Thursday, November 30, 2006

The Caine Mutiny

I just read a comment to a blog (can't find it now), that likened Bush to Captain Queeg of the Caine, refusing to adjust course in the midst of a typhoon, thereby jeopardizing his ship and its crew. Pelosi was compared to the first mate who finally mutinied, barely averting disaster. I'm not certain about this last, but the Bush-Queeg analogy surely works.

Investigation? We'll see

Here's a report that the Defense Department is investigating the incident that I blogged about a week or so ago, in which (apparently) a couple of US soldiers had videotaped--and posted on YouTube--their taunting of Iraqi children with a waterbottle.

I'll try to maintain followup on this story, but if anyone out there finds anything relevant to either the incident or the investigation, let me know.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The wheels aren't coming off the US government

they're already off, and if you doubt it, check out this story of silliness in our foreign affairs.

Blaming the victim

That's the new parlor game in Washington these days.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

McCain revealed

I've long been a McCain-basher, with some special expertise because he was a Senator from my former state, Arizona, and I've followed his career carefully. I contend he's a closet fascist--certainly a militarist with a bent toward government intrusion in citizens' affairs. The mainstream media, I contend, has given McCain a free ride, focusing on his efforts at campaign reform and some other issues where he's said to be a "maverick" and "independent."

Well, turns out I'm not alone in this view.

Your reaction?

"Mission Accomplished" makes it into the Memory Hole. When I watched the video, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or toss a bomb somewhere, at someone.

Letter to the editor

Here's a letter to the editor of the News-Press that I wrote today. If someone should see its publication, please let me know. (I seldom read that paper.)

To the editor:

Iraq’s leaders want US forces to remain in country, no doubt largely to protect them from the insurgency. However, segments of the parliamentary coalition, including the Shiite Sadr group, want us out of Iraq, and is backed by a fierce militia that Iraq's leaders are unwilling to quell for fear of losing Shiite political support.

Meanwhile, US forces are deployed throughout Sunni-dominated areas of Iraq--Ramadi, Fallujah, etc.—trying to quell that sect’s insurgency. Ostensibly, Sunni insurgents want the US to leave Iraq so they can engage in unrestrained attacks against what they deem a "puppet government." But according to a report by Tom Hayden on The Huffington Post, a delegation of these insurgents is negotiating with US officials to gain its ends--formation of a new government, rescission of decrees against Baathists, amnesty--and wants our troops to remain in Iraq to police these results. As inducements, it's offering permanent US bases in Iraq and access by private companies to Iraqi oil.

It’s plain to see: We're being played the fool, while our forces are under assault from three sides: Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida fighters and an array of private militias. And now, with the escalation of retributive attacks between Sunnis and Shiites, our troops have come under indiscriminate fire, trying to stop sectarian battles.

How do we extricate ourselves from this mess? An AA slogan says it best: "The way to stop drinking is to stop drinking." The way out of Iraq is to get out of Iraq.