Well, I'm back at the old, original corner again. Seems Google made a few changes and I ended up at some "different" corner the last post. Now, the old guy (me) has two (no kidding 2!) corners. If I get 2 more, I can have a whole block!
I know I had said I may stop writing for a while, need a vacation, still do. Sorry to
interrupt the party of not having me write, but I was reading my usual web sites today, getting highly pissed at the news, and came across what I think is THE best commentary on the whole mess to date.
Mr. Paul Craig Roberts was kind enough to let me post his entire commentary here at the old corner, so, please read this one. It is super, in my humble opinion. I'll have my commentary following his excellent comments.
And now, Mr. Roberts.
August 13, 2008
Two Morons: Bush and
Saakashvili"President Bush, Will You Please Shut Up?"
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
The
neoconned Bush Regime and the Israeli-occupied American media are heading the innocent world toward nuclear war.
Back in the Reagan years the National Endowment for Democracy was created as a cold war tool. Today the NED is a
neocon-controlled agent for US world hegemony. Its main function is to pour US money and election-rigging into former constituent parts of the Soviet Union in order to ring Russia with American puppet states.
The neoconservative Bush Regime used the NED to intervene in Ukrainian and Georgian internal affairs in keeping with the neoconservative plan to establish US-friendly and Russia-hostile political regimes in these two former constituent parts of Russia and the Soviet Union.
The NED was also used to dismember the former Yugoslavia with its interventions in Slovakia, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Allen
Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing NED, told the Washington Post in 1991 that much of what the NED does “today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”
The Bush Regime, having established a puppet, Mikhail
Saakashvili, as president of Georgia, tried to bring Georgia into NATO.
For readers too young to know, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a military alliance between the US and Western European countries to resist any Soviet move into Western Europe [and to ensure European countries lined up behind the US, and bought its weapons systems. Editors] . There has been no reason for NATO since the Soviet Union’s internal political collapse almost two decades ago. The
neocons turned NATO into another tool, like the NED, for US world hegemony. Subsequent US administrations violated the understandings that President Reagan had reached with Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, and have incorporated former parts of the Soviet empire into NATO. The
neocon goal of ringing Russia with a hostile military alliance has been proclaimed many times.
Western European members of NATO balked at the admission of Georgia, as they understood it as a provocative affront to Russia, on whom Western Europe is dependent for natural gas. Western Europeans are also disturbed at the Bush Regime’s intentions to install ballistic missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic as the consequence will be Russian nuclear cruise missiles targeted on European capitals. Europeans don’t see the advantage of helping the US block Russian nuclear retaliation against the US at the expense of their own existence. Ballistic missile defenses are not useful against cruise missiles.
Every country is tired of war except for the US. War, including nuclear war, is the neoconservative strategy for world hegemony.
The entire world, except for Americans, knows that the outbreak of armed conflict between Russian and Georgian forces in South
Ossetia was entirely due to the US and its Georgia puppet,
Saakashvili. Americans, alone in the world, are unaware that the hostilities were initiated by
Saakashvili, because Bush, Cheney and the Israeli-occupied American media have again lied to them.
Everyone else in the world knows that the unstable and corrupt
Saakashvili, who proclaims democracy and runs a police state, would not have taken on Russia by attacking South
Ossetia unless given the go-ahead by Washington.
The purpose of the Georgian attack on the Russian population of South
Ossetia is twofold:
To convince Europeans that their action in delaying Georgia’s NATO membership is the cause of “the Russian aggression” and that to save Georgia from conquest Georgia must be given NATO membership.
To ethnically cleanse South
Ossetia of its Russian population. Two thousand Russian civilians were targeted and killed by the US-equipped and trained Georgian Army, and tens of thousands fled into Russia. Having achieved this goal,
Saakashvili and his puppet-masters in Washington quickly called for a cease fire and a halt to “the Russian invasion.” The hope is that the Russian population will be afraid to return or can be prevented from returning, thus removing the secessionist threat.
