Here we go … again.
Another “fight fer freedom” … I’ve lost count at this point.
We just can’t get our fill, can we?
It’s not enough that we’re already bogged down in two Middle Eastern wars/occupations – and tottering on the edge of a currency default and possibly a complete collapse of our economy here in the Homeland. We need to jump into a third Middle Eastern war.
Halliburton, Kellog Root & Brown require it. Obama – the latest sock puppet/front man for the corporate state – is implementing it.
America the Psychotic ought to be our new national anthem. We’d go ape if some other country decided to “intervene” in our affairs after, say, Katrina. But we can just dive right on into other countries’ internal paroxysms at our whim – attacking whomever we wish – just because we can. So long as they’re low-rent enough that we can attack them with relative impunity, that is. We never hit anyone who can hit back. I suspect that is going to change. And we will have deserved every bit of it.
Or maybe the new anthem ought to be America the stupid. Because we just never learn. The poltroons (a great word; look it up) and other species of Chickenhawkus Americanus now orchestrating the bombing of Libya are the same know-it-all donkeys who turgidly demanded that “we” (that is, cannon fodder 19-year-olds from StumpJump, West Virginia) clear out Saddam because there was an Islamic Thomas Jefferson – hell, a whole slew of Iraqi founding fathers, faithful democrats all- waiting to take his place.
Just like in Afghanistan. They love freedom, you see. Democracy, too.
Except when they don’t and we find out we have to prop up another puppet, usually as brutal as the one just deposed – with the billy stick of “the troops” – endlessly, forever.
There’s no money for America’s falling apart roads; none to help the millions of regular people egregiously and deliberately, criminally screwed over by Wall Street shysters – looking at a home note that’s 40 percent higher than the current market value of their place. But there’s no end to the money available to fund the fights for freedom, wherever they may be – even though they’re as much about “freedom” as being a Republican these days means you are conservative. We’ll fight ’em anyhow because after all, who gives a damn about the rugheads – or (let’s be even more honest) the Cannon Fodder Kids from StumpJump West by God Virginia whom we like to call “the troops” because it has a nice saccharine ring to it and also because it’s easier to think in general terms instead of individually maimed for life or just plain dead soldiers.
The premise offered up by the American Jihadis (cough, “world community”) now attacking Libya is that we’re helping the good guys. Really? What the heck do we actually know about what’s going on in Libya? Who the people on either side really are? It’s like Iraq, where we naively thought – more accurately, were told – the anti-Saddam guys were good guys with almost cartoon-like childish propaganda when it turns out they are really just a different type of bad guy. We had to pay them off – are still paying them off – to keep them from shooting our “troops” through the heay-ud. The formerly secular Iraq is now a seething cauldron of radical Islamic thuggishness. But they do have electricity – sometimes. And other freedoms besides, too.
Or how about when we helped the (cough) “freedom fighters” in Afghanistan against the Russians back in the ’80s? Those “freedom fighters” used us – and hated us as much as the Russians. Because, in their eyes we both were interlopers in their affairs, messing with their countries for our own greedy economic and geopolitical purposes. Which of course is 100 proof Troof. Which is why we don’t like to think about it much. Just wave the flag and feel good about the “freedom” that (cough) “we” are fighting for…
But have you ever wondered why we never fight fer freedom where there’s no oil? Or other strategic interest?
You may recall that among the “freedom fighters” in Afghanistan back in The Day could be found a young Saudi prince named Osama. His “freedom fighters” became the germ cell for what became al Qaeda and eventually, 9/11. To a very great extent, we made Osama – and created al Qaeda. 
Chalmers Johnsom – a genuinely smart guy who therefore is universally ignored – calls the result of all this, of our almost fetishistic need to bat at hornet’s nests like a retarded teenager, blowback.
His point (and mine too) is simply this: We don’t know what’s going on in these countries; not really – and besides, we have no more business involving ourselves in these distant lands, trying to regiment the societies of foreign peoples, than foreign peoples have business in our land, force-feeding us whatever it is they think is the right way to organize our society. We’d resent the hell out of it – and them – yet we can’t imagine that they might just resent us for precisely the same reason.
America is not The Messiah and its deeply flawed, deeply hypocritical – and now, nearly broke – government needs to quit looking for (supposed) dragons to slay abroad.
We can’t afford it, we don’t have any right to do it – and we have no clue what we are doing in these pestholes anyhow.
