Friday, September 3, 2010

Obama: Don't Turn the Page Until You Have Read (Out Loud) What's Written On It

90 months of war in Iraq come to an end for America? Maybe. Just to open the endless occupation to follow? I don't think so!

Let's review the pages Barack Obama wants to turn:

  • A Bush-neoCon stampede into war, based upon the mythology that Saddam was tied to al-Qaeda and had a role in 9/11, that he had VX gas, botulism, mustard gas, sarin and anthrax, and was acquiring nuclear weapons.
  • An American invasion of nation that did not attack us, did not threaten us and did not want war with us — to strip it of weapons it did not have.
  • 4,416 American KIA, 35,000 WIA, more than 25,000 with life-changing injuries and life-long disabilites.
  • $700 billion in treasury squandered with the meter still running on funding the 50,000 troops still garrisoned there..
  • Estimates - conservative - of Iraqi war dead run from 70,000 to 100,000.
The new myth is that the surge worked. It has not.
  • Terrorism has returned.
  • Iraq’s casualties are back up to where they were before the U.S. surge.
  • Electricity is off much of the time.
  • Six months after elections, no government exists; no political consensus has emerged. Iraqi statistics dead, wounded, widowed, orphaned, homeless and exiled continue unabated.
But Purge Success is the myth that Obama wants to perserve. That's why he is in a hurry to turn the page. He is a major stakeholder in mythogizing a surge for Afghanistan.

8 comments:

  1. Your absolutely right. For me that was the final straw. He sounded just like Georgie Bush. He's screwed us on every possible move.
    Here's the problem, Because of him the Pukes will take Majority in Congress. We may still retain the Senate but not by much. At that point he becomes a lame duck. That in of itself is bad,but even if we get someone in there 2012, they to would be a lame duck.
    It really pisses me off that we had our chance and the Great Appeaser Blew it.He wants to go down in History as the One who got Health Care reform. A health care that's not worth shit and will be repealed anyway. Nice job No Drama.

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  2. The American public are uninformed idiots on most things with Iraq near the top of the list. Any attempt by Obama at the "Truth" would have been meet with more disinformation from the right-wing and disinterest from the majority.

    Obama should have laid out the truth, I just don't think it would have accomplished anything.

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  3. I share the despair of Tim and Beach. I have already commented on Deciminyan's Shared Sacrifice, linked above.

    I have to ditto everything you say. Most especially on progressive income tax. (What's more Progressive than that?) To me it's a no-brainer. Tax cut for the wealthy? That just means more for the banksters: bigger, fatter bank accounts benefit the financial industries. But put more money in the working man's wallets, meaning the middle class, and you see those bucks spent on mainstreet, not on wall street. When that happens, and only when that happens, will you see the investing class start hiring people, and making and selling goods & services. That's the Keynesian multiplier at work. But the multiplier does not work very well if you're pushing those funds into Iraq and Afghanistan. Where am I wrong? Someone please correct me.

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  4. I don't think Obama has changed that much. I just don't think we got to know him well enough before the election. (we were so eager to get rid of Bush AND he was an exciting, promising candidate!) His predilection for "appeasement" didn't come through back then. He behaved like a stand-up guy with his speech on race. Who knew? Funny, now he's being criticized for not giving Georgie Bush credit for the "success" of the surge in his "tuning the page" speech.

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  5. Vig! Glad to c u! True chronology. I have to say, as long as the conversation is alive in this venue, folks are informed and sharing... and that indicates hope.
    Yes, Polly-frigging-anna has stopped in to share.

    Glad to c u Vig... very much. :-)

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  6. America has entered the lost decade, or two.
    The system is broken, and dysfunctional.
    After 11/10 there will be no system at all.
    America need an internal reset.

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  7. Once you remove the finger from the dike, damned if it doesn't start to leak again......Just like we all pretty much knew that it would.

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