A SOLUTION for W's IRAQ BOONDOGGLE

W's idiotic, neocon rightwing-Christian ideologically-driven boondoggle in Iraq will be left to his successor to clean up ........ W said so, himself.

Any viable solution to the W-caused destabilization of Iraq MUST include the awareness of a major reality which has so far been ignored by the Western powers:

THERE IS NO SUCH NATION AS IRAQ in any meaningful historical perspective. Try to find it on a map created before WWI.

Iraq (Mesopotamia) was a creation of the European powers following the demise of the Ottoman Empire (the Turks who controlled much of the Middle East for centuries) after WWI because the OE sided with Germany and the losing side in the Great War. The Europeans in WWI encouraged an Arab Nationalism (remember Lawrence of Arabia???) to join them in fighting the Turkish Ottomans which had replaced the Arab Caliphate successors of the Prophet Mohammed's Islamic Empire. The Turks were the "occupiers" of Arab regions from which the Europeans promised deliverance.

Instead, the Europeans messed up the Middle East (just like they did Africa) by establishing borders for their creations, colonies and mandates which suited the European interests, and had little or nothing to do with the allegiances and any nascent sense of nationhood of the peoples who live in these regions.

Ethnic, religious, and language groups who have been mortal enemies for centuries found themselves grouped together within political boundaries which make no sense regarding the sane formation of a modern nation-state.

Iraq is a prime example of the European notion of its own cultural and religious superiority, a notion today dominant in the NeoCon Project for a New American Century(PNAC) which infuses the W administration with its hubris.

Iraq has three mutually hostile main groups: The Sunni Arab Muslims (who are traditionally more westernized) in the central and western regions, The Shia Arab Muslims in the east who are theologically aligned with the Iranians (Persians who speak farsi, not Arabic) and the poor Kurds ( the MOST sympathetic group to the West) who have found themselves divided up in parts of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran and equally hated by all three, and who are a distinct ethnic group with their own language.

The theological divide between the Sunni and Shia is older and more bitter than the Catholic-Protestant schism which engendered so many wars in Europe. The Sunni-Shia schism centers around different claims for the "true" lineage of the Prophet Mohammed's rightful successors.

Just imagine in the Christian world to ask Protestants to accept a government dominated by radical papists, or Catholics to accept a government dominated by Protestants who profess that the Holy Father is the AntiChrist. This should give you a greater appreciation of our system of separation of church and state. A secular government in the Christian world has proven to be a successful model, but in the Islamic world, there is no such thing ...... The government MUST be Islamic to be legitimate, and the Sunni-Shia divide over what is the true heritage of Islam is irreconcilable.

For W and his ignoramus crew to think a nation-state in which one of these Islamic groups is a significant minority could ever be stable by western terms is an idiocy beyond measure. The Sunni are the minority in Iraq, but wielded power under Saddam. The Shia are going to have their payback, no matter how long it takes. The Kurds want to be left alone and harbor desires to have their own country ........ And the USA will double-cross them again because Turkey has a huge Kurdish minority which would proclaim itself part of any independent Kurdistan, and the Turks are our needed allies.

SOLUTION to get Americans soldiers out of there and leave behind some semblance of stability:

Abandon W's foolish notion of an effective national government for all of Iraq, because the minority in it will be in a constant state of insurgency against the majority.

The only type of effective central government over regions with different religions, customs and languages is a TOTALITARIAN REGIME ......... There was a relative stability in Iraq under Saddam.

The former USSR kept order by a repressive regime ...... And when it collapsed the result was a fragmentation into so many different "republics" with strange names I defy you to name them all. And the multi-ethnic genocide in the former Yugoslavia began after the totalitarian regime collapsed. W's war has destabilized Iraq and placed our soldiers in harm's way between religious-political factions who are mortal enemies.

CREATE a CONFEDERATION of three Autonomous Regions ....... Kurdish, Sunni, and Shia .... Within which they have virtual total power over internal and cultural affairs. The Central Government ........ say under a UN mandate (of course dominated by USA interests) ....... will be in charge of Foreign Relations and the marketing of the country's oil resources and distributing the proceeds to the three regions.

