Searing Documentary on War Complicity Indicts not Just US Politicos, but Major Media, too
It might not be the most Hollywood-slick, user-friendly title, but it couldn’t be any more direct in conveying the movie’s message. The title? War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.Although Sean Penn narrates this documentary, his is not the central voice. Rather, it’s that of Norman Solomon, the outspoken U.S. journalist/author, on whose book of the same title the film is based.
And if Penn’s voice sounds somewhat hushed narrating this searing doc, it’s because he, like most others who will catch it, is probably blown away by the compelling case brought to the surface by Solomon and captured so effectively on screen by co-directors Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp .
In short, Solomon suggests that U.S. foreign policy is dictated by a small circle of politicos, the president and his trusted advisers, who have their own agenda that often results in drawn-out wars that can’t be won.
Even more damning, though, is Solomon’s assertion that the major U.S. media serve as little more than mouthpieces for these politicos and that they are essentially complicit in these wars, too.
It seems that some media, according to Solomon, believe that being embedded with the U.S. military in combat means being in bed with the Pentagon.
Solomon draws fascinating yet frightening parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars, both of which have resulted in far too many casualties and emotional scars that could have been avoided. He deconstructs the canard that was the bogus WMDs — weapons of mass destruction — that served as the catalyst for the U.S. invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
He then indicts much of the media for perpetuating the myths surrounding the WMDs — until the facts emerged and it was no longer fashionable. He is utterly incredulous in recounting how CNN sought the Pentagon’s approval for the military experts they conscripted to comment on air on Iraq. But he is not surprised that Phil Donahue, one of the few voices of media dissent on the Iraq war, was canned by MSNBC.
One of the most revealing clips in the doc dates back to 1964, when Oregon Senator Wayne Morse had the temerity to suggest that it was up to the American people, not the president, to formulate U.S. foreign policy. Morse, who at the time was one of only two senators to oppose military involvement in Vietnam, was almost laughed out of Washington for his views.
Well, they ain’t laughing now. As for the American people, current stats show that almost the same number — 70 per cent — are as opposed to the war in Iraq as those who were against the Vietnam war.
“We’re in a process now where short-circuiting the democratic process is really essential to perpetuating the war — much the same as it was during Vietnam,” notes Solomon, in town for the international premiere of the doc at the Montreal World Film Festival.
“It’s back to the future. The president has this long-term view, and feels the Congress and the public should just butt out.”
Solomon, who visited Baghdad with Penn just prior to the U.S. invasion, is quick to point out that he’s no pacifist. Some wars — namely the First World War and Second World War — have been necessary.
“There is a tendency to rally support when it looks like a war will be triumphant and short,” he says. “But when it turns out to be non-triumphant and long, then there’s time to disregard the information. Then the administration needs to work with its media allies to do damage-control, to shift the argument.”
Needless to say, Solomon hasn’t been much in demand on the network talk-show front.
“Before the invasion of Iraq, I appeared often on CNN and Fox as well as the other networks. But then the networks suddenly weren’t interested in dissent for a while, until it later appeared that Iraq wasn’t such an unvarnished military triumph after all, ” Solomon said.
With the limited release of the documentary in the U.S. and the tide turning against the Iraq war, however, it’s a good bet that he will be making the rounds on the talk shows again.
“The point of this film can’t be stopped. The intellectual and emotional power of the film will propel it.” Regardless of what much of the media might think of him.
The doc, distributed worldwide by Montreal-based Mundovision, is slated for the Cinéma du Parc in the fall, and will probably find receptive audiences here, too. Solomon is aware that the majority of Quebecers, stung by the growing list of casualties, are much opposed to Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan.
“Bush has Mr. Howard in Australia and Mr. Harper in Canada to assist him in this mirage of the coalition of the willing, which is, in reality, the coalition of the misled.”
Solomon is also abundantly aware that there is no easy way out of the quagmire that is Iraq or Afghanistan.
“We are up against the formula that was applied to the Vietnam war, that is now being re-applied by Bush: ‘You can’t cut and run.’ But I think that Daniel Ellsberg put it best: ‘Total and complete withdrawal from Iraq is a terrible idea — and every other idea is worse.’ ”
Solomon relates, too, to musician Michael Franti’s view: “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it to peace.”
