Mission Accomplished After All?

About ten days ago in this blog, I stated that the foreign policies of this administrations, were in danger of uniting the Islamic world, Sunni and Shia, in the face of a common enemy. It would seem that the recent and current events in Lebanon and Gaza, along with those of Iraq and Afghanistan, Palestine and Somalia have given the Muslim world a common cause.

In the New York Times today there is a headline that says exactly, and in detail, what I predicted would happen. The article illustrates the shift of public opinion, not just in countries that are traditionally antagonistic towards the West, but in those countries that our so-called allies in the war on terrorism such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. These two countries are scrambling to distance themselves from the American and Israeli stance on the situation in Lebanon and Gaza.

There are no easy answers to the problems in the Middle East and Africa, but making those problems bigger and more unsolvable seems to be a step in the wrong direction...one of the many that George and Co. have made since stealing office. Unless, of course, stirring up the Middle East was the real mission after all.

The neoconservatives have long advocated the aggressive pursuit of control of that troublesome region and their tactics include non-diplomacy and war to achieve that aim.

Perhaps George's apparent premature declaration of "Mission Accomplished" was not a blunder. Perhaps the mission he was referring to was not the end of conflict...but the beginning.

A Quick Review: How goes the war?

"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount." General Omar N. Bradley




Let's take a quick look at the last few years and see how far we have come.

In March, 2003, The USA invaded Iraq because Iraq, according to George Bush, was a "threat to peace". Almost 3 1/2 years later we find ourselves still fighting and no closer to peace. In fact the situation in Iraq, far from ever being winnable, is deteriorating into outright civil war between the ethnic and religious factions that populate that unfortunate country. The American led alliance has been falling apart since day one, and has failed to bring Iraq any closer to peace and democracy. The American supported government in Iraq has sided with Hezbollah, and wants to be allowed to put American troops on trial for war crimes committed against the Iraqi people...in Islamic courts. The occupation of Iraq will go on, the Americans will find themselves surrounded by antagonistic Iraqis from all sections of that shattered society, and their only accomplishment will have been to empower, rather than defeat, terrorism in the modern world. And the war goes on.


In Afghanistan, invaded by the West (led by the USA) in 2001, the war goes on. The Taliban, whose demise was widely reported and lauded by the Western invaders, is back with a vengeance. The war lords and crime syndicates still terrorize large parts of the country and deal in opium and arms. These groups, often on the payroll of the American military and intelligence organizations, offer the only real opposition to the resurgent Taliban and Al Qaida militias that are gaining control and popularity among the Afghan people. As in Iraq, the forces of occupation are finding themselves surrounded by an unhappy and antagonistic society. Also, as in Iraq, the people of the nation resent the apparent atrocities that are committed, without repercussion, against the civilian population. The American supported government finds itself having to chose between it's loyalty to it's own people and it's obligation to the foreign armies that shore it up. And the war goes on.

Meanwhile, Osama sits and bides his time. He may not be the all-powerful evil mastermind that he was purported to be by the propagandists that sold us the war, but he has managed to remain at large and a thorn in the side of George and Co. But they have much bigger fish to fry these days. Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan (bigger nukes on the way), and even it's neighbors in Central and South America are beginning to look somewhat dangerous and "evil" to the hawks that sit atop the nation's capital.

. The world is far more dangerous a place than it was a few years ago. So much for "Mission Accomplished" George and his "war on terror"

Diplomatic George

George certainly has a lot to worry about these days. He is under attack at home from the extreme right-wingers that have had, until recently, such great influence over the Whitehouse. This group, including Cheney, Rumsfeld, Pearl, and others of the PNAC (Project for a New American Century), are the brilliant minds behind the invasion of Iraq, which they had planned long before Osama and his minions took flight. They are also behind the administration's policy of ignoring the other branches of government, all existing treaties, and any law that might impede, embarrass, or hinder the "war-time" president in his pursuit of America's enemies. This includes eroding any civil rights of American citizens that may have been supported or won by those dastardly "liberals" in America's past.

Why is George under attack from his closest supporters? He has spoken openly about seeking to use diplomacy in the pursuit of his political aims in the Middle-East and around the world. This means holding talks with Iran and Korea about their nuclear ambitions and looking for ways to use diplomacy in seeking a long term solution to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. This is against everything that the neoconservtives stand for. They want George to stand tall, whack everything in sight with a very big stick, and commit militarily to smashing any enemy that has the gall to stand in the way of American global supremacy from now until the end of time!!



