MIC Eisenhower

Our military is the strongest and largest in the world. We have enough weapons to destroy the entire world as we know it.

With wars ending the military will have to downsize. People who have an interest in the military industry (that is corporations that make the tools of war) are going to want to get the US involved in some other war somewhere else, or back in Iraq. These people profit from the wars. They don’t care about the people in the military. The soldiers are pawns, expendable just like in a chess game. Lets call them the profiteers. They make money by investing in the business that make guns ammo ,bombs, armor, helmets, aircraft, ships, missiles, drones, even uniforms. 

During war time soldiers can advance in rank faster than they can during peace time. So many soldiers want us to be engaged in some war or conflict for their personal gain. We don’t use the Draft like when I was in the army. So our soldiers are professional and want to advance their careers. Especially those in the officer ranks. Those who join to defend their country may not think about their own advancement.

When an officer is in a war he is more likely to advance in rank faster due to attrition (his predecessor got wounded or killed so he moves up the ranks). The same is true with enlisted men/women.  Without a draft we have people who want to be soldiers and fight. They will follow orders whether they are righteous or not.

In war there are going to be atrocities , in Vietnam there was My Lai   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre. In Iraq we has the friendly fire, and Abu Ghriab prisoners mistreated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse        War is a dirty business.

Next we have politicians who are  lobbied  beyond belief by the military industrial complex. When they are with a lobbyist from a big corporation wanting to get a piece of legislation passed that will benefit them and their corporation, I feel it is bribery. They receive gifts and other valuable considerations (like money) for the promise of their vote on said  Bill.

When you put it all together it makes the strongest military in all of history. This should make us feel safe and secure, right? Then why are we so paranoid ? Why are we afraid of men with beards? Full disclosure here, I wear a beard, have ever since I got out of the army. Why do we fear men who wear robes and turbans?

Why do those bearded men with turbans hate us? Could it be that we invaded their homeland?  Could it be because we were lied to by the worst possible person who was VP and had ties to Halliburton.

President Eisenhower (Ike) warned us about the military industrial complex. To me Ike was the last good Republican President.

So it all comes down to profits for those who have more to gain from war than peace. We have McCain in the Senate who never met a war he didn’t like. Why, because he can line his pockets with considerations.

It is all about PROFITS. 

Lets talk about this in a civil way. You may disagree or maybe you agree with me. Either way lets have a discussion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower photo portrait.

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KillgoreTrout
Member

Murph, our conversation is lost in the back pages. Please respond to me anew, if you choose, at the top of this page.

SearingTruth
Member

“Humanity always eventually works together, whether we want it to or not. The only difference is whether we work together before, or after, massive death and destruction.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

SearingTruth
Member

“My saunter began in the garden, just a few misplaced parts there. I couldn’t really tell what they were, so I just walked through the broken door to the front room.

And there it was. That head. As a misplaced ornament upon the armchair. And then looking down I saw the infants body and my knees slightly buckled. I had seen much horror, the body parts of children were a daily chore, but these bodies were just a little too intact. I could tell where the neck used to attach both.

And since then I cannot be human.

For I had fired the rocket that destroyed them.

For the good of all humankind.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Admirable but unfortunately not applicable to this stained mankind.

In a good way, I envy your heart so filled with promises and hope. But as I’ve said before, we STINK. Mankind should disappear for good and let animals live their perfect nature.
And I really love you as a brother or sister would love his/hers.PEACE.

SearingTruth
Member

Gentle friend EXFANOFARIANA, I wish I could alleviate your anger and pain. I can almost feel it, and it genuinely hurts.

But it seems you are slowly being consumed by it, and despite the many observations you’ve read I’ve been unable to sway your beliefs.

I can only once again ask you to reconsider, and hope that your pain subsides.

I am sorry gentle friend.
ST

“If evil were the seed of our society then we would have extinguished ourselves long ago.

But despite all probability and expectation it indeed appears that nothing is certain, except that humanity is good.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

I thank you with all my heart.Perhaps I should take yoga…….Peace always.BEAUTIFUL !

SearingTruth
Member

Gentle friend, you are a treasure of humanity.

You need only release your soul.

It has suffered enough.

