Robert Dreyfus: McCain's Neocon reflection: War is on his mind
By John Amato Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 11:00am
I used to have a belief that his push for the surge was a calculated political maneuver aimed at trying to out Bush---Bush so to speak at his own game, but after watching this clip and studied his behavior closely I have to say that he's just another bloody---warmonger. Robert Dreyfus explains to Amy Goodman how close his ties are to the Neocon's and how prominent their influence is over him. He's a super freak of the AEI vision of America's role in world affairs. Instead of learning the lessons Vietnam taught us, he blew them off and is now solidly for American military intervention at all costs.
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t Heather)
Elect John McCain and you'll receive a continuation of the Neocon agenda with a twist of lime. It's that simple and may God help us all.
Transcript via Democracy Now's Amy Goodman:
AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Robert Dreyfuss, investigative reporter, contributing editor at The Nation magazine. His latest piece is called "Hothead McCain." McCain famously said that US forces might end up staying in Iraq for 100 years. What role did John McCain play in the surge and in shaping, if he did, any part of President Bush's policy in Iraq, the war?
ROBERT DREYFUSS: Oh, I would say that of all the politicians in the United States, McCain was number one in a crucial moment, when the President, President Bush, had to decide whether to accept the Baker-Hamilton report, which called for phasing out US combat forces over a period of sixteen months or alternatively escalating the war. And at that time, McCain was the number one voice in calling for an escalation. He had traveled to Iraq. He had said we need more troops. I believe he was calling for at least 50,000 troops. He worked closely along with Senator Lieberman, who's now his traveling companion. McCain and Lieberman spoke at the American Enterprise Institute and worked closely with Robert and Frederick Kagan, who—Frederick Kagan, in particular, who is at AEI and was the author of the report that led to the surge and was brought into the administration by Vice President Cheney, who went over to AEI and consulted with them. It was that team—Kagan, McCain, Lieberman and Cheney—who convinced the President to go with the escalation a year ago in January.
And McCain was not only advocating the surge, but really pushing, and is today pushing, for a long-term presence by the United States in Iraq, using Iraq as an aircraft carrier to support American power throughout the Persian Gulf and the Middle East and Central Asia. And his advisers told me so. When I spoke to Randy Scheunemann at length, he said, in fact, yes, we want to stay in Iraq for a long time, not just to stabilize Iraq, but because we may have to deal with many threats from the region. And of course you have to include Iran as among the possible threats that we'd have to deal with, according to McCain.
So I would say that McCain and the surge are almost identical, and it's McCain who we have to thank for the fact that two years ago we didn't start withdrawing from Iraq, but in fact escalated to the point where the next president will have probably 130,000 troops on the ground when he or she takes office.
AMY GOODMAN: And the others in the neocon circle, the advisers, like, for example, Bill Kristol, like Max Boot, tell us about their involvement.
ROBERT DREYFUSS: You know, it's very interesting, Amy. If you look at the list of people who say they're advising the McCain camp, you find a broad range of people. You find people like Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Larry Eagleburger. These are the traditional kind of Nixon-era realists, many of whom certainly wouldn't be considered liberals, but who certainly are realists. But when you look at McCain's positions, his views on things, you don't find any of the influence of people like Eagleburger and Scowcroft.
What you see instead is that the rest of McCain's advisers, and you named several of them—James Woolsey, the former CIA director, who has been traveling and campaigning with McCain and who I interviewed for this piece; Bill Kristol, who's very close to McCain for probably a decade and has been kind of an angel sitting on his shoulder and whispering in his ear all that time; people like Scheunemann; people like Max Boot; Ralph Peters; there's a long list of people who have joined the McCain advisory team—and it's these people whom McCain listens to when it comes to foreign policy. He certainly hasn't expressed anything in any foreign policy area that you would identify with the Republican realist camp. He's much closer to the neocons.
And he seems to be, as I said earlier, the true neocon himself, someone who, after early in his career in the '80s being kind of suspicious about some foreign interventions that happened at that time, at the end of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union collapsed, McCain seemed to have felt unburdened, like now American power can express itself. And that's when he attached himself to the neoconservative vision that America, as the sole superpower, could throw its weight around, could remake the world in its own image and that there would be no effective opposition to it.
When I look at McCain, though, I have to say, I go back to Vietnam. This is a man whose father and grandfather were extremely conservative, even rightwing admirals, who served in Vietnam until he was shot down and held as a POW, conducting air raid missions, dropping napalm on Hanoi and other cities in North Vietnam, who learned from that and became convinced that American military power, if it's constrained by politics, was unable to win that war. And so, he took out of Vietnam not the lesson that we shouldn't get into land wars in Asia or that fighting guerrilla counterinsurgency efforts might not be the task that America's military is most suited for; what he learned in Vietnam is that we need to take the gloves off, that the politicians need to get out of the way and let the military do its job.