Mr Cheney is not a happy man these days. His puppet president has begun to wonder if Mr Cheney and his band of merry hawks were right after all. Plus the president is no doubt thinking about how his presidency will be remembered in the years to come. First he was caught napping on 9/11. Then he lied to the American public in order to justify a war that he promised he could win. Now, many years after he declared "victory", America is still at war. America will be at war long after Mr Bush rides off into the oily sunset. Then there was the great hurricaine that destroyed one of America's great cities, and Mr Bush was once again caught napping. Incompetency, arrogance, ignorance, and blind ambition will mark this presidency for many years to come...unless the hawks can re-write history...which I am sure they would have no moral problems with doing.



So I am sure that the president will be spending a great deal of time in Condi's arms in the days and months to come. Diplomacy will not win the world for America, but neither will blind aggression. I am sure that George is racking his brains (what there is of them) in order to find a way out of the international hole into which he has dug himself.

The hawks will live to fight another day...which can not be said for the many casualties, both American and non-American, who are dying in their hundreds daily. Diplomacy belongs in the Whitehouse. It is good to see it there again. Better late than never.

El Mundo es Loco

The world is a crazy place. I don't think that many would disagree...and I don't care if they do. The world is at war....with itself. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), having spent a great deal of time travelling, once wrote "I have seen the world...and it hates each other". I know what he meant.

Today we are dealing with the consequences of centuries that have preceded us. The Middle East, colonized by the West since the Roman Empire, exploited by the Europeans since the 11th century for economic plunder and religious aspirations, and deemed a necessity for the industrial nations since the fuel of production and progress changed from coal to petroleum, is the focus of modern turmoil.

Korea, isolated and fearful, is not the real danger. Asia, as funny as it may seem, is quite capable of taking care of itself. The Chinese and Japanese, the Koreans, Indonesians and Australians are all quite capable of finding a common ground. This is my opinion.

The Middle East is the problem that will not go away. The danger now is that the present situation, the destruction of Lebanon by the Israelis, will unite the factions of Islam, the Shia and the Sunni, and give them a common ground upon which they can forget their historical differences and combine their efforts to "liberate" Islam from the "Satanic" influences of the Crusaders that have kept them from re-establishing the caliphate for a very long time.

In Iraq the historical differences between the Sunni and Shia Muslims defines and separates the various militant groups operating there. But, as regards Israel, these differences seem to dissipate in the face of a common enemy. Iran (Shia) and Siria (Sunni) both support the war against Israel. They supply both arms and money, as do many other factions in the Middle East, to the continued conflict with Israel. Since the birth of Israel as a modern state there has been one idea that unites the fractious Muslim world: Israel's ultimate destruction and annihilation.

The Middle East, and all it's problems, will not simply disappear into a sunset of "Democracy". It is foolish to think this way...and it will always cost lives. Perhaps a Caliphate is not such a bad idea. A united Islamic empire, with nuclear technology, is certainly a frightening prospect. But we have faced such prospects before. The cold-war of the last century kept the world on the brink of annihilation, but none of the nuclear powers dared take us over that edge. Can we expect the same restraint from an Islamic state built on the cult of martyrdom? This is an interesting question.

Unless the Western powers are willing to emulate Julius Caesar 's "pacification" of Gaul, and are capable of the wholesale massacres and destructions of tribes and peoples and cultures and cities, then perhaps a restructuring of the Middle East is in order. This happened after the first world war with the demise of the Otoman Empire. The Western powers divided the Middle East between themselves in order to control the oil reserves and insure continuity of supply to their ever hungry and expanding economies.

So I suggest this:

1:Give Israel all the support it needs to insure it's integrity and security.

2:Develope new sources and types of energy for the Western economies.

3: Let Islam evolve as it wishes and deal with them. Under a Caliphate, Sunni or Shia, the enemy is defined and culpable.

Meanwhile let's all watch the world...like Samuel Clemens...and wonder why it hates each other.

Documentaries: The Power of Nightmares (parts 5 & 6)

Today I am posting the concluding two installments of this insightfull and informative series. These chapters are called The Shadows in the Cave (parts 1 & 2).

This series traces the origins and effects of the rise of the neo-conservatives in the United States, and the Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Middle-East. These two groups have combined to bring the world to it's present state of culture conflicts and outright war.

The Shadows in the Cave: Part 1



The Shadows in the Cave: Part 2

Documentaries: The Power of Nightmares (parts 3&4)

Today I am posting two more installments of this very informative documentary series. These two episodes are called The Phantom Victory (parts 1 and 2).

I realize that the length of these films may put some viewers off, but I can assure you that, if you take the time to watch them, it will be time well spent.

The Phantom Victory: Part 1




The Phantom Victory: Part 2

Documentaries: The Power of Nightmares (parts 1&2)

Over the next few days I am going to post a series of documentaries called The Power of Nightmares. The films trace the origins and growth of the neo-conservatives and their Islamic counterparts in the dance macbre that is at the heart of the much of the conflict in today's world.

