August 6th will be the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. A tragic day full of moral complexities about the decisions and events that led to that fateful day. Its circumstances and consequences still the subject of worthy debate.
And then we have the world that we have had presented to us today.
Which leads us to the more immediately relevant fact that it will also be the 7th Anniversary of the PDB George W. Bush got the notice, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S.". Which elicited this retort, one which will truly live in infamy:
"All right. You’ve covered your ass, now."
So it is only fitting as we approach the anniversary of the moment that condenses the entirety of two terms of George Bush into one sentence that the Rand Corporation – in a report paid for by the government states this:
The United States can defeat al-Qaida if it relies less on force and more on policing and intelligence to root out the terror group’s leaders, a new study contends…Its report said that the use of military force by the United States or other countries should be reserved for quelling large, well-armed and well-organized insurgencies, and that American officials should stop using the term "war on terror" and replace it with "counterterrorism."
"Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests there is no battlefield solution to terrorism," said Seth Jones, the lead author of the study and a Rand political scientist.
"The United States has the necessary instruments to defeat al-Qaida, it just needs to shift its strategy," Jones said.
Ah yes, in other words, we dirty effing hippies were RIGHT AGAIN!
Of course, this is exactly what John Kerry advocated and what he was pilloried for — because our media wet their pants and is too lazy to ever consider nuance and smart policies (and apparently this will never end, look no further than today’s Richard Cohen column and then consider that wanker’s various pronouncements on the psychological benefits of bombing until the rubble bounces over the years). No, the world must be the black and white variety as envisioned by George Bush and John McCain, where blowin’ shit up is the most awesome thing ever!
Blow shit up, that’ll learn ‘em.
And when it doesn’t work … why just blow ‘em up some more.
Related posts:
- Restoring the Rule of Law: Absence of Action is a Policy Choice, Too
- Late Night: Healthcare Disaster Looms; Action Needed on Modest Policy Proposal
- Obama’s New State Secrets Policy is Reaffirmation Of Bush’s Policy
- Torture: The Real Reason for the Psychological Evaluation of Abu Zubaydah
- Tortured to Death: In Afghanistan, Brutal Treatment Far from “Rogue” Action
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Only Rethugs think Rethugs are smart.
And remember folks – this is the RAND CORP. saying this here. Not exactly a ‘liberal think tank’ or something like that.
A large percentage of Americans, that live in these here United States, fear really smart people and act accordingly.
I heard this on the news this morning. It’s only taken 7 years for Rand to figure out what many Viet Nam vets, and others, were saying from day 1, as soon as Shrub and company starting beating the war drums. These people need to get out more.
They are dangerous!
Let’s face it, there is no MSM. It’s been sold out to the highest bidder years ago.
Mornin’, Attaturk. The Rethugs will really gin up the fear machine now that Rand has come out with this report. Al-Qa’ida will be launching their fleet of canoes to invade the US any day now, etc, etc. And the Dems will cower under their desks, pleading for the Rethugs to save them from the evil terrists.
They’re dangerous because fools listen to them.
OT – chris hedges is on democracy now! to talk about the newspaper industry.
also, yesterday there was a really excellent piece on obama’s political history.
Only Rethugs think Rethugs are smart.
And Rethugs think only Rethugs are smart.
Who could have anticipated . . . ?
how is it that so few people could see this in 2001 and none of them apparently were members in good standing of the political, media or corporate elite?
we are ruled by idiots when we need to have smart governance.
(bows) Konnichiwa, selise.
I heard that piece. Very interesting.
The RAND folks are just doing CYA. (this is the same bunch that used to,or perhaps still does,employ Michelle Malkin’s husband,Jesse)
I’m so tired of common sense taking a back seat to any blithering war monger who comes down the pike.
Why does this sound familiar? Oh, yes . . . from Bob Harris’ book Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing Up A Woefully Incomplete Guide:
(That’s some DFH’s favorite quote from the book.)
We were called traitors and a host of other flattering labels. We got no air time and newspaper reporters shunned us like the plague but didn’t hesitate to trash us in print or on TV. They haven’t changed. When was the last time you saw a positive piece about anti-war folks in the corporate media, other than some war protest was peaceful rather than a riot?
