of the ruling party to spread lies to suit its strategic goals. Kind of like the Office Of Strategic Influence this administration implemented in 2001 before they shut it down due to public outcry. Not that it has really made a difference, the propaganda is still rampant. FOX News.

In the book: The all-powerful leader, Big Brother, demanded the total, unquestioning support of the people. No one dared speak out against him, lest they be met by the wrath of the state. Or, in the words of our current Big Brother, “You are either with us, or against us.”

In the book: Big Brother kept constant tabs on the citizens, using two-way telescreens to monitor people’s every move while at the same time broadcasting party propaganda. Warrantless monitoring of phone conversations, Internet usage, business transactions and library reading records comes to mind. But, hey, the good news is that law enforcement no longer needs to be burdened with such thing as probable cause. Welcome to 1984, folks. Happy New Year.

george bush, george orwell, 1984, iraq war, security

Back to George W. Bush. Okay, he’s a failure as a President, has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, an Executive Branch serial killer (I’m entitled to my opinion), spending billions of dollars doing so. Your dollars and mine. All right, let’s move on. We’re stuck with him for now. At least his time is limited, since there’s apparently no chance in hell that he or his sidekick dick, Dick, will be removed from office.

My current Democratic party sucks almost as much as the Republicans, they won’t do anything to get him out of there, but continue to say he needs to go, while voting for and agreeing with everything his administration puts on the table. Know why? They don’t have a friggin’ plan, either. So I’m changing parties, and I’m registering as a Libertarian.

I took a quiz online, and that’s apparently what I am. Then I checked out their platform, and it makes sense to me. I’ll admittedly still vote Democrat in November ‘08, because when it comes down to it, the real choices are between the Rs and Ds. Just a fact. But I’d rather ditch the Democrats as far as my official registration, and at least be able to call myself Libertarian, because the Democrats have kind of let me down.

I do like some of the Democratic candidates. Which is a good thing, considering that we really only have two choices. No Independent, Green Party, Libertarian, Communist, or any other party, has a chance in hell of making it in to office, and votes for any of those obscure candidates could possibly sway the results, and we could end up with more of this same kind of mess. That’s too bad, but it’s the truth.

Which is why we don’t see Independent, Green Party, or even my soon-to-be new party, Libertarian debates. Don’t even think about a Communist debate, can you imagine? So, bottom line, we’re stuck with the elephant or the ass when the day comes, if we want our votes to count. Maybe things will change somewhere down the road, but for now, those are the choices.

But while we still have a Republican in office, and are going to suffer the curse of George W. Bush for the next year and a half, we should at least look at the bright side. We’ll still have another year to enjoy his stupidity, and the idiotic Bushisms. They do make me laugh. As countless as they are, my favorites to date are (although there are surely more to come):

“They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it’s some kind of federal program.” –St. Charles, Missouri, November 2, 2000

“Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.”–Poplar Bluff, Missouri, September 6, 2004

“We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”–Trenton, NJ, September 23, 2002

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”–Florence, South Carolina, January 11, 2000

“Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die.”—speaking with reporters on facing the challenges of war, Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2006

“You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war President. No President wants to be a war President, but I am one.”—Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

Even though we’ll have to endure this monkey for the next year and a half, there will at least no doubt be some entertaining moments.

By the way, it also turns out, according to the online test, that although I’m 100% Libertarian, I’m also 70% Communist. I doubt if that’s an option on the voter registration form, but I’ll check it out.

george bush, democrat, republican, libertarian, bushisms

I’m a Big Brother fan. The CBS reality show, not the government’s version. And Evil Dick is still in the game. I like Evil Dick, the Big Brother 8 guy. Everyone calls him “Evil Dick”, I don’t know why. I like him. He kind of reminds me of myself. I don’t know exactly what that says about me, but I’m glad he’s still in the competition, and still in the house.

Apparently the other Evil Dick is still in the House, too, the White one. Cheney runs on batteries, though, and they needed to be replaced yesterday. After four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant a defibrillator six years ago, it was time to replace those defib batteries. And he lived to tell about it! Well, okay. I’m thrilled. He’s like the Energizer bunny.

I wish no ill will to any human being. Even impeachable liars. I really don’t. Glad the Dick made it through with flying colors.