No doubt the Bush Regime can con the American population, just as it did with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Iranian nukes, and 9/11 itself, but the rest of the world is not buying it, not even America’s bought-and-paid-for European allies.
Writing in the Asia Times, Ambassador M. K.
Bhadrakumar, a former career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service, notes the disinformation that is being peddled by the Bush Regime and the US media and reports that “at the outbreak of violence, Russia had tried to have the United Nations Security Council issue a statement calling on Georgia and South
Ossetia to immediately lay down weapons. However, Washington was disinterested.”
Amb.
Bhadrakumar notes that the American and Georgian resort to violence and propaganda has brought an end to the Russian government’s belief that diplomacy and good will can bring about a settlement of the South
Ossetia issue. If Russia wished, Russia could terminate Georgia’s existence as a separate country at will, and there is nothing the US could do about it.
It is certain that the Georgian invasion of South
Ossetia was a Bush Regime orchestrated event. The American media and the
neocon think tanks were ready with their propaganda blitzes.
Neocons had ready a Wall Street Journal editorial page article for
Saakashvili that declares “the war in Georgia is a war for the West.”
Faced with the collapse of his army when Russia sent in troops to protect South
Ossetians from the Georgian troops,
Saakashvili declared: “This is not about Georgia any more. It is about America, its values.”
The
neocon Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., quickly called a conference hosted by warmonger Ariel Cohen, “Urgent! Event: Russian-Georgian War: A Challenge for the U.S. and the World.”
The Washington Post hosted
neocon Robert
Kagen’s war drums, “Putin Makes His Move.”
Only a fool like
Kagen could think that if Putin intended to invade Georgia he would do so from Beijing, or that after sending the American-trained Georgian army in flight, he would not continue and conquer all of Georgia in order to put an end to American machinations on Russia’s most sensitive border, machinations that are likely to eventually end in nuclear war.
The New York
Tiimes hosted Billy
Kristol’s rant, “Will Russia Get Away With It?”
Kristol thunders against “dictatorial and aggressive and fanatical regimes” that “seem happy to work together to weaken the influence of the United States and its democratic allies.”
Kristol presents a new axis of evil--Russia, China, North Korea and Iran--and warns against “delay and irresolution” that “simply invite future threats and graver dangers.”
In other words, “attack Russia now.”
Dick Cheney, the insane American Vice President telephoned
Saakashvili to express US solidarity with Georgia in the conflict with Russia and declared: “Russian aggression must not go unanswered. Only an idiot would tell
Saakashvili anything other than “to cease immediately.”
What must be the effect on US Intelligence services and the US military of Cheney’s
propagandistic and irresponsible statement of US support for Georgia’s war crimes? Does anyone really believe that the CIA or any US intelligence service told the vice president that Russia opened the conflict with an invasion? Russian troops arrived in South
Ossetia after thousands of
Ossetians had been killed by the Georgian attack and after tens of thousands of
Ossetians had fled into Russia to escape the Georgian attack. According to news reports, Russian forces have captured Americans who were with the Georgian troops directing their attack on civilians.
The US military certainly has no resources for a war against Russia on top of lost wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a planned war with Iran.
With its Georgian venture, the Bush Regime is guilty of a new round of war crimes. What will be the consequence?
Many will reply that having got away with 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, and with its preparations for attacking Iran, the Bush Regime will get away with its Georgian venture as well.
Possibly, however, this time the Bush Regime has overreached.
Certainly Russia now recognizes that the US is determined to exert hegemony over Russia and is Russia’s worst enemy.
China realizes the US threat to its own energy supply and, thereby, economy.
Even America’s European allies, chafing under their role of supplying troops for America’s Empire, must now realize that being an American ally is dangerous and has no benefits. If Georgia becomes a NATO member and renews its attack on South
Ossetia, it must drag Europe into a war with Russia, a main supplier of energy to Europe.
Moreover, if Russian troops are sent across European frontiers, there is nothing to stop them.
What does America offer Europe, aside from the millions of dollars it pays to buy off Europe’s political leaders to insure that they betray their own peoples? Nothing whatsoever.
