We can't hear you!
Sgt Stryker's Daily Briefing explains/translates what the military is really saying.
Pontifex, a bloggin' Marine, updated today...go read...he's funny and he's there.
"In short: there’s trash on the lawn, everybody’s asking the federal guvment for stuff… shit, if Arkansas can handle democracy, the Iraqis can."
Think about that for a minute.
You have been reading Kim du Toit's News from the Front haven't you?
Captain Steve writes:
"That makes me wish America could see her sons and daughters as I see them here. We depend on a well-educated professional corps of enlisted people. They carry the draft horse's share of the war, and they do it with a quiet competence that fills me with hope for America's future. If you could see them here, your worries about Generation X, the effects of MTV and Hollywood, all these would be replaced by a sense of pride and confidence. They are so smart and so good at what they do."
Hoohah!
As you no doubt noticed, I took the weekend off blogging and wall-to-wall war coverage to gain a little perspective. However, this photo ran above the fold in Saturday's SF Chronicle and I haven't been able to put it out of my mind. What sort of creatures use children as shields? This regime is peopled by deviants sprung from the depths of some idealogical hell known only to themselves. Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime lack a shred of humanity, their reign of terror must end. Now.
The Marines said they fired after Iraqi soldiers came behind the family car and fired through its windows, killing the wife of Haytham Rahi, a civil servant from the town of Rifa, to the south of the U.S. positions where the shooting occurred.
In the confused situation while the family were treated and loaded onto a helicopter for transport to a U.S. military hospital it was not possible to discover why they were trying to move south toward U.S. tanks parked behind barbed wire.
U.S. commanders allege that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's loyalists have terrorized families and used violence to prevent soldiers surrendering to the invading forces.
"I think they forced that family to come down here," said Captain Rose of the Marines, who thought the civilians were being used to test U.S. defenses.
"We're going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and they're using that against us. It's tragic that they're doing this," he added. (via Reuters)
Just checked out Gary Hart's "blog" and am not impressed. The initial posting closes with this:
"However, I'm committed to using the Internet as a vital tool to engage people on critical policy matters and the future of our country."
Uh-oh. Use of the words "Internet", "tool" and "engage" are not a good sign that Hart has a clue.
The hackspeak is bad enough...then the comments window slaps the visitor in the face with a policy block in LARGE type as if bloggers are myoptic, rowdy toddlers that might spill juice and ding the Senator's furniture if left to their own devices and require the services of a babysitter moderator.
Who is kidding whom? Senator Hart doesn't have a blog...his comments moderator has a blog.
It would be great if he had the balls to actually mix it up with us, however given the blunt, anti-spin, fact/ass checking nature of the blogosphere I don't hold any hope of Hart, or any Pol, doing so.
via Instapundit
Once again Senator Tom Daschle expressed his regrets, not that his remarks were divisive and inappropriate, but that they were untimely.
"On the morning of Monday, March 17, Daschle told members of a public-employees' union he was "saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're forced to war, saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort so critical for our country."
Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Thursday he believes his remarks were ill-timed.
"I don't think the timing of those comments was necessarily the best. I think they could have been better timed," Daschle told South Dakota reporters Thursday. "I had no idea when I said them what the timing of the military operation would be."
Your humble blogger possesses not the diplomatic skill, sagacity nor intellect of the Senate Minority Leader. However even a simple fool can see that had the second UNSC resolution (diplomacy) succeeded we'd still be at war with the blessing of the United Nations Security Council. Would we not?
Russell Wardlow is da bomb...go here [warning! put down beverages before clicking on link]
It appears Iraqi leadership is quite willing to allow Iraqis to suffer and die to save face at the UN.
Iraqi Ambassador Rejects Humanitarian Aid
MOSCOW - Iraq's ambassador to Russia rejected donations of humanitarian aid Wednesday, saying it's simply not needed.
"There is no emergency situation in Iraq. We are waging a holy war," the Interfax news agency quoted Ambassador Abbas Khalaf as saying. "I am authorized to state that we will not receive any humanitarian aid. We have money and all the necessary reserves at our disposal."
U.N.: Iraq May Need Biggest Ever Food Operation
ROME (Reuters) - Iraq will probably need the biggest humanitarian operation in history to feed its entire population after the U.S.-led invasion, the U.N.'s food aid agency said on Wednesday.
"What we're looking at is having to feed, eventually, 27 million people," said Trevor Rowe, chief spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the world's biggest food aid agency.