And here I was thinking that I was gifted was some special form of insight! Now I find it was just plain old common sense. But then again, few of us that thought this way made millions of $ off of this little endeavor, did we?
I wonder if Rand has ever produced a report saying that the current administration’s policies were just fine.
John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial around that time. I don’t remember who else did the same. Ashcroft also did not place terror threats on his top priority list.
“Rand Analyst” = Psyops Specialist in the employ of the banksters and military industrial complex.
One of them told me this:
“We just want to you go on about your daily live, do your jobs, watch TV, take your vacations, send your kids to college…we’ll take care of the dirty stuff.”
Got arrogant holier than thou attitude? The superiority complex combined with a stone cold heart is a requirement for those whom Rand turns out as “sleepers” among us. They work in Fortune 500 companies in jobs you’d never equate with their true purpose.
Whenever you see the words “Former Rand Analyst,” remember, there is no such thing. They know the script, and you don’t. The reality that they know is not discernible by you.
The Republic way is to keep people scared and rob them blind. Will the Republics ever suffer the consequences of their actions?
no
This the same guy who told you that Osama was dead?
Exact quote was “there is no Bin Laden….I mean really, a 6′6″ Saudi? Gimme a break, he’s an Algerian actor!”
Morning All :)
Lots going on, lots of ‘news’ and stuff coming out..
Interesting times..
Quick question, but I been thinking about all the folks Barak has met-up with over the last week or two. Impressive list of people all round.
I don’t remember any other US presidental nomminee (been here/in US 20 yrs and been interested for a few more)having this sort or ‘tour’ How common is this sort of HIGH level tour?
Oh, and I imagine Barak ‘talks’ here with Darth/Co and friends* will be very interesting.. Big Chess moves coming….
‘Barak will travel to Washington and New York and will hold talks with his counterpart Robert Gates, Vice President Dick Cheney, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Michael Mullen, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
Officials said it was likely that President George W. Bush would join the meeting between Barak and Hadley. On Wednesday, Barak will fly to New York for a brief meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon.’
OT (For folks in the DC area)
What a crock o’ shit.
Opps, nominee*
Oh, and Duggggg :)
Two things:
1 – Got any links to those items?
2 – His first name is Barack, not Barak.
Good Morning Attaturk and Firedogs,
the Rand Corporation now wants to coddle the terrorists ?!?! oh my
Oh, I understood he had plans to hang out around the Safeway cheese display, knock over a few cans of stuff, and bitch about the fact that he wasn’t getting more coverage.
John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial around that time. I don’t remember who else did the same.
Story is, IIRC, that former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was warned off from flying commercial also.
What else but a McCain endorsement might you expect from a stodgy conventionalist like Cohen in the sunset of his career? He is McCain’s base.
Rove speaking at the fund-raiser for the Conservative Party of New York. The fantasy they had has turned into a pile of shit but all they’ve got is that fantasy. Outside of a small circle of friends Rove has turned into a pathetic little man.
here is something almost nobody knows about but is a fact;
clinton had an almost IDENTICAL pdb, which you can read about on page 128 of the 9/11 report
the differance was, CLINTON RESPONDED, he put ALL AGENCIES ON HIGH ALERT, all agencies were in constant contact with each other and the attack was thwarted
in other words, BUSH HAD A TEMPLATE FOR SUCCESS and IGNORED IT
CLINTON SAVED THIS COUNTRY, bush invited it
bush was given PRECISE intel, he was told where, (new york and washington), he was told when, (within months), he was told how, (highjacking commercial airlines), what weapons would be used, (those airliners as bombs), who the mastermind was, (bin laden) and where the attack would originate, (afghanistan, NOT IRAQ)
IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE INTEL THIS PRECISE
and they KNEW this was an urgent warning, so much so, “everyone was running around with their hair on fire”
this man in office, the one who was NEVER elected, the one who occupies the office after a silent coup, the one who has overthrown our government;
HE IS A TRAITOR CLEAR AS DAY
Cohen…He is McCain’s base.
