Please read the following article. It will be looked into by me at the end of it. My "take" on this article and what this government of ours is up to, or is that "down to"?
May 6, 2008
Condi Stomps the Mullahs
Philip Giraldi
The war drums are again beating. It's beginning to look like the neocons have cranked up their useful idiots in the Bush administration for a fall offensive, target Iran. And maybe also Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians.
The bad guys' list, which is remarkably similar to a roll call of Israel's enemies, seems to have expanded both vertically and horizontally at a time when the U.S. military is using paper clips and chewing gum to hold together its efforts in Iraq. The critique of Iran has sharpened and intensified and new friends of Iran have been discovered in Afghanistan and Gaza. Even Venezuela is accused of being a tad too close to the mullahs, criticized by the State Department for having "deepened relations" with Iran and establishing a weekly flight connecting Caracas with Tehran via Iran Airlines. Lest there be any misunderstanding, doing business or even talking nice with Iran will not be tolerated.
It is not clear where the resources for a new war will come from, particularly if Tehran is audacious enough to resist, but some in the White House and Pentagon seem convinced that unleashing death by means of bombers and cruise missiles is enough to bring the hated mullahs to their knees. It is surely no coincidence that Iran was featured in the annual State Department report on terrorism that came out on Wednesday, which says,
"Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism. Elements of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were directly involved in the planning and support of terrorist acts throughout the region and continued to support a variety of groups in their use of terrorism to advance their common regional goals. Iran provides aid to Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraq-based militants, and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan."
That summary includes just about everybody that the United States dislikes, and all of them are now conveniently linked to Iran.
Iran was also excoriated last week by the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the director of the CIA, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Everyone was on message: "Iran is killing our troops!" And then there is the supporting chorus from Israel, with Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz claiming that "Iran will have nuclear bomb technology by the end of this year." And from Sen. Hillary Clinton: "I will obliterate Iran." In George Orwell's 1984 there was an obligatory "Two Minutes Hate" every day in which the enemies of the Oceania state were pilloried. Iran currently endures much more than the required two minutes.
One of the most discouraging aspects of the new wave of Iran bashing is the climbing on board by the so-called realists in the Bush administration. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is frequently cited as a force for reason and restraint, presumably reflecting the misgivings of some flag officers for a broadening conflict in the Middle East. But the more demonstrative of those officers, most particularly in the person of Adm. William Fallon, have been removed and replaced by those more amenable to the wishes of the administration, namely Gen. David Petraeus, whose moral code appears to be limited to whatever the White House tells him to think. Gates said last week that the dispatch of a second aircraft carrier group to the Persian Gulf would serve as a "reminder" to Iran. His words were echoed by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who warned Iran that "it would be a mistake to think we are out of combat power." Sounds a bit like "all options are on the table."
Meanwhile, the chief of operations for the senior U.S. military staff, Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, broadened the indictment of Iran, citing Tehran's support for the Taliban: "There is indication that the Iranian support of the Taliban has continued." Ham did not provide any details of what Iran sends or how much, a hallmark of accusations directed against the mullahs. Nor does he appear to be aware of the fact that the Sunni Taliban and Shi'ite Iranians are hardly close friends, having a long and bitter history that features massacres on both sides, including the killing of 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 by the Taliban.
The intelligence community has also been widely considered pragmatic in its approach to the Middle East, but consider CIA Director Michael Hayden's latest: "It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq." It is worth asking what precisely Hayden means as director of Central Intelligence when he refers to something as "his opinion." Does he have hard evidence that the Iranians have put out an order to kill Americans? Or is he saying that Iran's leaders, fearful of the presence of 150,000 U.S. troops next door and a naval flotilla on its doorstep, would like to see the enterprise fail so the soldiers and sailors will depart? And what does "to facilitate the killing of Americans" actually mean?
But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tops the field. Known for her inability to articulate a foreign policy based on U.S. national interest, Rice sits on the political fence most of the time, a Gucci boot dangling on either side, but recently it was believed that she was preaching moderation. Not so any more. The worst national security adviser and worst secretary of state in memory has now added to her laurels. Her understanding of what is taking place in the Middle East places her only one notch above the comprehension level exhibited by her boss.