"This is the whole population of Iraq. So, what we are envisioning is an enormous program, probably the biggest humanitarian operation history," he told Reuters in an interview.
Besotted with war coverage? Need a good laugh?
The comments on Michele's Desert bloom or hunker in the bunker? provides.
"We are British soldiers. We are going to bring you food and water. We are going to return Umm Qasr to normal."
"We welcome these people," said Farazdag, eyeing the U.S. soldier nervously. "We want to tell them we don't want guns, we don't want bombs, we don't want war. We come in peace. The people here want food and water."
A few facts about the the US Third Army (USCENTCOM) as it drives toward Bagdad might be in order.
From its inception, Third Army has played a major role in America's military history.
In November 1917 Maj. General Joseph Dickerson commanded the 3rd Infantry Division and took them to France in March 1918. The 3rd Infantry Division saw combat at Chateau-Thierry on May 31 and held the Marne crossings against tremendous offensives while French lines on either side fell back. For this, the 3rd became known as the "Rock of the Marne."
Officially, the Third Army was changed from a training army to a combat army on December 31, 1943. Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges commanding. It was during Hodges period of command that the Third Army trained the first three Negro divisions in the United States Army; the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions and the 2nd Cavalry Division.
On August 1st, 1944 at 1200 hours was when the Third Army was officially operational as a combat army under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.
In nine months and eight days of fighting, the Third Army compiled a great record. Not only did the Third Army astonish the world, but it's deeds, in terms of statistics, challenged the imagination. The Third Army gave a new meaning to fluid warfare. The Third had only one general order from Patton; "Seek out the enemy, trap him, and destroy him."
The Germans never knew what to expect from Patton. His methods of operation were very different from British General Montgomery and the more conventional American generals. Patton's Third Army tore open the German lines of defense and trapped thousands of German soldiers. Most of them were either killed or they surrendered.
The history of the Third Army is a story of constant attack. They drove on in fair weather or foul, across favorable terrain or across mud, ice, and snow. In terms of speed of advance, in amount of ground liberated or captured, and in terms of losses inflicted upon a powerful enemy there was never before anything like the Third Army's lightning quick sweep across France.
Until this week.
I'm playing playing catch-up as Mondays are full-on-fubar at the dark, dank foundry where I hammer out my meager wages on the anvil of corporate America...so you may be ahead of me.
I found Todd D. Lightfoot's site from the 1991 Gulf War while Googling keywords to comment on the imminent battle for Baghdad.
Camp Doha, Kuwait Images 1991-1992
The simularities are striking, as is the obvious enhancement in our weaponery and expertise. Scroll down the page to the "Highway of Death"...could it be that Saddam's Feyhadeen have forgotten or did not learn this lesson of history.
What is to come is not going to be pretty, we are not going to like the images on our TV screens. Saddam Hussein could have prevented all that we are about to witness.
Steven Den Beste advises "Read Peters. Then turn off the damned television." Very good advice, after you read the rest of Den Beste's post.
Sun hits the chicken ship
"COWARDLY French sailors are enjoying a holiday on the Thames — while our brave boys and girls risk their lives to topple Saddam.
Crew of the coastal patrol vessel FS Flamant are unashamedly flying a Tricolour while moored in central London."
Hat tip: LGF via msimon
More arrests in another day of anti-war protests in SF
SFSU protesters couldn't find any Jewish women to shove around today so they turned their attention to the war in Iraq.
At San Francisco State, a past hotbed of confrontations over the Middle East, about 100 students clogged the ground floor of the administration building for several hours, demanding to meet with the dean.
They urged university administrators to pass a resolution opposing the U.S. war against Iraq, and a group called Students Against War passed out flyers and urged their peers to walk out of classes."
The next graf contains a racist lie and the Chron's editorial staff know it:
"A rally last spring at San Francisco State degenerated into a volatile, profanity-laced shouting match between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups before campus police intervened. University president Robert Corrigan sought Monday to avoid a repeat of that situation. "
Meryl Yourish has the links from the above ""shouting match" AKA a campaign of hatred and intolerance against Jews at SFSU...go and read for yourself.
"San Francisco State remains ... committed to values that have seen us through difficult times -- free speech, mutual respect and mutual respect even in disagreement," Corrigan told about 300 people attending a campus rally. "The practice of peace on campus is a contribution to peace in the world."
Yeah, right.
They say that like it's good thing.
Tom Meyer subs while the Chron's resident Leftie Loon vacations....in France no doubt.