And it needs you, to be saved by compassion, instead of drowned in the dark.

Gentle friend EXFANOFARIANA, I have great faith in you.
ST

“Compassion engenders loyalty, and trust, and thanks.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

Kalima
Admin

JumpingJackFlash says:
06/17/2014 at 8:54 PM (Edit)
@Kalima, are you looking for a place to post where there’s no dissention or different views? I used to be a liberal, even voted for Clinton twice, but I saw the light! Liberalism is a false promise and Conservatism (not the Republican party) is the real deal.

—-
I’ve answered your first question at least three times when you asked it before.

The word “liberal” is a state of mind and your conscience, and not just a political party that you can accuse of being false. A mind can be changed but a social conscience cannot. Therefore I’m sorry to say that I very much doubt that you ever were one.

My sincere apologies to Nirek for turning his fine article into a totally unnecessary “learning?” forum. It’s just a simple matter of reading our Terms of Use found under FAQ at the top of the page under the PlanetPOV logo. Which is the advice both AdLib and I gave this member at least six times. Hopefully, it won’t happen again.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I disagree. Completely necessary and very well done…go to it Kalima!

Kalima
Admin

Thanks Murph. We prefer to do this in private but it’s not always possible when someone doesn’t take the hint. Having to repeat ourselves over and over again, is very tiresome. Especially for me in a different time zone. Still, we do like to strive for a peaceful Planet.

SearingTruth
Member

“We were outnumbered.

A billion dollars to none.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

KillgoreTrout
Member

Hey Cl, I ran out of boxes below, but just wanted to say, at least the mob let’s you have some fun. They always strike a Faustian bargain with their customers.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I appreciate all of the work you did here tonight with our new members.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Thanks Murph. Just doing what I love doing. I think we have some great new members who actually appreciate the Planet.

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Eff this is THE BEST BLOG EVER….Spreading it all over. I see friends from WaPo here…..They will display their names at a right time.

KillgoreTrout
Member

LOL EX! I couldn’t agree more. BTW, you can say fuck, if you please. 😉

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Bwahahahha…you know, I belong to a FB group of “Ladies who like to say fuck a lot” 🙂

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Really. Invite them to dip a toe in. The water is at times a bit choppy but always a nice temperature.

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

No worries….I will.

RSGmusic
Member
RSGmusic

OK fine lady who’s nick i really like!

having trouble with this link please re post it to me.

prosper always!!

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

I am not sure I get what you want:):):)! Indeed, prosper always!Hugs.

RSGmusic
Member
RSGmusic

HI again sorry i left out the link.
http://chn.ge/1ls8na1.

Also nick is nickname. I am not sure if you use it here?

long life my dear friend!!

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Link is broken….:)Shoot it to my email.Hugs on both you guys.How is Del coping?

RSGmusic
Member
RSGmusic

HI again seem there is no reply on your last message to me.

Del is doing much better these days.
Thinks are slowing down now.

with all our friendship ( Hugs ) the both of us

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I am with you in that. I think that for those of you who are the “old pros and vets” here the role of mentor and guide is really, really important. Thanks for doing it so well.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Thanks for saying so Murph!

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Loved the “Faustian” bit..LOLOLOL

SearingTruth
Member

“Our masters profit, whether we laugh or cry.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

The predictions in the early 90s about how the world would fall apart without the cold war keeping the world at relative peace are coming true.Man is not proving to be to good at this “civilization” thing.Endless wars

SearingTruth
Member

Do not surrender yet gentle friend Beatlex.

Good has a long history of defeating evil, or we could not even debate it.
ST

“If evil were the seed of our society then we would have extinguished ourselves long ago.

But despite all probability and expectation it indeed appears that nothing is certain, except that humanity is good.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

Of course my friend the majority of the world are good people trying to lead good and productive lives.It is the Governments that are the cause of the inequality around the world.Just look at climate change to name one,but important example.

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

Dear St, evil has conquered this planet since it’s foundation. Look at us Romans and the Greeks. All evil on earth were brought by religion bull……You study Greek philosophers and they, some, were also maniac about myths….Shall we bring in the Viking gods?Or the Zoroastrians?Peace.Or the pagans?