The only military threat that Europe faces comes from being dragged into America’s wars for American hegemony.
The US is financially bankrupt, with budget and trade deficits that exceed the combined deficits of the rest of the world together. The dollar has wilted. The American consumer market is dying from the
offshoring of American jobs and, thereby, incomes, and from the wealth effect of the real estate and derivatives collapses. The US has nothing to offer Europe. Indeed, American economic decline is killing European exports by driving up the value of the euro.
America long ago lost the moral high ground. Hypocrisy has become America’s best known hallmark. Bush, the invader of Afghanistan and Iraq on the basis of lies and deception, thunders at Russia for coming to the defense of its peacekeepers and Russian citizens in South
Ossetia. Bush who ripped
Kosovo out of Serbia’s heart and handed it to the Muslims, has taken an adamant stand against other separatist movements, especially the South
Ossetians who wish to be part of the Russian Federation.
The
neoconned Bush Regime is furious that the Russian bear was not intimidated by the US supported aggression of the American puppet state, Georgia. Instead of accepting the act of American hegemony that the
neocon script called for, Russia sent the Americanized Georgian army fleeing in fear.
Having failed with weapons, the Bush Regime now unleashes the rhetoric. The White House is warning Russia that failure to acquiesce to US hegemony could have a “significant, long-term impact on relations between Washington and Moscow.”
Do the morons who comprise the Bush Regime really not understand that short of a surprise nuclear attack on Russia there is nothing whatsoever the US can do to Moscow?
The Bush Regime owns no Russian currency that it can dump. The Russians own US dollars.
The Bush Regime owns no Russian bonds that it can dump. The Russians own US bonds.
The US can cut Russia off from no energy supplies. Russia can cut America’s European allies off from energy.
President Reagan negotiated the end of the cold war with Soviet President Gorbachev.,The neoconservatives, whom Reagan fired and drove from his administration, were furious. The
neocons had hoped to win the cold war, thereby establishing American hegemony.
The Republican Establishment reestablished its hegemony under Bush 1st that it had lost to Ronald Reagan. With this feat, intelligence was driven from the Republican Party.
The
neocons engineered their comeback with the First Gulf War and their propaganda, pure lies, that Iraqi troops bayoneted Kuwait babies in hospitals.
The
neocons made a further comeback with President Clinton, whom they convinced to bomb Serbia in order to permit separatist movements to become independent states dependent on America.
With Bush 2
nd, the
neocons took over. Their agenda, American world hegemony, includes Israeli hegemony in the Middle East.
So far the schemes of these ignorant and dangerous ideologues have come a cropper. Iraq, formerly in the hands of secular Sunnis who were a check on Iran, is, after the American invasion and occupation, in the hands of religious
Shi’
ites allied with Iran.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban are resurgent, and a large NATO/US army there is unable to control the situation.
One consequence of the
neocons’ Afghan war has been the loss of power of the American puppet president of Pakistan, a Muslim country armed with nuclear weapons. The puppet president now faces impeachment, and the Pakistani military has informed the Americans to stop conducting military operations in Pakistani territory.
The American puppets in Egypt and Jordan might be next to fall.
In Iraq, the
Shi’
ites, having completed their ethnic cleansing of Sunnis from neighborhoods, have declared a cease fire in order to contradict the US propaganda that American withdrawal would lead to a blood bath. Negotiations on withdrawal dates are now underway between the Americans and the Iraqi government, which is no longer behaving like a puppet.
Last year Hugo Chavez ridiculed Bush before the UN. Russia’s Putin ridiculed Bush as Comrade Wolf.
On August 12, 2008, Pravda ridiculed Bush, “Bush: Why don’t you shut up.”
Americans may think they are a superpower before whose presence the world trembles. But not the Russians.
