We Are the Change

The Insanity of the Neocons Continues

This article uses some ideas from a brillant post by Cenk Uygur.

The debate is on again about whether we should attack another Middle Eastern country that did not attack us. Now the neocons want a war with Iran – I guess because their war with Iraq went so well. Please note this quote from the NY Times:
"The consensus of the intelligence agencies is that Iran is still years away from building a nuclear weapon. Such an assessment angers some in Washington."

1.    If they were really concerned about the weapons, shouldn’t the neocons be glad that Iran is years away from a nuclear weapon?
2.    Isn’t their displeasure in the assessment proof that they are just looking for a quick excuse for war?

Next please observe this quote from neocon Newt Gingrich:
"When the intelligence community says Iran is 5 to 10 years away from a nuclear weapon, I ask: If North Korea were to ship them a nuke tomorrow, how close would they be then?"

1.    Isn't he admitting that Iran doesn't have any weapons and would have to buy them from North Korea?
2.    What would prevent them from buying those weapons the day after our air strikes?
3.    In fact, wouldn't they have a far greater incentive to buy nuclear weapons if we attacked them?
4.    Since North Korea already has nuclear weapons, why aren’t the neocons clamoring for war with North Korea?

The answer is 100% undeniable - because it isn't about the weapons. They want the war for other reasons. Iraq didn't have any weapons and we're still in there three and half years later. It was never about the weapons. See this admission by the neocon architect of the Iraq war, Paul Wolfowitz.
The real reason the neocons want war with Iraq, Iran and Syria is they have a “theory” that we can take over and impose our will on these countries thus reshaping the Middle East. This “theory” has already been shown to not work – just look at the mess they created in Iraq. If the neocons in the Bush administration had simply been honest and told the American people that we should go to war and invade countries in the Middle East because they had a “theory” that it might work; the American people would probably not have found that a plausible reason for war. That is why they focus on weapons and fear. The real question is: Are we going to allow them to manipulate us into another needless war?

Warrantless Wiretapping

Bush claims that he has to do warrantless wiretapping of Americans in order to protect us from terrorism. That is an outright lie. What Bush wants to do is spy on people without a record of who he's spying on. That can only mean Democrats and his political opponents. There's no other explanation for it, FISA judges never deny a warrant if there is any validity for the surveillance. Under the law Bush can spy on anyone in the world - as long as he tells a judge in a secret court who it is and gives a plausible reason why the spying is needed. Under the law, Bush can even spy first and has 3 days to get approval afterwards from a judge. Bush’s refusal to follow the law and get warrants proves that this is all about spying on Americans that a judge would not allow. The only reason a secret FISA judge would deny Bush’s spy requests is if he was spying on Americans that have absolutely no connection to terrorism. What Bush’s warrantless wiretapping is about is gathering information on political opponents.

A Smarter Strategy Against Terrorism

We need to wage a smarter campaign against terrorism. One that doesn’t play into the hands of the Moslem extremists by driving Moslem moderates toward the extreme. The Bush/Neocon policy of radicalizing the moderate Moslems and swelling the support of the extremists is simply stupid.

Here are the main elements of a smarter strategy designed to rescue the U.S. from the disastrous foreign policy of the last few years and bring stability and a real chance for lasting peace:

1. Respect U.S. and International laws. Our strength is that we live by a set of values that we place over expediency and because of this we are (were?) admired by most in the world, even those that disagree with us. By throwing out respect for our own Bill of Rights and international treaties like the Geneva Conventions, the neocons running our government have severely damaged our most powerful weapon in a battle of ideas; our moral authority.
2. Stop hurling threats at those we disagree with. When we threaten countries the natural reaction is for the people (even those who disagree with their government) to rally around their leaders. Look no further that Iran: 70% of the population is under 30 and they desperately want blue jeans and McDonalds. If we hadn’t been threatening them non-stop for the last six years, they would probably by now have a more moderate government.  If force is on the table, it should be spoken of only privately not blustered out in chest thumping speeches as Bush does. This is an old idea called “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
3. You cannot “speak softly” if you refuse to talk. We should talk with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. Yes their starting position may be the irrational non-existence of Israel but that does not mean that is their ending position.
4. Understand that all Moslems are not the same. Fact: There are 1.3 Billion Moslems on Earth. Are there 10,000 Jihadists? 20,000? 20,000 equals only 0.0001538%. The present Bush policy of driving moderate Moslems to the extreme is absolutely counterproductive. We should instead be isolating the extremists and formulate a campaign for winning the hearts and minds of moderate Moslems.
5. Understand that except for rare instances (see exception below) we cannot stop terrorist groups with bombs and bullets. These groups are more “ideas” than people and infrastructure. We cannot destroy “ideas” with tanks and airplanes, we can only destroy buildings and people with our bombs and the ensuing collateral damage only serves to drive moderates to accept the “ideas” of these organizations. Thus we kill a few terrorists but their “ideas” grow in popularity and get stronger. Witness what has happened between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is as much a political party as a terrorist organization. By bombing Lebanon back to the Stone Age and making a million Lebanese homeless, Israel has only made Hezbollah stronger. No doubt, in the next election, Hezbollah will gain seats in the Lebanese government.
6. Finish the job and go get Bin Laden. Most moderate Moslems understand that al Qaida attacked us and will not begrudge us rightful retaliation against those that attacked our country. It is the unjustified invasion of a country like Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11, that has so damaged the U.S. position in that part of the world. Do the job with “boots on the ground” to minimize civilian causualies.
7. Go back to being a some what honest broker in the region. Encourage Israel to recognize the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian refugees. What do you think they are refugees from? Israel could start accepting the Palestinian refugees into Israeli society. They could give them a path to full Israeli citizenship, help them adjust with training and jobs, pay reparations where appropriate and guarantee their children a college education if qualified. Moslems, just like Jews, Christians and everyone else on the planet (with the exception of a very few people so filled with hate that they have lost their connection to humanity) just want a fair shot at life and a chance for a better life for their children.
8. Get out of Iraq ASAP.
9. Never, ever elect a Bush supporting neocon again.

Does Bush Want War

In an absolutely shocking revelation, here is a quote from the July 30 edition of the Jerusalem Post "Defense officials told the Post last week that they were receiving indications from the US that America would be interested in seeing Israel attack Syria."  The article goes on to mention that Israel rejected Bush’s suggestion of a wider war with Syria but that they threw him a bone by attacking Lebanon. The implication is that they would try to get Syria to retaliate thus maybe getting a war with Syria as Bush wants.
Why does Bush want Israel and Syria to go to war? Most likely because Bush wants a war with Iran but can’t politically sell it to the American people unless Iran attacks first. If Israel and Syria go to war, Iran is liable to join the fighting which would give Bush his justification for a wider war with Iran.
America under Bush has given up the traditional U.S. role as a Pro-Israel but somewhat even-handed broker in the region to being a partisan cheerleader and now it appears an outright behind the scenes instigator of war.
This story should be making headlines in the U.S.A. but of course it has gone largely unreported in the Republican controlled corporate press.