You have to hand it to this administration--even I could not have predicted that rivers of shit would one day run through Baghdad.
Dr Abdul-Rahman Adil Ali of the Baghdad Health Directorate warned of the dire consequences of a non-operational sewage system.But wait, as they say on the commercial, there's more! Four more Americans were slaughtered for Chimpie's vanity, along with at least another sixty-five Iraqis in Baghdad near a university. But have no fear. Dr. Condoleezza "Pinnacle of Competence" Rice is on the case! Here's part of her remarkable strategy:
"As the sewage system has collapsed, all residents are threatened with gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, cholera, diarrhoea and hepatitis. In some of Baghdad's poor neighbourhoods, people drink water which is mixed with sewage," Ali said.
In Saudi Arabia, Rice thanked her hosts for their past help in urging national reconciliation in Iraq, but did not press specific new requests for the predominantly Sunni kingdom's help.After all, Saudi Arabia is Sunni, has lots of oil, and is allegedly our ally in the region (nevermind not a democracy), so why would Rice pressure them to help calm a Sunni vs Shiite bloodbath right next door? I tell you, her strategy is so fucking brilliant, I can't even figure it out. I mean, it's completely counterintuitive, and that's the genius of it. Just like the genius of everything to do with Iraq war.
I sure am glad we have these supersmart people who can interpret for us. Escalation is "augmentation." Failure is "success that hasn't happened yet." Rising violence in Afghanistan is a sign of sure victory. "Stay the course" means change the course, but of course, we never said "stay the course." And naturally, "we do not torture" means...well, if you're declared an enemy combatant, I'd say you'd better learn to hold your breath for a really, really long time.
Foucault, I can understand. The Chimperor administration? They're too damned smart for me.
11 comments:
So now Iraq's sewage system is 'chimpie's' fault too? That's hilarious! What the hell is next to spew from your enormous cranium? I can't wait to read it!
And yes, 'Chimpie' must have planted the roadside bomb that killed those four GI's and the 65 Iraqis too. That bastard! You really should do a little research before posting such nonsense. The shite/sunni conflict has been around since the death of Mohammed which was about 1400 years ago! But you expect Condi to solve it? Just pressure the Saudi's! Fuck, you got it all figured out. Too damn funny. I am sure if we sent your huge brain over there, you would have everything solved in a matter of days. OLAF TO THE RESCUE!!
Anonymous, perhaps you should do a little reading about the effects of war on civil societies, and the essential responsibilities of occupying powers when they have destabilized or decapitated (in the case of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, that means literally--but an appropriate fate for such a bastard) a government, tyrannical or otherwise. We (and by that I mean the Commander in Chief Chimpie) supervised the complete and utter dissolution of the basis for infrastructure support in Iraq by a blanket firing of civil servants, university professors, engineers, and the army, all of which contributed to a breakdown in the already decrepit systems and services. Then, by failing to establish security, we squandered virtually all the reconstruction money by either diverting it to additional security operations or having what positive work was done later either destroyed by fighting or fall into the hands of hostile elements.
Do YOU think Iraq is now a garden spot, thanks to $500 billion dollars and 3000+ American lives? Do YOU hold anyone responsible for the waste and fraud and incompetence which has created what a Republican--Chuch Hagel--calls the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam. If not the Commander in Chief, the Decider, the guy who loves to dress up in flight suits under "Mission Accomplished" banners 1345 days ago, then who? Give me some names?
And that's right--big brains like me and my friends were warning against this idiotic venture in 2002, and it gives us no pleasure to have seen even our worst fears bested by an administration that is likely the absolute worst in our nation's history, and whose blunders and corruption will diminish our nation for decades to come.
Oh yeah, Anon, one other thing. How's that reconstruction going in New Orleans? Would you like to hold the whole Katrina debacle up as an example of good management by Bush and company? Did that effort inspire confidence in their judgment and skill? And remember, no one was planting IEDs or firing rocket propelled grenades and it was even conveniently located in the United States.
Yeah, they've never fucked up. And they should never be held accountable on any level.
I can imagine you deadenders defending Bush even if he says in the State of the Union speech, "I'm a disaster as a president, the worst ever, and I should be tried for war crimes. Please stop me before I fuck up again!"
Anon, fuck off. You're a narrow minded sensationalist asshole. That's all.
Scotchyogi, you know that you're a drumming legend back here, right? One of the Ryans at CSI used the term "titan" to describe your djembe and other hand drumming work. Are you with another African dance/drum troupe out east?
