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McCain and the Hundred Years War
Author: TriSec    Date: 04/05/2008 13:08:53

Good Morning!

Perhaps you remember John McCain's comment about us spending the next 100 years in Iraq. Obviously, he's gone nuts, but he made the comparison to Germany and Japan, two countries we defeated in war 63 years ago.

By all accounts, both nations are modern, efficient paragons of today's society. Wouldn't you just love it if American cars were as good as the German ones, or if our rail system worked like Japan's?

63 years is an awfully long time for an occupying army to hang around...considering the average age of the typical American Soldier, we've been there for perhaps 4 generations of military men and women.

It's been said that those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it...but that's different than living in the past expecting to fight the last war.

Noted Libertarian columnist Charley Reese has an interesting take on McCain's school of thought....and it's Strategic Manure.


Sen. John McCain is already spreading the old "strategic interests" fertilizer along the presidential campaign trail while pretending to be an expert.

Let's hope he really can explain what interests require us to maintain troops in Germany and Japan 63 years after the end of the war. What exactly is the purpose of those troops? Are we expecting the Mongols to descend on Japan? Does he expect the Cossacks will ride across the plains to attack Europe? Does he think that two of the greatest economic powers on Earth – Japan and Europe – are too poor to defend themselves? The old boy is living in the past.

When American politicians talk about strategic interests, they are talking about just what I called it, manure. We have no strategic interests in the Middle East whatsoever. We wish to buy oil there. Last time I checked, those countries that produce oil were selling it to any country willing to buy it, whether that country had troops in the area or not. Since oil isn't edible, there's not a heck of a lot you can do with it if you don't sell it.

What are all those Navy ships in the Persian Gulf doing? Do McCain and George Bush seriously believe that Iran would launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia? That's ridiculous. There might be some aspects of Iran's government we don't care for, and that's OK, because it is not our government and we don't have to live under it. Nobody in his right mind, however, has ever accused Iran of being an expansionist nation. All McCain has to do is read up on his history and ask the CIA to explain to him Iran's order of battle. Their forces are not equipped for invasions.

As for the nuclear nonsense, both Iran and our own intelligence agencies say that the Iranians are not interested in developing nuclear weapons. But suppose they were. Who cares? I'm much more concerned about the nuclear weapons in Russia, China, India, Pakistan, France, Great Britain, the U.S. and Israel.

Iran is one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, and its people are smart. They are not crazy. They know that one day their oil will run out, and they want to develop nuclear power. They signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They have called repeatedly for a nuclear-free Middle East. To compete with the nuclear powers, they'd have to produce so many nuclear weapons and delivery systems, it would bankrupt them. They've decided that option would be foolish. Now if they can only convince our foolish politicians.

I sometimes think our older politicians fell in love with the British Empire. I think many of them secretly long to sit on a veranda somewhere and be served drinks by humble servants. They love the idea of empire. The admirals and generals like to fly around to our 702 overseas bases, play a little golf, have a few drinks and fly home again.

The reality is that we can no longer afford our overseas empire, no matter what strategic interests McCain and Bush like to fantasize about. We're about to go busted. It's pretty hard to maintain an empire on credit when you have borrowed money from the people you claim to be lording it over. The Philippines kicked us out of our bases there. I predict the Japanese will eventually do the same. Get a stable government in North Korea and the South Koreans will be showing us the door. We should leave on our own and devote those billions of dollars to domestic priorities.

Bush is mad to push the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It should be disbanded, not expanded. It has no enemy. By expanding it, however, Bush seems to be trying to convince Russia that NATO is its enemy. That's not a smart thing to do. It's dumb. Talk about something that is not in our strategic interests, it's restarting the Cold War with Russia.



Back on March 28, Bob wrote a blog about Democrats voting for McCain. Hilary and Barack are many things, but at the end of the day, they should not be enemies. We have loyal supporters of both candidates who frequent our humble blog....so take a look at your fellow Democrat. Is your candidate bigger than the whole? Would you really want to throw America away just because your guy didn't win? Is it that important to you to have the first woman or the first black man as president that you'd throw the Democratic party under the bus out of spite?

In short, are you really sure you want to be a McCain Democrat?