War Made Easy screens at the Quartier Latin today at 6:10 p.m., tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
We need to pressure PBS to air this!
Perhaps we should all give Mike Gravel’s campaign a closer look. He calls for letting the voter decide issues through plebicites. I think very few would decide to go to war, short of an attack.
“We need to pressure PBS to air this!”
Bill Moyers’ returned to PBS with a two-hour documentary doing the same thing; it aired last Spring, I think, or early summer.
“Solomon is also abundantly aware that there is no easy way out of the quagmire that is Iraq or Afghanistan.”
There IS an easy way out, but it would involve US corporations making reparations to the countries they’ve helped destroy without compensating with oil or control of those countries. No politicians or even “responsible” pundits on the left are willing to press that case.
Cheney knew that going to war in Iraq was a quagmire. In fact he said so when we chased Iraq out of Kuwait. But, a never ending war means never ending profits war makers.
Does anybody know when this will be in theaters here in the U.S.? Also, is a DVD going to be released for sale?
I think most of us already know what has happened. Traditional journalism changed public opinion during the Nam era and “they” are not about to let that happen again. The new consolidated corporate media is a propaganda tool for the military industrial Congressional war machine as part of a larger corporate power structure run by the wealthy elite, as a generalization. But I happen to think that their pseudo-empire is flawed and unsustainable. But for now, the “Gag Rule” is in place to cover for the war crimes and incompetence. On the other hand a huge number of people know something is terribly wrong, despite the news censorship, although they may not be totally informed on the particulars.
So, we should never stop talking to each other.
“Among all the country’s political virtues, candor is the one most necessary to the health and well-being of our mutual enterprise. Unless we try to tell one another the truth about what we know and think and see, we might as well amuse ourselves, for as long as those in uniform allow us to do so, with fairy tales. To the extent that a democratic society gives its citizens the chance to speak in their own voices and listens to what they have to say, it gives itself the chance not only of discovering its multiple glories and triumphs, but also of surviving its multiple follies and crimes.”
-Lewis Lapham
Thanks for Common Dreams and tell a friend.
As I was saying, and never ending war means never-ending profits for war profiteers, such as: Bectel, Lockheed Halliburton.
Why is my name in blue? I never gave you my website, just my e-mail address. My website is not complete. I am a quadriplegic and I live in a convalescent hospital. Do you want my phone number, my address. What gave you the right, CD, to snoop around. I demand an apology.
While the vast majority of the media conglomerates are complicit in this farce, there are a few who are not. MSNBC has one every night at 7CDT called “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann. He calls it as he sees it; flatly says that Fox Noise is PROPAGANDA. Correct! CBS has floated along with the crap that floats. Until we get more EDUCATED, as well as experienced management, in media we will be force fed the drivel the 1st shrub wants us to hear. Management needs to step back and let their Good media people do their own thing. So much junk is soming into media outlets to cut costs that all they are doing is cutting what minute percentage of all that is right does. My son is a professional journalist with 5 years experience and a Masters degree from the no.1 school of journalism and cannot find a job because he will not bow to the bottom line, $$$ for the corporations and bs for the ones who actually find the hard news. He is extremely bright, top 2% of US population IQ wise, with a BS in History , a Masters in journalism from the TOP school, and No job. And we wonder why news sucks so badly? It doesn’t matter if one can put a coherent thought together but will they kiss the ass of the ‘boss?’ Whoever kisses or sucks the best, gets the goods, not whoever works the hardest. Our country is completely out of control, regardless of what aspect one speaks about. Until we hire the gifted, educated, and combinations of that, with a little experience, we are doomed; just look at what all our “C” student Prez has gotten the country into. We MUST learn from our mistakes and continuation thereof, or we are down the tubes for good.
“While the vast majority of the media conglomerates are complicit in this farce, there are a few who are not. MSNBC has one every night at 7CDT called “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann.”
Olbermann himself finally had it with staying in line, and immediately his ratings began to go up; we’ll see how far he can ride this, as NBC is airing Countdown as a trial balloon this evening.
Unfortunately, he’s saddled with wretches from the Whitewashington Post, especially the hideously snide Dana Millbank, who sneered at the Conyers investigation into the stolen Ohio vote in ‘04.
Still, a crack in the concrete . . .