And that's precisely the message that he's adopted in approaching Iraq. I think to this day, McCain thinks that the Vietnam War could have been won if we had just stayed another five or ten or fifteen years, and he seems exactly prepared to do that in Iraq, despite all evidence to the contrary that we can't do anything in Iraq other than sit on a very ugly stalemate that, you know, continues to blow up and flare into violence.
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Just finished watching this piece. Amy Goodman is the queen of journalism and in-depth reporting.
"McCain closer to the neo-cons (Bill Kristol, James Woolsey etc) than Bush according to Dreyfuss.
Amy's interview with Aram Roston on his new book about Ahmed Chalabi is also a really important listen. Just after the interview with Richard Dreyfuss.
Richard Dreyfus? Clearly you mean Robert Dreyfus. Or is Iraq the real "Mr. Holland's Opus"/
Bush and McCain have similar backgrounds in that both of them have successful fathers and neither of these sons has been able to live up to what their fathers were. Bush saw the presidency to be the way to try to top his dad. I think McCain sees the presidency as a way to do the same thing.
McCain scares the holy hell out of me when I think of him leading our country for four years. Makes me feel the same way I did when bush was running for his second term.
Look at Korea, Japan and Germany, not really a stretch, got to protect our interest..
Can a person that was raised in a military family and involved in war throughout his lifetime conceive of a situation where war is the wrong answer? It's worth pondering..
These war-mongers are going to destroy this country. By endlessly promoting war, they are alienating our allies. Our treasury is gone, many of our brave soldiers dead. These people have no shame.
chris @ 4:
Nice job recycling this old talking point. Waste not, want not!
R Gallaay @ 2:
Robert Dreyfuss (pardon me)
Blue Lensman @ 7:
I don't get the last part?
siegh hiel , mine furor!!!!! land aircraft carriers ? what a novel idea!!!!!!!! war is goot ! cant we all just get along and murder as we please ?
I that the same Vietnam with whom we are now signing trade and travel deals?
Well, Johnny was/is the president of the International Republican Institute.
Remember the IRI and Haiti?
What's a few rigged elections here and there around the globe.
I STRONGLY suggest to anyone with a pulse to watch the PBS/Frontline special on "Bush's War".....the consistent incompetence is incredible...link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
Another fine upstanding member of the IRI was J Kenneth Blackwell.
SOS of Ohio 2004 election cycle.
any buddy remember him?
nothings going to change ! let me know when any of these politicians say they will comletly withdraw from iraq and afganistan WITHIN ONE YEAR and bring all our weapons with us!
Another reason to watch Bush's War is to see how it differs (quite strongly) from what Dreyfus said. For example, Bush's War provides zero evidence that Cheney wanted the surge. Instead, it suggests that Rice was the backer. Cheney wanted the "small footprint" and "get out soon," which is the opposite as the surge. That Dreyfus never mentions Rice is rather notable.
It doesn't matter who you vote for.
The American nation is going down the shitter. It swirls as we speak.
Peak oil. Housing collapse. War.
Die-off is next.
Just prepare.
Want to know what is wrong with American journalism today?
Here you go:
CBS anchorwomen - Katie Couric
Democracy now anchor - Amy Goodman
Which one has the bigger budget? Which one gets the bigger paycheck? Which program is watched by millions due to default?
baboonass @ 17:
I love the name, how do you smile with that thing in the way?
chris @ 9:
Sometimes irony isn't that obvious. He didn't recognize it. Maybe someday he'll get a hint by the ellipse . . .
goat hussein sage @ 18:
Why oh why do the network NEWSREADERS make $15 million (or more) per year?
goat hussein sage @ 18:
Check the money trail to left-gatekeeper Amy Goodman and Democracy Now. You'd be surprised as to where it comes from.
Ford Foundation grants to Amy Goodman-Democracy Now.
Dr. Acula @ 21:
Certainly not for their journalistic abilities...
Truth B Told @ 22:
You say this as if it's a bad thing. Do you know much about the Ford Foundation? (hint, it has nothing to do with vehicles or an ex-president)
http://www.fordfound.org/
Is there ANY legitimate reason why we all allow every talking head to use the term "Neocon" when they actually are speaking about "Agents Of Israel?"
Neocon MEANS "Agent of Israel."
Admit it - and make others state it clearly.
Nothing to see here folks. All mumbo jumbo talk about some problems that is so far out there, that it is not even here.
Here, let' just watch our interviews of the families of two young white blond beautiful chicks that are mistakenly identified in their deaths.
Look at those chicks, they are beautiful aren't they? Let's make mistaken identity the subject of the day. It's much more refreshing than that tiresome Iraq war debate....