Do you think Meyer gets the irony?
click for full image
Chirac is already picking over the bones of Iraq's economy. How can the French speak of honor...craven mercenary cowardly bastards.
Chirac to resist control of postwar Iraq by US allies
Jacques Chirac, French president, on Friday ended the fragile truce at the European Union summit in Brussels with a strong attack on the "illegal" US-British attack on Iraq.
Mr Chirac signalled that France would campaign through the United Nations to keep any American or British involvement in the running of postwar Iraq to a minimum.
Just hours after Tony Blair, British prime minister, called for a new UN resolution on the reconstruction of Iraq, Mr Chirac said France would not accept a dominant US and British role in such efforts.
photo via Drudge
UPDATE: The Command Center moved to a new, faster server yesterday. Click the image link below for breaking news from readers and contributors across the globe.
An OP/Ed page has been added in order to provide a forum for in-depth discussion of the war and related events.
Enemy Combatant Radio broadcasting live from SF.
No it isn't a parody and yes, their enemy is the US.
Firefighters sawed through steel pipes used by protesters to chain themselves together in city intersections. Think about the last time we saw firefighters i nthe streets of a major American city.
However, this story caps it for me: San Francisco protesters stage a 'vomit in'
In a unique form of opposition, some protesters at the Federal Building staged a "vomit in,'' by heaving on the sidewalks and plaza areas in the back and front of the building to show that the war in Iraq made them sick, according to a spokesman.
A small irony in that the Ninth Appellate court sits in the Federal building.
Here is a link to a page of photos...the usual suspects...although the photodog got a two-fer...a Beemer SUV stopped by protesters.
The UN Security Council regrets they are unable to lunch today,
They are sorry to be delayed,
But last evening down in Beekman Place from their principles strayed, Madam,
The UN Security Council regrets they are unable to lunch today.
When they woke up and found, that their dream of power was gone, Madam,
They ran to Chirac who had lead them so far astray,
And with a collective frown,
they took a vote and shot the US resolutions down, Madam,
The UN Security Council regrets they are unable to lunch today.
When New Yorkers came to drag them from the building with glee, Madam,
Their haven on the quay they were forced to flee,
And the moment before their limo access was denied,
They lifted up their sorry heads and cried, Madam,
"The UN Security Council regrets...they are unable to lunch today."
* * *
Apologies to Cole Porter.
Click to hear Cole Porter's rendition. Miss Otis was written for actor Monty Woolley's birthday party and first performed on stage in 1934. In the 1946 Cole Porter biopic "Night and Day", Woolley played himself and performed a witty rendition of Miss Otis.
Original lyrics here. A perennial favorite, Miss Otis Regrets has been recorded by such diverse talents as Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Brian Ferry and The Pogues.
Gah! Senator Tom Daschle reached new heights of partisan disingenuousness yesterday with this remark:
"I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war," Daschle said in a speech to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country."
In 1998, Senator Tom Daschle,the Senate Majority Leader, lobbied for a Congressional resolution to take "all necessary measures" to respond to the Iraqi threat. At the time, a large number of U.S. allies opposed any U.S. military action. Daschle responded to questions about the need for action this way: "Look, we have exhausted, virtually, our diplomatic effort to get the Iraqis to comply with their own agreements and with international law. Given that, what other option is there but to force them to do so?"
dook...dook...dook.
The Iraq Liberation Act cited Public Law 105-235 of August 14, 1998, which had declared the Baghdad regime was "in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations," and urged President Clinton "to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations."
The Iraq Liberation Act said once Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the United States "should support Iraq's transition to democracy."
The Act had strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, then controlled by Republicans. Republicans backed the bill by a 202-9 margin with 16 not voting. Democrats lined up behind the bill 157-29, with 20 not voting, and the House's sole Independent voted for H.R. 4655.
The Senate passed the Iraq Liberation Act by unanimous consent, a Senate bill with the same language had been co-sponsored by six Republicans and two Democrats, including Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat of Connecticut) and then Senator John Ashcroft (Republican of Missouri), the current Attorney General.
In the House, those backing the bill included House Minority Leader Representative Richard Gephardt (Democrat of Missouri), Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (Republican of Illinois), Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (Democrat of Texas who spoke at the March 15th anti-war rally in SF) and Representative Constance Morella (Republican of Maryland).
What part of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House) don't the Democrats get? Did they not read it?