Look before you jump. Democrats thinking of voting for John McCain should ask themselves if they want a hot-tempered, right-wing Republican in the White House - keeping his foot on the gas in Iraq, sentencing women to illegal abortions, and pouring cement around President Bush's tax cuts for the rich.

A Republican in Republican's clothing. McCain is, my friends, a Republican, a self-described "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution." He voted against expanding the children's health insurance program and against an assault rifle ban.

Stiff the little guy, save the big boys. He's against the federal government helping thousands of people who lost homes in the subprime mortgage debacle. But he's OK with the Federal Reserve lending $30 billion to salvage Bear Stearns.

He's the eighth-most conservative senator in Congress, after being the second-most conservative senator the preceding session.

The Washington Post found that he has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 88 percent of the time this session. Some maverick.

Can't tell Shi'ite from Shinola. Our foreign policy expert, while in Iraq, said over and over that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. No such thing is happening. Iran, a Shi'ite country, has been training and financing Shi'ite extremists, not Al Qaeda, who are Sunni insurgents. No wonder McCain says we'll have to be in Iraq for 100 years. He doesn't know who's fighting whom.

Roll over, Darwin. On teaching "intelligent design," he said: "I think that there has to be all points of view presented. . . . There's nothing wrong with teaching different schools of thought."

John Hagee, McCain's cross to bear. If Obama has to answer for the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., McCain should have to answer for John Hagee.

Last month, McCain said: "I was pleased to have the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee," who runs a 19,000-member church in Texas.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue said: "Hagee has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it 'The Great Whore,' an 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ,' and a 'false cult system.' "

Hagee has preached that God is going to use Muslim terrorists to create "bloodbaths" to punish us for our sinful policies toward Israel.

He felt that New Orleans had it coming when Hurricane Katrina struck. "New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God." How would he know?

Continued...



Ah, and now a little confession time...

I've been the token libertarian on two websites now. I can't really say what first drew me to the party, but over the years, I think it's served me well. I actually worked with Carla Howell on her abortive attempt to win the Governorship of Massachusetts in 2002. (Won by Mitt Romney, so you see where I was coming from...)

But these days, I'm not so sure about this anymore. I am still a member of the party, and will remain so for the next year. I'm also an "unenrolled" voter in Massachusetts, which gives me the flexibility to vote on either side in our open primaries.

Although I like a lot of what Ron Paul has to say, I was never seriously considering him as a candidate. In recent weeks, and especially since the endorsement from Gov. Bill Richardson, I've decided to cast my lot with Sen. Obama, and I'm looking into becoming a campaign volunteer.

Libertarianism is a big tent, and I have always considered myself to be from the liberal, live and let live, do no harm wing of the party, in marked contrast to the "drown government in a bathtub" types.

But this election is too important. I have some days off at the end of April, and on one of those days I'll be walking in to city hall and changing my registration back to the big "D".

:peace:

 

15 comments (Latest Comment: 04/06/2008 04:06:58 by Mondobubba)
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Comment by velveeta jones on 04/05/2008 14:02:45
Perhaps you remember John McCain's comment about us spending the next 100 years in Iraq. Obviously, he's gone nuts,



:spit: (and I was soooo enjoying this coffee)

Comment by BobR on 04/05/2008 14:06:45
Tri: Knowing how strongly you connect with the individualism of the Libertarian Party, and how important principle is to you, I have to say it's pretty amazing that you'd go so far as to change your party affiliation to "D". This is indeed an important election, one that we cannot allow McBush to win.



I've long understood the appeal of Ron Paul with his "no foreign entanglements" position, and one or two of his small government positions, but I believe he too is cut from the same "drown government in a bathtub" cloth as others with whom I have a polar opposition viewpoint as to the role of government in protecting the citizenry.



Comment by velveeta jones on 04/05/2008 14:31:40
:clap:



GREAT post TriSec!!! You could have stopped right after "obviously, he's gone nuts..." but you continued on to prove your point.

Comment by velveeta jones on 04/05/2008 14:39:50
btb: Velveeta's cause du jour:



SHUT 'EM DOWN!