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

The Cold War provided two major poles by which the allegiances of nations one pole or the other kept things in some order…add in a UN that both of those poles made regular use of….and an international economic order that managed to orchestrate a dance between capitalism and communism (both only near approximations of their actual definitions).

So…all in all…your comment is well placed.

RSGmusic
Member
RSGmusic

Agreed MurphThesurf3

working on that thing we discussed by e mail. close now!!

In all life there comes a time or urge to return to the place of birth to face yourself in a different form.

Sayings from the child of nature!

SearingTruth
Member

“History records that the rich and powerful, when allowed, make lampshades of the working and poor’s skin.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

KillgoreTrout
Member

Here’s one I think you may really appreciate ST:

“I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all possible means-except by getting off his back.” Leo Tolstoi

Or maybe it was Romney! 😉

SearingTruth
Member

An eloquent expression of truth.

Thank you gentle friend KillgoreTrout.
ST

“Truth is defined by the weakest of us who must suffer through it.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Great quotation, KT, and thanks for bringing it to
our attention!

It’s not common knowledge, but it has been the secret motto of the Republican party since the days of the 19th century robber barons. 😉

KillgoreTrout
Member

My pleasure NoMan. At least the old robber barons actually produced something and helped build this country. They still treated those that worked for them like shyte, but they left a lot done. Today?

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Good point, KT, and I agree the
old robber barons did leave “a
lot done.”

And today’s rapacious robber
barons? — Not so much!

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

LOLOLOLOL C’mom, give Tolstoy a break.He wrote wonderful things….

KillgoreTrout
Member

I think it may have been Romney, riding that poor man’s back! 😉

EXFANOFARIANA
Member
EXFANOFARIANA

More likely Mr. Robme.

KillgoreTrout
Member

While this is very smart parody, it’s not all that far from the truth:

SearingTruth
Member

“An ocean of bullets.

They had to wash up somewhere.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

Hi Searing Truth! Finally give up on HP? I was x27 there.I left in December

SearingTruth
Member

Gentle friend Beatlex,

I indeed gave up on HP, deleted my account, and only post on PlanetPOV now.

I’m very glad you found your way here. It is a unique community driven site, with a lot of differing voices and opinions. As well as many tools, such as posting your own articles, that make it function like a good old fashioned 18th century soapbox.

But be prepared to be surprised, no matter your political/humanitarian position.

Citizens are fairly civil here, but some are very aggressive in disagreement, and do not back from an argument easily.

But that is a good sign. It shows they are intelligent, have well informed opinions, and are passionate about them.

For example, I’m a liberal and have mostly been pummeled by liberals since joining PlanetPOV.

But it has been engaging and educational for all of us.

And that is goal of free debate.

Welcome again gentle friend.
ST

“We have much less to fear from each other than those who would make us afraid.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

KillgoreTrout
Member

ST, “pummeled?”

SearingTruth
Member

Gentle friend KillgoreTrout, I meant it in an intellectual/ideological context, and positive way.

The community here doesn’t just listen and agree, even if they are your friend. They listen and let you know exactly what they think, and challenge you, often many times, to defend your position.

Like you’re doing now … 🙂
ST

“Humanity was not on sale.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Write with this level of clarity and you will discover that your message will get clearer and clearer.

KillgoreTrout
Member

ST, I thought that might be what you were saying, but I wasn’t quite sure.

I like to think that as applied to members here, “pummeled,” may be too strong a word. No biggie, I just didn’t quite understand the use of the word at first.

I like to think of the discourse here as being, urging, or compelling.

SearingTruth
Member

I understand gentle friend KillgoreTrout, I tend to speak and write in metaphors.

And have often been misunderstood.
ST

“We are all, in fact, most like each other.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Oh,ST we do not pummel….

pound
pummel
pinch
pierce

but never pummel….

Just kidding.

This is a place of honest discussion and truth and that is the gift we give each other.

Civil discourse means that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

So, soldier on friend ST….a future for the brave indeed.

BTW- your writing in this post was CRYSTAL CLEAR. more of the same, please. I really heard you here.

SearingTruth
Member

Ha!, that’s what they all say gentle friend MurphTheSurf3 … 🙂

But I understand my friend, and I am trying to engage my friends and fellow citizens more here on PlanetPOV.