The western powers should train up security forces that must remain in their own regions and whose primary function is the protection of the minorities in their regions and the guarantee of safe travel for individuals and secure transport for commerce. Western powers will guarantee no foreign invasions of Iraq or the incursion of one autonomous region into another.

The Western powers should also fund the relocation of minority populations in the three regions if any want to move (this will be cheaper by far than the current misguided course).

I TOLD YOU SO !!! THE FACTS AND 31% PREZ PROVE I WAS RIGHT !!!

The following text in black was written and published in a daily newspaper BEFORE "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began. Like many other dissenting voices at that time, the facts have proven my concerns to have been CORRECT and the neocon "patriots" WRONG. Text in Red are inserts to remind readers of the original date and additions at the time of this publication.
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originally published in Spring of 2003 BEFORE Bush invaded Iraq:

In the 1950s, I grew up watching John Wayne (and others) WWII action genre movies on local TV. Those films made during the war were clearly patriotic propaganda for the home-front, and properly so, and many films of that genre made after the war were homages to the sacrifices by my parents' generation. There was never any doubt about who were the "good guys" and "bad guys." America and its allies were clearly justified in prosecuting an officially delcared war against brutal imperialistic and totalitarian aggression.

Our world today is no less brutal and there is certainly no shortage of "bad guys" of which Saddam Hussein is the current poster-boy. But the complexity of today's world is ironically evident since Saddam was not long ago a "good guy" when he used weapons of mass destruction (acquired with the help of the western powers) against the Iranian soldiers of Ayatollah Khomeini (remember the hostages ?) who was then the poster-boy of evil's menace to the world.

(published early Spring 2003)
President Bush now preaches it is Saddam who is so evil immediate military action is necessary, and W's supporters are constantly on TV seeking to rally a "Coalition of the Willing," true believers in the need for a first strike invasion of Iraq. Their message increasingly has the tone of religious zeal, a call to the faithful to mount a crusade ... the "willing" who proclaim a moral certitude so profound it supercedes any consideration of the cost of blood, treasure, and long-term consequences of an invasion and occupation of Iraq. ( 31% Prez rating PROVES how correct I was) The NeoCon hawks often deride opponents of immediate war as appeasers and morally too weak to take action against the evil Saddam. Apparently even conservative Pope John Paul II (R.I.P.) lacks such moral courage.

The debate is ever more being presented ("spun" by W's minions) as between those who believe in the necessary righteousness of the proposed war and those who are against the efforts of the righteous.
But any implication by the war zealots that opposition to the immediate invasion of Iraq is unpatriotic, weak-willed, and unconcerned about the safety of Americans is jingoism of the worst kind and creative of an unnecessary bitterness within our body politic.

The crusaders constantly assure us the vast oil reserves in Iraq have nothing to do with their desire to replace Saddam with a regime more friendly to American interests. The President says the oil wealth of Iraq will be used to build a model democracy in the Middle East. (this is really working out well, isn't it ???) But just who is going to buy and then resell the black gold beneath the sands of Iraq? Could it be American and British oil companies? And which of this administration's corporate supporters will land the huge contracts to rebuild what our militray destroys in Iraq?? (I was more correct than could be expected on this one, with VP Cheney's old company, Halliburton, reaping the lion's share ... and sadly, the Iraqi oil STILL is NOT flowing, current gasoline prices are soaring, and our serivce people are still dying and the taxpayers still paying)

But forget the oil ! We are told this war is about WMDs and Saddam's evil willingness to have them used against Americans by terrorists. If this is true, is the best strategy to protect Americans from Saddam's WMDs the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Americans closer to them? (actually far less than that, and now generally conceded as one of the reasons for the current mess) Is there any doubt Saddam would use WMDs at his disposal against an invading army intending to depose his regime ? But if Saddam does NOT use WMDs against our troops, where is the justification for invasion of Iraq ? (of course, we now know for sure there NEVER were any WMDs as the UN weapons inspectors asserted at the time, and the administration's hand-picked inspector, Mr Kay, came to the same conclusion. And the ultimate irony is the Director of CIA (Tenet) who confirmed false information to W was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his incompetance.)
And, will this Bush Administration, its Pentagon and Veterans Adminstration guarantee long-term care to our veterans from a war involving WMDs ?

