Reading by Tim Foley: Stop calling the Iraq War a "mistake". When you make a mistake, you make changes to ensure that mistake is not repeated. Nobody responsible for that invasion suffered any consequences of any kind, zero policy changes were made, and the unipolarist ideology which led to it has become more entrenched than ever.
Not only are the architects of The War On Iraq regularly hailed as Serious Thinkers and Hard-Headed Foreign Policy Experts, even though precisely none of the rosy scenarios they publicly predicted came to pass, those who dared oppose the war were cast into Outer Darkness, even though the war was more disastrous than anyone foretold.
They only work because the average person is completely brain dead, minds rotted out by “social media” and mainstream media manipulation- and believes everything they are told.
The Iraq invasion was calculated and deliberate, and the reason for it is clearly stated in the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) published in September of 2000: "This report proceeds from the belief that America should seek to preserve and extend its position of global leadership by maintaining the preeminence of U.S. military forces."
The Iraq War was not a mistake. It was a premeditated crime, whose perpetrators have become increasingly bold and influential. In a just world, they would be in prison, where they could no longer poison US foreign policy and public discourse. But they are free, respected and prosperous. That’s the very opposite of just.
"The Iraq War was not a "mistake". ... Someone who makes a "mistake" doesn't get everything they always wanted as a result and suffer zero consequences for the damage it caused. That's what happens to someone who took a deliberate, calculated action in their own interests."
Good point, Caitlin! Too many elitists use the "I'm sorry I made a mistake," line to handle PR disasters and make themselves look like fallen saints. In reality, they're just saying, "I'm sorry I got caught red-handed doing evil sh*t and hurting people. Here's some propaganda b.s. to confuse you and make you feel kind/sorry towards me." It's time to expose the liars, cheaters, and outright criminal minds. Unless you take responsibility for your crimes, you are NOT "sorry" and don't deserve to be let off the hook. You deserve to be sent to the ICC, judged and jailed. #EatTheWarCriminals
As you point out, Biden, the serial plagiarist, was Chmn of Senate Foreign Affairs and so a key cheerleader and enabler of the invasion of Iraq. And in gratitude he’s elected President, clearly because he would do what he was told. And his Senate whip for the invasion, Blinken, is now Sec of State. Vicki Nuland, the silver-tongued and forked-tongued diplomatic ( ‘Fuck the EU ‘) puppeteer of the regime change in Ukraine, is now America’s ~most senior diplomat . Known widely as the “war witch” she brooms her way (thx Matt) around, bullying Asian countries to sign up for mayhem.
Benjamin Franklin and the other pillars of American success are turning in their grave. The present farcical faux democracy is enough to wake any dead with decency and conscience. Ben vigorously and presciently campaigned against the bald eagle being made national bird, citing its bad moral character and propensity to rob and steal the work of other birds. Was he right about everything? Pretty much.
I love your writing and your political take on things.
My thoughts on the gulf war are many, sometimes conflicting. I forgot any thoughts of military action in Iraq being positive the day of the invasion when we opened the war by bombing two residential sections of Baghdad, supposedly based on "wrong intelligence". It seemed like pure terrorism to me. Then there was the thoughtless destruction and vandalism of antiquities, and the driving of the Sunnis into a guerilla movement. We did all the wrong things and turned the invasion into a total "kick the anthill" to destabilized what is a very barbaric area of the world.
Similiar thing for Afghanistan. I was one who followed Afghanistan well before 9-11, when women's groups were actually calling for military action to remove the Taliban because of their backwards low-tech totalitarian misogynistic regime. I don't think we were aggressive enough there.
To me this war with Russia and China is wrong, and destructive to the entire planet - we have to learn to get along, but the Middle East and North Korea are places where we should be cooperating.
The hard part for anyone, is drawing the line as when military force is OK, and when it is not. It's seemingly impossible for any country to be united in any such decision, and what drives us all crazy are the things going on in our names that we have no knowledge of or control over.
But the fascist pattern has always been stronger and before the democratic push-back. The pattern of a vicious elite pushing everyone away from the bounty of nature's resources, and then selling them back in an arbirage exchange for only their bare minimal lives. That is where fascism leads.
I have a newsletter called "THE GREAT AWAKENING" which central point of discussion is how humanity is rushing toward annihilation and how we can ensure our survival on this planet.