Rebel Farmer, the DVD is already available. I’ve owned it for several weeks now (see Amazon.com) and have watched it twice. It is well worth watching. I also think that Schecter’s *Weapons of Mass Deception* is very good. I don’t know why that one missed the publicity that *War Made Easy* is getting.
Rebel Farmer & others: the DVD can be bought online for $19.95. Just go to http://www.warmadeeasythemovie.org/
I just had the most amazing dream. It was as though I was in some large American city where everyone, as if spontaneously, started leaving their vehicles in the middle of the street to get in line with hundreds and thousands of pedestrians who were lined-up, up and down the streets in multiple switchbacks similar to the way people line up for exhibits at a World’s Fair.
There were designated houses that invited the people to walk through in order to sign and add a personal message to an online petition demanding that Bush and Cheney step down immediately. The spirit caught on so rapidly and easily that there was no way in hell for the police to interrupt or even get a foothold on the growing crowds that seemed to be strung around every street corner. Horns were honking, people were waving and chanting, and everyone was shaking hands with each other and sharing ideas of how to beat any attempts of the government trying to control the situation. There was such great feeling of empowerment all around. People were ready to fight – if that’s what it took.
I pray to God that my dream was prophetic.
If you saw a huge line-up of people, would you leave your vehicle and get in line to take your turn sending a brief message or just your signature to a rapidly growing petition?
I think that the police provocateurs in Montebello, Quebec had something to do with this dream. The police actually admitted to the masked men being part of their force, but the pretense of it being a matter of apprehending troublemakers is an insult to every intelligent citizen. Why did they wear masks? I guess the matter infuriates to point of having dreams about it – maybe this time, sweet dreams…
I imagined that the petition would be something like this one: http://foxattacks.com/iran
Again, I pray to God that my dream was prophetic.
Our Progressive Democrats of America chapter (OPAC www.ohiopac.org ) just showed this movie in Akron, Ohioat the Akron-Summit County libraryto a about forty people (should have been four hundred, but we are working it) on Aug 22. Norman Solomon graciously called in and via conference call answered questions from the audience. People applauded soundly, both after the movie and after the conference call.
We are calling upon all activists to help peal away those who continue to vote for the senseless and endless destruction and occupation. We are targeting Sen. Voinovich, and we have been to the offices of both Republican and Democratic congressional reps who are still supporting the occupation.
GO to pdamerica.org, and join the grassroots organization that has remained firm on ending the occupation and the funding of this occupation. Sign the Pledge for Peace that we will be sending to Pelosi. ( www.pdamerica.org ) Form a chapter or join a chapter in your congressional district, and lets build the movement for change.
Doing nothing is not an option! Work both inside and outside the Dem Party, coalition, organize, mobilize. We need the movement to grow, our voices to be heard, the occupation ended, and democracy restored.
Interestingly, even this distinctly positive writeup of Solomon’s excellent documentary doesn’t quite get the idea, itself. Look at this weakly-constructed & poorly thought-out sentence: “Solomon draws fascinating yet frightening parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars, both of which have resulted in far too many casualties and emotional scars that could have been avoided.”
This misses the whole point, in a way that’s entirely typical of mainstream media. The point is not that Vietnam & Iraq had “too many casualties and emotional scars that could have been avoided.” The point is that BOTH wars were monstrous criminal actions which were morally wrong & utterly unforgiveable, no matter how many casualties resulted. BOTH were atrocities, fought on the basis of systematic lies for the material benefit of influential sectors of US society.
What I really don’t understand is why people so easily believe the lies put forth by the press? I think it is the responsibility of all citizens to inform themselves and THINK, not just blindly take on opinions they hear in the media.
How hard is it to see that Bush has contradicted himself? How hard was it to notice that he kept on blaming Osama Bin Laden for the bombings, yet he wanted to bomb Saddam Hussein? I mean, “Osama” and “Saddam” don’t sound that much alike. Almost any American has easy access to information that would show him/her that Hussein and Bin Laden hated each other and had nothing to do with each other.
I think the real problem is that too many Americans either don’t think, or “think” with their emotions. They act out of blind pride, ignorance, and fear. If they feel threatened, they just want to bomb somebody, doesn’t really matter who. There is little willingness to think about anything complex, and little willingness to see how different events are connected.