Let us hope an internal coup against Saddam will make ground action unnecessary for our military personnel and that the new regime will comply with destruction of whatever WMDs (repeat, NONE) exist. In such a case, the saber rattling will have served a useful purpose.

But if oil and handing out huge construction contracts are not reasons for our military presence in Iraq, there would no need for occupation forces which would be prime targets for terrorists and a recruitment tool for new terrorists by those who hate the West. The battle may be short, but the aftermath may drag on for years and billions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of American lives. (how more correct could I have been on the last sentence???????)

Surely this administration does not have greater hubris than the Roman Empire which thought its destiny was to bring a higher level of civilization to the Middle East through military conquest. Are we that arrogant ? (obviously the neocon ideologues and W are) Are we willing for our troops to endure terrorist snipers and bombers as a consequence? (Insurgency, anyone ... if this dog-loving good ol' boy in Tennessee could foresee this possibilty, how stupid is this crowd now running the show ???) Do we really want a budding American Gestapo in the name of Homeland Security designed to thwart highly motivated terrorists which our current foreign policy of invading the Middle East will surely increase in numbers, and yes, increase their own sense of righteous zeal ?

Please remember the black text was written and published BEFORE the Invasion of Iraq.

-SFL-

A GOVERNMENT POLICY SEEMS STUPID or CRAZY ??? .....There are TWO REASONS

Have you ever shaken your head or screamed out loud in frustration over some government policy which flies in the face of all common sense ??? (If you haven't, I must assume you are not paying attention or something is seriously wrong with you.)

In my years of doing Talk Radio, I had the opportunity to interview hundreds of officials from Local, State, and Federal governments. I also took many thousands of calls from listeners, the majority of which were frustrated by the ways their government was doing or not doing things.

From these experiences I learned a profound lesson: "CUI BONO" ...... Latin for "Who Benefits?"

Whenever a government policy persistently flies in the face of common sense, there are only TWO REASONS for it:

1) Somebody or some group maintains or increases their political power by the policy being implemented or remaining unchanged.

2) And MOST OFTEN, somebody or some group with Political Influence economically benefits from the policy.

Whenever you are frustrated by a government action or inaction, ask yourself CUI BONO ....... Who benefits??? ... And see if Reason 1) or 2) is applicable. My wager is one or both will be.

EXAMPLE: (OR, if you have a particular frustration, send a comment and I will apply the CUI BONO Principle to it)

FOOD STAMPS ........ No one in their right mind would contend this program is efficiently managed or that only truly needy and deserving people receive the benefits, or that the benefits are not abused, even by people who are not citizens of our country. I will leave you to your own observations at the grocery check-out line.

Why does this continue the way it is ?????? The truly poor citizens of this country, and if you wish, characterize some benefits recipients as unwilling to work for a living like you , DO NOT vote in numbers great enough to elect enough legislators to vote them these benefits, and the fact of how districts are drawn makes it impossible for them to do so anyway.

Is this just the result of Public Compassion run amok ???? Nope.

Ask CUI BONO .......... Who benefits ???? And make the effort to delve a little deeper for the answer.

The Welfare recipients conveniently receive most of the frustrated public's wrath and resentment, and this is just fine and dandy for those who truly benefit. The vast majority of public awareness on this topic stops here ... an intense and resentful focus on the recipients and any public figures who are advocates for the plight of the truly needy.

The recipients of these benefits are merely the last loudly clanking link in the chain of transfer payments from the pockets of working Americans, and you must follow the chain to its very end ........

Who eventually winds up with most of these tax dollars ???

The answer: REASON 2).