We really should have re-elected The Chimp to a third term.
The latest Decider is no different – and much less entertaining.
Funny. Republicans get all worked up about Benghazi but could care less about the murderous massacre that led to it. this article was written 8 ears ago and Libya is still a complete disaster. Unleashed millions of stone age neandrethals on Europe. Which likely was the whole point. I remember Anthony Bourdain had a fairly recent tv show there. Basically praised the whole intervention. Said it was great while talking to paid shucksters no doubt. Also while driving around in an armored convoy of course. Lost all respect for him then. His choice in a girlfriend proved that as well of course.
Bourdain seemed to have sold out when he moved to CNN. Previously he seemed to have a clue and often challenged the status quo.
The Libya episode was where it became very obvious he was spouting official propaganda.
Mr. Peters: Your essay of May 7 on LRC was truly oustanding. You
pose a thoughtful question: what does Juy 4 mean nowadays? What
should we be celebrating? Certainly not our gov’t: increasingly
omnipotent, out of control financially, an international menace, despised the world over and fighting unwinnable wars of choice on four fronts, wars based on lies and half-truths. (We have a long history doing that!)
Our gov’t pounces on the law-abiding and productive, yet is strangely easy on murderers, muggers, and thugs. Our cities have
large swaths of cesspools of vice, criminality and squalor. And that must never be mentioned. Our minorities are always angry and dissatisfied, yet on average lag in every measure of achievement except sports/entertainment. Our popular music is mostly grotesque.Our nation’s public schools are exorbitantly expensive yet yield meager results, and are often unsafe. Our health-care system is hugely expensive as well as economically insupportable. Our govt and business elites
have taken the bread out of our mouths by exporting over 25 million jobs, de-indusrtializing us over-night and permanently.
Countless lobbyists corrupt our politicians for the sake of the
the very few at the top. And when Paul Ryan tells Obama, “our debt will bury us; we need entitlement give-backs,” Obama says he is ‘un-American.’ Coming froma dyed-in-the-wool Marxist, that is rich! Wonder why there’s no action on the invasion of illegals? The elites are busy bringing all the joys of the Mexican economy to us, right here. The next thing they will also bring is the Gulags.
Welcome to the New World Order, brought to you by Bush I and II,
the Clintons, and Obama. In 1866,it was defeated Gen’l Robert E. Lee who proved to be dead right: he saw the future of America as tyranny at home, imperialism abroad. And it is here now, and to me is mighty ugly. As Edmund Burke said, “In order for people to love their country, it must be lovely.” Is America lovely? What say you?
Thanks, Alan… I wish it were otherwise but when you examine the everyday reality of what we can and cannot do in America (and what the government now does, routinely and brazenly) it is hard to be excited about “our freedoms” let alone worried about “the terrorists.” 9/11 was a tragedy but the fact of the matter is that al Qaeda didn’t take away a single freedom we once enjoyed; our own government did that. Lee – a gentleman soldier – rightly foresaw what would arise when government by consent died, as it did in 1865.
I say I am not scared of terrorist one bit, but the government/cops scare the shit out of me! Nice rant Alan! Well said.
Again Eric, I think your whole outlook will be improved, if you do just one thing: Quit associating yourself with this idea of a country. You use the term “we,” “our,” throughout the whole article. BUT you have nothing to do with THEIR decision making. What you do have a choice in is if YOU are going to support THEIR decisions. And this is the essence of why problems continue to exist here and elswhere around the world. Because people have to root for the home team, THEIR team goddammit! WHY? Just because you were born between some latitude and longitudinal lines that say you’re an American? Grow up. Go back and reread your last twenty articles. They are all complaining about the stupid things America does for power. Ok? They only get this power because people figure oh well, i have to support them with taxes and other things. What has America ever done for you? Come on Eric. Where the fuck are your balls at bro?
Excellent article.
Amen. Right or wrong, when you meddle in the affairs of other countries, I think you tend to accumulate a growing list of enemies.
Hypothetically:
If you bomb my house, I will not think well of you. I will not care if you say you were trying to get rid of a my bad leader. As bad as you say he is he did not destroy my house.
[i]”His point (and mine too) is simply this: We don’t know what’s going on in these countries; not really – and besides, we have no more business involving ourselves in these distant lands, trying to regiment the societies of foreign peoples, than foreign peoples have business in our land, force-feeding us whatever it is they think is the right way to organize our society.”[/i]