That reminds me, my remote control died. Needs new batteries. But, you know, it hasn’t been working so well anyway, and pretty much sucks. I don’t think replacing the batteries will really solve the problem. Time to get rid of it.

dick cheney, iraq war, impeachment

I have OCD. I really do, but I won’t bore you with the specifics of my particular mental disorder. ADD, nope. RLS, don’t have that, either. Nor do I have OSA, and am not plagued with any other of the many alpha-ailments that I’ve learned about from watching the pharmaceutical company commercials on TV. Who knew? But at least, so far, I have only OCD. Good to know, though, that if I ever do become afflicted with any other ABC malady, I can ask my doctor about (fill in the blank), because there’s no doubt a drug for that.

Acronyms are fun. Easy to remember, and a great marketing tool for the drug companies! Although I don’t know of anything on the market to cure my OCD, there’s a prescription for almost everything else…

Remember our prescription for Iraq’s WMD? “Ask your doctor about Shock and Awe. Side effects may include…” Well, okay, WMD turned out to be a mis-diagnosis. Still left with the side effects, however. Never mind. Sometimes that happens. But guess what? Now we do have, without question, no second opinion needed, AQI! Al Qaeda in Iraq. Which, don’t forget, was not a pre-existing condition. Cause: Invasion and Occupation.

There were so many blatant lies told to justify the Iraq war, one being, in addition to the WMD fabrication, the connection between Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda’s Bin Laden. “Overwhelming evidence“, Cheney said.

Dick.

Nope, didn’t exist. In fact, we then found out it seems the two didn’t even get along so well. Of course they both hated the U.S., but Osama and Saddam certainly weren’t Jihadist bunk buddies, either. I guess if you can’t “smoke ‘em out of their caves in Afghanistan”, you just make up shit as an excuse to bomb another country for absolutely no reason.

And so now we’re left with AQI, and according to this New York Times’ article published today, the government is claiming that the original AQ, the real deal, is expected to cultivate more cooperation with AQI and regional terrorist groups… “Perhaps most significantly, Al Qaeda will probably try to use contacts with a separate group called Al Qaeda in Iraq to foment Sunni extremists, raise resources and recruit operatives for more attacks in the United States.”

Holy Terror, Batman!

I personally think it’s BS, but of course, anything is possible. They are entirely different groups, with no real connection, and I think these comments that the government released today, published not only in the NYT article but in all major media outlets, propagating the fear factor once again, are a follow up to the Michael Chertoff gut-feeling speech that I ranted about a few days ago. His gut feeling that we were going to have an attack this summer! Now the official statement is that we’ll have an attack within the next three years.

Whatever. It’s all propaganda initiated to cause fear, as a distraction from the miserable failures here at home and the corruption of this administration.

Still, our invasion provided, without question, yet another reason for certain folks to hate the U.S., giving organizations like the AQI a fertile environment in which to thrive. As Ron Paul said on Bill Maher (yikes, I’m quoting a Republican! but I like Ron Paul):

“If we think we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem. They don’t come here to attack us because we’re rich and we’re free, they come and attack us because we’re over there.”

Exactly. So if there really is a threat of an attack, this summer or within the next three years, who is really to blame? My gut feeling is that we probably need to re-evaluate our Mideast policies and occupations and maybe this threat of attack, whether this summer or within three years (why not make it ten, just to be sure?), won’t be an issue.

If only I could ask my doctor about, well, anything to get rid of GWB. Side effects be damned, can’t be any worse than the disease. I can at least live with my OCD.

al qaeda, al qaeda in iraq, terrorist threat, dick cheney, george bush, terrorism, fear

From what I’ve read about Army Reservist Sergeant Erik Botta, I probably would not be on the same side of the fence politically. Just an assumption. However, I would think that at least most would agree, left or right or straddling said fence, that it is just wrong that the government would actually use the statement “to assure a sharing of exposure to the hazards of combat” to justify his fifth deployment.

The 26-year old has been to Afghanistan once, and to Iraq three times, and was then granted an exemption by the government, after his service, to pursue an engineering degree to work as a senior engineer on Blackhawk and Seahawk helicopters.

Exemption then denied. I guess he simply hasn’t been exposed to enough hazards of combat. Because, out of the blue, here comes notice that he will be re-deployed. For the fifth time, to assure a sharing of exposure to the hazards of combat.

I know I’ve repeated that quote ad nauseum in this particular column. It’s intentional. Because I find that particular statement atrocious, bizarre, and laughable in a morbid sort of way.