Senators Dashle, Kerry and Dodd obviously feel that Americans are too stupid to retain information for more than five minutes. Apparently they also do not realize it takes only minutes to Google up dozens of instances of their support for regime change and military action in 1998, without UN or Ally support aka "going it alone".
Slate has a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate scorecard on their positions on Iraq. Kerry must have shares in IHOP.
We shall see just how dumb the voters are very soon.
UPDATE: Viking Punditworks up a Daschle meme:
"...Tom Daschle. Once, he could have been President. Now, he's a shadow of a man-child, grasping for the talking points of the day which are always centered around his deep disappointment, his profound regret, his endless hand-wringing, his troubled troublement at the President's policies. Woe, woe is Tom Daschle,..." (via Brian Chapin)
I disagree with Martin Sheen but respected his anti-war position because he has held it against administrations which which he agreed and those he did not, wars just and not. However his whiny editorial in the LA Times makes him fair game. Sheen seems to be saying his celebrity doesn't give his opinion more weight than other citizens. Which is a tad disengenous when said from the editorial pages of a major newspaper. Sheen has every right to speak out on any issue he wishes, I also have the right to ignore him and/or change the channel as a means of protesting HIS position. That is the price he pays for using his celebrity status to broadcast his opinion. I have the final say in the marketplace.
"I am not the president; instead, I hold an even higher office, that of citizen of the United States. For most of us in this country, citizenship is a birthright. However, this does not cloak the citizen with a life free of responsibility.
On the contrary, America comes with a price, often a heavy one, that we should each gladly pay. Though duties pedestrian and noble, from paying taxes to voting, are obvious tasks incumbent upon citizens, often something more is at stake -- as evidenced by the rows of white gravestones near such places as Normandy. It is the obligation of all citizens to participate in the affairs of state. Whether we support or criticize actions taken in our name, we need to lend voice to our findings. When done respectfully, sincerely and soberly, this can be a profound act of patriotism.
One need not be a scholar of international law to know that war at this time and in this place is unwelcome, unwise and simply wrong.
And although my opinion is not any more valuable or relevant merely because I am an actor, that fact does not render it unimportant. Some have suggested otherwise, trying to denigrate the validity of this opinion and those of my colleagues solely due to our celebrity status. This is insulting not only to us but to other people of conscience who love their country enough to risk its wrath by going against the grain of powerful government policy.
Activism by celebrities does carry added responsibilities. Statements, demonstrations and marches that include public figures undoubtedly receive a measure of press, providing access to a stage that others often cannot reach. As a result, we are often called to give voice to the voiceless and a presence to the marginalized.
Whether celebrity or diplomat, cabdriver or student, all deserve a turn at the podium. In speaking the truth as we know it, my friends and I have stood proxy for all those yet to join this great public debate. We urge their participation and welcome them to the fray, for in the end, this is not about us but is truly about the matter of life and death."
Andrew Sullivan points out the scurrilous rhetoric of those Sheen claims "speak" for us:
"...A Hitler mustache put on George Bush's face and the U.S. flag turned into a swastika captures the essence of one faction. "Fight the Rich, Not Their War," was somewhat retro. And my favorite: "We Support Our Troops When They SHOOT Their Officers."
Non Merde! Sherlock!
The mainstream media is finally forced to abandon Bush bashing and report on the power play behind the UN-Iraq stalemate.
"So it is fair to ask, even with some sense of exasperation, what does France want? "The answer is straightforward. France wants influence and power. It wants influence over the international security order that is developing in the aftermath of the Cold War. France is no longer a great power; its influence will not come as a result of the size of its military or the robustness of its economy. It will come from imposing on the international system a system of procedures, rules and regulations that will constrain the ability of more powerful states, and particularly the United States, to act without France’s assent."
"Hence, France’s attempt to manipulate the U.N. Security Council over the issue of war with Iraq. The goal is to change the council from a consultative body consisting of member states that retain their full sovereignty into a governing institution that alone has the power to decide issues of war and peace. But, of course, one in which France retains its veto."
"France also wants power, particularly within the new Europe that is becoming more unified and integrated. It wants that power because with power comes the ability to shape the development of a united Europe in ways that protect and even extend France’s particular national and cultural interests. The vehicle for achieving this is the European Union (EU). With power also comes a leading role in Europe and the possibility, however remote, that France can ride a unified European colossus back to great power status. "
Dan Goure sums up; "What France wants — what is at the heart of its stance on Iraq — is what it has wanted since the days of de Gaulle: a Europe whole and free - of America. An Iraq with weapons of mass destruction may be a small price to pay when the prize is Europe."
well. yeah.
