In These Times

Latest Comments view all 7

• • 21 Jan 07
  • 11:41 pm

  Have you noticed no one is writing or talking (save Kerry, all of one sentence, a few days ago ) about Kuwait? The idea that we might leave the "Boxing" ring of Iraq, but remain based in the "Arena" of the Persian Gulf, as a very "pro active" player,seems to elude the public discussion. 7 active, 2 reserve bases with airfields; direct access to the sea; a geographically central (blocking) location; a small population (3 million, only half of which are "native") who are materially if not politically content, and owing their past, present and future independence to us- If we …

  Posted to I Hate to Say We Told You So, But

• • 24 Jan 07
  • 5:33 pm

  Ah yes, a perfect world, or at least one where we did not have to deal with bait and switch reactionaries. Sorry, if I had my druthers, we'd be out looking for Osama (Gee, remember him?). But as we are stuck with this self engineered train wreck called Iraq, my real-politic desire is to see us redeploy out of the civil war, yet maintain a swat down position when Al Queda presents itself. Unlike McCain, I don't think they will follow us home (not in any meaning full way), but we do have obligations and responsibilities as a nation. The vast …

  Posted to I Hate to Say We Told You So, But

• • 24 Jan 07
  • 9:35 pm

  O.K...., YOU are not going to fight in any wars. It was Diogenes after all, who said that "soldiers were the greatest criminals because they did not eat what they killed!" It is also true that there are no innocent victims, because in some one's eyes, you're guilty by mere reason of existence. I'm unlikely to be fighting in any wars, though I may again find myself next to a combat zone, as I was on 9/11, in Midtown Manhattan (though reasonably safe, unlike my fellow New Yorker 'Non innocent victims" trapped in the towers). Al Queda is a religious fundamentalist …

  Posted to I Hate to Say We Told You So, But

• • 28 Jan 07
  • 6:27 pm

  The religious ideology existed before the foundation of the Israeli State (Zionist entity, for your benefit), as a direct response to Western economic and social imperialism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood Failure of Pan Arab Socialist (western-european influenced) forces to destroy the "Zionist" entity and it's "imperialist euro-american" backers, and the perceived collusion of "conservative" Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, led to the radicalization of the movement. The Shia success in creating an Islamic republic in Iran, and the eventual success of the mujahadeen in Afghanistan, followed by the Taliban confirmed in the minds of the arab street that the fundamentalists were the party …

  Posted to I Hate to Say We Told You So, But

• • 29 Jan 07
  • 5:53 pm

  You have me on Wikipedia, but I'll stand by the sources in those particular links- I've never stated that I agreed with Israeli policy on the occupied territories. They've given up on Gaza, and must, if they ever hope to have some co existence with the Palestinians, leave the West Bank. Israel isn't going away, (How's that for simple?). How do you propose to make it disappear? Do you really think cutting off U.S. funding will force them to immigrate? Do you think that a U.S. that can't even rebuild the gulf coast will finance a massive resettlement plan in the …

  Posted to I Hate to Say We Told You So, But