WTF !!!!!
chris @ 9:
You got that right... you don't get the last point or many points on this blog.
goat hussein sage @ 18:
Goodman doesn't have a gummy, retarded smile and she hasn't yelled out inane statements such as "Navy Seals rock!". Network TV loves bimbos.
Paul C @ 20:
Can't libs just have a normal discussion, I mean really, lets talk about the issues and facts as they present themselves. Why are we still in Japan, Korea and Germany after all these years?
Media ownership study ordered destroyed
Sept 14, 2006
'Every last piece' destroyed
Adam Candeub, now a law professor at Michigan State University, said senior managers at the agency ordered that "every last piece" of the report be destroyed. "The whole project was just stopped - end of discussion," he said. Candeub was a lawyer in the FCC's Media Bureau at the time the report was written and communicated frequently with its authors, he said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14836500/
"You can't tell any more the difference between what's propaganda and what's news."
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
15 August, 2006
chris @ 29:
soveniers ?
McCain is trouble. McCain is going to destroy the United States. The US is in trouble and McCain is not the answer. He is another neo conservative that has no idea what he is doing. Really listen to what he says! He has no clear plan. His only objective is to say and do whatever just to get elected. Then all HELL willbreak loose!
The Israeli Enterprise Institute.
nony @ 25:
while it is understandable why you write that, i have different take.
neoconervatism means the extension of the american-corporate empire through military means.
versus
neoliberalism, which is the extension of the american-corporate empire through economic means.
both are versions of neocolonialism and both are blights on the world.
Dr Pepper issues challenge to Guns N' Roses
Important stuff.
L.A. Confidential @ 35:
its about time!
Dittohead says:
Can’t libs just have a normal discussion, I mean really, lets talk about the issues and facts as they present themselves. Why are we still in Japan, Korea and Germany after all these years?
Enlighten us. Tell us why we are in Japan, Korea, and Germany after all these years.
whoever makes the decision on her salary must believe that head job she gives him is worth 15 million.
tyree @ 36:
sometimes even Hitler made sense,
"Your child belongs to us already...What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community."
Samson- @ 34:
______
And the benefit of a permanent US military presence in the Middle East for Israel is what?
Dessert?
nony @ 25:
Achtung baby. Now stfu!
biff diggerence @ 40:
No schmuck, it's for the OIL!
chris @ 29:
facts? since when have you or your ilk cared about facts?
but, to answer your question, we have those--and 800+ other bases across the globe--because we have installed a military empire, which are similar to a roman proconsuls, and this has been a large factor in the international anger at our country.
President PNACcio @ 37:
In Order: China, North Korea, and the small flicker of hope for renewed Russian hegemony. Assholes always need an enemy.
President PNACcio @ 37:
We're Babysitters?
Dr. Acula @ 42:
oil, corporate profit (see, war profiteers) and american-esque hegemony. "american-esque" b/c our corporate overlords are still using american foreign policy and the military to further their goals, but as soon as someone better comes along they will jump ship faster than bush can do a line of blow. capital has no national allegiance.
[Deleted. Trolling. And you're banned, too. Site Monitor]
The video touched on a little fact that McCain formed a world opinion out of Veitnam. That if America would have continued warring for 50 years or more we would win.
What it comes down to is " What does McCain call winning".
We have absolutely no idea what Bush calls " winning" because everytime GW was asked he babbled nonesense and verbed misdirection. So our nation really does not know.
Sure you can say when there is peace in the region. That is not going to happen in our life time like that of Israel and the Palistinians.
They cannot and do not define what the mission is. Spending what ever it takes. Inserting military to become diplomats, police, traffic cops, etc when they are trained to kill and destroy.
Would McCain send a fully qualified Plumber in to perform a highly skilled electrical job. You bet..............
Perfect Liberal @ 47:
Hey a it's another wing nut pretending to be a liberal.
Pretty poor job guy.
I'll give you an F-
chris @ 29:
It's difficult to have a normal discussion with you Chris. Because you spout inanisms, such as: "Look at Korea, Japan and Germany, not really a stretch, got to protect our interest.."
What is our interest in Iraq that needs to be protected? You once mentioned keeping gas prices low, is that it? So US troops are dying to keep your gas prices below $3 a gallon, or is it $4, or is it $5 as many estimate gas prices will rise to $5 this summer?
But, OK, how is Iraq like Korea? Because Bush and McCain want us to stay in Iraq forever. What about that do you want to discuss? Almost everyone here is against staying in Iraq another year, let alone forever. And you must be the only person here who believes it's worth it being in the middle of a civil war to protect gasoline prices, which are rising by the way.
Hey Sitemonitor: WTF is up with "Perfect Liberal"?