Man, if McLame is to win, Cohen is going to be one tired man on November 4, 2008. That’s a lot of votes he’s gonna have to cast, in lots and lots of different states.
Poor guy – he doesn’t really look like he’s up to it.
here is a brutal fact;
bush continued to his advertised venue of appearance after he found out we were under attack, bush was then informed again, we are under attack while he is there in that gradeschool
AND THE SECRET SERVICE DID NOT SPIRIT HIM TO AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION!
I am sorry, this president knew AS A FACT;
HIS LOCATION WAS SECURE!
now, how on EARTH would he know his location was secure?
hmmmm?
this is a traitor and we know it and he is STILL running our country
Bush was never going to do anything to harm a Bush family crony. It’s one reason bin Laden remains free today.
In the Oliver Stone movie W., they cast Toby Jones (who played Truman Capote in Infamous) as Rove. Perfect.
omg you guys I can be slow – this is Rand pimpin’ in anticipation of a Dem Administration aint it ?!?! more and better coffee please
work it gurl !
Remember when the WTC was attacked in 1993?
Bill Clinton did what the RAND study advocated: He treated it as a crime, not as an act of war. No bombing other countries, no invasions, just simple shoe leather on the part of the world’s police forces.
The perps were all nailed within six months.
Bush, on the other hand, used the 2001 attacks as an excuse to invade nations per the PNAC Platoon’s prescriptions.
Big think tanks like RAND are a lot like the media. They receive millions to state the obvious years late.
It’s funny on that whole spelling thing. I’ve had several people tell me 2 different spellings. I’m really not trying to be rude, and in the article they did spell Mr Obama name as Barak..
Re; the interesting stuff going on..
Well, we have Rove soon to be avoiding Ohio.
Little Monica* may soon be showing us her little unofficial/official pledge* to Emperor Bush.
Mr Obama has met/is meeting with most of the Big players on the World Stage.
Darth is going to ‘met’ with Mr Obama. ( hmmm, wonder where the meeting is/who’s recording that one?).
Mr Bush ‘might’ meet with him, but he’s going with Hadley, not with Darth…
Stuff about fired/imprisoned Governors/district Atty’s (and the folks who canned them) popping up like Daisies.
McCain’s lobby buddy/connections list get wider each day.
(McCain is an OLD man, he needs to go home, send time with his wife of 20 odd years, go fishing with his children/grandchildren. Not too much time left on his life clock.)
Lots of interesting stuff.. :)
Links, please.
Yup, things got “blowed up” alright, no doubt about it. Way to go there Dictator Bush! yee haw.
JT
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
in addition, if you read page 128 of the 9/11 report, you will see clear as day, clinton was given a pdb almost identical to bush’s and clinton REACTED, his response thwarted that attack, bush instead took vacation
hey SD – lemme suggest a book by Dr. R.J. Hillhouse, http://www.thespywhobilledme.com/, which is set as fiction, is a blast of fun to read, but which also mirrors her beliefs on this issue. In an interview w/ Amy Goodman, she said that she was forced to write it as fiction because of – well, you just can’t write that stuff as non-fiction or the wrath of lots of serious people would come down upon her. When Amy Goodman asked her whether the ending (which I won’t give away) is something that she truly believes, all Dr. Hillhouse did was smile.
“Outsourced” is the name of the book. You’ll enjoy it – really.
Got a “404″ on your linky…
Hmmm, more interesting meetings…yep, Big chess moves.
‘Israeli Defense Minister Meets with Cheney, Rice Today, Iran on the Agenda
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has arrived in Washington and is scheduled to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Pentagon officials and a few members of Congress today. Iran is on the agenda. Barak is accompanied by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz. Their visit follows that of Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi to Washington last week. ‘
http://www.motherjones.com/moj…..fense.html
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of terrorism – attacks on non-combatants.
Were there some ‘dual targets’? Yes. Were the attacks militarily and politically useful? Yes. Were there ‘moral complexities’? If so, Uncle Sam clearly needs to reassess its current approach to terrorism.
