Letter to a Mad Blogger
With all due respect, MadMike, when you say this:
It's too late telling anybody we Americans are coming after them and bringing Hell with us. We had that opportunity in 2001 but our misleader couldn't settle for warring with the enemy we had; he had to have a go at besting his father's hand at Iraq. So, that's where he has shot our wad, and is still doing so, and has to continue doing so in a last languishing grasp at saving his presidential legacy.
Every morning I wake up at 3:00, crying for my once great country. In a fitful effort to regain the sleep I sorely need, I turn on my A.M. radio and get BBC for two hours. That works half the time in recovering my sleep; when it doesn't, I wake in a full rage and go to my desk.
Michael-the-Mad, I say to you, the fortunes and interests of George W. Bush are not the fortunes and interests of America. When Bush was selected president over Gore, people winced because they thought of him as a cowboy. He turned out to be an outlaw.
Michael, Bush is well on his way to turning your nation and mine - once the great leader of the free world - into an outlaw nation.
Staying Bush's course in Iraq will risk salvaging (a) his doctrine of unprovoked and aggressive war (b) his unabashed use of torture on POW's (c) his trashing of our beautiful and indispensable civic religion - our Constitution and (d) his obliteration of the international sympathy and trust extended us after 9-11. Completing Bush's course in Iraq will consecrate his delusions and validate his arrogance.
Instead, we Americans must stand up and say :
For in failing in Iraq, Bush and his bloody hands and thoughtless mind will have been repudiated by his countrymen. And our America can climb down from the pedestal where Bush has it now: the world's greatest terrorist state.
It will not be America failing. It will be America correcting its course from a wayward and illegal but temporary detour.
Mike, We will get Osama and al Qaeda. We must first exorcise our own demon(s) within.
. . . . Chimp put us in Iraq under false pretenses and we are there and we can't leave. So let's finish this fight. The Taliban and The Terrorists need to know that we, America, is coming for them and Hell is coming with us. . . . .I have to say to you what my high school music teacher Ernest Kitson (RIP) taught me were the two most tragic words in any language: "Too Late."
It's too late telling anybody we Americans are coming after them and bringing Hell with us. We had that opportunity in 2001 but our misleader couldn't settle for warring with the enemy we had; he had to have a go at besting his father's hand at Iraq. So, that's where he has shot our wad, and is still doing so, and has to continue doing so in a last languishing grasp at saving his presidential legacy.
Every morning I wake up at 3:00, crying for my once great country. In a fitful effort to regain the sleep I sorely need, I turn on my A.M. radio and get BBC for two hours. That works half the time in recovering my sleep; when it doesn't, I wake in a full rage and go to my desk.
Michael-the-Mad, I say to you, the fortunes and interests of George W. Bush are not the fortunes and interests of America. When Bush was selected president over Gore, people winced because they thought of him as a cowboy. He turned out to be an outlaw.
Michael, Bush is well on his way to turning your nation and mine - once the great leader of the free world - into an outlaw nation.
Staying Bush's course in Iraq will risk salvaging (a) his doctrine of unprovoked and aggressive war (b) his unabashed use of torture on POW's (c) his trashing of our beautiful and indispensable civic religion - our Constitution and (d) his obliteration of the international sympathy and trust extended us after 9-11. Completing Bush's course in Iraq will consecrate his delusions and validate his arrogance.
Instead, we Americans must stand up and say :
Stop!I believe - skin, bones, flesh and blood believe - that in order for America the Beautiful to succeed and cleanse herself, Bush must fail in Iraq.
Don't do this anymore.
And don't ever let it be done again, in our name!
For in failing in Iraq, Bush and his bloody hands and thoughtless mind will have been repudiated by his countrymen. And our America can climb down from the pedestal where Bush has it now: the world's greatest terrorist state.
It will not be America failing. It will be America correcting its course from a wayward and illegal but temporary detour.
Mike, We will get Osama and al Qaeda. We must first exorcise our own demon(s) within.
posted by Vigilante at 9/13/2006 10:28:00 PM
19 Moderated Comments:
Vigilante Another intelligent and extremely well written analysis.
I only wish I shared your crystal clear vision of the future if we quickly remove U.S. troops from the un-provoked, unnecessary, largely unilateral invasion and unplanned occupation of Iraq (UULUIUOI).
Getting al Qaeda is impossible. Not by Bush, not by anyone. It's large, diverse and fueled by religious zeal.
Getting Osama bin Laden is tough unless we're really ready to invade ANOTHER DIFFERENT Sovereign nation (this one with proven nuclear weapons).
War with the Pakistanis (and, let me mention, war with the Iranians) would prove far different and far more deadly that the little tussle with Iraq and its little sock puppet dictator, Saddam..
That's why I have to consider both madmike's point of view as well as your own.
the Wizard.....
