[extropy-chat] can't war protesters do better?

[Jeff Davis]

--- Dirk Bruere <dirk at neopax.com> wrote:

> Al Brooks wrote:

> >But isn't it a little more than just an Oil and 
> >Power Grab in the region?
> >

To which Dirk Bruere replied:

> Sure.
> Bush family pride "They tried to kill my Daddy!"
> A permanent foothold in the ME.
> Knocking over and keeping down Israel's enemies.
> Looking tough by hitting a severely weakened Iraq
> with the expectation 
> of a quick and hassle free war.
> Money for Bush's pals eg Haliburton
> Threatening other 'rogue states' with what could
> happen if...
> 
> Lot's of reasons.

To this list I would add:

(1) George Bush's personal emotional need to "prove
himself", as in the familiar criticism directed at 
poor impulse control and general excesses of the
insecure and immature, to wit: "He has something to
prove."

Put another way, the astonishing "smallness" of the
man who has come to occupy the most prestigious and
powerful political position on the planet, and the
catastrophic consequences for his six billion victims.

In the article:

Exclusive: Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in
2000 by Russ Baker
(http://www.gnn.tv/articles/article.php?id=761)

Baker cites Mickey Herskowitz, the
Bush-family-authorized biographer follows:

Herskowitz said that Bush expressed frustration at a
lifetime as an underachiever in the shadow of an
accomplished father. In aggressive military action, he
saw the opportunity to emerge from his father’s
shadow. 

Talk about "Global Terrorism".

The only "success" GWB ever achieved **ON HIS OWN**
(ie, without the help of his family or their political
machine) was to spend the greater portion of his adult
life as a drunk.  

It seems clear to me that invading Iraq and destroying
Saddam was emotionally compelling--irresistible--to
GWB.  It allowed him to succeed where his father had
failed, thus proving GWB the better man.  The
"smallness" of a man who would use the presidency and
the US military--sacrifice tens of thousands of lives,
loot the US treasury, and in the name of the American
people tell the entire world to get fucked,  to salve
his own feelings of inadequacy--exceeds every
conceivable metric of arrogance and criminality.
 
(2) The monstrous and craven Bush strategy for
political success.  Start a war so as to markedly
increase his political support/power: the "extortion"
of political power through fear-mongering and
manipulated patriotism.  

>From the article cited above, a GWB quote:

" ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is
to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My
father had all this political capital built up when he
drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He
[GWB] said, ‘If I have a chance to invade..., if I had
that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m
going to get everything passed that I want to get
passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.”
"

                ***********************

Though I have no mercy for GWB, the ultimate fault
lies at the feet of the American people.  Their
intellectual and ethical laziness has brought the
country (and the world) to this impasse.  The lessons
of history unlearned.  "The impostume of too much
wealth and peace." (Hamlet)

Best, Jeff Davis

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of
the people. On some great and glorious day the plain
folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at
last and the White House will be adorned by a
downright moron..."  H. L. Mencken


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