We have many problems at hand - overpopulation, climate crisis, nuclear threat, animal cruelty, etc. We are creating hell on this beautiful planet and the reason is not this or that political party or economic system. The most fundamental reason is our current relationship with thought; our ego; our false sense of "I." That's the root.
Apart from talking about all these crises, all the propaganda we go through, we will also talk about spirituality (not in today' sense) because only that can transcend humanity into being a more conscious species.
I’d like to believe it’s all incompetence. We mistakenly allowed multiple commercial planes to be hijacked & flown into buildings. We lucked out getting a video of Bin Laden confessing & realized what a mistake we made to train & arm his army and befriend his rich family. Then we goofed when we buried him, the most wanted man in the western world, in the ocean without objective proof. Trump totally messed up when he constantly ran his mouth about the swamp, then hired them all. What a mistake. Then he mistakenly riled up his base of naive Americans enough to show up for him to protest election mistakes. Then the Capitol police mistakenly allowed crowds to flow in and others to wreak havoc & vandalize the building. The was a dumb mistake to not secure the building knowing the emotion around it...its like the dems, repubs, & trump all made mistakes together! All these people making these mistakes were mistakenly found going to Epstein island. What a mistake to be that guys friend. Then the bumbling prison guards forgot to get a goods nights sleep & check the cameras & Epstein accidentally fell off his bed while snuggling his blanket around his neck. It was a mistake to sign the Minsk agreement. Good thing we crossed our fingers. Business is booming. Except everything now costs more, so we kind of made a boo boo printing too much money. Now we can’t raise interest rates because all our regional banks will fail & need to consolidate. Oopsy. Uhg. So many mistakes.
Compare with the recent ICC indictment of V.V. Putin. The indictment is obviously not enforceable, but is intended to send a message that the West will continue to double down with regard to the War On Ukraine.
That the indictment focuses on the charge of taking children from a war zone seems bizarre at first, but this charge was chosen specifically because the Bush, Cheney or Blair could not be readily accused of doing anything similar, thus attempting to sidestep the obvious question why the ICC indicts Putin ignores the far worse crimes committed by the perpetrators of the War On Iraq.
Not only are the architects of The War On Iraq regularly hailed as Serious Thinkers and Hard-Headed Foreign Policy Experts, even though precisely none of the rosy scenarios they publicly predicted came to pass, those who dared oppose the war were cast into Outer Darkness, even though the war was more disastrous than anyone foretold.
These things are obviously lies and gaslighting.
They only work because the average person is completely brain dead, minds rotted out by “social media” and mainstream media manipulation- and believes everything they are told.
The Iraq invasion was calculated and deliberate, and the reason for it is clearly stated in the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) published in September of 2000: "This report proceeds from the belief that America should seek to preserve and extend its position of global leadership by maintaining the preeminence of U.S. military forces."
KEEP ON FIGHTING CAITLIN!!!
The Iraq War was not a mistake. It was a premeditated crime, whose perpetrators have become increasingly bold and influential. In a just world, they would be in prison, where they could no longer poison US foreign policy and public discourse. But they are free, respected and prosperous. That’s the very opposite of just.
Excellent post Caitlin. Thank you!
"The Iraq War was not a "mistake". ... Someone who makes a "mistake" doesn't get everything they always wanted as a result and suffer zero consequences for the damage it caused. That's what happens to someone who took a deliberate, calculated action in their own interests."
Good point, Caitlin! Too many elitists use the "I'm sorry I made a mistake," line to handle PR disasters and make themselves look like fallen saints. In reality, they're just saying, "I'm sorry I got caught red-handed doing evil sh*t and hurting people. Here's some propaganda b.s. to confuse you and make you feel kind/sorry towards me." It's time to expose the liars, cheaters, and outright criminal minds. Unless you take responsibility for your crimes, you are NOT "sorry" and don't deserve to be let off the hook. You deserve to be sent to the ICC, judged and jailed. #EatTheWarCriminals
As you point out, Biden, the serial plagiarist, was Chmn of Senate Foreign Affairs and so a key cheerleader and enabler of the invasion of Iraq. And in gratitude he’s elected President, clearly because he would do what he was told. And his Senate whip for the invasion, Blinken, is now Sec of State. Vicki Nuland, the silver-tongued and forked-tongued diplomatic ( ‘Fuck the EU ‘) puppeteer of the regime change in Ukraine, is now America’s ~most senior diplomat . Known widely as the “war witch” she brooms her way (thx Matt) around, bullying Asian countries to sign up for mayhem.
