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Slipping Towards Armageddon: Israel in Iraq
(Mark Gaffney, CounterPunch, July 13, 2004)
There it was, in black and white, the worst news one could imagine staring back at me. I was seeing it, but still not really believing: the latest Sy Hersh report in the New Yorker, "Plan B, Israel Looks to the Kurds" (21 June 2004). . . . I didn't want to be reading this. . . . I was wading through this nightmare of print a la Hersh, about how the Israelis are now in Iraq, where they have no business being (Can this really be happening?), arming and training the Kurds in the north along the border with Iran. For what purpose? Toward what end? Questions that no one seems to be asking these days, certainly not in Washington, where Israel holds court in the US Congress, no less than in the oval office. . . . The fact that Israeli operatives are now in Iraq explodes once and for all the oft-repeated claim that America is an honest peace broker. The whole world will now understand that this was just another of Washington's many deceptions. Bush's uncritical support of Sharon's iron fist shows that even the pretense of impartiality has now evaporated. And, to the shame of every American who cares about justice, candidate Kerry has seconded Bush on Israel without qualification. . . . Bush's Iraq policy has imploded. In fact, there never was a coherent policy, apart from grabbing the oil. It was always just a bunch of lies packaged as patriotic slogans for popular consumption here at home. And the Israelis, who wanted the war (just about any war is OK with them) are now where they've wanted to be for years, that is, on the Iran border, i.e., positioning themselves for the next round when the shinola really hits the fan: the shooting match that will make everything we've seen up until now look like a warm-up. . . . Clearly, Iran figures large in the Israeli calculus. Though it was not reported here in the US media . . . Iran was one of the key issues in the last Israeli election. Sharon and his opponent Benjamin Netanyahu squared-off during the campaign, and the issue was the specter of a nuclearized Shi'ite theocracy. The debate was bitter. Netanyahu took the view that it was too late to prevent Iran from going nuclear, and that Israel must accept this and come to terms. This inflamed Sharon, who accused Netanyahu of treason. Clearly, Sharon believed, and still believes, that Israel must go to any length to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, even if this means going to war (again), which means persuading, pushing, and if necessary dragging the Americans into it. . . . It appears that Iran's policy is to develop nuclear power for energy production while keeping its options open for the future. Such a policy is totally understandable, given Israel's own massive nuclear arsenal, the existence of which is beyond dispute, even if the White House doesn't want to be reminded. Let us remember, Israel's nukes are aimed at Tehran. Put yourself in the Iranians' shoes. It's unreasonable to expect them to forswear nukes forever unless WE in America are also prepared to pressure the Israeli government to sign the NPT and open ALL of Israel's nuclear sites to inspectors. . . . A real leader in the White House would do the sane thing and order the Israelis to leave Iraq, IMMEDIATELY. But we haven't had that kind of leadership since Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the IDF out of Sinai. . . . The Turks are furious with Israel and also with Bush. They have repeatedly warned the US that they will not tolerate an independent Kurdistan on their border. Yet, the outcome of Israel's arming and training the Kurdish militias can only be to feed Kurdish national aspirations. Serious repercussions are likely too in the cases of Syria and Iran, which, like Turkey, have large Kurdish minorities; not to mention both Sunni and Shi'ite factions within Iraq itself, which have warned that Washington is playing with fire. . . . Don't look now, but mighty America is facing defeat in Iraq, and the Israelis are preparing to turn our defeat toward their own ends!

