Letter Never Sent

Lew Rockwell: Give Dueling a Chance:

The duel suggestion underscores the great unspoken truth of our time and anytime as regards war: war is brought about by governments and for governments. Nations do not start and fight wars; only governments do. A duel between heads of state only brings the conduct of war in line with its cause. Even Bush has said “we have no argument with the Iraqi people.” Good, then leave them, and the American people as well, out of it. The duel is the surest means.

Under the new duel system, Bush would be free to be as belligerent as he wants to be, and call any foreign head of state any name he finds appropriate. He clearly has an appetite for conflict, and under this system he would be free to indulge that as much as he likes, provided that it is he and not others who bear the risk associated with violent conflict.

The stipulation that they use the same weapons is also very valuable. This is how it was done under the old system of duels. The weapons were the same and the participants could chose either/or. In short, it approximated the playground ideal of a “fair fight.” After all, with a military budget that is more than twice as large as the second largest military power (Russia), it seems rather unsporting to go around threatening people with death and destruction.

There is even something to say for the suggestion that the United Nations serve as an overseer in the duel. Though I have never been a fan of the UN, this does seem to be one useful role for the thing, so long as it does exist. The UN in this case would actually become an instrument of peace.

The mouth of Sauron was on television tonight with a short prepared speech to exhort Americans to support military action against Iraq. While our rubber stamp congress has almost completely fallen in behind the president to ‘speak with one voice’ he has continued to suffer from a lack of public support for his administration’s takeover attempt, so this message tonight on television, a speech in front of a friendly crowd Republicans in Ohio did nothing to provide additional evidence supporting the Bush line that Iraq is a threat to the United States. In fact during the entire speech I was struck by how Bush simply attempted to sway the emotions of the audience rather to prevent any argument supported by reason or evidence. He persisted in referring to Saddam Hussein simply as Saddam. I cannot imagine another world leader with a beef against another using their first name. Can you imagine Hussein using the same language: “George is a threat to the Iraqi people. George is a threat to the world.” It is puzzling. I can only guess that he wishes to reduce the image of Hussein to that of some swarthy, mideast Stalin. Maybe the repeated use of the Iraqi dictator’s first name is some attempt to imply some linguistic connection of Saddam to Sodom. I can’t imagine why else. In short, this speech to me shows two things: that the Bush administration is desperate to secure the support of the American public, and that the Bush administration is further desperate to win what could be a potential black eye for American foreign policy.

I guess this means our government doesn’t know anything after all and that you can’t believe anything they say. It might be good news in a way since it might make it harder to put the so-called ‘War on Terror’ on the back burner to muscle in on Iraq and rain death on some poor Iraqis. Although, maybe Big Brother has something else in store with this piece of timely information (disinformation?).

From the Guardian Observer:

Osama bin Laden is alive and regularly meeting Mullah Omar, the fugitive leader of the Taliban, according to a telephone call intercepted by American spy satellites.

In the conversation, recorded less than a month ago, Omar and a senior aide were discussing the American-led hunt to track them down. The two men, using a mobile Thuraya satellite phone, spoke about tactics for several minutes. Omar then turned to a third person who was within a few yards of him, voice analysis has revealed. After exchanging a few words, Omar said that ‘the sheikh sends his salaams [greetings]’. Senior Taliban figures habitually refer to bin Laden as ‘the sheikh’.

Voice analysis appears to corroborate the identification of bin Laden. ‘It shows he was alive recently at least,’ said a senior Afghan intelligence officer. ‘Some people might like to think he is dead, but that’s just wishful thinking.’

A French oil super-tanker has caught fire and is sinking. It appears most likely to be the result of a sabotage attack although this is coming from the captain of the tanker who might have some interest in removing responsibility from himself or the corporation which owns the tanker. If this was indeed a ‘terrorist’ attack it could signal a new strategy…attacking the enemy where it hurts, in their addiction to cheap oil, destroying business infrastructure. Business is the invisible hand behind government, especially the American and European governments. I look forward to see what the future will hold. It’s always surprising.

From Stratfor.com:

However, the most significant aspect of the latest attack is that U.S. intelligence missed it.

Despite the U.S. and allied military presence throughout the region — and intelligence-sharing by many Middle Eastern governments, particularly that in Yemen — Washington did not anticipate the supertanker attack. Indeed, in U.S. President George W. Bush scaled back the terrorism assessment alert status in late September from “high” to “elevated,” saying the al Qaeda network had been disrupted.

The implication is clear: The United States is flying blind in the Middle East.

