Some time ago, long ago that it's not even listed, I wrote an article condemning the Busher for the Iraq but arguing that it would play into the hands of the terrorists if we left. When Bush attacked Iraq for heaven knows what reason, there were tapes of Osama bin Laden dancing the Hora with all this minions. Copies of those tapes are available for a modest fee. You can get them by contacting this writer.
It was like Old Osama had two fingers jammed up the Busher's nose and was dragging him wherever he wanted. He needed new bases to train white, Catholic, English girls who've turned to Islam to become suicide bombers...the Busher gave him most of Yugoslavia & Iraq. What a great president.
But, as they say, it takes a tough man to make a tender chickpea, so I too have finally, painfully, agonizingly come to the conclusion that there's nothing we can do in Iraq but help kill innocent Iraqis and mangle more U.S. troops.
The fact is that the Arabs are loonies. Why they are loonies is a fascinating sociological question I will not try to address in any detail. It's similar, however (oy, is this going to get me in trouble), to self-defeating behaviors we see in some African Americans and Native Americans. Expectations breeds behavior supporting those expectations. Treat Palestinians like 5th class citizens for 60 years or so & guess what, they'll act like fucking idiots, killing each other because it seems less dangerous that trying to kill Jews. (Note, that didn't start with the Israeli occupation. It started with Egypt taking Gaza & the butcher of Jordan taking the so-called West Bank & keeping Palestinians living like rats with no cheese for 30 years.
But what about Iraqi loonies? You can't create a country by jamming three warring tribes together, have them live under one of the worst dictators in history, and expect them to act normally. I simply cannot fathom Sunnis and Shias blowing up each other's children.
Article comments
1 - Methuselah
Sounds good to me.
2 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Your article fails to state the obvious - that Saudi Arabia needs to be overthrown and the Jordanian restored to his position as Sherif of the Two Cities - but hey, I can't expect everything from a guy continually infected by the bullshit floating around in DC.
Just one error, Mark. Use your editorial privileges to fix it up;
"It started with Egypt taking Gaza & the butcher of Jordan taking the so-called West Bank & keeping Palestinians living like rats with no cheese for 30 years."
If you count on your fingers and your toes (base twenty system) you'll find that the time period from 1947 to 1967 was 20 years, not thirty.
An important note, by the way. "Palestinians" did not call themselves as such until 1965 or so. Continuing to use their terminology admits defeat on the field. Never give an inch you don't have to. Moshe Dayan was a Palestinian. It said so on his dog tag the day he took a bullet in the eye looking at (Vichy) Syrian positions in 1941. He stopped being a Palestinian the day Mandate Palestine ceased to exist. Until there is a sovereign, internationally recognized country called "Palestine", G-d forbid this should ever occur, there are no Palestinians - just South Syrian Arabs treated like shit all over the Arab world and Israel.
Regards to the bride...
3 - Lee Richards
Bush invaded without ever bothering to learn the first thing about the history, culture, religion, geography or social dynamic of Iraq and its neighbors, and--even worse--he knew nothing of our own military's weaknesses or lack of planning or stategies for dealing with a complex situation after our easy invasion victory. All he thought about was (1) we could find Saddam and (2) we knew where the oil was.
We'll continue to be unable to deal effectively with terrorists and insurgents in Iraq; our technological superiority is almost totally wasted in a region where primitive gadgets and violent goals usually work better than sophisticated weapons and pie-in-the-sky aims.
It's foolhardy--and probably counterproductive-- now to send more troops to "support" the recent "reinforcements". What will we call the next batch, "back-ups" to relieve the supports for the reinforcements? What complete idiocy!
4 - Nancy
Idiocy? Of course it is; what did you expect from an administration led by an idiot?
5 - alessandro nicolo
Arab governments/leaders have yet to look in the mirror. Their fingers are always pointing in all sorts of directions. There are Arab intellectuals who get it but they have been isolated. Something tells me they'd even blame Gazoo.
6 - Mark Schannon
Alessandro, very important point. The Arabs are always looking to blame their problems on someone else. But Afghanistan may still be worth it...Iraq is out of our hands, regardless of what we do. And the Arabs/Persians will never accept the blame for that.
In Jameson Veritas
7 - Mark Edward Manning
Good points, Mark. I backed the Iraq war to the hilt, but I can now admit that the anti-wars all had a point when they said we were rushing in with no strategic long-term planning. A civil war between the Sunnis and Shi'ites was staring us in the face, yet we placed too much faith in applying an American style government in Iraq.
Not that the American model of government -- or something approximating it -- can't, doesn't or won't work. But you must have people with the right mindset. And, as you say, these people are loonies. Stark raving mad like everyone else in the Middle East (except for the Israelis).
I still maintain that Saddam Hussein was a problem and, even if he could be contained, his son Uday wouldn't have. Iraq was a problem waiting to happen 10-20 years from now anyway, so I thought, let's kick the Ba'athists out as long as we're now dead serious about it ... but if we'd had some sort of plan to deal with the insurgency, with the world's backing, it would admittedly have been much better and maybe even a bit smoother.
8 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Still, nobody has addressed the obvious - that "Saudi "Arabia needs to be overthrown and the Jordanian king restored to his position as Sherif of the Two Cities.
Are you all that blind to the obvious or are you that afraid of the whelps of ibn Saud?
9 - Mark Edward Manning
I, for one, agree with you, Ruvy! Maybe I haven't mentioned -- this piece and resulting thread is about the war in Iraq -- but I feel no affection whatsoever for the House of Saud and would love to see it come crashing down -- and hopefully, the all the Wahhabbis with it, but that may be too much to hope for.
10 - troll
Ruven - examine the proper spelling...$audi Arabia...any other questions - ?
11 - Mark Schannon
Ruvy, our military is stretched so thin right now that we could win a battle against a bunch of kindergardners & their sand box.
Check out the front page of the Wash Post today, both the mess in Iraq & our own military saying we've just about blown every fuse. It's beyond depressing.
In Jameson Veritas
12 - Methuselah
Did Bush/Cheney lie us into a war we've lost?
Are Clavos, Nalle, JOM, etc., out of excuses?
13 - Mark Schannon
Hey, Methuselah, you followin' me?
Well, when even our own military leaders are saying we are so much burnt toast, I'm not sure what the wild neocons at BC can say.
"Sure was a good invasion, though."
"We got that Saddam."
"There are weapons of mass destruction--besides us."
Only 2 more years...sigh.
In Jameson Veritas
14 - Clavos
Umm Methliffle:
Are Clavos, Nalle, JOM, etc., out of excuses?
Got some citations for when I've supported the war (as opposed to the troops)?
15 - Clavos
One more point, Bliffthuselah:
I am a fiscal conservative and social liberal; I'm not a Republican.
The Bush boys lost me when they started spending like Democrats.
16 - that one person
Bush messed everything up because of bush our troops are overthere fighting for iraq, to help them. I dont see them helping us.