US Foreign Policy

Of Mice and Failed Missions

This entry was posted in bush Domestic Terrorism Election 2004 US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

Folks riding Washington’s ferry system will be subjected to an increasing number of vehicle searches. Here is one reaction:

In the interest of national security, I understand the Washington State Patrol is instituting random car searches at our ferry terminals (“Feds order new level of security for ferries,” Times page one, Sept. 29).
And so while they are busy trampling our rights by digging through our possessions, I hope they regret ever encountering my car.
I have a family and I have not seen the floor mats of my car since 2002. A single road trip requires at least six stuffed animals, 10 pounds of books, a box of crayons and a note pad for my child. My husband takes at least three coats, a hat and an extra seat cushion.
Added to that pile, which is now threatening to swamp the aforementioned kid in the back seat, are my backpack, clothing, a first-aid kit and occasionally a wetsuit. I have not mentioned the trunk.
That is because a mouse has taken up residence in it � we’ll call him “Kenny.”
…

If the US government had been doing its job for the last 4 years, had accomplished it mission, we wouldn’t be reading this today!
Do go read the rest of the story.

Iraq: All is Well

This entry was posted in bush Iraq US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

bush and allawi have been telling the US public and the United Nations that the effort in Iraq is progressing. What does this look like in real life?
Well, in some areas of Iraq it may appear to be what they say. In others, it is something dramatically different. Since both the administration and the media fail to give us full disclosure of both the good and the bad a little visualization exercise might be helpful. To assist, Juan Cole has provided a script with some interesting transpositions:

What would America look like if it were in Iraq’s current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.
Read it all. You might quibble with the different comparisons but it does help one visualize an environment that is not conducive to normal living.
An election and implementing some alleged version of democracy will fix all, right? Kevin Drum pretty well sums up what that means:
That’s not much more than a mockery of democracy, but unfortunately I can’t really complain too loudly. Roughly speaking, it would be as if Democrats and Republicans agreed to team up and decide in advance who was going to win each district in elections for the House, thus preventing any real choice. Which, of course, is pretty much exactly how it works these days, with both sides collaborating in gerrymandering schemes designed primarily to protect each other’s incumbents.
In other words, Sistani is getting a democracy considered state-of-the-art by his occupiers. What more does he want?
Yes, Iraq will get democracy as envisioned by an administration that is watching the so called reagan victory over the evil empire implode with nary a whimper of opposition.
Is bush a little envious of putin……?

A Quote for Today

This entry was posted in bush Iraq US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

colin powell on Meet the Press 9/12/04:

I have no indication that there was a direct connection between the terrorist who perpetrated these crimes against us on the 11th of September, 2001, and the Iraqi regime. We know that there had been connections and there had been exchanges between al-Qaida and the Saddam Hussein regime and those have been pursued and looked at, but I have seen nothing that makes a direct connection between Saddam Hussein, that awful regime, and what happened on 9/11.
Just in case someone continues to try to make this case.
Read the transcript.

Drug War Result

This entry was posted in Capitalism Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Economics Law Enforcement Libertarianism US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

Science and the market are hard at work in the drug war:

DRUG traffickers have created a new strain of coca plant that yields up to four times more cocaine than existing plants and promises to revolutionise Colombia�s drugs industry.
Why was it worthwhile to traffickers to spend �60,000,000 on this effort:
Such an investment by drugs traffickers is small compared to the earnings from what is the most lucrative business on earth. Traffickers can produce a kilogram of cocaine for less than �1,500. That kilogram will sell in Miami for �14,000, in London for �34,000 and in Tokyo would bring �50,000.
We can all thank the articial pricing created by ongoing domestic and international terrorist activities conducted by US and foreign governments for what promises to be a substantial improvement in both quality and quantity of cocaine on the market.
Via Jacob Sollum at Hit & Run.
NB: At the moment �1 equals $1.79

The Election Must be Getting Close

This entry was posted in bush Iran US Foreign Policy on by

And the bushies need something to lift their chances from the depths they are at today. So, they are waving sticks in the air again:

The Bush administration is piling on the pressure over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme. It maintains Tehran’s decision to resume building uranium centrifuges wrecked a long-running EU-led dialogue and is proof of bad faith.
The US will ask a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on September 13 to declare Iran in breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a prelude to seeking punitive UN sanctions.
….
Condoleezza Rice, the US national security adviser, said at the weekend there was a new international willingness to confront Tehran, but declined to rule out unilateral action if others did not go along.
Sound familiar?
Eric at Wampum argues:
The current working-draft of the casus belli (singular) for the work-in-progress Iran War is failure to allow IAEA inspections.
Eric is wrong in restricting the gathering threat to a single issue. According to the above Guardian article the bushies are waving sticks on 4-5 fronts though the nuclear issue seems to be the biggest one at the moment. Given the apparent information failures related to their last adventure I expect folks to set an extremely high standard of proof for any allegations that might lead to an act of war.
Question for the day: what other nuclear powers are planning to not allow IAEA inspections?