On other websites there was rarely enough time to look through “Wisdom, Warning, and Tyranny” (232 pages now) for an appropriate observation, and post a personal message.

And I thought history was more important.

But I’m trying, I wish we could all meet for at last one grog of really good ale.
ST

“Until the last voice of freedom was silenced.

That’s how long they had to wait.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Life at the Planet is one of process and people here tend to walk with each other. It is different and you seem to be adapting. You have a truth to share and I think you are finding ways to do it in this oh so practical place.

SearingTruth
Member

That was very sweet gentle friend MurphTheSurf3. Thank you.
ST

“Together. That’s how humanity will win.”
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

Chuck Todd interviewed Paul Wolfowitz to get his take on the goings on in Iraq and to ask what he would do…..WHY??? He even called him “sir” at the end of the interview.The man should be in a jail cell

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Wolfowitz- warmongering lying piece of crap…and those are my kind words for him….and frankly I don’t think much of Todd or the pandering at MSNBC.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Well said, Murph. I can’t speak to the “pandering
at MSNBC” as I’ve never watched the channel, but
I don’t think much of Todd either, and don’t even
get me started on war criminal Wolfowitz @#%!!!

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I watched Joe Scarborough and Chuck Todd today focus like lasers on what the WSJ ABC Poll finding that the Pres. only had 41 percent support and that most did not think he could govern any longer.

They acted as if those who responded to the poll actually, as a whole, understood what they were saying and had any claim to knowing of what they spoke.

Our public is generally ignorant of of how the government works. MOST of what the poll cited as Obama failures are, in fact, Congressional (ie GOP) failures.

Ignorance is not bliss. It is a blight.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

…And a very dangerous blight, at
that.

Only a very malignant ignorance
would lead one to believe Obama’s
to blame for the GOP’s determined
efforts to destroy his presidency
and his struggle to rebuilt our society after 8 years of devastation wrought by “Tornado George” Bush and his gang!

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

Really good post Nirek.The “bearded men” of the middle east hate the west because we have been meddling in their affairs for a century,redrawing maps,taking their resources.How would we in the west feel if people from the other side of the world did the same to us?

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

The map of “Iraq” that is likely to emerge from this (with a Shia region, a Sunni region, and Kurdistan) will likely look very much like the one that the British first intervened with in the 19th century.

choicelady
Member

Think how much grief and loss of life would have occurred if we’d not screwed it all up in the first place/

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Amen to that, choicelady!

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I have set up as one of the great “what if’s” – a decision not to overthrow the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and his cabinet on 19 August 1953…many of the seeds of the current destruction in the middle east would not have found fertile soil

JumpingJackFlash
Member
JumpingJackFlash

What resources did we “take” from them? They sold us oil and they got rich in the process.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Prior to WWII virtually every drop of oil was taken at a bargain price by foreign companies with leases that were little more than payoffs to local potentates. It was a bit better after WWII with pricing adjusted to a broader market but it was still a top ten percenter game start to finish.

In Iran, when the populace chose a socialist prime minister, our CIA along with the British MI5 engineered a coup because he was going to natonalize their own oil fields.

I have dozens more examples.

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

Thanks for the assist there Murph!

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

I wish that JumpingJackFlash would really engage us. These hit and run one or two liners are of little value. They will be substantively challenged here by folks like yourself and myself.

Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

He is pissing in the wind my friend

Kalima
Admin

Murph, you have to actually be engaged in a conversation to accept a challenge, so far I see no sign of that from said poster, but I do see disruptive behaviour, and yes, “hit and run one liners” is what I used in a conversation with a friend just now.

If you don’t have a substantial argument, refuse to open offered Iinks from members, and are proven wrong every time, then why are you here if not to disrupt? I have a name for that behaviour.

We are not amused, and our patience is wearing thin.

JumpingJackFlash
Member
JumpingJackFlash

What have I not done to engage? I shouldn’t have to write an essay for every post.

JumpingJackFlash
Member
JumpingJackFlash

@Kalima, are you looking for a place to post where there’s no dissention or different views? I used to be a liberal, even voted for Clinton twice, but I saw the light! Liberalism is a false promise and Conservatism (not the Republican party) is the real deal.