Dr. Acula @ 51:
One of O'Reilly's idiots no doubt.
goat hussein sage @ 18:
I watched this piece and was amazed at the time Dreyfus was allowed to speak, much of it without interruption. On something like the CBS Nightly News they devote probably 2 minutes to a story at the most. In this day and age that isn't even close to enough time and if you look at the talking heads shows all the panel does is interupt each other so a concise message can't be spoken there either. Here they allowed this man to speak for what 6 minutes and you got the complete idea of who and what McCain is, something you'll not get on MSM news or talk shows.
Is the American attention span a result of the way TV packages things or is TV the way it is because of the average Americans lack of an attention span? Either way this country is being hurt by the fact that no message can get out over a minute or so. Politics is all about sound bytes now and nothing more which is part of the reason we're in the mess we're in. When news became run as it were entertainment then news no longer was of any importance.
Samson- @ 43:
My ilk? Is this the common sense political realist ilk, is that what you are talking about? ANyway don't you think that all of these bases and interventions have allowed you the lifestyle that you have now. If you don't you might want to think again, how do you think we got all of these trade agreements and favorable measures..
Anyway don’t you think that all of these bases and interventions have allowed you the lifestyle that you have now. If you don’t you might want to think again, how do you think we got all of these trade agreements and favorable measures..
Good Christ.
Was the 6th grade field trip rained out?
Dr. Acula @ 41:
Exterminate "Israel" and all the Jews squatting there.
Thanks Leslie. Seems like we've got a lot of trolls amongst us today.
A senior foreign policy adviser to leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has told The Nation that if elected Obama will not “rule out” using private security companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. The adviser also said that Obama does not plan to sign on to legislation that seeks to ban the use of these forces in US war zones by January 2009, when a new President will be sworn in. Obama’s campaign says that instead he will focus on bringing accountability to these forces while increasing funding for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the agency that employs Blackwater and other private security contractors. (Hillary Clinton’s staff did not respond to repeated requests for an interview or a statement on this issue.)
Do we have a sitemonitor here today? #57 is the latest outrageous post.
i wish c&l would post more of dem now!
Global Revolution @ 57:
Site monitor!? Is this one person using different logon names?
chris @ 54:
How, by stopping communism from spreading? Stopping terrorists? Gimme a break. People hate the US because the government thinks it knows best, for everyone, everywhere. The world is in disarray today because of the beliefs being handed down from idiot to idiot since WWII are FAILING. Peace persuades more effectively than force, the neos and their kind just don't get it.
chris @ 54:
the lifestyle?
the housing collapse lifestyle? the $110 barrel of oil lifestyle? the sinking american dollar lifestyle? the manufacturing base collapse lifestyle? the out-source-everything lifestyle? the failed healthcare system lifestyle? the growing gap between the rich and the poor lifestyle? the financialization of the economy lifestyle? the end of america as the moral leader of the world lifestyle?
which lifestyle are you talking about?
but you are right, our squashing of democracy, our looking the other way as our "allies" violate human rights, and our use of the military to prop up dangerous regimes has enriched the top .1% nicely. the rest of us are wondering why fools like you support our imperialistic ways. as, obviously, it has only lessened our standing in the world and has NOT created a better life for the overwhelming majority of americans.
any common sense realist would have picked up on this a loooooong time ago.
I'm for Obama and I believe Obama and Hillary supporters are lying their asses off when the claim they'll vote for this old, tormented, war loving nut if their candidate of choice loses.
Pursang @ 53:
I think it all began with MTV and their rapid-fire editing techniques. Advertisers and eventually all network teevee producers picked up on this trick to barrage viewers with images and sounds to keep their attention. Problem is most viewers can't decipher the message through all that noise and their attentions spans are being artificially reduced. They haven't got the patience to watch, let alone process, a five minute interview.
TheConstitution @ 63:
Peace, you think Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin want to get together at a conference table? The world will always contain a hierarchy, Before us it was the Brits, French, Spanish, Chinese, etc. Someone will also be in charge and those people will always have it the best. Why, because thats the way it is, social Darwinism, you need to wake up if you think we are going to all live in the peace and harmony. The world has finite resources, the Chinese want it, The Russians want it, so we do what we have to to keep them under our control, so you can blog and drive and do whatever you want! War is been happening since the beginning..
Leslie @ 62:
It is one "Agent Of Israel" attempting to incite the entire board with False Flag Hate Speech so as to limit ALL speech regarding Israel.
A very widely used tactic by the "megaphone" contingent of their Hasbara program.
Lieberman is your designated Vice President (President in fact).
goat hussein sage @ 24:
Yes, I do know what the Ford Foundation is, and what it has close and historical links to. That you would rely solely on the organizations' own website as evidence of it benevolence is akin to the using the Bush whitehouse gov site as a representation of the history of the Iraq conflict.