A few items from the SF Chronicle:
• More than 70 protesters, including Warren Langley, former president of the Pacific Stock Exchange, were arrested Friday in nonviolent civil disobedience actions that knotted up morning rush-hour traffic in the Financial District. "It's fantastic," said Patrick Reinsborough, an organizer with Direct Action to Stop the War, the loosely organized group of activists planning "day after" civil disobedience in San Francisco.
Reinsborough scanned dozens of Muni buses backed up along Market Street by three dozen protesters who were sitting in the intersection at Battery Street. "We've given people a taste of what it will be like on the day-after," he said.
But while dozens of protesters chanting "No business as usual," were arrested outside the Pacific Exchange, trading inside was unaffected Friday, said spokesman Jon Werts.
However, the thousands of people trying to get to work on Muni buses were inconvenienced and wages no doubt lost. Nice move asscake.
• Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's campaign was victimized Thursday during a stop in San Francisco when a middle-aged thief with thinning hair and quick hands snatched a laptop computer from a car belonging to Kerry's campaign spokesman, Chris Lehane.
Making matters worse, the Dell computer was chock-full of campaign information that the Democratic presidential contender certainly wouldn't want his opponents getting their hands on.
Anyone know where G.Gordon was today? snicker. Wonder if Lehane's password is fiftyseven?
• Two Fremont men who met at an anger-management class got into a brawl while working on a home-improvement project together, leaving a dead chicken and a trashed van in their path, police said Tuesday.
The fracas this week had city officials and police clucking as word spread around the normally tranquil East Bay city.
"This was definitely a dysfunctional encounter," said Fremont police Detective Bill Veteran.
Ya think?
• Gov "Johnny-on-the-spot" Gray Davis ordered an investigation Thursday into soaring gasoline, diesel and natural gas prices, questioning whether the oil industry is engaged in illegal profiteering.
Davis asked the California Energy Commission and the state's Public Utilities Commission to examine what he called unexplained price spikes. He suggested that the sticker shock consumers are feeling at the pump and from their heating bills may actually be due to manipulation and a deliberate withholding of supplies.
"The prices are extraordinarily high and don't need to be," Davis said
Davis is a quick study...gas prices hit $4 a gal in San Diego this week as a recall petition gained ground.
• Finally an amusing column from The Night Cabbie wherein a couple of French tourists on a pursuit for American food dish the Prez.
"The French people are very upset with America," she says. "They are not used to taking orders from anyone."
I point out that the French took orders from the Germans and, before that, from the Corsican, Napoleon.
"But Napoleon was a great leader, unlike George Bush," he says.
Yeah, but he was a lot shorter.
This item from the UPI:
WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- French and Russian oil and gas contracts signed with the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq "will not be honored," Barhim Salih, a leading Iraqi Kurdish official, said in Washington Friday, just before a series of high-level meetings with Bush administration officials.
"A new Iraqi government should not honor any of these contracts, signed against the interests of the Iraqi people. The new Iraqi government should respect those who stood by us, and not those who stood beside the dictator," added Salih, who is prime minister in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan government that controls Iraq's eastern Kurdish area.
Russian and French oil corporations have each signed draft contracts with Iraq, to come into force only when the United Nations sanctions are lifted, for exploration, development and exploitation of the country's energy resources -- which geologists believe may be the world's second largest after Saudi Arabia. The value of the draft contracts, if fully taken up, is estimated to have a potential of more than $20 billion.
Given that the Kurds would control the Karkuk oil fields and the Shia those in the south, I'd venture France and Russia are screwed as it now stands.
Amid the hand wringing, finger pointing and downright glee in the American media over what they perceive as Bush and Powell's "failed" diplomacy the real story is playing out under the radar. The standoff with France is not about Iraq. It is about pulling the plug on a comatose UN and control of New Europe. Rumsfield was roundly ridiculed when he referred to Old Europe, but he was exactly right. Old Europe ceased to exist when the EU became the currency of a realigned Europe. EU membership of former Soviet states will further change the face of the EU and shift power from the UN to NATO.
Saddam has given France the opportunity to whip up an anti-American wave and ride it to power, that France makes a few billion on the side equipping Saddam is a side benefit. Chirac believes France will dominate the EU and become a world power after they checkmate the US and the UN. As if.
Once we oust Saddam and reveal how deep and broad France's perfidy, Europe will see once and for all that the Emperor has no clothes. When markets beckon, disaster strikes, tyrants threaten, who they gonna call? France without a military and a teetering economy? Non. They will hit the international 911, the U.S.