Real quick I have to add that I was writing on Mike's blog under the premise of the United States staying in Iraq only in the context of theory. I peronally believe that the strain on the troops and the sectarian volience in Iraq will force us out. A while back I found an article from a retired Air Force officer in which he writes tha Karl Rove would be making the call to pull out so the 2008 Republican presidental canidate would not have Iraq hanging over him. By November 2008 Karl will be braistorming some way to get us out so his party chances will not be destroyed. Excuse the spelling but I'm doing this in a hurry.
To me Bush is a perfectly fine representative of the American people at this point in history.
He embodies their lack of thought, false and phony religious attitudes, and disconnection from the consequences of actions in the real world.
My hope would be that as a country we learn something from this experience of Bush as president.
Gore Vidal refers to our, and his country as, the United States of Amnesia.
Would it not be a near miracle for our country to make a turnaround.?
That was a really great article!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I think you may have a point here BB, but I agree with the Wiz that "getting al Qaeda is impossible" this is an organization with global influence, religious motivation (the worst kind), and billions of bucks. To be safe from them we would have to become them; rather like the Christians in the Dark Ages, and the Age of Enlightenmenst and .... oh sorry :-)
I suppose I should point out that my response to Vigilante is posted on my blog...:-)
I think I will have yet another Corona....I wish I had lime. I miss the lime.....
Bush's deception to invade Iraq is unethical, but his aggression that was not in response to aggression makes Iraq not only immoral, but criminal. His usurpation of powers that have been proscribed by law and constitution only compound his criminality. The lawless Executive should be impeached and convicted, but the Specter-Feinstein bill will change the law to accommodate the lawlessness. Note the accommodation by the opposition party. Apparently law and constitution are dispensible to them as to GWB.
Fair enough the war was stupid, futile, unjust, and whatever other adjectives I can't think of. Very few people here in Britain wanted it, and want our troops home.
However, the consequences of leaving immediately could be far worse. After ruining their lives, we owe the Iraqi people our hardest efforts to improve their nation for the better..(Instead of blowing it up.)
Before we cut and run, we need to sort this mess out that we've made.
Just curious supercal if you were to suddenly realize that the pool of water you were in was full of hungry piranhas and they were going to eat you alive, would you stay the course and keep splashing in the water.?
Those who try to stay the course , usually end up just making things worse, to paraphrase a funny poem.
SO well said, Vigilante~
Bush is well on his way to turning your nation and mine - once the great leader of the free world - into an outlaw nation.
Staying Bush's course in Iraq will risk salvaging (a) his doctrine of unprovoked and aggressive war (b) his unabashed use of torture on POW's (c) his trashing of our beautiful and indispensable civic religion - our Constitution and (d) his obliteration of the international sympathy and trust extended us after 9-11. Completing Bush's course in Iraq will consecrate his delusions and validate his arrogance.
This has nothing to do with Bush. These are programs put out by the corporate elite that rule us. The big money people.
Bush is a cipher. It is the very basis of the our system that needs changing.
Our civic religion.? What would that be.? Thought we were secular. Could you be brainwashed, despite your lovely picture.?
You think the occupation of Iraq was unplanned.? Your dreaming.
Their plan was to stay permanently.
What provoked it.?
Our desire to steal resources obviously. Our type system always will resort to old fashioned stealing to get what it wants if need be.
Divide and conquer people through mixing people up with political divisions.
Think the Dems and Repubs are that much different.? I don`t.
skip sievert, I enjoyed your analogy, but I think its more like running into a far away country, killing a lot of innocent people in the name of freedom, then saying:
"well, our work here is done" and leaving.
Surely that would prove to the Middle East that all we wanted to do was blow something up? At least if we try and restore some kind of normality in their world, they might have something not to hate Westerners for..
I do not believe we have any credibility in those parts of the world.
I think we have less by staying.
Would or will it improve.? It appears not.
Do we represent modernity as they say, and correct values.?
NO.
The war was a scam to make money, and stilt the template toward our tragic view of the world.
This would be our outmoded and dangerous model we refer to as our culture.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Skip Sievert has asked a seminal question:
Do we represent modernity as they say, and correct values?
I would agree with him and Vigilante that we do not. At the very least, in Iraq and Lebanon, we have embarrassed modernity with our sins of commission and ommission, respectively.
Are you watching?
I am posting my comment from an earlier post because I think it important. Blogging is fun and cathartic, but I would like it to serve a real purpose. Bush is not going to be impeached. The only opportunity sane people have to take back the government is to focus on the Congress.
"When we demonize the Bushmaster we take our eye off the ball, which is taking back the Congress. We should be concentrating on the incumbent Republicans not the Dub. Without the support of the Congress he is emasculated."
P.S. I have to agree with Skip. The Democrats and the Republicans are driven by the same agenda. There is little difference between them.
Post a Comment
<< Home