Council on Foreign Relations, Trilaterals, the CIA... all sorts of ties to the Ford Foundation.
goat hussein sage @ 66:
if anyone wants a great book that touches on this topic, check out culture jam, by kalle lasn (the guy who does adbusters mag--which is awesome too).
nony @ 68:
Sort of like how the Canadian protesters at the recent SPP conferences were infiltrated by agent provocateurs of the elite/state for purposes of disruption and quelling the protest.
goat hussein sage @ 18:
Which one have I listened to daily for the past 5 years to try to keep my sanity
what with absolutely insane things going on in Amerika?
AMY if you happen to read this THANK YOU!!
chris @ 29:
Initially it was pretty clear why we had to keep a presence in Japan and Germany, not so clear about Korea though. After a period of time though I think it was a way for the DoD to continue to justify their budgets, personnel levels, and overall just to give the Senior Officer Corps command positions. Then you can factor in the pressure from corporations that develop and build weapons, vessels, and aircraft put on Congress to keep the money flowing. You shut down those bases and the orders for all that hardware goes way down and you have companies in trouble. These companies are big campaign donors and Congress always wants their money and that's a given.
Is there just one reason why we continue to have military bases around the world? The situation isn't so simple that there can only be one answer and it never will be. Personally I'd like to see them shut down because in these times we can have small deployable units based INCONUS anywhere in the world fairly quickly. If you think of the extra pay that soldiers OCONUS receive alone you come up with a staggering amount of money that could be saved. I think we can do it better without the OCONUS bases but I doubt you'll ever see them shut down.
Truth B Told @ 71:
THAT is the globalists game.
Don't believe anything. Nothing is as it appears. Nothing.
The entire political process has been hijacked by a foreign country, and Lieberman will be running the county from the VP office mad all-powerful by Darth Cheney - guaranteed.
That's been the plan for a very long time.
Cheney is just a tool.
Great hour-long on Iraq:
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/lies/
Basra pipeline bombed in midst of showdown with Shia militias
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, vowed today to keep up the fight against Shia militias in Basra despite huge street protests and a sabotage attack on an oil pipeline that temporarily sent the price of crude soaring
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3631718.ece
Surge some more!!! Working great. Oil is up. Plan works perfect. Global Oil Corporations grin like cheshire cat.
Truth B:
Have you read Plunger?
http://plungerspeaks.blogspot.com
Highly recommended reading for truth seekers
Pursang @ 73:
I agree with this post 100%
earl @ 72:
i actually had the extreme pleasure to see amy speak at the economic sustainabilty conference in DC last year, and a chance to meet her at the end. let me say, it was one of the most powerful presentations i have ever seen. people were on their feet, the chill-factor was through the roof.
i think she is going to be speaking at the green fest coming up in, i think, chicago. i could be wrong about the city...
my advice: go
Is Bush giving a big Iraq speech today?
So GOP Surrealists are imagining that there’s good news from Iraq concerning Cheney’s intestinal problems, er, the surge, and that they’ve undoubtedly hatched a scheme whereby they can free themselves from the evils of the Constitution, escaping so they can all sit back on their laurels and make slop buckets full of cash whilst falling into a heap of their own drool on some “coffeehouse” counter in Amsterdam before their pointy-pointy heads are whistled for a double dribble penalty as they hit the ground, or from their pseudo-religious objective point of view, as the ground rises to greet them. Copious amounts? Wee dram after wee gram? Dancing potatoes everywhere? And don’t forget: They put chemicals on the “stuff” there, too!
But it’s all hope and projection, based on a history of bad upbringing, ulterior motives of fellow siblings, poor stimulus retention due to gazing at penguin attired “lay” persons for eight of the most important formative years, abandonment in a town named after the Mexican word for a pass in the hills, and several ill-advised experiments with herbal extracts and tinctures of pineal glands obtained through illegitimate means trampling beyond the bounds of good taste and legality.
Hey! Don’t stop me, I’m rolling with this! Wherever known reality stops for conservatives, where they touch the unknown (in the biblical sense), there they project an archetypal image, simultaneously puzzling over why their hands smell like rubber. Wait a second, how about Animus, considered to be that natural and primitive part of the mind's activity and processes remaining after dispensing with a "second self" created by Republican candidate or devil and through whom the narrative is related, which is the mask displayed in interactions with others and which has been shaped by socialization and indifferent promiscuity in local airport restrooms. Freud often described the functioning of psychosexual energies in mechanical terms, influenced perhaps by the dominance of the steam engine at the end of the 19th century, entering a tunnel of course. In this manner, he also tended to think of the libido as a producer of energies, and a main cause of future troubles for persons falling out of favor with “lay” “members” of the clergy or nuns. Hell, maybe I’m just blowing smoke up my frame of reference, or as Joey Rico used to say, a tendency of an organism to revert to instinctive behaviors that can interfere with the conditioned response.
chris @ 78:
So you ARE for reducing the MIC and getting out or Iraq ASAP!