Last Tuesday, Rice spoke in Washington at the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee. She said, "But perhaps of deepest concern, the leaders of Hamas are increasingly serving as the proxy warriors of an Iranian regime that is destabilizing the region, seeking a nuclear capability, and proclaiming its desire to destroy Israel." Rice also described a new "belt of extremism" that includes Hamas, the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon, militants in Iraq, and "radicals even increasingly in places like Afghanistan." Per Secretary Rice, that it is "supported overwhelmingly by Iran and to a certain extent Syria, but particularly Iran, gives this conflict a regional dimension it has not had before."
Rice's problem is that she is spokesman for a worldview that has blinders on. For her, there are no degrees of bad guy, and as they are all terrorists anyway, it is impossible to talk to them. All who oppose U.S. or Israeli policy are subsumed into the same enemy, which conveniently reduces foreign policy to a simple formula that neatly lumps together a whole range of groups with different antecedents and objectives. It is a vision that guarantees failure and that actually makes more terrorists than it succeeds in eliminating, as Rice's own annual report on terrorism concedes. While Rice's ignorant message was undoubtedly reassuring to the American Jewish Committee, it should not comfort the vast majority of Americans who are not threatened by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi militants, Syria, or the Taliban. Nor are Americans threatened by Iran unless U.S. policymakers and their neocon drivers make it so by firing the first shot. And there is no hope from the Democrats. Barack will do whatever it takes to make The Lobby like him, and Hillary's finger is already on the trigger. Eighty million Iranians will be obliterated as soon as that 3 a.m. phone call comes in. One presumes that John McCain will not even wait for the phone call.
OK, for the record, Mr Giraldi was a CIA officer. That either gives him or takes away from his credibility. Depends on how you view that past employment. To me, I say it reinforces his credibility as he knows what he is talking about.
Now what really gets me wound up is this, just who the fuck do "we" think "we" are? I mean, here is Condi, the worst national security advisor and probably the very worst Secretary of State ever in America, telling anybody and everybody that if they even "talk politely to Iran, they will end up on "our" shit list! What the fuck!!!???? Since when did "we" get to tell the entire world who they can or cannot be nice to?
Now, I know that Shrubbie thinks that he is on a "mission from God", but he is NOT. In fact the ONLY Americans who ever were on a true "mission from God" were the Blues Brothers, the original movie, not the sequel. And even they don't really count as Dan Ackroyd was born a Canadian! Little Georgie is NOT on any "divine" mission. No sir!
I used to get highly pissed at the odd fundie "Christians", you know the type, they go to these non-denominational churches that meet in old warehouses and other old industrial type buildings, with names like "Cornerstones" or "Vineyard Fellowship". They are the ones who, despite the real truth of our founders, claim that America is a "Christian nation". Well, it is NOT and never was, nor was it intended to be. The founders were, for the most part Unitarians and/or deists. A very few were from any Christian church, and none of them put "God" in the founding documents. They DO mention a creator, but wouldn't a Christian demand that God be named? The founders did not do so. They even included the separation of church and state. They did not want the state telling you how or whom to worship, nor did they want any church telling government how to govern. It should have worked to the advantage of both sides.
Well, when I lived in Ontario, California, the city ran a couple of neat programs for the citizens of the city. One was all about the police department and how it worked. The other was about the various city agencies and how they worked. Both of the courses were about 13 or 14 weeks long, once a week for about 4 hours each meeting. Very interesting and was worth our time going to both programs. Sherie and I got involved with city government during that time. We went to city council meetings and got active in the city. Nothing of any "big deal" just active citizens looking into how and what our city was doing.
Any way, there was one of those "Christians" in the group we were in during the classes. He kept trying to tell me, a heathen, how America is, was, and always would be a true Christian nation. I argued that he was wrong, brought in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to prove my points. I even got books from the city library to show the beliefs of many of the founders. Shot his "balloon" full of holes. Hey, I was a Marine, and every Marine is a rifleman!
Well, I used to do that quite a lot, defend the founders and deflating the "America as a Christian nation" bull crap. No longer though. I am thinking seriously of quitting that line of "work". Why? Because I now think they are right. I believe that America IS a "Christian nation".
Oh, charlie, you say, how can you think that? Well sir, it is damn easy. Follow along with me. The Christian "book" (I was raised as a Lutheran and do remember a few things from that time) tells them that before they criticize their neighbors' house as being dirty, they had best make sure that their own house is very, very clean. Does America do that? No way Jose!