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 12:44 PM

 

JK Galbraith: A cloud over civilisation
(John Kenneth Galbraith, The Guardian, July 15, 2004)
At the end of the second world war, I was the director for overall effects of the United States strategic bombing survey - Usbus, as it was known. . . . Attacks on factories that made such seemingly crucial components as ball bearings, and even attacks on aircraft plants, were sadly useless. . . . In the cities, the random cruelty and death inflicted from the sky had no appreciable effect on war production or the war. . . . These findings were vigorously resisted by the Allied armed services - especially, needless to say, the air command, even though they were the work of the most capable scholars and were supported by German industry officials and impeccable German statistics, as well as by the director of German arms production, Albert Speer. All our conclusions were cast aside. . . . In 2003, close to half the total US government discretionary expenditure was used for military purposes. A large part was for weapons procurement or development. Nuclear-powered submarines run to billions of dollars, individual planes to tens of millions each. . . . Such expenditure is not the result of detached analysis. From the relevant industrial firms come proposed designs for new weapons, and to them are awarded production and profit. In an impressive flow of influence and command, the weapons industry accords valued employment, management pay and profit in its political constituency, and indirectly it is a treasured source of political funds. The gratitude and the promise of political help go to Washington and to the defence budget. And to foreign policy or, as in Vietnam and Iraq, to war. That the private sector moves to a dominant public-sector role is apparent. . . . None will doubt that the modern corporation is a dominant force in the present-day economy. . . . In its market position and political influence, modern corporate management, unlike the capitalist, has public acceptance. A dominant role in the military establishment, in public finance and the environment is assumed. Other public authority is also taken for granted. Adverse social flaws and their effect do, however, require attention. One, as just observed, is the way the corporate power has shaped the public purpose to its own needs. It ordains that social success is more automobiles, more television sets, a greater volume of all other consumer goods - and more lethal weaponry. Negative social effects - pollution, destruction of the landscape, the unprotected health of the citizenry, the threat of military action and death - do not count as such. . . . The corporate appropriation of public initiative and authority is unpleasantly visible in its effect on the environment, and dangerous as regards military and foreign policy. Wars are a major threat to civilised existence, and a corporate commitment to weapons procurement and use nurtures this threat. It accords legitimacy, and even heroic virtue, to devastation and death. . . . Corporate power lies with management - a bureaucracy in control of its task and its compensation. Rewards can verge on larceny. . . . In the US, corporate managers are in close alliance with the president, the vice-president and the secretary of defence. Major corporate figures are also in senior positions elsewhere in the federal government; one came from the bankrupt and thieving Enron to preside over the army. . . . Defence and weapons development are motivating forces in foreign policy. For some years, there has also been recognised corporate control of the Treasury. And of environmental policy. . . . We are accepting programmed death for the young and random slaughter for men and women of all ages. So it was in the first and second world wars, and is still so in Iraq. Civilised life, as it is called, is a great white tower celebrating human achievements, but at the top there is permanently a large black cloud. Human progress dominated by unimaginable cruelty and death. . . . Civilisation has made great strides over the centuries in science, healthcare, the arts and most, if not all, economic well-being. But it has also given a privileged position to the development of weapons and the threat and reality of war. Mass slaughter has become the ultimate civilised achievement. . . . War remains the decisive human failure.

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 12:34 PM

 

God Take Bush
NOTICE TO ALL GOVERNMENT AGENTS:
What follows is satire. As you know, satire is the use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc. to expose folly or vice. I point this out here because many of us who continue to exercise our right of free speech have begun to censor ourselves out of fear . . . fear of a knock on the door in the middle of the night. It is a very sad state of affairs when people in the formerly free USA have to be careful about what they say. When Bush's spokesman warned, "People had better be careful what they say," we knew where this country was headed, and it made us sad. Most thinking people, liberals and conservatives alike, are aware that this nation is no longer a democratic republic but has somehow morphed into a fascist oligarchy. (Check out the definitions of those words in a dictionary and come to your own conclusions before you brand me anti-American, as you are now branding many of my fellow Viet Nam vets who are protesting the "War President." What we hope to see one day is a Peace President. Sorry . . . I got carried away . . . What I want to tell all you good people who are employed by the government is that what follows is in no way whatsoever to be considered a threat of any kind to anyone. It's ridicule of Bush and of right-wing Fundamentalist Christians. And it is meant to be heard with a smile on your face. Sometimes We the People just want to have a little fun :-).

and now, let the satire begin ...