These films are longer than the usual short films that I post on this blog. But I am sure that you will find them worth viewing. The first film, in two parts, is titled "Baby it's Cold Outside (parts 1 and 2)".

Baby it's Cold Outside: Part 1




Baby it's Cold Outside: Part 2

Shia and Sunni: Taking it to the Streets

There is bad news this morning from Baghdad. There are sectarian shootings and bombing going on all over the city. The political divide between the Shia and Sunni factions is becoming as unbridgeable as the ideologies that define them.

The religious divide goes back to the death of Muhammad and the argument over who should succeed him as Caliph of the first Islamic state and leader of all Muslims. The Sunni faction elected Abu Bakr, a close companion of the prophet, to be caliph.

The opposition group, much smaller than the Sunni faction, believed that the prophet should be succeeded by his son-in-law, Ali. This was because they believed that the succession is the divine right of the family of the prophet.

A long history of conflict and a heritage of martyrdom follows the Shia and Sunni divide throughout the ensuing centuries. Today, in Iraq, we witness the latest in this long history of religious and political conflict.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Today's Iraqi government, courtesy of the "War on Terrorism" being waged by Mr. Bush and his allies, is comprised, as you can see, by a very diverse group of political and religious parties. The parties represented by the colour blue are Shia parties. The parties represented by yellow are Sunni. The tan coloured portion represents the Kurdish parties.

As you can also see, the vast majority of the present government is Shia. This is because they are, by far, the majority of the overall population. Prior to the present war, the government was controlled by the minority Sunnis. Saddam Hussein was himself a Sunni, and his political party was a secular Sunni party. This one of the other main differences between Sunni and Shia: The belief that a government can be secular ( non-clerical) is a Sunni cornerstone. The Shia believe that the state should be governed by the imams, priests, of Islam. Iran, which is also Shia, has this form of government. Although they have an elected president and parliament, the actions of the government are dictated by and answerable to the clerics who rule the country.

And so the streets of Baghdad run with blood. Mosques, of both factions of Islam, are targeted and their believers murdered. Mr. Bush believes that he can resolve all this by bringing "democracy" to Iraq. He is a fool....we all are.

This is an issue that can only be resolved within Islam...if ever. Let them resolve it for themselves. Is oil really worth the cost of lives and money that a continued western presence in this hotbed of internal disputes and long-lived hatreds demands? I think not.

Somalia: Religious War on Games

Two people were reported killed on Tuesday when Islamic Alliance militiamen began raiding theatres and expelling audiences. This was done as a result of Sharia Law taking effect in Somalia.

The two people were killed in the central town of Dusa Mareb. They were among a group watching World Cup 2006 (soccer's biggest tournement) in a local cinema. The militiamen fired into the group when they began protesting against the ban. The ban is in place, say the militiamen, because western films are evil, and the World Cup is sponsored by the selling of alcohol.

According to Chinadaily.com "Islamic militiamen have killed two people in central Somalia after opening fire in a cinema where people were watching a banned World Cup match.
Sources said the shooting, which also left several people injured, occurred late Tuesday when soccer fans barred by Islamists from watching the semi-final match between Germany and Italy protested at the ban.
Militia loyal to the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), who seized control of parts of Somalia last month, reportedly killed the cinema owner and a young girl."



As you can see, the World Cup is indeed a tournement in which the whole world is represented. This schedule is comprised of those 24 teams that have qualified for the finals in Germany. At the qualifying stages there were 198 nations competing to reach these finals. Among the finalists are several Islamic nations, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Iran.



The Islamic militias have taken control of Somalia. At first these militias were welcomed by the population, who were growing weary of the constant struggles between warlords. The Islamic Alliance at least offered some sort of stability and security. But now they are killing people for watching football and going to the cinema.

Is this what religion is about? How can it be right to force one's beliefs on others at the point of a gun? Why do priests and clerics set themselves up to govern and to judge the lives of all people?

Government must be guided by ethics and morals to retain legitimacy, but this does not mean surrendering governmental, judicial, or military power to priests and clerics simply because they say they represent God himself.

Even democratic governments are in danger these days of surrendering power to religious fanatics who are guided not by ethics and morality, but a severe conviction to a particular religious ideology.

North Korea: Out to Launch

Yesterday's blog was about Fidel Castro, and the plans that the USA are putting in place for the government of Cuba once Castro is dead. Today's blog is about another communist icon...Kim Jong-il...the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea. This man inherited his position from his father, who founded North Korea in 1948. Like many Stalinist regimes, the leaders tend to rule by force, coersion, and fear. Kim has absolute control over every aspect of life in North Korea and news from the outside world is strictly forbidden. Propaganda, indeed the whole of the media of North Korea, is controlled by the communist party...which is under the complete control of Kim.