Samson- @ 79:
Samson- @ 79:
She is heading to my neck of the woods next month to promote her new book and help raise money for our community radio station:
http://khen.org
nony @ 74:
I understand your point, but I am not quite prepared to assign all this to one particular foreign country just yet. There is plenty of evidence documented by those that have looked for evidence (a prerequisite BTW in investigating a crime/conspiracy as the evidence isn't usually just dropped in your lap) that this has been underway for a long time prior to the creation of a certain Middle Eastern state. Perhaps its just the next phase - long delayed - in the plan(s)
thanks for the link to plungers blog. I was particularly interested in the Media as Propaganda entry at the top.
Chances are, Richard Dreyfus' opinion is probably in line with Robert Dreyfus.
Does anyone want to claw their own eyes out at the sound of Amy Goodman's voice? Show of hands.
what israel gets out of this Administration of crooks and liars is military force.
Jewish mothers have no stomach for watching their sons and daughters fighting wars and illegal military actions .
when these cowards get in power (media and financial global involvement) they have no problem with American men's and women's blood and treasure being wasted.
this is what aei and aipac and lieberman and etc have in common.
OUR u.s. troops are the slaves of these global, greedy, warmongers. Private contractors make 10 times what OUR ground troops make, doing the same work.
I believe the neo-zionists have planned for the u.s. military to be their pawn. look how easy it is to buy the military industrial crooks.
who gets the most tax money, who pays the most to politicians for influence?
lets hide under their anti-semite bullshit umbrella..
im hebrew but im not blind or stupid or a murderer or a lying whore.
Blue Lensman @ 81:
Yes, I never said I believed the empire thing was right I'm just telling you how I think it is..........
chris @ 67:
This is one thing I will never understand about our country. Why can't we look at history and learn from it? Do we just believe that we're stronger and better so that we can succeed where others have failed? Look at how many countries failed in Vietnam before we got involved there. Look at how the Soviet Union basically collapsed due to their involvement in Afghanistan. But yet with all of these examples of reasons why not to get involved what does my country do but to stick their noses in places it doesn't belong. Granted I can see becoming involved in a situation like WWII so there shouldn't be a blanket hands-off policy. But to constantly enter in to these foreign policy nightmares has got to stop at some point.
I love this country but I just wish, to use one of my Moms cliches, we'd look before we leap. We elect our leaders to make wise decisions and lately we haven't had many wise decisions coming out of Washington.
RH Potfry @ 85:
Insightful.
The shit is going to hit the fan as soon as the Dems figure out who is the candidate. You can bet they are keeping a file on all this Crazy McCain stuff. When the shit hits the fan it is going to be blowing very hard right at McCain. People will be so scared of this semi demented war monger that nobody will vote for him. Not even Anne Coulter. I can’t wait for the debates and see McCain get really pissed off when he can’t remember his name.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha
earl @ 89:
Insightful AND thought provoking.
RH Potfry @ 85:
There we go. Attack the messenger. That will take your mind off of reality.
goat hussein sage @ 91:
Insightful AND thought provoking AND not really surprising.
Your country is tanking, the whole world is laughing at your 'leaders'
and yet, someone who dares to try to speak the truth has a 'funny' voice.
How freaking depressing.
Maybe she'll get implants for ya.
chris @ 4:
People joined the armed services because Bush told them they'd be defending America against al Qaeda, misleading many to believe Iraq had attacked us on 9/11, and that Iraq had WMD and wanted to attack us [again]. They didn't agree to sacrifice their lives, for multiple tours, to maintain your lifestyle.
How's that working out by the way?
Here is an excellent piece by Glenn Greenwald over at Salon.com on the media and Iraq. There is a very good video clip of an interview with Ali Fadhil and Sinan Antoon done by the Neocon sympathizer Charlie Rose.
The comments made by these Iraqi's, who are living in the U.S., clearly explains why John McCain and the Neocons are wrong, wrong, wrong about the surge and much more:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/03/25/war_opponents/index.html
Pursang @ 88:
Also, Chris appears to believe that the only way to ensure America's access to necessities is through military means. Forget diplomacy.
If the US had spent a fraction of what we've wasted on an illegal war on R&D alternative energy instead....
And forgive me for raising a sore subject, but here is Ron Paul's analysis after five years of our illegal occupation of Iraq. Like the guy or not, when he's right, he's right:
http://freethemarketman.wordpress.com/2008/03/24/ron-paul-on-five-years-...
As to McCain and Ron Paul I'm reminded of the TV commercial...
"I shoulda had a V-8".
Richard Dreyfuss views are utterly different from Robert Dreyfuss.
Lets us not mistake Richard liberal views and let it go un-notice.