If there was a serious attempt to cut welfare, who would be the special interests who have the vested interest, and the political funds and connections to stop it???

Try the lobbyists and PACs for the retail food industry, the alcohol industry, and the tobacco industry.

Go to the public housing projects in your area, or a neighborhood you suspect spends a lot of your tax dollars. Go to the nearest grocery and check the price of milk, bread, basic meats, and canned goods; then go to the clean, modern grocery in the wealthy part of town, and I bet the prices are lower in the rich neighborhood than the poor one. Make sense ??? It does if you have no qualms about ripping off the average tax payer.

In the poor neighborhood, count the liquor stores and convenience markets (in which many will sell single cigarettes from opened packages). Why are there so many grocery,liquor, and tobacco outlets in poor neighborhoods ????

The reason is simple....... those industries know that every month millions of your tax dollars are sent there and they go out of their way to make it ridiculously easy for that money to be spent on their products which are readily available and often more expensive than in other areas. AND THEY LIKE IT THIS WAY.

And if any elected official tries to break the chain of transfer payments from your pockets into their corporate coffers, all their PAC money and long-cultivated political connections are brought to bear behind the scenes and the effort to change things goes down the drain. CUI BONO ???? REASON NUMBER 2 !!!!

UPCOMING TOPICS

Atheism, Creation Science Intelligent Design Crapola, Paul created Christianity, Mithra, Fundamentalists and Evangelicals, Bible ... the source of Book Worshipers and their friends in Islam, Conservative incapable of making government work , Gay marriage and property inheritance rights.........

if you did a search for any of these terms and found this blog, you may be interested in the posts below, and you may wish to come back when posts on the above topics are published

-SFL-

TEST YOUR REPUBLICAN FRIENDS

Apply the following to your GOPer friends and acquaintances ...... I guarantee they will have at least two matches. (Exempt from this test are what I call "Traditional Republicans:" those over 45 y/o born into long-standing Republican families or geographic areas ..... these Traditional Republicans nowadays are indeed RARE ........ remember when Republicans stood for NO DEFICIT SPENDING and NO INVOLVEMENT in UNNECESSARY FOREIGN WARS ... they are certainly NOT part of the crowd running things now ... the NeoCON rightwing and the Radical Christian GOPers.)

1) They have major money or think they will have major money. The GOPers always protect major money.

2) They are overtly or subtlely racist.

3) One issue may dominate their political perspective....... they are Gun Nuts
(BTW, I own six firearms)

4) One issue may dominate their political perspective ..... they are Anti-Choice

5) They are churched-up where the teaching implies that the godly position on issues coincides with the GOPer position ... even if they do not openly assert that God is a Republican, they would vehemently deny that God and Jesus are Liberal Democrats. Being conservative is likely to be viewed as a virtue while being Liberal would be a hindrance to being a good (in their view) Christian.

6) They hate or fear gay people and so does their church.

7) They always use the word "Liberal" in a very derogatory manner, implying un-American, and its usage is similar to bigots who use distasteful terms such as nigger, faggot, beaner, etc.

-SFL-

HISTORY is NOT a CLOCK to be RESET

Spring forward, fall back ... the easy way to remember the changes for daylight savings time. I much prefer the fall back change. I enjoy the illusion of having an hour to live over again. 'Tis a shame I must give it back every spring because I like the way we pass the time in the Nashville area. Compared to other places I have been, we are more relaxed here, and if I may indulge in a bit of hometown conceit, much more gracious.

But no matter how we manipulate our timepieces, the days go by as rapidly as ever, their inexorable changes upon our bodies confirmed by the faces in our mirrors.

Change is the fundamental principle of the universe: nothing is permanent.

All living things die, mountains erode, and eventually the sun will expand into a red giant star until it incinerates our Earth. And the irrevocable fact is once something has fundamentally changed, no amount of longing for it as it once was can reverse the march of time.

We should strive to preserve the best of what survives. But we cannot bring back that whose time has passed.