The following is a message from Jim Matus of Paranoise:

Dear Progressive Radio friends,

     This is my new Paranoise vs. Bush "Rant".
It's a satirical piece where I play a preacher who tells his congregation that
Bush has done such a wonderful job that it is now time for his great reward
in heaven. At the end of his sermon the entire congregation erupts into the
very catchy new hymn "I Wish That God Would Take Bush".

     Please play this as often as possible and make
copies and give them to all your friends. I want everyone in Amerika to know
this song by the time of the Republican convention so we can all sing Bush out
of office.

     Tell your listeners that they can get a free
copy by going to my web site (www.paranoise.com)
hitting "contact" and sending me their ground address.

Sincerely,

Jim Matus

For your listening pleasure

     The link below is to an MP3 recording of track
3 of Jim Matus' new rant. If Windows Media Player is your default MP3 application,
a left click on the file name will launch and play the file. To download and
save the file to your computer, right click and select the “Save target
as ... ” menu option. [Download Windows Media Player]

I Wish That God Would Take Bush

(2.8 MB, approx. 3 mins.)

a note from Matrix Masters...

Should anyone come across any Flash presentations syncd to this
song, please send us the link or a copy so we can post it on our site. Thanks!

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 5:54 PM

 

How Israel Created The Myth of Al-Qaeda
(Seymour Hersh, June 24, 2004)
Seymour Hersh found out that hundreds of Mossad foreign fighters have been in Iraq for a long time.

These Israeli citizens came into Iraq disguised as Arab or Kurdish civilians, businessmen. Maybe "contractors"? Under contract with the Pentagon's neocon office? Your tax dollars at work? . . . How much of their work is blamed on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? How much of Israel's terrorism is blamed on "Al-Qaeda"? . . . I have investigated the development of the "mujahideen" and here is my conclusion: In the 80's, Israel supervised the recruitment of Arab Afghan "mujahideen" supposedly to fight against Russia. They became cannon fodder and refugees before they ended up in Guantanamo. . . . THEIR REAL PURPOSE WAS TO HELP ISRAEL CREATE A USEFUL MYTH: AL-QAEDA. The Arab mujahideen were rather harmless as recent revelations from Guantanamo have shown. . . . Israeli and Jewish-American intelligence specialists were trusted by the CIA -- Israelis being "allies" and experts on the Middle East -- to recruit the Arab "mujahideen" to be used by the US against Russia. Israelis disguised as Arab or Pakistani missionaries (tablighis) even ran the recruitment centers. Israelis playing Muslim missionaries (tablighis) were caught in India and Israel rushed to retrieve them. . . . The Arab "mujahideen" themselves were inefficient and almost useless. I have heard from the relatives of many who died in vain in clumsy incidents in Afghanistan. . . . All the Zionists wanted was a story, a myth that would enable them to create another myth: "Al-Qaeda." The Zionists needed this myth as an excuse for their long-term plans for the "war on terror," a war to destabilze the Middle East and pit the world against Muslims. . . . Neither Bin Laden nor the Arab refugees he took care of were of any military significance. The Afghans themselves were the real efficient mujahideen because they knew the territory and the tribal structure. The Afghans actually saw the Arabs as nuisance. . . . Arabs say "nothing comes out of a pot except what's in it." When the neocon liars speak about Arab/Islamic terrorism and Al-Qaeda, they are in fact talking about what they themselves are doing. They are talking about Israeli covert activities. . . . No Arabs are involved. Israeli commandos move around using forged or stolen Arab ID's and -- if necessary -- they wear masks to hide their real identities, such as in beheading videos. . . . Israelis continue to fake whatever it takes to prove that the "war on terror," i.e. the war on Arabs has to continue. . . . Listen to them more carefully, folks. The Zionists in our midst have been telling us the truth all along. Just replace "Arab" with "Israeli," replace "Al-Qaeda" with "Mossad," etc.

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 5:05 PM