Richard Dreyfuss:
He has been outspoken on the issue of media informing policy, legislation, and public opinion in recent years, both speaking and writing to express his sentiments in favor of privacy, freedom of speech, democracy, and individual accountability.[11]
Dreyfuss has organized and promoted campaigns to inform and instruct audiences in potential erosion of individual rights, a personal initiative he began in 2006 in light of political events in the U.S.[12] On February 16, 2006, Dreyfuss spoke at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in hopes of prompting a national discussion on impeachment charges against U.S. President George W. Bush.[13] On November 17, 2006, Dreyfuss appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher as a panel member to discuss teaching civics in schools.[14] Dreyfuss currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.[15]
[Deleted. Trolling. And you're banned, too. Site Monitor]
Leslie @ 96:
I love the way you guys keep using "illegal war", no such thing, the winner write history and the law, laws do no matter in matters of national security. The state has to do whats best for itself, period. Furthermore, what the hell does alternative energy have to do with international relations? We already have alternative energy, its just the demand is not there for it, blame the people, not the government. One last thing, were we not suppose to go into Afghanistan? You guys need to get out from under you books in the library........
[Deleted. Trolling. And you're banned, too. Site Monitor]
Leslie @ 80:
He did this morning. It was more of the same old propaganda. We're making great progress in Iraq -- economically, politically and militarily!!! Got that everyone -- it's all good! I was getting nauseous listening to King Liar.
well....they weren't in Iraq until we brought them there and help build there base there.
Yes, Bush made his idiotic speech there, and he still doesn't get it. And turning this into a holy crusade, where as most of the 9/11 attacker were from Saudis and Bush effort in a war against Terror has made the Saudis even richer.
Perfect Liberal @ 100:
What a genius idea! Use nuclear weapons on a population base in order to "free" them???
Free them to do what?! Obviously to be vaporized and to die or suffer horribly.
Seriously. I am disappointed in Crooks and Liars when they allow hateful comments like yours to be published. Your comments are truly horrible and deserve to be removed.
Just sayin'.
chris @ 101:
chris, to save time just write:
lebensraum
Kathleen @ 8:
Just don't keep repeating the mistake several times over the next few days or people will think you have as much credibility as McCain.
mikebee @ 86:
at last someone not afraid to speak the truth!!!!!!!!!
it's time that bush/cheney and all the neocons were bagged,
shipped to iran and served to them as terrorists. this group
of reichwingneocons are despicable bastards. they do not
represent the American people and should have all their
rights taken away.
baboonass @ 17:
Thanks for not fearing the truth, the sooner this is realized nationally the sooner real change can begin.
dadams @ 109:
Uh, just tell me how that will happen when people are still busy thinking Obama or Clinton will save the day?
Leslie @ 94:
"Bush calls move on Shiite militias 'bold'"
So, a Shiite Militia is now the official enemy in Iraq?
Classic Bait and Switch.
If you had told someone that 5 years ago ... its INSANE.
Frank Dufek @ 111:
Why would ANYONE in his right mind want to be POTUS? Especially now!
Samson- @ 106:
I'm just saying, he failed but they needed more resources, as do we...........
Another election and another Republican neocon pretending to be moderate and reasonable until he gets a chance to govern. Let's not get fooled again.
chris @ 101:
Spoken like a true FACIST.
goat hussein sage @ 18:
Anyone with a brain will watch Amy. She is the queen of in-depth reporting!
earl @ 93:
good one Earl. Amy Goodman is the best reporter/journalist out there!
nony @ 25:
Agents of Israel, Oil and the Defense Industry
Global Revolution @ 57:
This is outrageous ,disgusting and way out of line! Why allow this to go up Crooks and Liars? I thought you folks had guidelines
r @ 13:
Should be required reading by all Americans. I think the neocon vote would go down the shitter if the dumb ass American public would just wake the hell up.
Kathleen @ 120:
I've complained about this a-hole numerous times but, apparently, the sitemonitor is not working today.
Truth B Told @ 71:
I have read about these type of strategies being used at so called progressive blogs to shut down any kind of real dialogue taking place about the I/P conflict. Even know progressive bloggers who have been sent a great deal of hate mail if they allow a discussion to go on the blog or allow folks to link info about the conflict.
But radical and disgusting statements like this need to be Blocked immediately!
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/
Hulk @ 121:
Thanks for the reminder! Missed it
Well, buy me a muscle suit and load me up with grenades...McCain really DOES think he's Rambo!
Just think, with McCain-Bo as UberCOMMANDER and CHIEFTAIN, America's purity and goodness will finally be unleashed upon a world full of e-vile villains, especially those sneaky Asians and camel-jockey A-rabs!
Boy, I tell ya, we got a guy with FIVE LONG YEARS of torture under his belt, and he's gonna make the world pay for his pain! "Manchurian Candidate?" Hell no, John McCain is the RE-VENGE candidate!
