Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The Irony of Brazen Hypocrisy

I noticed that Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, has told the Iraqis "that the United States won't support a new Iraqi government that serves sectarian interests and told Iran that Washington won't tolerate Persian meddling, either."

What do you suppose that means? The administration that Khalilzad works for caters to sectarian interests so narrow it almost defies description. Yet the term fascism does a pretty good job. On the other hand, is this a veiled threat of withdrawal? That would be the kind of political fodder that this administration needs. THEY ended the war. In these times when it seems that almost everyone reacts to the admionistrations actions, indictments, and guilty pleas, they are going to need some positive spin come November. And already they are starting the commercials featuring troops or their parents as a run-up to November. That will be their card up the sleeve. Who can speak against that? Well, actually there are plenty of ways, but we can discuss that later.

Yet in light of the fact that some rather permanent looking bases are being built in Iraq, that seems like a weird threat. Remember, Khalilzad is a signatory of the Project For A New American Century. It is their report from the year 1997 that stated that the US needed permanent military bases in the Middle East, and Iraq was the best choice. So politically Khalilzad has shown that he believes the US has reason to stay. Or this just becomes a scare tactic(what, the GOP use scare tactics?!) to make the Iraqi government a sectarian interest of the American government.

And it seems that the US doesn't like meddlers in democratic governments. UNLESS....Ah, conditional love. Where is the love brother? In Palestine there was a recent democratic election. And Bolivia, and Venezuela not too long ago. Yet to the Palestinians we see that the US thinks that we can cut off funding, and starve out Hamas. They can just cozy up with Isreal and make some economic difficulties so a new election is called for. I would think most folk consider that meddling. It certainly isn't acceptance.

Hidden in Khalilzads threats though are certain admissions. It admits that the Iraqi govenrment is quite sectarian, and the major sect is Shiite, which is the same group that is the majority interest in Iran. Had we not invaded, this would not be a problem. Now it is. It also admits that the US is readying itself for action against Iran. That may be a smoke screen for an act by Isreal, but none-the-less, it's still sabre rattling.

Khalilzad also said the US is "investing billions of dollars to rebuild the country but added that 'we are not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian.'" Hmmm. I noticed that the new budget had ZERO dollars for rebuilding. I guess that means Iraq is finished. Pun not intended. What we see though is that things like unemployment, water, sewage, electricity, the basic infrastructures of Iraq, are running at worse levels than when we invaded. And security is non-existant. So unless they continue to pour billions into Iraq to finish rebuilding(let's get some accounting for all that money though), Iraq is indeed finished.

What is brand spanking new is a reason for continued terrorism. Here we have ruined a country. That will at least turn the eyes of the average Iraqi citizen to look disfavoably on the US. And the next generation or two. And then we meddle in the Palastinian elections. That is sure to stir foment. Plenty of good reasons to strike back at the US and meddle in our democracy, maybe evcen create some economic difficulties, and perhaps even starve out the religiously intolerant ideologues.

And on the heels of that, the Bush administration allows the United Arab Emirates to run 6 major US ports. The same UAE that officially recognized the Taliban government of Afghanistan. The same UAE that the 9.11 terrorists used for their banking business. The same UAE that was used to illegally smuggle Pakistani nuclear technology to points beyond. How the UAE pulled off this coup was to buy the company that was doing it already. So we already were outsourcing major entry locations to foreigners! So what if this is really just a cleverly disguised Trojan Horse? Or does the UAE really just want the money the US will invest to build a space port there? (That's a high priority item, eh?)

And yet they do all this with straight faces because they trust that their spin machine is doing it's job, that you or I won't bother to call our Congress people, won't bother to inform ourselves, and won't bother to vote in such staggering numbers that even some fixed machines would make a difference. Which is another matter altogether.

They are trusting that we won't start another Revolution. That was what the conservatives hoped for back in the mid 1700s. It is what they have been working on for the last 30 years, and in some regards, since the first Revolution.

But even now cracks are appearing in the dikes. So keep up the pressure America! Know your founding documents. Buy yourself a pocket sized version, and READ it. People long ago pledged their honor, fortunes, and lives on the principles contained therein.

Can we do any less now?

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