Olaf,
I in no way defended 'chimpie' in my post. My point, which you completely missed, was that the conflict going on over there has NOTHING to do the U.S. occupation forces. The sects have been waging jihad against one another for centuries. Which is not 'chimpie's' fault. What is 'chimpie's' fault, and yours for that matter, is that 'chimpie' and you refuse to do any research about another's culture. You paint these broad strokes. Not everyone in this world thinks they way we Americans do. Saddam was a brutal dictator that had killed over a million of his own countrymen. He deserved his fate. But this was far from a 'civil' society as you claim. I completely blame this administration for not doing their homework before sending our boys into harms way.
Oh, and scotchyogi, you dazzeled me with your smooth rebuttle. Your debating skills are unmatched.
Scotchyogi--yes, dazzling reparte. Well done. I agree 100%.
And Olaf, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, do some research and stop painting such "broad strokes." I know how you think all those Iraqis are the same, and you have problems distinguishing between our culture and other cultures. It must be all your years of living overseas and getting advanced college degrees that have made you so narrow minded. Shame.
I'm sorry, I don't usually do this, but I feel compelled to jump in here. Fair enough, anon, that these factions have tensions, but as any scholar of sectarian violence will tell you, these sorts of battles are rarely ever about religion. Religion only serves as an ideological basis for a much larger struggle that is much more about class, oppression, and the struggle for power and resources. The Northern Ireland conflict, for example, is not necessarily about Protestants and Catholics, so much as it has to do with the fact that Irish Catholics were ghettoized and denied decent jobs and wages because of their religious affiliation. The Balkan Wars was more of a post-Soviet scramble for power and resources than it ever was about Serbs, Croats, Muslims, et. al. And the conflict in Rwanda? Similar issue, but very much blow-back from Dutch colonization. And here we are, once again, with Iraq where you had a minority faction in power for so long, that now everyone wants a piece of the pie in the power vacuum that we, alas, created.
True, anon, that it is much easier to label something "sectarian" than to deal with the history of colonization in this area or to grapple with issues of class and the funneling of government resources that fuel such divisions. But the brandishment of such labels ultimately allows us to skirt any responsibility for agitating and manufacturing these identities in the context of war and chaos. I say "manufacturing" because the violence that we see on our television has a point of derivation--it has a timeline--and it just so happens to fall exactly in line with our invasion. Did these tensions exist before? Of course? But similar to all the conflicts I discusssed above where you have Muslim and Serb, Protestant and Catholic, Hutu and Tutsi, Suni and Shi'ite, living next door to each other one day and the next day blowing each other up, one has to look closely at the contexts in which these ruptures of violence occur and the material conditions that facilitate such violence.
Furthermore, I have to ask if identity is purely religious for anyone? Or is religion used in the name of larger struggles for fair wages, government resources, better living conditions? Will religion feed your family? Will it allow your children to get a decent and equitable education? Will it get your MP into Parliament? Will it free you from the effects of colonization and empire? I think when a suicide bomber wakes up in the morning, he is thinking less about whose brother of what prophet did what with whom or whatever, but more about what this struggle means for the future of his or her country. Religion is an excellent recruiting tool, but it does not put food on the table.
And finally, anon, I think you're right to say that the breakdown of Iraq's sewage system is not "Chimpie's" fault. In truth it is my fault, it is your fault, and it is the fault of the American people--those who voted for him and those who sit by idly and watch this man wreak havoc on the world.
Best,
CB
CB, Thank you. Elegantly and concisely stated, as always.
However, one tiny request: rather than "religion...does not put food on the table," it would have done homage to our Fearless (for other people's lives) Leader to have written, "religion...does not put foot on your family."
Dr. Short is smiling on you.
Oh yes, anon--interesting that your only gripe with me was that I accused you of being a Bush lovebug. For that I apologize, but you really need to address the issues at the heart of my reply--check out the Geneva Convention articles on the responsibilty of a military power to a people whose government it has removed.
While you might not think Iraq was a "civil society" before our invasion, I'll bet there are a few million Iraqis, (half a million now dead, beyond Saddam's normal butchery) who would beg to differ with you now that it's hell on earth.
Meanwhile, Condi Rice avoided talking about democracy while in Egypt, lest she cause problems there while we continue to establish democracy in Iraq. Ah, so sincere, so competent, such beautiful shoes.
Thank you, Olaf!
cb
Post a Comment