Yesterday this icon of totalitarianism test-launched a few missiles, mostly aimed towards Japan. He did this against the express wishes of the whole world. But North Korea is Kim's, and nobody can tell him what to do. Internal issues, such as sovereignty and security, are his to define and he answers to no higher authority (Not unlike some other world leaders I could mention). Like Fidel Castro, whose brinksmanship with nuclear weaponry almost started WWIII, Kim seems determined to rattle his little sabre and defy the diplomatic world. Also, like Castro, he seems indifferent to the fact that his people are doomed to isolation and poverty as a result of his singular vision. In fact, not unlike the Cubans, the North Korean people's endurance of the effects of isolation have been turned into virtues. The problems incurred are attributed to the beseigers and not the beseiged.

China and Russia, long time supporters of the Kim dynasty, are reluctant to agree to economic and political sanctions against North Korea. They will almost certainly not agree to any military options that the USA might put to the United Nations. But just how much of a threat to world peace is North Korea? Not too much...in my opinion. Their missiles are faulty and limited. Their nuclear capability is also limited and their defenses against any sort of nuclear attack is nil. Will China or Russia go to war in defense of Kim? I think not.

But North Korea is a nation under seige. The diplomatic world is agreed that Kim's government is rogue. But, inside the gates of the beseiged state, there is a military build-up. Like a paranoid madman in a house filled with guns and booby traps, the insane leader waits for the sound of a twig breaking in the dark of night.

After Fidel...Making Plans

Leaving the Middle East behind for the moment, I would like to turn to something a little closer to home...for the USA. Cuba is once again in the news. An article today on the BBC News website, reports that the Cubans are very concerned about a report being published by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, created by president Bush in 2003.



This report anticipates the demise of the current Cuban president, Fidel Castro. Now anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history, or has seen Godfather II, recalls that Fidel liberated Cuba from the grip of a corrupt dictator (Batista), the monopolistic and colonial control of American big business, and the insidious influence of the Mafia. It is because of this that America hates him so much. They lost so much and he has never offered a penny in compensation. But, more than this, he chose to side with the Soviet Union during the cold war. This was a blunder on his part, and his people have suffered because of it. He allowed nuclear missiles to be placed on his island and aimed at the United States. El stupido grande!

But this report is aimed at financing projects that are aimed at undermining the Cuban government after Castro has died. It is aimed at replacing the communist government of the island with one that is more to the liking of the Bush administration. In short...destroying yet another country's government to bring it into line with American policy. Will this nonsensical and self-defeating American foreign policy of regime change never end? Will they come for England next, or France, or Canada? Have they already done it in Mexico, as they did in Chile and Argentina? When will they engage with others on equal terms.

The USA is behaving like a playgound bully: Grown too strong too fast and lacking the real maturity to do anything other than throw that weight around and intimidate the smaller players. Spoiled by indulgence the bully pouts and screams and throws it's little military tantrums in order to get things his way.

Hamas vs Israel..A Little Background

This poster depicts the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (killed in 2004 by missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter gunship). He founded Hamas in 1987 as a social and religious organization, an off-shoot of the pan-Arabic Sunni organization known as The Muslim Brotherhood. This particular group, founded during the early part of the twentieth century, has been the inspiration for many extremist and terrorist groups across the Middle-East.

The core belief of Hamas, and most of the terrorist groups spawned by The Muslim Brotherhood, is that God has taught the world, through the Quran, the perfect way to live. This makes it the duty of all true believers to fight for the ultimate establishment of a world-wide Islamic state. This, of course is the long-term goal of groups like Hamas and Al Qaida. In the short-term Hamas wants the complete destruction of Israel and an Islamic Palestinian state to replace it.

The Israelis, surrounded by unfriendly governments who harbour and support numerous terrorist organizations dedicated to their obliteration, are always prepared to bring the battle to their enemies. Countless missiles and attacks have been launched upon Israel, by various terrorist groups over the years, from behind the borders of Israel's neighboring states. Over the years this has led to numerous incursions by the Israelis into their neighbors homelands in pursuit of their enemies. Only recently has Israel been persuaded to retreat from territories they have taken from their neighbors...Gaza is one such territory. But now Israel finds itself once again on the point of incursion. But will they stay in Gaza once more? Or is it just Hamas, and not the whole of the Palestinian people, that Israel is determined to confront?

The fact that Hamas feels free and justified to attack Israel at will, and to kidnap, bomb, and murder Israeli citizens is outrageous. But even more outrageous is that they then cry to the rest of the world when Israel strikes back...and attempt to portray themselves as victims of Israeli aggression.

And the wars go on..and on..and on