Kalima
Admin

How about admitting when you are wrong and replying to those who gave you the proof that you were wrong?

Engaging in conversation to prove your point, has nothing in the least to do with writing an essay.

You have been asked many questions here on this site, a chance to explain your point of view, yet you choose not to answer. For instance this one by AdLib yesterday.

“JJF, is there anything negative that you attribute to the Bush Presidency due to any of the decisions Bush made?”

Choicelady gave you a wonderful explanation in her reply to your one comment here, did you even read it?

Or when I gave you the links that clearly stated that the release of what you claimed to be a dangerous terrorist five years ago by the President, was in fact at the time a man considered from his history so far, as minimum risk, and not the dangerous terrorist you continuously claimed him to be. Hardly a platform for engaging in a conversation.

Kalima
Admin

You are mistaken, I’m not looking for a place to post, I already have one right here, and as a co-founder I can tell you that we welcome different opinions here but expect to be told why you hold that opinion which so far you have not done. You have just criticised others for having theirs.

KillgoreTrout
Member

JJF, I think you are really denying yourself a unique opportunity here.

Instead of approaching this site from a left/right, right/left perspective, maybe you would benefit more by opening your mind, paying attention to facts, supply some facts of your own and don’t let your ego get in the way.

There is a great fallacy in the western character, especially in America, that one always has to “win,” to be “first,” and “ahead of the pack.” That instilled believe, and all Americans have had that years long indoctrination, but very often in life, it is the ones who choose to stay behind and thus move forward.
Give yourself a little time to think, ponder and get to know some of the folks you are “debating,” with. It doesn’t hurt and can only enable you to learn and grow.

Give what I’ve said some thought. No need to respond in hasty manner. This “unlearning,” if I may call it that applies to all areas of our lives, not just politics.

It’s the trees that bend in a strong wind that survive and continue to grow. The older, stiffer ones snap like toothpicks and cease to grow.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

You’re absolutely right, Murph.

You may want to read my comment to CL,
at this writing, about three posts above.

And if I may say it, it was British M16 and
not M15. As Wikipedia notes: “The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5),[2] is the United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS; also known as MI6) focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Defence Intelligence (DI).”*

* M15:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Security_Service

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

M16- got it….

choicelady
Member

When we see only what is close, we miss the long, long story. At the Alhambra in Granada, there is a room on the second level where Isabella and Ferdinand forced the Muslims – the people in charge of southern Spain for centuries – to hand over the entire nation to them. That was the same room where Columbus got his commission and the Inquisition – aimed at Muslims and Jews – got its start.

From the Crusades to Bush’s desire to bring End Times via the ‘fall of Babylon’ (Iraq) the West has invaded, controlled, shaped the national lines, imposed its colonial rule, and basically reduced Arabic nations to mere fields to be plowed for western wealth.

So a few sheiks got rich from oil. It never once offset the imperialism, the rape of nations, the attempt to obliterate cultures. See “Battle of Algiers” about the French torture and mandates that prohibited even Islamic MARRIAGE ceremonies to put France in control of Algeria by exterminating Algeria culture.

The USA, Britain, France, Spain – it is endless. We pillaged the mid East as if it were ours to strip of resources, and when we could, we replaced real leaders with those the CIA hand picked. Remember Iran and Jimmy Carter’s support for the Shah? He was a CIA plant, a massive tyrant, and while I detest religious autocracy, I perfectly well understand the 1979 coup as a reaction to the brutality the US supported and ignored.

A handful of rich sheiks does not a fondness for the western imperialists obtain.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Could not have said it better and I didn’t. My contribution to this was a bit more immediate but you, as always widen the conversation.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Choicelady, I commend you for your very telling exposition of the centuries-long depredations of the Western powers in the Mid-East. And as counterproductive as the 1979 overthrow of the Shah has proven to the inherent rights and freedom of the Iranian people and international relations, no objective observer can say it wasn’t a revolution just waiting to happen.

Jimmy Carter’s support of the Shah and his admission, on “humanitarian grounds”, to the U.S. for medical treatment in his final illness were the last straws to the Iranians, but the fanatical crusaders, kings, queens, and popes had lit the first match to the impending conflagration hundreds of years before Carter’s tragic mistakes.