I have nothing left to say. I’m quite sure he’s had his share of exposure to the hazards of combat. He’s suing to fight the deployment, but, sorry, Sergeant Botta, you know how things work under this administration:

Botta’s attorney, Mark Waple, said he asked the Army Human Resources Command Wednesday if Botta’s deployment could be postponed until the litigation is settled.

”I got their answer today: No,” Waple said.

iraq, iraq war, afghanistan, deployment, erik botta

Though George W. Bush’s own GOP party is turning against him because of the illegal war in Iraq, he today is still touting his resolve to “stay the course”, and confident that the surge of thousands of new soldiers will ultimately lead to success. (I do find this video amusing, however, and typical Bush.)

Iraq obviously never posed a threat. Had nothing to do with 9/11. And by the way, don’t forget, because of the lies that were told to validate invading Iraq, more of our own soldiers have already been killed than were killed in the attacks on 9/11. Not to mention the 650,000+ innocent Iraqis who have been killed by our invasion of the country. But lest I begin ranting excessively, here are some interesting facts comparing the Iraq invasion with Vietnam.

Both wars were illegal acts of pre-emptive aggression unsanctioned by international law or world opinion, and not declared by Congress. (Constitution, anyone?)

Both wars were based on lies and deception. In Iraq it was weapons of mass destruction. Yeah, that worked out well. In Vietnam, it was the fabricated Gulf of Tonkin incident and the elections mandated by the Geneva agreement that were canceled by Washington.

In both wars, prisoners on both sides were abused. In South Vietnam, thousands of captives were tortured in what were called tiger cages. Vietnamese POWs were often killed; in North Vietnam, some US POWs were abused after bombing civilians. In Iraq, POWs on both sides were also mistreated. It was US soldiers that first leaked major war crimes and abuses. In Vietnam, Ron Ridenour disclosed the My Lai Massacre. In Iraq, it was a soldier who first told investigators about the torture in Abu Ghraib prison.

The US dropped napalm, cluster bombs against civilians and sprayed toxic agent orange in Vietnam. Cluster bombs and napalm-like firebombs were dropped in Iraq.

Both wars claimed to be about promoting democracy. Vietnam staged elections and saw a succession of governments controlled by the US. In the first Iraqi election most said they were casting ballots primarily to get the US to leave.

Vietnam was sold as a war against Communism. Iraq was sold as a part of the global war on terrorism. Neither proved true.

In both wars innocent civilians died in droves.

In both wars the US promised to help rebuild the damages caused by US bombing. In Vietnam, a $2 billion+ presidential reconstruction pledge was not honored. In Iraq, the electricity and other services are still out in many areas. In both wars US companies and suppliers have profited quite handsomely.

iraq war, vietnam war, war profiteering

In today’s Florida Times-Union, Jeff Brumley conducts an intriguing interview with Jacksonville resident Barbara Lupton Neilson. If June 8, 1967, doesn’t ring a bell with you, read the interview.

I was a teen when, in the middle of the Six Day War, Israel attacked the USS Liberty in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. Those were troubled times. President Lyndon B. Johnson was in office, pushing his “Great Society.� The United States was entangled in the Vietnam War, courtesy of France and fear of communism. Civil rights issues filled the TV screen and newspapers. If you think today’s times are troubled, simply revisit the 1960s.

The USS Liberty was technically a research ship—on the day it was attacked, it was gathering intelligence as Israel conducted a pre-emptive war against Arab states.

Without warning, Israeli forces attacked the USS Liberty, killing 34 and injuring more than 170. Israel’s reconnaissance aircraft had conducted at least 8 orbital flights before the attack occurred. Rockets, cannon fire and napalm rained down on the ship. Torpedo boats launched missiles. Firefighters and rescue personnel aboard the Liberty were fired on.

Afterwards, Israel apologized, explaining the ship was thought to be Egyptian. Johnson never disputed the Israeli explanation.

Others, however, believe the attack was deliberate. Many in government and the military posited beliefs that Israel would have completely destroyed the ship had the country truly believed it to be Egyptian. There has never been a full investigation on a level that satisfies survivors.

Survivors of the USS Liberty founded an organization, in hopes of seeing full disclosure about the events of Jun 8, 1967. Regardless, today’s date commemorates yet another day in history when American troops gave up their lives for their country.

Barbara Neilson’s husband died aboard the USS Liberty. When Jeff Brumley asked her if she thought the attack was a mistake, she gave a simple reply. “No, I don’t believe that.�

(Photo above is of USS Liberty after the attack; courtesy of the Historical Center, U.S. Navy; text by Kay B. Day)

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