On Obama’s campaign website, he spells his own name pretty clearly. His US Senate website also manages to spell it consistently.
And some links would still be appreciated.
Agreed
Got a “404″ on your linky…
http://www.thespywhobilledme.c…..billed_me/
maybe fixed?
As the photo above says:
Obviously, no one could have predicted, especially since the World Trade Center is mentioned in the first paragraph and Bin Ladin had only publicly stated his intentions 4 years previously. No one could have predicted.
Morning. Woke up today thinking about the Unitarian Universalist Assn and remembering that Scott McClellan’s mom attacked the denomination as Comptroller of the State of Texas – she ruled a UU church (Denison TX) wasn’t tax exempt. Seems the theology didn’t measure up to her standards. Failed to mandate belief in a supreme being..
Dunno if the MSM is remembering this. (Can’t even keep up with FDL these days and following the MSM is lower on my list of priorities)
http://www.religionnewsblog.co…..t-religion
(bows) Konnichiwa, SouthernDragon
i’m currrently taking a break from the corporate media. it leaves me ignorant of what nonsense they are up to, but it has done wonders for my level of frustration. *g*
Thanks. I remember that conversation but missed the first part of it. We’ve got a lot of work to do squaring away the intelligence community. The ideologues have made a mess of it. Outsourced sounds just like the ticket to break up all the wonky reading.
Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool. Gonna be a slow day so I’m gonna catch up on my reading on the current state of counterinsurgency policies. Later I get to search Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Widsom for his discussion of the subject. My kinda day.
Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.
Namaste
lol!
Well, damn, I was hoping you knew of something cuz I gave up on it when I turned in my cable box right after the WTC. And cancelled my sub to the local rag. *g*
PNAC Board Member and McAdvisor
Cliff was all over this months ago.
Fixed! Thanks.
re; Links,
I got the stuff re; Mr Obam’a schedule from last thread and just thought about whom else he has met with in his whirlwind World Tour. Various news agencies has covered the photo-ops/very kind comments etc.
Rove’s firewall is getting a bit thin. Marcy is looking into Rove, Goodling etc..
Sorry, my comment was more of a ‘oh, look at all the stuff that is (finally)coming down/out/around the corner! and less of ‘Breaking’ news stuff..
But, There really is lots of different stuff going on, and with links/ties/roots’ between/to people* many of us have been following for a while…
Just an observation, but there is big and small* moves going on and it is going to get even more interesting.
Peace :)
taking a bow on behalf of Luddites everywhere…
something tells me they are ignoring this
Haaertz:
Blogger Eric on RawStory posted this:
Zbigniew Brzezinski helped fund the Mujaheddin in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1979. Zbig even reported that it was years before this, when the CIA and MI6 helped fund this group to fight the Soviets. Operation Cyclone!
Where is Zbig now? Obama’s main advisor.
Thank-you for the correct spelling :)
Well, JoeScar just blasted Oliver Stone’s “W”, which of course has not been released, as being “full of cartoon characters”.
Why isn’t JoeScar over at FauxNews, where he belongs, maybe doin’ a duet with Rove?
Asshat. (but then I’m sure you already knew that before you turned off your teevee) *g*
Bush would be incompetent to be the President of the United States that you have in your mind.
That place does not exist.
He is not the President of anything.
He is playing his part.
He is doing precisely as his handlers instruct him.
Here in reality, things only appear to go wrong.
You’re using pre-9/11 thinking.
Since the Military Coup, reality has been stood on its head.
You will never make sense of anything using your pre-coup mind.
The media is just as controlled by the Government as was Pravda in the Soviet Union.
The illusion of incompetence is all by design.
Karl Rove is the ARCHITECT OF DISREALITY.
Here in reality:
KARL ROVE IS A TERRORIST
It’s time to see with new eyes.
Google “discernible reality”
I saw that. Made me laugh,(I know, strange) but that’s the sort of little move I’m talking about. Sides are lining up (very quietly/very subtly).