Those Americans stupid enough to think that America’s “superpower” insures its citizens from danger need to read the total contempt shown for President Bush in Pravda:
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? In your statement on Monday regarding the legitimate actions of the Russian Federation in Georgia, you failed to mention the war crimes perpetrated by Georgian military forces, which American
advisors support, against Russian and
Ossetian civilians
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? Your faithful ally, Mikhail
Saakashvili, was announcing a ceasefire deal while his troops, with your
advisors, were massing on
Ossetia’s border, which they crossed under cover of night and destroyed
Tskhinvali, targeting civilian structures just like your forces did in Iraq.
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? Your American transport aircraft gave a ride home to thousands of Georgian soldiers from Iraq directly into the combat zone.
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? How do you account for the fact that among the Georgian soldiers fleeing the fighting yesterday you could clearly hear officers using American English giving orders to “Get back inside” and how do you account for the fact that there are reports of American soldiers among the Georgian casualties?
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? Do you really think anyone gives any importance whatsoever to your words after 8 years of your criminal and murderous regime and policies? Do you really believe you have any moral ground whatsoever and do you really imagine there is a single human being anywhere on this planet who does not stick up his middle finger every time you appear on a TV screen?
Do you really believe you have the right to give any opinion or advice after
Abu Ghraib? After Guantanamo? After the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens? After the torture by CIA operatives?
Do you really believe you have any right to make a statement on any point of international law after your trumped-up charges against Iraq and the subsequent criminal invasion?
“President Bush,
Why don’t you shut up? Suppose Russia for instance declares that Georgia has weapons of mass destruction? And that Russia knows where these
WMD are, namely in
Tblisi and
Poti and north, south, east and west of there? And that it must be true because there is ‘magnificent foreign
intelligenc’ such as satellite photos of milk powder factories and baby cereals producing chemical weapons and which are currently being ‘driven around the country in vehicles’? Suppose Russia declares for instance that ‘
Saakashvili stiffed the world’ and it is ‘time for regime change’?
Nice and simple,
isn’t it, President Bush?
“So, why don’t you shut up? Oh and by the way, send some more of your military
advisors to Georgia, they are doing a sterling job. And they look all funny down the night sight, all green.”The US is not a superpower. It is a bankrupt farce run by imbeciles who were installed by stolen elections arranged by Karl Rove and
Diebold. It is a laughing stock, that ignorantly affronts and attempts to bully an enormous country equipped with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons.
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of
The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at:
PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.comOK, my turn now.
Ever have one of those "moments" when you don't quite know if you should laugh, cry, or just get the old shot gun and shoot the first thing that comes into view? That is how I felt when I first read some of the "comments" from Rice, Cheney,
Shrubbie, and crew regarding the fighting in the country of Georgia.
The arrogance, hypocrisy, and absolute bullshit
coming form our
leaders was just about more than any sane person ought to be subjected to in five life times, let alone the last seven plus years. The current
pronouncementsof this "leadership" (??) class in America is beyond belief.
Now this crap DID start with Klan Clinton. He bombed the
stuffings out of Serbia for something like 78 days straight. Remember that? He had plenty of "encouragement" from our dear Hi-Larry for that mess. She even
boasted about that during the primaries, part of her "experience" I guess.
Shrubbie continued the destruction of international law with his illegal wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Now the Afghan deal may have had
some justification, but no way was there any at all for Iraq.
Continuing the disregard for international laws and norms, he was a prime mover in ripping Kosovo from Serbia. He was warned by many very smart folks that that deal would set a very dangerous precident. No way, said our "decider", just trust him, Kosovo was a "special case". Yes sir, sure was, just like South Ossetia is a "special case". Oh, and don't forget Abkhazia, that portion of Georgia wants total separation from Georgia also. So far they are not fighting as they were in South Ossetia. Maybe with the defeat of the Georgian army, they Abhkazians won't have yo fight them.
These are the fruits of W. Shrubbie and his criminal administration. This is what you get for flouting international laws, "dissing" the United Nations, disregarding traties and norms of international behavior. It is the result of trying to be a "world bully". These are the fruits of the neo-cons and their idiot Zionist enablers. This is now empire in decline for sure.
