ALTERMAN: Bush asked for this

[dArKeR]

Bush and Cheney ensured the failure of the post-war plans by refusing even to consult with experts who knew something about the region, even those in our own government.


Those awful pictures from Falluja are a necessary part of Americans’ education and must be shown to them just as frequently as the deliberate deceptions the media so gullibly passed along when the president was misleading us into war.  As horrific and inhuman as these actions may be, Bush asked for this.  He invaded another country in near complete ignorance of its history and traditions, in defiance of world opinion, and on the basis of dishonest and trumped-up arguments.  What’s more, he and Cheney ensured the failure of the post-war plans by refusing even to consult with experts who knew something about the region, even those in our own government.  The result has been an unending series of easily predictable catastrophes that are worsening by the day.  Knowing the ways of the all-powerful Karl Rove, I predict he will instruct Bush to cut and run before Election Day.  The question is, Will Cheney second the motion?  Will the media allow them to get away with it?

And we are no safer.  You got that right...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/

[Chitown_Dem]

1. images of war

I was thinking about this issue yesterday - widely publicizing the images of war to Americans.

It was sobering to read Robert Fisk's account of the Fallujah killings. I couldn't look at the photos yesterday, but I did view some of the Iraqi civilian casualties last year after the bombing began. I was already against what was happening, and it was very difficult to see the horrific results. It brings home the point that there are real human beings on both sides whose lives are being shattered on a daily basis.

So maybe it's time to release all of the images of war, and to cover every military funeral. It certainly would offer a stark counterpoint to Bush's flippancy. He seems to be under the impression that war is funny.

[zbdent]

2. Play the "Bring Them On" video clip first

then these images.

[Miss Authoritiva]

3. Our courageous media in action...

I know I should be glad when an American "journalist" writes something about "the deliberate (Bush/Cheney) deceptions the media so gullibly passed along." But Alterman's words ring so hollow. It's apparent that the all-clear siren has gone off for the media, ensconced in the corporate bunkers, and now we get this drivel.

The blood is as much on their hands as on the hands of Bush and Cheney. And a few extra billion dollars should be charged to their corporate credit cards.

[lolly]

5. Read up on Alterman

He's the author of two anti-Bush books ("What Liberal Media" and another one I don't remember right now) and the "inventor" of the phrase SCLM (So-Called-Liberal-Media).

Check out his blog linked in the original post. He's not new to this game; has been sounding the alarm for awhile, along with people like Krugman, Herbert, and Scheer.

[Miss Authoritiva]

9. You're right: I was kicking the wrong guy in the shins

My apologies to Mr. Alterman (hey, they don't call me Miss Authoritiva for nothing). It's just that I've been catching this "drift" in attitude in some of the press and on some of the cable news shows -- you know, like after a year of no WMDs and messy acts of resistance that maybe Operation Whatever We're Calling It This Time wasn't such a good idea after all. Mr. Alterman was an innocent bystander of my drive-by keyboarding.

[Martin Eden]

4. Cut and Run? ...NOT!

"Knowing the ways of the all-powerful Karl Rove, I predict he will instruct Bush to cut and run before Election Day. The question is, Will Cheney second the motion? Will the media allow them to get away with it?"

IMHO, the Bushies will NOT cut and run from Iraq. No way.

First, it would be admitting all the blood and treasure was wasted for naught. They cast their lot with this Iraqi venture, and their election prospects hinge on spinning it as a righteous endeavor.

Secondly, if they cut and run they can't take the oil with them. They created facts on the ground, and the chaos actually plays into their hand -- not politically, but geo-strategically. If our troops had greeted as liberators and an independent Iraqi democracy quickly installed, there would be no pretext for the 14 long-term bases we're building in Iraq.

We're in this for the long haul. It is unlikely that any government we install can survive without the U.S. military to back it up, and this is exactly the way the Bushies want it. Even with a Kerry in the White House, I don't see us pulling out anytime soon.

[donhakman]

6. One must understand

that Western oil companies get a cut without having to physically do anything via distribution rights etc.

Getting the Iraq oil out is now only possible through the southern pipeline route. The western and northern piplines are blown up every 2 weeks or so and are virtually abandonned.

Iraq can not nationalize their oil industry without a goverment or army. So basicly "we" do it for them.

We can honestly say we did not steal their oil in literal terms of shipping it directly here, but US/multinational firms get a cut no matter where it goes. Only 3-5 billion dollars worth this year but they expect much more in the future, should the pipelines ever stop blowing up.

[Martin Eden]

7. and the transactions are in petrodollars

as opposed to euros

Some say Saddam sealed his fate when he switched to euros.

In any event, the goal is to prevent Iraq from being truly independent. In 1953 we and the Brits deposed the deomocratic government of Iraq and installed the Shah because Mossadegh had the temerity to nationalize Iraq's oil industry.

The invasion of Iraq was preemptive in a sense, though not for the reasons given.

[teryang]

8. I agree

They are completely indifferent to the deaths and human suffering. The chaos plays right into their hands.

The petro-dollar advantage is completely lost however as dollars are hemmorhaged overseas to support this futile conflict. A small sector of partisan corporate interests profit astronomically while the entire American economy is like a plastic swimming pool with a decent sized hole in it. I don't see how devaluation of the dollar won't have to be the outcome to prevent a complete financial collapse. Driving down American living standards can only go so far before consumption breaks. Maybe this could go on for five years, then some one comes on board to play the Jimmy Carter role after Vietnam.

[mediaman007]

10. Bush's god told him what to do...

unfortunately, God lets people make their own decisions. Bush's god was probably used by many despots.