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Edited on Tue Oct-17-06 12:47 AM by Dover
Mods, this is from Moore's email newsletter and can be printed in full (though I haven't done so). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I posted this article awhile back. It had the ring of truth to it, though it was still too early to tell for sure. But I'd say by the looks of things now, R. Moore has made a good argument for the current strategic shift and the reasons we had to endure Bushco. His article was originally an attempt to make sense of why Brzezinski (and others), was suddenly coming out of the woodwork to challenge Bush's policies. Particularly considering the policies in his book that seemed to have laid the foundation for many of these policies in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I recommend reading both the Brzezinski article which R. Moore was responding to as well as his response in full, but here's what I think are the salient parts relative to the political sea change we are currently experiencing: ZB: That war, advocated by a narrow circle of decision makers for motives still not fully exposed, propagated publicly by demagogic rhetoric reliant on false assertions, has turned out to be much more costly in blood and money than anticipated.
All of this applies equally to the war Brzezinski helped create in Afghanistan, apart perhaps for the part about anticipated costs. In truth he is the pot calling the kettle black, although given his stature he can probably assume most readers wouldn't be noticing his own true color.
So far, it seems Brzezinski is simply doing a hatchet job on Bush, using his prestige, saying whatever works as anti-Bush propaganda. This would indicate that the CFR-level community is ready to dump Bush, as they dumped Nixon, hoping that all the shit will stick to him as they flush him away, as it did with Nixon: the scapegoat scenario. Compounding U.S. political dilemmas is the degradation of America's moral standing in the world. The country that has for decades stood tall in opposition to political repression, torture and other violations of human rights has been exposed as sanctioning practices that hardly qualify as respect for human dignity.
Ditto pot & kettle; ditto scapegoat propaganda. But it need not be so. A real course correction is still possible, and it could start soon with a modest and common-sense initiative by the president to engage the Democratic congressional leadership in a serious effort to shape a bipartisan foreign policy for an increasingly divided and troubled nation.
This is totally in line with a 'clean flush' agenda. they dump Bush, everyone in Washington and media-land reveals they didn't really like his policies in the first place, and Americans believe that democracy has been restored - as they did when Nixon resigned.
If Bush were to scale back his goals in Iraq, that would be a retreat, a failure - not only for Bush, but for America's reputation as a tough guy that you better watch out for. But if the whole situation can be blamed entirely on Bush - a rogue President who lost it, like Nixon - then any retrenchment will be seen as well-intentioned attempt to clean up an unfortunate mess. The Establishment survives, and all options are open as regards policy shifts.
But then we'd be left with Cheney and Rumsfeld. Either they'd need to be dumped as well, or else they could have 'changes of heart' - they were only taking orders and being good soldiers - like the fearsome flying monkeys who became like puppies once the wicked witch had been slain. In a bipartisan setting, it would be easier not only to scale down the definition of success in Iraq but actually to get out - perhaps even as early as next year. And the sooner the United States leaves, the sooner the Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis will either reach a political arrangement on their own or some combination of them will forcibly prevail.
Brzezinski knows full well that the U.S. will never vacate Iraq. We've built, and are still building, very permanent military bases, establishing just the kind of imperial infrastructure Brzezinski himself so eloquently promotes. He never mentions in this article the elephant in the kitchen - oil - and he knows full well that the U.S. will never relinquish control over those reserves now that control has been achieved. The PNAC document says that the issue of Iraq transcends the issue of Saddam's regime; similarly it transcends Bush's regime.
Brzezinski is simply taking a 'high moral ground' position with his withdrawal ruse, donning the feathers of a dove, knowing that the stand has no practical political relevance.
The substance of his proposal has to do with the 'bipartisan' approach and the opening-up of options. The bipartisan part is important, because it reinforces the image of 'democracy restored'. It is a safe tactic, given that the Democrats on The Hill are not substantially different then Republicans in their politics. And they will fall over themselves with glee at being invited back into the bargain-politics arena. In fact, Brzezinski is proposing that the U.S. abandon any pretense of, or responsibility for, restoring order or establishing democracy in Iraq, even to the point of simply cutting and running - even a bloodbath would be acceptable.
Once options are opened up that widely for discussion, one can rather easily predict the 'salvage strategy' that is likely to be adopted. That strategy will have, I imagine, two parts: one about the Iraqis, and one about the oil.
As regards the oil, the decision will be that the reserves are too important to the world economy to be put under Iraqi control 'during a period of adjustment and instability'. As a trustee for the world, and for the Iraqis, the U.S. will 'protect and operate' the oil fields in 'the interim', and will need its bases for that purpose, and to ensure instability in Iraq doesn't spill over the borders.
As regards the Iraqis, based on the current covert campaign to stir up a civil war in Iraq, and the relative autonomy given to the Kurds, it seems the policy will be centered around dividing Iraq up into mini-states. along ethnic-religious lines: Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, etc. This would divide the problem of controlling the region into manageable chunks, and lead to a combination of stability and instability, providing maximum flexibility as regards future interventions.
The mini-states would be a bit like the Palestinian areas in Israel: treated as autonomous with respect to dealing with their own problems of survival, yet always vulnerable to air strikes, blockades, or other relatively inexpensive yet effective interventions. We might keep in mind that Israeli security personnel have been busy training the U.S. occupation forces in how to deal with the Iraqi resistance, based on their experience with, and policies toward, the Palestinians. We might also recall the years of sanctions, no-fly zones, etc.
It would not be difficult to sell this plan to the Iraqis. If the U.S. ended its attacks in Iraq, offered significant funds and assistance for infrastructure reconstruction, and promised to withdraw its forces to its bases (and pipelines, and oil fields, and national borders) the Iraqis would have little choice but to go along with the full package, despite its drawbacks. They are sick of the fighting, and life is almost impossible under the occupation and with most infrastructures not operating.
This way the U.S. gets everything it ever wanted in Iraq - bases and oil - and it can free its troops from an engagement that never did serve any useful purpose for 'U.S. interests'. The world will be so relieved to see the end of the unpopular war that they will not challenge our residual presence and role, nor will they berate us for Bush's prior mistakes. Bush served a useful purpose by getting us into Iraq and creating a situation so grotesque that anything less will now be perceived as being acceptable. He took a mile and we can keep the inch we really want.
That is how U.S. strategic planners will view the situation, and perhaps how they have viewed it from the beginning. The whole neocon clique were known to be a pack of attack dogs: they were unleashed; they captured territory; we can now apologize that they got off leash; and we get to keep the bits we want. It was necessary that Bush based the campaign on lies, so that we can now say that he was wrong but he was sincere and perhaps deranged - getting us off the hook for our actual oil-imperialist motivation. Before joining the neocon lynch mob, recall Bob Dylan's words to those who felt like lynching Medgar Evers' killer: "He was only a pawn in their game."
As a consequence of this well-thought-out grand strategy, if that's what it has been, the U.S. would emerge not only with its oil and bases, but with most of its military forces mobilized and freed up from active assignments. After a bit of R&R, and the sending home of the most exhausted, the rest would be all ready for the next major PNAC campaign. And this time we will have a much better cover story: another false-flag event, 9/11 number two.
Brzezinski is playing the role of Antony, in Julius Caesar. In his dove clothes, he tells us he "has not come to praise war, but to bury it." But in the end, his words set the stage for the next episode of combat.
The opening up of options is also very important.
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