John McCain will get this country's honor back, if it takes every last cent this county's got, plus every last drop of blood in your body, your children's bodies, and their children's bodies.
Look out world, the bitch is back, and this bitch is an angry old man! Vote John McCain if you want the next four years to the the most exciting time in the history of this planet. One thing's for sure: He'll never bore you!
John McCain: Even the Score, and More!!
diamondmc @ 116:
I think we can do without the name calling, thank you, positive dialog is what we are looking for here, CHANGE!
chris @ 126:
Truth hurts doesn't it? Be a man and stand up for your statements.
chris @ 101:
Do you even read what you post?
You said that Hitler had the right idea, but you object to being called a fascist?
You talk about needing resources (like oil, presumably) and then don't see the link to alternative energy?
What do you possibly mean, "the demand is not there"?
Chris, true, we have identified what is going on right now: the establishment/maintenance of the American Empire. Guess what, empires fail! You know why they fail? Its a bad business model. The costs get too much for the benefits. So, for the cost of the Iraq war, we may get access to their oil and maybe even influence on OPEC, the Saudis, etc. - lets say we get all the oil in the world for 1 dollar/gallon. Now do the freaking math, Einstein. Even if we get a billion barrells of oil for free, we just spent at least a trillion for it - maybe three trillion. That's 1-3000 dollars per barrell. That would be bad enough, but we just payed all that and got bupkiss.
Now imagine that there were some kind of environmental concern associated with burning fossil fuels, and the costs of the environmental impact are extraordinary. So, even if we get all the oil in the middle east, it will be more cost efficient in the long run to NOT BURN IT.
Now, lets compare that scenario, with the scenario in which, President Gore decided to not enact tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country, but instead invest 12 billion dollars a week in alternative energy, electric and biofuel vehicles, mag-lev trains - hell, for 12 billion a week, we could probably get everyone in the country one of those Star Trek beaming things. Even if the investment only pays off at one tenth of the average return on R&D in this country, we would be employing US citizens, and we would keep the stuff we are buying instead of BLOWING IT UP AND KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE WITH IT.
Okay, I'm getting a little riled up.
Yet, everyone wants to be the emperor (or in his party) so we keep doing it. We need a sustainable end game. Look at England, they are post-empire. They are doing just fine by allying with other folks (EU) and playing the world powers off each other (you think Blair liked hanging out with Bush?).
Dittohead @Insaneville:
Because Japanese, Koreans, and Germans aren't shooting and bombing our soldiers? If they were, and we stayed there 50-60 years despite that, we'd be painfully stupid. Please tell me you aren't so dense that you think those countries are similar to what's happening in Iraq.
Johnny aka Song-bird McCain '68 while guesting at the Hanoi Hilton.
In 2008 he's the War-whoopin' impotent conservative grey hair on Viagra for his 3AM piss call...
Old Billy Hussein @ 129:
If prince Albert was president and sent the money to R&D it would have not pulled us out of the economic rut we were in. Moreover you think Al would have did that, did he ever say he was going to commit that kind of money to R&D, they all say they are going to so we can have "green jobs" but if you had any common sense you would know its not likely. Furthermore its not the governments job to create jobs, its the private sector. I'm tried of libs demanding the government give them a job. Oh and another thing, it would take time to work up to like 20 or 30 thousand jobs, the idea would have to be discovered, tested etc. We need more nuclear power plants but thats for a different thread. We run on oil, we can't just stop all of the sudden because prince Albert needs to stay in the news and now he hypes of the global warming. Was he sounding the bells while he was in office, if I remember Clinton did not even sign on to Kyoto, thanks Al.
chris @ 102:
There are laws in this country that will come back to haunt the bunch abusing them now, sir.
If we weren't sticking our noses into the mid east because of the oil they have and we crave, they would not be hell bent on killing americans. We get fed this crap that they hate us because we like freedom, bullshit. They hate us because we bomb their people.
Who is in afghanistan that we need to be there? The responsible party for any terrorism in this country can be found in or near washington dc.
Assassin @ 130:
And because the local communities around the US bases make good money from it's presence. So why would Japan and Germany want the US to leave?
Korea has nothing to do with it; the war there did in facto not end.
The US did not stay in Vietnam, and it it actually didn't turn out to be that bad in the end.
.
McCain:
The ONLY candidate running for the Office of The Pesident of the U.S.A. qualified to address the effects of torture...
QUESTION:
Why, at some point, does he feel torture is necessary and useful enough to vote against making the use of water torture, as sucessfully prosceuted by the U.S. both internationally and Federally, as a crime?
McTORTURE
It's not criminal when America does it.
.
What the hell?
http://no-effort-money.blogspot.com/
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