And Carter was merely following in the footsteps of several of his predecessors. For anyone interested in a well-sourced account of the events — starting in then Persia in 1901 — Wikipedia is a good place to start.*

I just want to say the die of the 1979 Iranian Revolution was cast in the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, which was planned and executed by the U.S. CIA and UK M16. The coup was pushed by then President Eisenhower’s Secretary of State,
John Foster Dulles, and led by his brother, CIA Director Allen Dulles. The nefarious operation itself was devised by CIA agent Donald Wilber and carried out by former President Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.

Years later when forced to respond to a Freedom of Information request, the CIA admitted that President Eisenhower himself had authorized the operation — although he was careful to keep his fingerprints off it to try to hide his complicity in it — and was secretly briefed on it by John Foster Dulles. Further, Eisenhower kept very tight control over the CIA’s actions. I’m sad to say, and speaking only for myself, Eisenhower’s decision to help overthrow the legal government of Iran did not add luster to his reputation.

* Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Very well put together. I see your reference to MI16- I will note that for the future.

What I like is how you manage to draw a line across several administrations showing how they all enter into a worldview that traps them and limits responses.

One of the intriguing “what ifs” of the history of the mideast is the what if Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and his cabinet had not been overthrown on 19 August 1953. Many of the most destructive seeds of our current hot mess would likely have never found fertile ground.

what Jim Carter never understood was that harboring the Shah was seen as the bookend with the removal of Mosaddegh on one end and the asylum of the Shah on the other with a long history of U.S. sponsored repression in between.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Thank you very much, Murph. One of the greatest disappointments in following my lifelong interest in American history and our actions on the world stage is how often we’ve done the wrong things for the wrong reasons.

And an inescapable conclusion I reached long ago is the penchant for making mischief in other countries — without even considering possible negative consequences on all sides — is a trait which so far has afflicted Democratic presidents, administrations, and Congresses nearly as much as it has Republican ones.

The propensity to trumpet the virtues and joys of small “d” democracy has been belied too often by a hypocritical embrace of foreign dictators and carrying out all sorts of illegal operations abroad. And I won’t waste time mentioning how often American politicians and so-called leaders, including
presidents, “honor” democracy more in the breach than the observance.

I’ve often thought and talked about how different our world might be today had not Iranian
PM Mosaddegh and his cabinet not been overthrown on 19 August 1953. And I know someone, trapped in Iran that very day, whose life was changed forever — and not for the better — by the blowback, which hasn’t settled yet.

” Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!”

When Sir Walter Scott wrote this in 1808, he couldn’t have known but might well have imagined that 206 years later it would be as fresh — and ring just as true — as the day he wrote it.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

This is a site for serious, substantive discussion. Yes, if you put forth a thesis as you have done you need to build an evidence based case in a narrative that others can examine and enter in to. We can disagree without being disagreeable but the essence of any real public discourse is data, the facts and the logic that interprets them.

Take my post or Choice Lady’s and take apart our case, our narrative. Show how yours make more sense.

If you do not, expect that folks here will dismiss simple declarations like the one you put forth here at the start of this comment thread.

funksands
Member

It’ll be a good problem to have, but what do we do with all of the peacetime military folks? If we brought them all home, we’d need to find jobs for 250K or so ex-military. (These are just military stationed overseas, let alone at home)

Right now, the military is at best an expensive public jobs program, at worst a slush fund rathole that we’re dropping undisclosed amounts of cash into, so what do we do with the people we “lay off”?

Do we have the political will to have another real GI Bill?

Like I said, a good problem to have.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

And with this comment you take us back into the land of MMT…do you not?

KillgoreTrout
Member

Hey Nirek! Anybody who wants another war is just plain crazy. Haven’t we spent enough of our resources and the blood of our fellow Americans in uniform, trying to save a country with three religious factions that have been at each other’s throats for centuries now?

I would agree with air strikes, IF they are going to be effective and IF a very minimal loss of innocent lives can be assured. We’ve spent too much trying to turn Iraq into a peaceful democracy to let an organization that wants to kill Americans, take power.

At least this time, we aren’t the ones starting the trouble.