For instance, many Americans seem to believe that the war in Iraq “doesn’t affect them”. I would think that pouring trillioin of dollars into the war might affect our economy, and the economy affects all of us. A simple connection to make,right? One would think so.
That’s the difficult part of this democracy- in a government by and for the people, not enough people want to do the “by” part- they only want to benefit from the “for” part.
Yes Olivecat, it’s like democracy ‘taken from’ the People and ‘used against’ the People.
Here’s a short video from the Iraq War Veterans:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CMDAug5wIVAW
What they say plays into the documentary and what bloggers are doing all over the country. They are seeking our help. Please watch this.
I’m the one that must apologize, on May 22 I did put my website into a response I made about Assembly of God churches. I’m new to this sorry.
“f they feel threatened, they just want to bomb somebody, doesn’t really matter who.”
Al Gore’s “The Assault on Reason” is essential reading.
Go back to what was the favorite ‘analytical’ question the media asked of the public in 2004: Who would you rather have a beer with, George Bush or John Kerry? How could anyone take the ‘news’ seriously after that one?
I wish history would have recorded who made money on the war from 1776-1781 act I then act II of 1812-1814. What act is or acts are ( crazy we call it an act of war or act of God )being staged now on the battle scene ? These acts kill the poor ones who believe the play writers or more like the producers.
OH it was Du Pont who made the big bucks ? and still does.
I remember a line from the move “Reds”. Someone asked “why is this war being fought” and the answer given was, “for profits”.
Am I missing something? Is this not the bottom line. Everything else is related to this basic motive. This whole economic system and all that serve it are tied into profits.
“My candidacy and service will put people before profits and people before political expediency.”
The about quote was take from Cindy Sheehan’s web page, and her statement as to why she is running for congress.
You can get rid of Bush, Cheney, Nancy, and the apologist’s for this war, and you still have an economic system that needs war to maximize profits.
We need to get rid of an economic system that profits from death.
“In short, Solomon suggests that U.S. foreign policy is dictated by a small circle of politicos, the president and his trusted advisers, who have their own agenda that often results in drawn-out wars that can’t be won.”
I think there is truth in this statement apart from numerous conspiracy theories to the contrary. A contributing factor in this society is that we are taught to believe in authority - in a President, a Congress and an economic system - that has lied to us and sold us out. Congress believes in the authority of the President. The public believes in the supremacy of our economic system. Delusion. It would be useful to learn to think for ourselves and avoid wars with which we and others are the losers.
JCONRAD & RICH M: Excellent points!
I agree with siouxrose.Glad the man in blue has his problem taken care of–for one moment is this another conspiracy!came into mind.
Right on target paula August 26th, 2007 4:38 pm
I always thought the Soviets had gotten something right by testing everyone for their inherent abilities and then schooling them accordingly. A good idea, but didn’t really work because of their flawed government structure. It’s no better here with the ‘not what you know, but who you know’ idealogy. If we could ever get rid of the self-serving myth that nepotism is better than a meritocracy we might have the opportunity to advance as a species. Unfortunately, in a capitalistic system kissing ass for money trumps altruism or talent. The American Empire is headed for a drastic crash & rude awakening, and when that happens we will see people who are actually able to ‘do’ something, ‘make’ things, and ‘repair’ stuff come into their own. I just hope I live to see the day competence is rewarded rather than just those who have funds and can’t do a damned thing except use their money to accumulate more than they will ever need in several lifetimes. I wish your son good fortune.
Add this film to many others; Manufactururing Consent Unconstitutional: The War Star War Dreams The Oil Factor Uncovered: The War Occupation Dreamland The Corporation With God on Our Side: Bush and the Rise of Religious Right Weapons of Mass Deception Hijacking Catastrophe Orwell Rolls in his Grave Hacking Democracy Iraq; Mission Accomplished 9/11 Press for Truth America: Freedom to Fascism Sir No Sir Tell the Truth and Run Ghosts of Abu Ghraib The Ground Truth ——- and here are some books for rational thinking, ” The Other Government ” by William L. Rivers 1982 —— ” Mediated Political Realities ” by Dan Nimmo and James E. Combs 1983 ——” The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media ” by Norman Solomon 1999 —–” Gag Rule ” by Lewis H. Lapham 2004
Another really good documentary a long the same lines is Freedom Next Time by John Pilger. There is an excellent interview with him on www.democracynow.org with Amy Goodman. It details how the US media has time after time gone along with our government interfering in the affairs of soveriegn nations and causing the suffering and death of untold numbers of people.
