Bombshells, Blackguards and General Breakdown

Incompetence, neglect, profligacy, isolation, malfeasance, even a textbook psychosis of clinical disconnect -- all are reaching critical mass at government's highest levels. Every day, it seems, we read another disclosure of scandalous failure. Taken separately, they're bad enough. Lump them together and one wonders just how much longer the nation can endure, how much more it can tolerate.

The latest -- merely the latest in this accelerating implosion -- is that the Bush administration has permitted the Army National Guard and Reserves to fall to 12 percent readiness. The "12" is no typo. Should a natural catastrophe strike, oh, let's say Alabama, the Guard would find itself without "trucks, Humvees, generators, radios, night-vision goggles and other gear that would be critical for responding to a major disaster," not to mention a "terrorist attack or other domestic emergency," reports a congressional commission.

The reason for this deplorable state of readiness is, of course, the administration's singular fixation on Iraq, which is sucking all the material oxygen from anything and everything unrelated to its civil war, but profoundly relevant to the war on insecurity and unpreparedness at home.

Accordingly the administration has already launched roughly half its projected number of new "joint security stations" in Baghdad, part of its sixth stab at pacifying the capital city and in direct opposition to what Congress wants, its generals want, the Iraqis want and the American people want. Its obstinance, however, is peddled as leadership.

American soldiers are fanning out from small, vulnerable outposts, charged with somehow predistinguishing nervous civilians from homicidal militants, insurgents or common criminals. Meanwhile our "friends," the Iraqi security forces, "are kept out of briefing sessions, largely because the Americans are suspicious that information will be passed on to" ... see aforementioned list.

What is daily American life like under these circumstances? For just one U.S. battalion in western Baghdad, insurgents recently "blasted rocket-propelled grenades at an Iraqi-guarded checkpoint," followed that with a "barrage [of] small-arms fire," "then detonated two car bombs when American troops rushed to respond," then, for good measure, lobbed "two mortar rounds ... about 50 yards outside another outpost the battalion had set up." And all in one day.

"I guess it is a little scary," remarked 22-year-old Army private, Peter Lahoda.

One need not wonder why he finds it so, since he made the comment "as he gripped an M240 belt-fed machine gun in a turret that has been shot at three times from the street below."

Sorry to ruin your day even more, Pete, if that's possible, but here are a couple little items just as scary -- perhaps even scarier. Thursday our vice president, apparently living in some other cosmic time zone, said if we "withdrew before Iraqis could defend themselves, radical factions would battle for dominance." Yes, let's do keep a watchful eye out for that development.

And on a higher front, an online foreign-policy journal relates that "Those close to [the president] report that he remains convinced of success in Iraq and of how success will revive Republican political fortunes."

I am reminded of another little fellow who was convinced, right to the very end, that new jet fighters or FDR's death would prove to be the anticipated turning point in his war gone bad. Things didn't quite work out for him, though -- or for those he led.

I never dreamed I'd live to see the day in which I longed for my government to be marked only by incompetence, or only by neglect, or profligacy, or isolation, or malfeasance, or even a clinical disconnect. But these days, any one of these, by itself, would seem like Camelot.

Comments

[Vic Anderson]

It ALL makes perfect sense if the intent is to destroy OUR government (bathtub, anyone?)

[Ah Clem]

Well isn't this "nice"...

I guess now it's "We have to fight them there cause we CAN'T fight them here."

The "Axis of Evil" is much closer than previously defined... Like say in DC...

What a "great" setup for a "terrorist" attack before the next major election. Now wouldn't that be a convenient thing to base a suspension of the political process and the Constitution. Then we'd be right where the Neocons, and Bush/Cheney want us, smack dab in the middle of an administration lead fascist state.

[Jan Marra]

Peace and prosperity for the average American citizen--or for that matter, the average world citizen--is not on the List Of Things To Do for CheneyCo. Once you rid yourself of that lingering fantasy--that Bush CARES--everything else makes perfect, although nightmarish--sense.

[Joe]

Last night Cindy Sheehan came to Burlington, Vermont as part of a three day state tour to speak out against the war. It was held at the University of Vermont and there was time at the end for a question and answer session. Because of a ballot item being voted on this Tuesday, March 7, asking Burlington voters to support a new, independent forensic investigation into the events surrounding 9/11, a man asked Cindy what her stance was on 9/11. Here is a 3 minute video below. I don't know if her call for a new investigation is old news, but its pretty awesome nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKdkmu5SGGY

[U. Whinge]

Yes, Texas is the living laboratory of the radical right.

And yes, the radical right conducts their experiments with the destruction of government in local Petri dishes here before they export nationally and internationally.

And yes, we are oh-so proud to have brought you George Bush (both of them, fortunately for you AND for Midland, Texas).

But don't you wanna know what’s next?

It’s Abu Ghraib - only with kids!

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/03/02/2tyc.html

Now that's fun ...Texas-style.

It's better than sheep. So y'all come back now, y'all hear.

[Jay Diamond]

"It ALL makes perfect sense if the intent is to destroy OUR government (bathtub, anyone?)"

I agree with the above quoted comment from Vic Anderson, but I think it can even be better understood by saying that the United States is presently under the control of a political movement that is completely dedicated to the primacy of capital (private money, private property, private interests, private influence, private prerogatives), over the institutions of democracy (the mere VOTERS, and any semblance of accountablitiy to the voters).

To the extent that the political process acting through the institutions of democracy is a check on the goals of private power (money and muscle) it is correctly perceived by aggregate wealth as its mortal enemy.

And, tragically, they are running the show because they have been able (through well financed trickery)to persuade sufficient numbers of Guileless voters to mistakenly and Tragically think that those conflicting interests are not at all inimical.

[tom]

Just out of curiousity -- does anyone find the degradation of our National Guard to be more than just "neglect"?
How many mercenaries work for Blackwater again -- what was it, 20,000?
Have you figured out the answer yet?
Maybe the NRA does have a point.

[The End]

9/11 was a false-flag attack designed to justify U.S. domination of the Middle East, while simultaneously squelching domestic dissent here in the States.

It's amazing that any Americans still believe in the notion of U.S. "democracy." We were told that "the people have spoken" when it came to the changes in Congress---and look at what Congress has done, nothing. They care more about the desires of Israel than about the desires of the American people.

Human society is a power-pyramid---at the top sit a few mega-wealthy elitists. At the bottom, bearing the weight of the entire edifice, sit a broad base of peons & serfs. That's all we are to the elitists. "Democracy" is a sham--elitists consider it to be nothing more than 'mob rule', because they consider us savages (and they do their best to keep us stupid, so that they can keep blaming their evil deeds on us).

Real democracy scares the hell out of these pigs because it means that they wouldn't get to live like Emperors while millions of people go without food & shelter. They don't mind, in fact they like it this way--I guess it makes them feel better about themselves.

The human race is a primitive gang of apes, with wicked, callous, sadistic bastards sitting atop the power-pyramid. Let's bring the f*cking thing down.

[Tom H]

The gov't actions are not incompetent or negligent, they are designed this way to promote chaos. As the army disrupts Iraq, the US gov't erodes rights at home by opening mail, suspending habeas corpus, stealing private lands, banning books like "America Deceived" from Wiki, rigging elections, conducting warrantless wiretaps and starting 2 illegal wars based on lies. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier) and the US will invade Iran, (on behalf of Israel).
Final link (before Google Books bends to gov't demands and censors the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0