Morning Joe has never polled higher than 320K viewers, lower than David Gregory’s burlesque – and everyone’s already talking about the damage done to Gregory’s career :D
Creating your own enemies:
Israel CREATED Hamas.
Israel ensured the Hamas political victory.
Israel also installed the present leader of Iran.
The US CREATED Al Qaeda.
The US and Israel conspired to pull off 9/11.
These are mere PRETEXTS.
Leave your morality aside and think like a globalist whose goals include depopulation. The value of human life is ZERO. If you can’t put yourself in that frame of mind, you will never comprehand the game being played at your expense.
Take off the blinders. Think like a morally bankrupt (ends justify the means) megalomaniac whose power and control over world events and perceptions is absolute. Only then can you begin to comprehend how meaningless your vote is.
When you invent your own (weaker) enemies, and create the context with which to justify actions against the countries in which they (apparently) operate, it “justifies” sanctions and/or military action against that state.
All of this noise about “countries who harbor terrorists” is just that, noise.
There are no “terrorists” that were not created by either Israel of the United States for the sole purpose of justifying the acquisition of territory and resources, and the genocide of the people who reside atop “our oil.”
Nothing is as it appears. Nothing.
Whatever you are told is true, assume the opposite to be true.
Stop obsessing on “politicians” and start looking at the REAL POWER STRUCTURE. Identify the players and their operatives by name and expose their actions.
9/11 is but one of their actions.
Stop mentioning Bin Laden in connection with 9/11. He had nothing to do with it. The FBI agrees.
Next comes the nuking of Iran with “tactical nukes” and the imposition of Martial Law in the United States (aided by a conveniently timed avian flu pandemic, the remedy for which is of course a vaccine that the globalists will all profit from – and the advice to avoid crowds – of demonstrators).
If you fail to comply, the KBR-built Concentration Camps (800 of them) are ready for your occupancy:
http://tinyurl.com/y48vxo
G’morning good Lake folks. Shockful and awesome post, Attaturk. You have such a distinct style. I wonder if you were born that way. Did you have authentic DFH days, like I did? I’d have liked to know you back then. It’s a good thing to be able to read you now.
:)
But of course, Attaturk. Truth has never been a growth industry. Current events have to be spun for maximum profits in monetary and power terms.
The small band known as the Symbionese Liberation Army provided cover for the creation of SWAT teams everywhere.
The small band called Al Qaida has been used to expand police powers so we can all be wiretapped illegally, so we’ll lemmingly obey third-rate security guards to remove our shoes because shoe bombs have killed no-one, so Cat Stevens and the Dixie Chicks can be treated like wharf rats, so librarians can be prosecuted for giving out information, so oil price bubbles can occur, so restrictions on oil drilling can be lifted, so cops can taser everyone they wanna, so the right to legalm assembly can be restricted, and especially so political cronies can get filthy rich.
The Rand report didn’t go far enough. In defining Al Qaida as a criminal organization, it left out a similar designation for that other crime family, our government.
I agree with that..Well put. :)
Um, better forget the college bit. From the NYT: “The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority is unable to grant loans to college students this year as it is unable to secure financing due to the condition of the capital markets.”
Well, one comes to mind. Daniel Ellsberg. Though I suppose that exception probably proves the rule :)
He was on Glenn Greenwald’s new Salon podcast this week and it was great. You can find it on Salon.com.
And may the good lord take a likin’ to ya and blow ya up real good.
As far as I can tell, there are no lessons being learned here on either side of the matter. What happened on 9/11 was a consequence of WW2, ultimately. It was a case of the interventionist chickens coming home to roost.
As far as I can tell, people here still believe that what happened to America 9/11 was someone else’s fault, not theirs or their government’s. They still think that we must go out in the world and hunt down those who are responsible, totally unaware that they themselves are the ones responsible for the tragedies that began with the onset of WW2 when Americans formally declared war on Japan after supporting Britain in a European war of its own making.
Americans are a long way away from learning any lessons that have been taught in this period, so it seems. Not even John Kerry gets it.
Who are the Taliban?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/S…..0Df02.html
and why are we fighting them?