Medic6869 has it right, it is all about perpetual war for continuing profits. there was another really good article on this site about how American employee whisleblowers over in Iraq are being fired, demoted and sometines even tortorted and jailed for trying to let government officals know what is going on over there with the corporations.
“As for the American people, current stats show that almost the same number — 70 per cent — are as opposed to the war in Iraq as those who were against the Vietnam war.”
“What I really don’t understand is why people so easily believe the lies put forth by the press? I think it is the responsibility of all citizens to inform themselves and THINK, not just blindly take on opinions they hear in the media.”
“I think the real problem is that too many Americans either don’t think, or “think” with their emotions.”
————————————–
How seldom the topic “The ignorance and/or stupidity of the American public” is addressed, even by the progressive media. The British Daily Mirror summed it all up in their headline the day after Bush won: HOW CAN 59,054,087 PEOPLE BE SO DUMB?
Even worse was the total annihilation of George McGovern by Nixon in the 1972 election. If 70 percent of the American public opposed the war in Vietnam, how on earth could they have voted for Nixon? Rhetorical question. Rhetorical answer: Because they thought McGovern was a communist. “Communism” was as much, if not more, a national neurosis back then as Bush/Cheney and company are trying to make out “terrorism” is now.
512 more days of Bush. Can Amerika wake up after that? Don’t count on it.
“Arsenal of Hypocrisy” is another great documentary, about the roots of our post-WWII military-industrial complex in our importation of ex (?) NAZIs from Germany, and the road we have traveled from then to now. Get it from the Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. www.space4peace.org/
M$M doesn’t do journalism.
I think as soon as the residents of the USA realize that they do not own the entire freakin planet, and have no business sticking there noses into other peoples business, the world will be a much better place.
If someone is actually stupid enough to attack the USA, fine, have at em…if some country legitimately calls for assistance, and the UN backs it up, go ahead…but otherwise, stay the fuck home.
I like Soloman generally, but I’m not convinced of this assertion:
“Some wars — namely the First World War and Second World War — have been necessary.”
The US news media has less journalistic credibility than the National Enquirer.
At least when you buy a copy of the Enquirer, it’s expected that it will be gaudy trash filled with diet stuff, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears. By contrast the TV news networks and their local affiliates pretend to be reporting news.
Here is an old item from Common Dreams that relates to this. It’s entitled “Big Media Interlocks with Corporate America”
http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/views05/0624-25.htm
In this otherwise accurate article, there’s one mistake by the writer — when he paraphrases me as saying that the First World War was necessary. I would never say such a thing. World War One was totally without justification. John Reed aptly called it “a traders’ war.” It was a war propelled by greed, nationalism and socialized lunacy.
– Norman Solomon
I couldn’t have said it better myself Olivecat! I still remember before the war started. I tried to tell people I work with that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. That there were no WMD’s in Iraq. What did these people do to us? Most didn’t really care about what the truth might be! They wanted to tromp anyone even if it was the wrong country! Most were listening to what Bush had to say and not bothering to see if the information they were getting even resembled the truth. So really what it all boils down to, we have what the American people wanted! We are in a mess that is of our own making.
“In this otherwise accurate article, there’s one mistake by the writer — when he paraphrases me as saying that the First World War was necessary. I would never say such a thing. World War One was totally without justification. John Reed aptly called it “a traders’ war.” It was a war propelled by greed, nationalism and socialized lunacy.
– Norman Solomon”
And at that time the socialists spoke out against the war and in response the US government destroyed the socialist movement in America. And it has never recovered.
You almost have to blame the masses in the U.S. as well. I mean I knew this war was being pushed by ideologues. I could see how Bush wanted to invade before the hot summer irregardless of what the WMD inspectors found or wouldn’t find.
All the “mushroom cloud” speak and the hard selling going on from the neocons - it wasn’t convincing to me in the least. I knew Sadam Hussein had absolutely nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden and 9-11. However, something like 48% of the U.S. public believed Sadam Hussein was directly responsible for 9-11.