Far sharper minds have been on this track for some time. Steven De Beste is among the best at dissecting France's motivation and machinations. Den Beste says the French have overplayed their hand and describes the game not as chess or even poker, but Old Maid.
In other words, we just gave the Old Maid back to the French. And what I think may be about to happen is that we will spend a couple more days on diplomacy, then announce with great regret that there's no point in going on, and announce the attack anyway.
I think this will be enough for Blair. What he promised his MPs was that he would either have a resolution or an "unreasonable veto". But this amounts to the same thing as an "unreasonable veto" even if no actual vote takes place, and he's starting to lay the political groundwork in the UK for going to war without a vote in the UNSC at all. Once he thinks the time is right, then we'll express our regrets.
And one demonstration of the fruits of the process is this headline: "France, Germany, Iraq dismiss British compromise". Think about that: it groups all three together. It makes it seem as if they're working in tandem. It implies cooperation, coordination, maybe even secret alliance. You're beginning to see that attitude appearing in a bunch of places, but this was one of the better examples of it. The French will be exposed after the war as having attempted to keep Saddam in power, and of trying to perpetuate the horrors Saddam has been inflicting on his people. They'll be shown to be so dedicated to keeping Saddam in power that they were willing to destroy the UN just to give Saddam more time to torture and kill Iraqis. That's how the propaganda is going to play out.
Read the rest of Playing Old Maid and follow up Countdown.
UPDATE: Spiritual guru Dr. Deepak Chopra, wearing peace beads and a Captain America mask, chatted with a fellow human-shield at a lavish Mardi Gras party thrown in their honor by Iraqi leadership.
Dr. Chopra's party was later wisked away to an undisclosed location in Baghdad to await the arrival of buses for transport to Karkuk. Dr. Chopra expects to be joined by heads of state and tens of thousands of people from around the world shortly. Once the threat of bombing subsided, he said the same peace contingent could turn its attention to solicting Iraqi participation for Dr. Chopra's SynchoDestiny Seminar or the ever popular Golf for Enlightenment series.
Sweet! Jay Caruso aces Carnival of the Vanities #25.
Stephen Rittenberg, at Horsefeathers, draws back the curtain to expose the philosophy behind France's foreign policy machinations.
WAR OF IDEAS: FRENCH POSTMODERNISM VS. AMERICA
Colin Powell, our skilled and sophisticated practitioner of diplomacy has, by all reports, been deeply shocked and angered by French duplicity at the UN. The sophisticated Powell somehow believed that words have shared consensual meaning and that treaties and resolutions, based on agreed meanings are achievable goals. But what if words possess no fixed meaning? What if the people you are bargaining with view words as merely expressions of subjective power relations, having no reference to objective facts, since none exist? Having signed on to resolution 1441 the French, ever since, have behaved as if the demand for Iraqi disarmament was not what it seemed, that words like "immediate" and "disarm" do not mean what Powell assumed. None of this should be surprising in light of the grip on France's educated elites of such thinkers as Lacan, Foucault, Lyotard and the grand master of obfuscation, Jacques Derrida. While the Soviet Union collapsed and Marxism has been generally discredited, Marxist modes of thought survive in the form of fashionable French philosophies, including Deconstructionism and Post-Modernism. Old fashioned Marxist hatred of capitalism combines with a misunderstood Heisenbergian principle of indeterminacy to produce Post-Modernism.
Read the rest of Rittenberg's analysis and a Derrida interview
One last shot before hitting the percales:
Donald Rumsfeld was being heckled by a French anti-war weenie when he suddenly turned and asked the Frenchman:
"Excuse me. Do you speak German?"
The Frenchman replied "No."
Rumsfeld looked him in the eyes and said "You're welcome."
Thanks to John Moore's French Glory Page.
I missed Cato the Youngest's excellent fisking of the Peanut Man's NYT screed while I was wrassling the Apache.
"The war's weapons must discriminate between combatants and noncombatants. Extensive aerial bombardment, even with precise accuracy, inevitably results in "collateral damage." Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf, has expressed concern about many of the military targets being near hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes." (Carter)
Article 28 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits the use of protected persons (civilians) to render certain points immune from attack (human shields). Saddam, not our forces, is the one violating the Geneva Conventions, you ignorant bastard. We will do our best to reduce civilian casualties, but innocent people die in war. Nothing can prevent that. Even appeasement and surrender can only guarantee that the innocent dead will be ours. (Cato)
Read it all here
a hat tip to Beaker
My fav Rummy quote so far this week is his reply to a question after the test of the new weapon MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) at Elgin AFB today.
