June 5. March on the Pentagon

Lately I’ve been feeling uneasy about what the next few months will bring here in the States and abroad. Iraq is about to explode. The economy is wobbling. The presidential campaign will no doubt be unusually vicious. The country is splitting down the middle. “The center will not hold.”

I’ve mentioned this a number of people (across the political spectrum) and not one person has disagreed, instead they just nodded their heads in agreement.

But then, great danger can also be great opportunity. This is the time to organize, to get in the streets, to make some noise. Else the blowback from the ill-advised wars of the neo-cons and the subsequent bankrupting of the country to pay for them, will sink us all.

These are not normal times. Let’s stop this war.

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The lunatics have taken over the asylum

War will take “decades”, says chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that the war in Iraq is going “reasonably well” but acknowledged the United States faces long-term involvement there.

Gen. Richard Myers told reporters that fighting terrorism also is a long-term commitment and said, “Decades is probably not unreasonable.”

Um, if it’s going “reasonably well”, why will US military need to be there for decades? As during the Vietnam War, the Pentagon is emanating an enormous fog of doublespeak, propaganda, and, yes, outright lies. During Vietnam, after a while, many stopped believing what the Pentagon was saying - sometime which will no doubt happen now soon enough.

Brian Eno sums it up well

When I first visited Russia, in 1986, I made friends with a musician whose father had been Brezhnev’s personal doctor. One day we were talking about life during ‘the period of stagnation’ - the Brezhnev era. ‘It must have been strange being so completely immersed in propaganda,’ I said.

‘Ah, but there is the difference. We knew it was propaganda,’ replied Sacha.

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Asymmetric warfare in Basra

“If he (the enemy) is superior in strength, evade him. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared; appear where you are not expected.” Sun Tzu

“Leveraging inferior tactical or operational strength against American vulnerabilities to achieve disproportionate effect with the aim of undermining American will in order to achieve the asymmetric actor’s strategic objectives.” Lt Col Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr, USMC

Iraq shuts Basra Oil Terminal after attacks

A classic piece of asymmetric warfare. A few suicide bombers shut down a critical port. It’s not even clear if they damaged the port, authorities were so spooked they closed it anyway.

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