Benjamin Franklin and the other pillars of American success are turning in their grave. The present farcical faux democracy is enough to wake any dead with decency and conscience. Ben vigorously and presciently campaigned against the bald eagle being made national bird, citing its bad moral character and propensity to rob and steal the work of other birds. Was he right about everything? Pretty much.
See the international weasel Michael Steinhardt
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/michael-steinhardt-antiquities-stolen-artifacts.html
Right on Caitlin!
Foreign policy 'mistakes' are the gift that keeps on giving.
Bravo, Bush & Cheney are war criminals. I marched many a time against their illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq!
I love your writing and your political take on things.
My thoughts on the gulf war are many, sometimes conflicting. I forgot any thoughts of military action in Iraq being positive the day of the invasion when we opened the war by bombing two residential sections of Baghdad, supposedly based on "wrong intelligence". It seemed like pure terrorism to me. Then there was the thoughtless destruction and vandalism of antiquities, and the driving of the Sunnis into a guerilla movement. We did all the wrong things and turned the invasion into a total "kick the anthill" to destabilized what is a very barbaric area of the world.
Similiar thing for Afghanistan. I was one who followed Afghanistan well before 9-11, when women's groups were actually calling for military action to remove the Taliban because of their backwards low-tech totalitarian misogynistic regime. I don't think we were aggressive enough there.
To me this war with Russia and China is wrong, and destructive to the entire planet - we have to learn to get along, but the Middle East and North Korea are places where we should be cooperating.
The hard part for anyone, is drawing the line as when military force is OK, and when it is not. It's seemingly impossible for any country to be united in any such decision, and what drives us all crazy are the things going on in our names that we have no knowledge of or control over.
But the fascist pattern has always been stronger and before the democratic push-back. The pattern of a vicious elite pushing everyone away from the bounty of nature's resources, and then selling them back in an arbirage exchange for only their bare minimal lives. That is where fascism leads.
If the US and UK really wanted to win the "War on Terror", they would nuke themselves into oblivion.
I have a newsletter called "THE GREAT AWAKENING" which central point of discussion is how humanity is rushing toward annihilation and how we can ensure our survival on this planet.
We have many problems at hand - overpopulation, climate crisis, nuclear threat, animal cruelty, etc. We are creating hell on this beautiful planet and the reason is not this or that political party or economic system. The most fundamental reason is our current relationship with thought; our ego; our false sense of "I." That's the root.
Apart from talking about all these crises, all the propaganda we go through, we will also talk about spirituality (not in today' sense) because only that can transcend humanity into being a more conscious species.
If it sounds interesting to you, check here:
https://awakes.substack.com
I’d like to believe it’s all incompetence. We mistakenly allowed multiple commercial planes to be hijacked & flown into buildings. We lucked out getting a video of Bin Laden confessing & realized what a mistake we made to train & arm his army and befriend his rich family. Then we goofed when we buried him, the most wanted man in the western world, in the ocean without objective proof. Trump totally messed up when he constantly ran his mouth about the swamp, then hired them all. What a mistake. Then he mistakenly riled up his base of naive Americans enough to show up for him to protest election mistakes. Then the Capitol police mistakenly allowed crowds to flow in and others to wreak havoc & vandalize the building. The was a dumb mistake to not secure the building knowing the emotion around it...its like the dems, repubs, & trump all made mistakes together! All these people making these mistakes were mistakenly found going to Epstein island. What a mistake to be that guys friend. Then the bumbling prison guards forgot to get a goods nights sleep & check the cameras & Epstein accidentally fell off his bed while snuggling his blanket around his neck. It was a mistake to sign the Minsk agreement. Good thing we crossed our fingers. Business is booming. Except everything now costs more, so we kind of made a boo boo printing too much money. Now we can’t raise interest rates because all our regional banks will fail & need to consolidate. Oopsy. Uhg. So many mistakes.
Compare with the recent ICC indictment of V.V. Putin. The indictment is obviously not enforceable, but is intended to send a message that the West will continue to double down with regard to the War On Ukraine.
That the indictment focuses on the charge of taking children from a war zone seems bizarre at first, but this charge was chosen specifically because the Bush, Cheney or Blair could not be readily accused of doing anything similar, thus attempting to sidestep the obvious question why the ICC indicts Putin ignores the far worse crimes committed by the perpetrators of the War On Iraq.
This blatant hypocrisy is entirely intentional.