Asked about the test at a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld would not say whether it would be used in an Iraq war, and he refused to discuss its capabilities.
''This is not small,'' he said.
Neither were the burgers. Wut?
My home town had a burger stand called Meal On A Bun (MOAB) that made the best damn broiled burgers smothered in hickory sauce...they were huge...a 1/2 thick patty on a 6" sesame seed bun... veiled with thinly sliced onions, pickles and a boatload of sauce. Yum.
Wasn't the Plain of Moab where Moses died?
The two strongholds of the kingdom of Moab were Ar and Kir. Modern day Karak (maybe of interest to the Possumbloggers) on the Wadi Karak 50 miles South of Amman in West Central Jordan is an ancient walled citadel of the Moabites called Kir Moab in the first millennium BC.
Then of course we got Moab, Utah.
Egads...a biblical weapon...Shhhh...don't tell the Dems...they'll have to medicate Daschle.
UPDATE: Here's today's test video (it's a large download but worth the wait)
Thanks to Josh via John Little
Amid the protests and speeches of American hegemony Afghanistan emerges from the Middle Ages with it own domain name (.af) This advance marks a giant technological leap for a country where the Internet was banned for years during the Taliban regime.
So tell me again how we shouldn't have driven the Taliban from Afghanistan?
Thanks to John Little
Fred First is a gentle concerned voice against the coming war and the world situation. I admire him greatly, I also disagree with him, but never doubt his sincerity. Fred posted this today:
Will There Be More Resignations?John Brady Kiesling, a veteran U.S. diplomat based in Greece, sent this letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell on Feb. 27.
I began to answer in his comments and soon realized that I would do better to reply in my own forum. I find the method and timing of Mr. Kiesling's resignation less than honorable. It serves no pupose other than to draw attention to State's failure on so many fronts.
Perhaps we could have handled Russia a bit more skillfully after the Soviet Union emploded. Our Balkan policy/intravention and condemnation of the Chechen civil war alienated the conservative oligarchy. Our failure to prevent massive looting of the funding we put in place to create a free market economy also figures into our current problematic relationship with Russia. Strobe Talbot and State under Warren Christopher did a poor job of the Soviet transition, enabling Putin to gain power.
The old hands in the Kremlin prefer to deal with Europe, whom they perceive correctly as feckless and fangless. They do not look kindly to being our "little brother" in the world power hierarchy. Our intent to move bases from Germany to Poland and Hungary is a political problem for Putin if he remain closley tied to the US. The Kremlin and Putin also realize we will not be forthcoming with funding until they achieve real reform, which they cannot do and retain power. Remember Putin was the head of the KGB; his backers are not progressive reformers. Russia also has a vested interest in Iraq oil production and maintaining oil prices...which are critical to his political survival and their economy.
France is exploiting this fissure for it's own purposes. France is very close to defaulting and sees it's last best hope in dominating the EU. France must keep price supports and tariffs in place in order to compete. France is also heavily dependent on Iraqi oil and must have the new fields to maintain a viable economy. Germany is struggling under a massive debt, high unemployment and plummeting GDP created by social programs and an aging population. Schroeder ran on a diversion campaign of anti-Americanism, he has no choice but to vote with France and Russia. All three must keep Old Europe together in an attempt to shift economic power from the US and prop up their markets. The Baltic States and former Soviet Eastern Bloc are a threat to "Old Europe's" balance of power.
A possible motivation for the UK joining us in the Iraq campaign is that they do not intend to stay the course in Europe, that they will leave the EU. Should France block the former Eastern Bloc nations from joining the EU, the Brits will have a tailor made escape. The Brits have an ancient, visceral dislike for France and Germany. In the end they will not subjugate British interests to either. Old Europe has a young, exploited poly-got population. A time bomb of their own making by importing millions of cheap guest workers and repatriating their colonial brethren. The irony may be that Europe’s only hope of economic survival is to metamorphose into a New Europe with a younger work force.
It is very facile to lay all this at Bush's door but many of the diplomatic difficulties in which we are currently ensnared were created on Kiesling's watch when the US forced an unilateral solution in the Balkans against Europe’s advice, made an ill-advised deal with North Korea, appeased China, interfered in Israeli elections, failed to reach a solution to the Palestinian problem, or deal with Saddam, the rise of Wahhabism, the house of Saud and escalating terrorism in the mid-80’s-90's.