Yet, throughout recorded time, many strident conservatives have failed to realize history is not a clock that can be reset to accommodate their ideology. Much of history is a violent chronicle of the failures of reactionary conservatives. The greater their efforts have been to resist change, the greater the diminishment of what they sought to preserve. I know of no conservative institutional retrenchment effort which has succeeded in the long run.

Consider only a few of many historical examples:

*** If you are a Protestant here on the buckle of the Bible Belt, you are living proof of the failure of conservative reaction. The pagan Roman Empire tried to eradicate Christianity because the new cult was a threat to the established regime whose emperor was proclaimed to be divine, a divinity the Christians denied, such denial constituting the highest of treasons. End result: The Empire's capitol city became the center of the Catholic Church which would define Western Civilization for a thousand years.

But the Church of Rome's own subsequent conservative reaction to calls for internal reform eventually cost it half of Christendom via the Protestant Reformation. Christianity as a whole and Protestantism in particular exist today despite conservative attempts of the old regimes to suppress them.

*** The creation of the United States was the direct result of the failure of the British government's conservative colonial policy. Had the British Parliament been more liberal and open-minded to the petitions of its American colonies, we might still be loyal subjects of the British Crown.

The very language of the Declaration of Independence reveals it to be a lament of the last resort.

*** The Confederacy was a catastrophic failure of conservatism. The South still reaps the bitter fruits of its seduction by a doctrine of States Rights and Secession that promised relief from Federal intervention upon its slavery-based agricultural economic system. But secession delivered only the destruction of the very way of life it sought to preserve.

The conservative philosophy of States Rights and Secession was also the primary cause of increased concentration of power in the Federal government, the very antithesis of states rights doctrine. Without the need to coordinate a massive war effort to preserve the Union, the central government would have not introduced the first income tax nor so rapidly acquired the ability to direct the entire nation's focus and expenditure of its treasure.

The Confederacy failed on all counts at the cost of a half million American lives and the decimation of the Southern states. Only the individual acts of valor and courage from the Civil War deserve our reverence and respect, and certainly no reverence or romantic nostalgia should be extended to the memory of "The Cause" which included keeping millions of human beings in brutal slavery.


*** In 1919, conservative activists did manage to change the Constitution. But they could not turn back the clock to eliminate a personal choice that the people had long claimed as theirs alone. Prohibition's 18th Amendment was an utter failure. It also fertilized the seeds of organized crime via the bootlegging industry.

Remember this if you think the established practice of a woman's control over her body's reproductive capability can simply be legislated away.

*** The onus for the decline of neighborhood schools clearly falls upon the conservative opposition to simple desegregation. Rather than simply allow all students in the existing zones to attend the same schools, the tired old doctrine of States Rights was trotted out again to defend the morally bankrupt policy of state mandated racial segregation.

All those years of conservative legal arena resistance to desegregation were the catalysts that caused court-mandated busing as an imposed solution in the face of conservative persistent non-compliance with Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

Conservative reaction to change once again failed to maintain the staus quo, offered no viable alternative, and caused busing of students with its ensuing huge impersonal comprehensive high schools which have no connection to any particular community.

In conclusion, it may be more comfortable to look into the past rather than forward into the unknown. But we do have some measure of control over the future if we act wisely in the present with our vision focused beyond the next earnings reports from Wall Street and not distorted by a sanitized rememberance of the way things used to be.

-SFL-

MISSION STATEMENT

In their ultimate essence, all things are One, and it is that Oneness which is the Supreme Reality.

This is where we start .......... and where we all end

what lies in between can be infuriating, exhilarating, exasperating , or just plain entertaining ....... choose and act wisely and cause no intentional harm ...... be an advocate for what you feel really matters.

If I infuriate any Conservatives ....... I am on the right track.

Should I inspire any Conservative to consider another life option on any point, however small, I have succeeded in some small way.

If reading this blog confirms that you are not alone ..... let me know and I am fulfilled enough to continue.

If I cause anyone to lean back in their chair, and THINK for just a moment ........ I am exhilarated.

-SFL-