From here:

After weeks of media blitz and diplomatic efforts the United States is all set to launch attack on the beleaguered Iraq on October 9, highly credible diplomatic sources disclosed to The Frontier Post here Wednesday. …

Special US emissaries have already taken rulers of governments of Middle East region in confidence by sharing the intended date of US attack on their isolated neighbour. While their stationed diplomatic staff is doing hectic diplomatic lobbying to tone down the general public anger against the naked US aggression against Iraq, they added. The main agenda of US attack is to eliminate President Saddam Hussain and to install a pro US regime in Baghdad.

The first sorties of US Air Force flying from their near by stationed aircraft carriers would go for bombing the presidential palace and other safe houses of Saddam Hussain. If their initial plan, some how failed then intense bombing of the military and other strategic installations would be done leading to an internal revolt would be staged by US loyal people for the ouster of Saddam loyal regime they said.

The ‘war’ news is really strange. For example, from an article in the NY Times:

Washington, on the other hand, is trying to resolve the issue of Iraq’s compliance with inspections as quickly as possible so that if it comes to war, military action can be taken this winter. If the inspections are stymied, as the White House expects, the United States would be able to attack when the cooler temperatures make it easier for American troops to operate in bulky chemical gear and the longer nights enable them to take advantage of their night vision equipment.

It just points out how this is more like a gang dispute rather than a ‘war’. Bush and the rest of Hell’s choir spout slogans and belligerence against Iraq, but yet they engage in this invasion as if it were part of their business plan. Isn’t the nature of war that something presents itself as an immediate danger to your people and you fight that threat? As Clausewitz wrote, “War is politics by other means.” It is all power politics and economics.

We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. – George Orwell, 1984

From the Houston Chronicle:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is exploring ways to use drugs such as Valium to calm people without killing them during riots or other crowd control situations where lethal weapons are inappropriate.

Some critics say the effort violates international treaties and federal laws against chemical weapons, an allegation the military denies.

“It’s a rotten idea to drug rioters,” said Edward Hammond of the Sunshine Project, a chemical and biological weapons watchdog group that is the program’s chief critic. “Beyond being a horrible idea, it’s illegal.”

The Pentagon has long tried to develop nonlethal weapons that would incapacitate or repel people with little risk of killing them. The effort intensified in the 1990s after hostile mobs confronted U.S. troops during peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in places like Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti.

Bush’s puppet masters have outlined their manifesto for the so-called ‘Pax Americana’ recalling the ‘Pax Romana’ of the Roman Empire. Despots with a global aim have often linked themselves to the Romans. Napolean had himself crowned emperor, the tsars of Russia and the kaisers of Germany took their titles from the Roman Caesars. Hitler and the Third Reich used Roman-style standards and banners as well as the traditional Roman imperial salute, the outstretched arm. Hail Caesar! Sig Heil! The Fourth Reich may well be the American Reich, the one world government, the New World Order. What you are seeing is the corruption of the principles which our government is supposed to represent. The parasites in the Bush administration talk about other governments engaging in the ‘appeasement’ of Iraq. They are trying to make the comparison between Hussein and Hitler, but the more apt comparison would be the appeasement of the United States by the governments of the world. While the US plots murder against the people of Iraq, the leaders of France, China, and Russia are making back room deals to get what they want out of this farce.

Manifesto for world dictatorship By Margo Kingston

Now we know. The Americans have spelt it out in black and white. There will be a world government, but not one even pretending to be comprised of representatives of its nation states through the United Nations. The United States will rule, and not according to painstakingly developed international law and norms, but by what is in its interests.

In declaring itself dictator of the world, The United States will have no accountability to non-United States citizens. It will bomb who it likes when it likes, and change regimes when and as it sees fit, it will not be subject to investigations for war crimes, for torture, or for breaches of fundamental human rights.

When it asks the United Nations to move against Iraq, it is not demanding agreement to a strong case for action. It now admits it has no evidence that Iraq is preapring to use weapons of mass destruction against any other country. The Americans have stopped pretending, and now demand outright capitulation to its hegemony. The world will be policed in American interests. Full stop.

American Military Interventions of the 20th Century

Please be aware that this listing does not include many, many U.S. “interventions” where U.S. troops were not the primary force – such as the U.S. intervention in the Greek civil war during the 1950s – nor does it include the many, many U.S. nuclear threats that one might well consider a form of intervention – such as the U.S. nuclear threat during the ’73 Arab-Israeli war – nor does it include many CIA organized war efforts, such as the long war against the leftist Angolan government which was waged by the U.S. and racist South Africa – nor does it include all the countries intervened/invaded by the U.S. in World War I and World War II.

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