Anyone who thinks that all this went to hell since January 2001 is fooling himself or herself. Nor should be it a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to world politics and/or economics. We have been on this track for more than two decades. Carter and Reagan had a hand in sowing the seeds of discontent in the Mideast and our State Dept must bear it's share of blame as well. Too many at Foggy Bottom protecting their turf for turf's sake.
No, many chefs created this soup in which we are now simmering.
It is easy for Kiesling to make a high ground gesture and depart to the private sector. Hard would be to stay and work on retractable issues in spite of his dislike for the current administration/policies. For isn't Kiesling abandoning the field to those he feels are not worthy? Other than a brief splash in the media his resignation changes nothing, his staying might.
I am afraid that there isn’t an easy solution or blame to lie that will remedy the situation. Nor will electing another President or party. We are in this for the long haul and even if we do not go to war with Iraq, it will not always be easy or pleasant. Like it or not since WWII the world looks to us for solutions to its problems. Unlike Mr. Kiesling, we cannot pick and choose our battles, they will come whether we ask for them or not.
I have great faith in this messy, fractious system of governance that we have created and if we were a tenth as evil or venial as our enemies and detractors say, why would millions joyfully embrace our way of life and seek to join us yearly?
My hosting service migrated to a new management system overnight...so the blog may be up and down over the next day.
Carnival of the Vanities is up and boldly rumbling at Acidman's this week. Hie on over to Rob's for kick-ass commentary and some fine entries.
This story should make the NEA proud:
Study: Infant car seat instructions too difficult for many adultsInstructions for installing child safety seats in cars are written in language too difficult for many adults to understand, researchers say.
Such manuals are written at a tenth-grade reading level on average, according to a new study, while data suggest that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults read at or below a fifth-grade level, and at least 25 percent read at about an eighth-grade level.
Girasek said manufacturers could help by writing installation instructions at a fifth-grade level, which literacy experts say is optimal for understanding health-related information.
"This could be accomplished by using shorter sentences and simpler words. For example, `collision,' `automobile,' and `remedied' could be replaced by `crash,' `car,' and `fixed,"' according to the study.
I guess it's unnecessary to remark that anyone who cannot recognize the word 'automobile' shouldn't be raising kids? Of course they wouldn't be able to understand birth control instruction either.
Sagging lesbian Actors warned against wearing blackface!!
Wut? :::::wiping glasses::::::
Oh. well.
Thanks to Emperor Misha's rightous indignation over such asstwittery, I need add nothing more.
There's no fool like a sick fool. Flu bug got me. Will try to catch up this afternoon. Cannot think or form complete sentences. The idiots in Sacramento can't either.
Assembly panel OKs cell phone bill
California motorists would have to use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones under a bill approved Monday by an Assembly committee.
During the first six months of 2002, the CHP found cell phone use contributed to 611 -- or 11 percent -- of the 5,677 collisions linked to inattention factors, according to the study ordered by the Legislature.
The second-leading cause of distraction -- using a car radio or CD player -- contributed to 9 percent, or 519 accident.
So we got over 20,000,000 licensed drivers in California and 611 of them had accidents due to a cell phone...okay...let's pass another law that encumbers drivers with more expense. Given that the CHP will no longer use "pretext stops" to apprehend suspects...they can better use their resources issuing tickets for using a hands-on cell phone.
Stupidity thy name is Politican.
David Sims wrote a well reasoned piece yesterday:
Of Belief and Pragmatism, Self-Interest and NATO.
"We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are perpetual and eternal and those interests it is our duty to follow."
Lord Palmerston, 1848
Correct. And it is time for America to do its duty and follow its interests not for our good alone, but for the good of the world. Because the game has changed and America’s old teammates are woefully unable to play the new one. We’ve gone from a battle of pragmatism to a battle of belief, and belief is one thing Western Europe does not have. Whereas we are still the city on a hill.
We have all the interest in maintaining military “alliances” with the likes of France, Germany and Belgium that a sprinter does wearing an overcoat. NATO was always ever formed for one purpose and one purpose only – to repel a post-World War II invasion of Communists in Western Europe.
As one wag put it, its purpose was to keep “Russia out, Germany down and America in.”
Nobody needs keep Russia out of anything anymore, and EU bureaucracy is doing a far better job keeping Germany down than any army could. Hence there is no reason for America to be in. Hence no reason for NATO.