Comment by m-hadley on 04/05/2008 15:14:53
Excellent post, Trisec,

I especially enjoyed your ruminations about the division in the Democratic Party right now and the horrible future we may face if we decide to pack up all our marbles and go home if our candidate doesn't get the nod. Come on people - either Clinton or OBAMA (my preference ) are a good sight better than four (or worse eight) years more of McSame/McBush. Thanks for listing so many of the reasons why mccain would continue the disaster of the Bush/Cheney fiascos.... Happy Saturday :)

Cheers,

mfaye

Comment by velveeta jones on 04/05/2008 15:18:24
Police Fire on Tibetan Protesters; 8 Die

By TINI TRAN – 1 hour ago



BEIJING (AP) — Police fired on hundreds of protesters in a Tibetan area of western China, killing eight people, overseas activist groups said. State media reported one government official was seriously injured in what it called a riot.



Two monks also committed suicide late last month because of government oppression, another Tibetan activist group said Saturday.



The reports indicate that unrest is continuing in China's Tibetan areas despite a massive security presence in place since anti-government demonstrations in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and neighboring provinces broke out in mid-March.



(snip)



Police fired on Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens who had marched on local government offices in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province near Tibet on Thursday, according to the London-based Free Tibet Campaign and the International Campaign for Tibet.



The protesters were demanding the release of two monks who were detained after 3,000 paramilitary troops searched their monastery and found photographs of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the groups said.



(snipped)



On Saturday, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in India, said two monks committed suicide last month in Sichuan's Aba County following government oppression. Aba County has been the scene of large protests involving hundreds of monks and citizens.



One monk, identified as Lobsang Jinpa, from the Aba Kirti Monastery killed himself March 27, leaving a signed note saying, "I do not want to live under Chinese oppression even for a minute," the human rights group said.



The group said the second suicide occurred March 30 at the Aba Gomang Monastery, when a 75-year-old monk named Legtsok took his life, telling his followers he "can't beat the oppression anymore."



It was impossible to verify the information since Chinese authorities have banned foreign reporters from traveling to the region.




Also Saturday, a Cabinet minister of French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a newspaper that Sarkozy could boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics unless China releases political prisoners and opens a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.



In an interview with Le Monde, Human Rights Minister Rama Yade set out a list of conditions needed for Sarkozy to attend the Aug. 8 ceremony, the newspaper said.



"Three conditions are essential for him to attend: an end to violence against the population and the liberation of political prisoners; light shed on the events in Tibet; and the opening of a dialogue with the Dalai Lama," Yade was quoted as telling Le Monde.




Here's the link.

Comment by Raine on 04/05/2008 15:52:30
Comment by livingonli on 04/05/2008 16:54:44
Greetings from the salt mine gang. Doing some mega-OT to help pay with the bills. Besides, then I will have some extra money for the DC trip. :)

Comment by livingonli on 04/05/2008 17:01:15
Right now I have ACC College Baseball-Duke @ Boston College. Working FSN Florida which is taking the game from FSN South.

Comment by livingonli on 04/05/2008 17:20:22
Just two more days left of the MLB EI Free Preview but the drawback on Saturday is Fox has an exclusivity window which doesn't allow any games before 7 PM to be included in Extra Innings. So you have to settle for your local teams telecasts, the game on your local Fox station and if you're lucky WGN may have an occasional game.



Game09 7:00PM Pittsburgh at Florida FSN Florida

Geme10 7:00PM Seattle at Baltimore MASN

Game08 8:00PM Arizona at Colorado FSN Rockey Mountain

Game07 9:00PM Texas at LA Angels FSN West



And on digital cable since the NHL package is in the same channel group you can see those games, the Hockey Night in Canada telecasts will be on the Game 05 channel inclucing the pre-game Hockety Tonight all the way up to the post-game After Hours.

Comment by Mondobubba on 04/05/2008 17:21:09
Afternoon all.

Comment by livingonli on 04/05/2008 17:29:10
Hey Mondo. How are you feeling today?

Comment by Mondobubba on 04/05/2008 21:07:36
Meh. :shrug:

Comment by right wing hater on 04/06/2008 02:33:39
Hey Everyone....



Good friend of Raine & Bobs.....



Been a regular over on crooksandliars for years now....happy to be part of this blog and will be posting regularly.



Love the comments I've read so far on all of the topics....glad to see there are good people here.



Hope everyone has a great weekend....see everyone on Monday morning...

Comment by Mondobubba on 04/06/2008 04:06:58