So, how does that little item above qualify as America being a "Christian nation"? Easy, it shows that America is hypocritical in its' foreign policy. OK, you say, but how does that tie in? Right here. Most "Christians" are hypocrites. And I will give a prime example.
The church we went to up to my freshman year in high school (I had a job by the next year that required me to work Sundays) was across the street from a donut shop. Now they had an early church service, a break, then Sunday School, another break, and then the second church service.
My friends and I would go across the street to grab a donut and coffee after church, before Sunday School. As we walked across the parking lot, we would hear the "good Christians" expressing themselves to each other as they drove out of the parking lot. Almost always some poor driver would try to make a left turn out of the lot onto the street. It was a four lane street, two lanes each way. Now this is usually a bit frustrating even today in most cities as the traffic flow always makes this maneuver a bit of a challenge. To hear the drivers behind this left turning driver knowing they had just been in church not five minutes ago was an eye opener. They were cursing like drunken sailors, or sober Marines (LOL). Good Christian values? Hypocrites! Therefore, YES, America IS a "Christian nation", and woe be unto any heathen country!
Just look at the recent "statements" from Hi-Larry of the Clan Clinton. If Iran were to attack Israel (something that the Iranians know would be suicide) she would "obliterate Iran"!!!! What the hell???!!!!!!!??? Since when did "we" become the protector of that country? Yes, I know, I know, many, many years ago. Yeah, sure, right. Hells bells people. Do you want your kids or grandkids to die for a foreign country?
I don't have any kids, our only child died after just being in this world for six weeks. If I did have kids, I would not want them to die for this country, let alone some foreign country that is the most powerful in the area of the world where they exist. Israel has the most powerful military in the entire region of the Middle East. They don't need us to threaten their enemies for them. They do that job quite well enough themselves than you.
But, the "good Christians" (aka hypocrites) eat this shit up like manna from heaven. Just look at the nut case who is backing old McCrazy for president. The Rev. Hagee. There is a nut job for all times folks. He is looking forward to the "big battle" that will end everything!
Now, I STILL remember that Jesus, the "founder" of Christianity, said to "turn the other cheek". Also there was something about loving ones' enemies and other such "nonsense". The oddest(?) part of HIS teaching being that odd bit about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. To me, that means that the Rev. Hagee, McCrazy, Hi-Larry, and of course this entire criminal administration would not mind all that much of some other "fun loving" Christian nation who just happen to have a few spare nuclear weapons laying around with nothing to do, were to drop them on us. After all, they are willing to do this to the Iranians, so, following the do unto others bit, turn about would be very much fair play. Wouldn't it? Sure it would charlie, and just what the hell ARE you smoking in those home made cigarettes? "Wacky backie"???
Well, think about it. Seriously. Damnit! I mean if they are going to be "true" Christians doesn't this work? I look at it like this; if I want to punch Tom, then I ought to accept that Tom also wants to punch me. Do unto others, being the rule here. Why doesn't this apply to the Rev. Hagee? McCrazy? Hi-Larry? The Shrubbie gang? Israel? Oh, wait, it does NOT apply to Israel. They quit before the New Testament. Sorry about that, my bad. The "leadership"(???) of America is the most arrogant, stupid bunch of fools ever assembled in one country in the entire history of the planet. Arrogance and stupidity, now THAT is a lethal combination folks. My worry is that it will be America that is destroyed. Yes, I do place my country as more important. I would bet that the citizen of every other country, places his or her country as the most important. It is human nature to do so. Each of us feels that our family is more important than any other family. What I mean here, is that we take care of our own, before we take care of others. That is just human nature, or so I think it is. No harm, no foul, just the way people are. A statement of fact and NOT in any way, a judgement.
Well, I sure as hell was wound up this morning. That is what happens when I read crap like Condi telling the world "how to behave" or big bad "Merica will get them. What a damn hypocrite she is. But, she works for this criminal enterprise we call our administration, so she has to be such a critter, or she'd be in the unemployment lines. This is NOT to defend her, she is not qualified for the job she holds, just like the rest of the administration!
I'll close this for now. I don't know if anyone got to this part, probably bored to death long ago. Well, sorry about that, not.
semper fi
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