We are way over stretched militarily. We have no use for diplomacy, unless it suits "our" purposes. "We" flaunt our "military superiority" to the world.
Aha, but the world has noticed, how could even a blind man not see?, that while we may actually have the "best" military in terms of machines, equipment and such, we are stuck in two wars against realatively primitive weapons and are not fighting the types of wars our military had prepared for all these years.
Our entire military has been built upon high tech weapons systems. We are still, by the way we bring on new weapons systems, fighting World War Two. The sort of large scale, massed armies type of war. As some very intelligent commentators have made known, we are not fighting those types of wars. We are now into, what some have called, fourth generation warfare. All the high tech "toys" and fancy air craft (F-22) don't help much in this "new" type of war.
Our "leaders" exhibit the utter stupidity to try to make like the Russians have done some sort of crime by defending their own peacekeeper troops who have been in South Ossetia under a UN mandate for these past few years. Those peace keeper troops were attacked without warning, civilians fled the fighting as fast as they could. Russia sent troops to stop this war of aggression by Gerogia. Suddenly (!!!) Shrubbie, his administration, and even many neo-cons have discovered (!!) international law! Well, where were they and their type in 2003? Why suddenly is the "rule of law" so damn important? Could it be because "our boy" Saakashvili got the wrong message abd attacked Ossetia thinking Shrubbie and NATO would be right there backing him up? If he thought that, why? Who would have lead him to think such? Could it be those visits to Georgia by Shrubbie, Rice, and other officials from the good old US of A in recent times?
My guess is thatmost European countries are thanking whatever diety they pray to that Georga was NOT accepted into NAto at their last meeting on new members. Had this country been part of that dinosaur NATO, then European nations would have to fight the Russian army about now. Not something the French, German, Italian, or any other European country would like to do.
Ah, but wait folks. America has an "answer". Yes sir, we sure do. What is it? Well, it is
change. Yep, change. Or as they slogan says, change we can believe in. Damn right, Obama. Uh-huh, sure charlie. Want to buy a bridge to go with that change?
Why am I being so cynical? Well, look at some of the "advisors" to Mr. Oh-bomb-them. Mr. Brzezinski, Ms. Albright, and Mr. Holbrooke. There ya go folks, three-of-a-kind for you. Three war lovers!
Holbrooke is responsible, along with his then boss Clinton, for the mess we made of the break up of Yugoslavia.
Zbiggy is the guy who convinced Carter to do the Afghan "thing" to the Russians, then still the old Soviet Union.
Ms. Al (not so) bright made two "interesting" comments as the Secretary of State for Clinton. She asked Colin Powell what was the use of the wonderful military we had if we couldn't take it out and use it. She was also the vile creature who told us, on TV, that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children(!!!) was "worth it"!!!! What the HELL kind of human being could utter such a statement? Surely Mad-ass Albright MUST be a very, very good christian to have said and believed such a thing.
Yes folks, those three-of-a-kind are now on "team Obama", so just wait for that "change we can beileve in" to start right after he wins in November.
NO, I am in NO WAY suggestiong you vote for McCrazy. Shit, he is an old, senile fool who needs to keep his "pal Joey" close by to correct him every time he opens his yap.
One further clarification needed here before I close. I do NOT agree with Russia "invading" any country. As a veteran of the Vietnam war, I detest war period. I agree that General Smedley Butler had it 100% correct when he said that there are ONLY two reasons for war. One, to protect OUR homes. Two, to defend the Bill of Rights. ALL other war is a racket, designed only to fatten the bank accounts of the war merchants. I hope the Russian troops withdraw as soon as they can and let the people get back to their lives. I really hope they do not start an "Iraq" type occupation in South Ossetia. I just needed to add this before I close.
Vote for Ms. mcKinney, or Mr. Nader. Hell, write in Ron Paul. If all we have is the evil of the two lessers, well, we might get some change, but it won't be the kind many of us can "believe in". Just my 50 cents worth today.
semper fi