The fact of the matter is if you have a largely uneducated and ignorant populace that uses faith based ideologies to guide them rather than evidence, reason, and facts then you’ve basically got a very gullible group of sheep who will submit to scare tactics with religious undertones. This same kind will very easily believe that FoxNews is real news.
This same kind of ignorant faith-based populace will reelect a President who is destroying our country’s standing in the world, killing hundreds of thousands of people needlessly, covering up global warming, and redistributing all the wealth in this country from the middle class to the rich AS LONG AS gay marriage is on the ballot.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
-Thomas Jefferson
“. . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Civil war anyone?
Along with all the rest of this excellent commentary is the plain and simple fact that EVERYONE agreed, in the beginning of Iraq, that we would NOT leave our troops in the middle of a civil war. The neocons didn’t argue about it. Everyone agreed, then. It was said many times, with never a contrary word. Never in a civil war, not our place.
No one talks about it now, that we swore we’d never put our troops in a war they CANNOT win. Said we’d never do it again, no matter what, we’d never put them in the middle of some other nation’s civil war. I guess the “never” was qualified, silently, by forces unknown? Because now we seem to find it acceptable to have our troops in the middle of a civil war, and all I wonder is, when did the story change? When did the philosophy depend on how many civilians would be killed if we left and how we got there in the first place? If it’s a civil war, how does any of that matter? We can’t win. It’s not our war. We can’t pick a side. It’s not our place to pick one side over another. That means our troops literally can’t win.
Iraq is in the middle of a civil war. Why are WE in Iraq?
Rednecks rottin in the South
Rednecks rottin in the South
In Dixie land where they were born,
They rot away from dusk till morn
Rot away, rot away, rot away in Dixie land
Oh, they rot away from dusk till morn
While up their asses they shove ears of corn
Rot away, rot away, rot away in Dixie land
Oh, they all meet together at the laundry mats
To foil the evils of them Democrats
In their pickup trucks they down them beers
Denouncing the evils of them liberal queers
Rot away, rot away, rot away in Dixie land
They don’t use the Bible to form their views
They get their morality from the Fox channel News
They all can’t wait to drop that bomb
On them evil doers like Bin Laden and Saddam
Rot away, rot away, rot away down south in Dixie
They don’t protest and they don’t picket
They go down to the store to get a lottery ticket
They don’t like foreigners, and they don’t like France
They don’t like opera or the ballet dance
Rot away, rot away, rot away, in Dixie land
When they get back home to their trailer parks
They’ll have their guns a loaded by half past dark
They’ll go to Iraq for some terrorist fighting
But they can’t go now cause the fish are a bitin’
So while they rot away from dusk till morn
They’ll fight them terrorists by a honking on the horn
They’ll drink their liquor from the bottle in bags
While a driving down the road sporting American Flags
©2005 Dr Shipwash - All rights reserved
When will the documentary be shown in the states? Can we buy it? Give info how to purchase the doc.
Could we just keep withdrawing and invading until all the newspapers are sold?
It was never their intention to “win” this war … anymore than it is their intention to withdraw from it.
People often deride Bush and Co. for “failing to learn the lessons of Vietnam” - but what if they did in fact learn that this is exactly how you wage an unwinnable war? Why unwinnable? A constant state of war keeps a “war President” and his cocky successor (RG) in play and at the top of American’s minds. It keep us afraid, suspicious and willing to sacrifice the precepts of our Constitution in order to “feel safe”.
It is in fact, definitional terrorism - tactics to undermine the security of a people, to make them feel they can’t trust their system to protect them, to make them turn against one another and act in ways contrary to their Constitution. It’s what Bın Laden said he intended by the 911 attacks and what Bush (and soon Guiliani) perpetute.
To control the region politically and to control its assets economically, we need war. After all, the price is right: just a few thousand lives of volunteers and mercenaries to whom they owe no accountability … and the benefits are great — oil, gas, plastics, pharmaceuticals at prices that the market can work with (even if we can’t necessarily afford them).
It is a perfectly ingenıous scenario.
War for Control.
War for Oil.
War for … ever!
And Rudy G sits in the wings waiting for Progressives to self destruct (by destroying their own candidates) and praying on his knees for another terror attack.