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Ring The Bells: Iraq Wins – Shrub Shuffles Off
by Debs is dead
lifted and edited from a comment
If you are wondering why the media coverage of Iraq was not amped up after the election as many expected, why the American invaders hadn't gone back to their murdering and thieving ways now an election no longer depended on quiet, the answer is simple, the status of forces agreement which finally draws a line under America's attempted theft of a sovereign nation details such a resounding defeat for the American empire, that the Bushites 'neglected' to release an English language version of the final draft enacted in the Iraqi parliament last week.
Long term Baghdad correspondent Patrick Cockburn provides the inside running on America's full spectrum defeat, news of which was swamped by the Mumbai attacks last week. One wonders why; since despite America's attempt to shift the focus of it's wanton slaughter from Iraq of the Mid East, to Pakistan, West Asia, there can be little doubt that the eventual outcome of that crime will be America getting it's head handed to it there, also.
The Americans have gained nothing and whilst the Iraqis are hurting from the loss of more than a million citizens slaughtered in this inexcusable breach of national sovereignty, they should have an under-lying sense of pride in the fact that they fought the evil empire and won.
So what is in the Sofa that makes it such a win?
- All American troops will be pulled out of all cities by June 2009 and out of the Green Zone within a few weeks.
- All American troops of any sort have to leave within the next three years. There will be no enduring bases. All military operations must have the prior approval of the Iraqi Government. Immunity has gone and the blackwater mercenaries will be tried within Iraq under Iraqi law like the common criminals they are.
- No operations against other nations can be mounted from within Iraq.
Cockburn commented:
Even Iran, which had furiously denounced the first drafts of the SOFA saying that they would establish a permanent US presence in Iraq, now says blithely that it will officially back the new security pact after the referendum. This is a sure sign that Iran, as America’s main rival in the Middle East, sees the pact as marking the final end of the US occupation and as a launching pad for military assaults on neighbours such as Iran.
Cockburn goes on to say that the last minute hold ups were the result of a recognition by the Sunni and Kurd minorities that the Shia clique will dominate the political elite and they were holding out for as many concessions as possible realising that a lever such as this won't be available once the power shift has occurred.
He also highlights the role that Muqtada al-Sadr played in this great victory, in that the Sadrists outspoken opposition to any 'compromises' by the weak-kneed American owned factions ensured that the parliament was solid in it's opposition to any last minute surrender (IE bribery or extortion by America). The Iraqi citizens of all sects particularly the ruling shia made it plain that any pol who gave in to any of America's demands would be punished politically and probably personally. Sadr's 'extreme' position created the space for the 'moderates' to gather in unanimous opposition to the ceding of Iraqi sovereignty.
Americans will never hear of this great defeat. It's amazing that such a thing could happen but unsurprising really. I mean to say the fact that Americans are queuing up in droves to see "Frost Nixon the movie" rather than watching the original interviews kinda says it all.
Nixon's persona has been re-crafted, his reputation has been salvaged by Ron Howard's revisionist rewrite of history. I mean the original interviews were bad enough. I'm sure many other remember the original with it's evasions and distortions. Over 80% of the interviews were edited out so as to begin the distortions to rehabilitate Nixon. Howard's film is the end of that process. A necessary revamp to re-affirm the fantasy that the American prez is an omniscient, omnipotent being – incapable of error let alone corruption, dishonesty or a callous disregard for his 'subjects'.
In the same way no one will discuss Iraq for the next 5 years – then a revisionist mockumentary/docudrama distortion masquerading as reality will be pushed down the throats of the American population. naturally there will be some disagreement by those wanting to set the record straight.
The makers and the shrub-ites will stonewall making the most absurd denials of facts we know to be correct. They won't care because their assertions that WMD were found in Iraq and that Saddam organised 9/11 will resurface a few years later – all spelled out in banner headlines – news stories right before the empire tries this crap on again.
But we must salute Mesopotamian strength and resolute determination and total sacrifice. (American sacrifice is summed up by the FA-18 pilot who ejected over a suburb leaving his plane to crash into houses killing at least three. When I lived in Darwin where there is a large military airfield bang smack in the centre of town I can remember at least two instances where Oz pilots refused to eject preferring to stay with their fighter so as to ensure it crashed out at see away from other humans. The pilots died – no time to eject if you want to save civilians).
The reality which has evaded many empire's elites is simple. We the people only ever fight hard when it is our own nation in danger. A few gung ho fools whose bicep measurement beats their IQ is all they ever muster keen for these nasty crimes.
Why do even the educated and questioning not see the deeper meta?
Uncle, I’d say there is a variety of reasons.
A, I reckon they do see the deeper meta, its plain and in their face. As a matter of fact it smacks them/us in our face everyday we get up, right throughout the day, until the last second before we fall asleep, smack. Constantly. How could you not see, hear, feel it, the thirsty mouths of the children without access to water, the heartbreaking look in the eyes of the mother who just had her kid blown up by a landmine? I guess it’s just like with people who live near train tracks, when you are constantly exposed to noise and smacks, eventually you start blocking it out, ending up not seeing the forest for the trees.
B, It’s a matter of not rocking the boat you are sitting in. Mortgaged up to the eyeballs, credit card debts left, right and centre, of course people don’t drill too deep into the foundations their livelihood is based on. Progressive thinkers or not, people don’t sell out, they buy in, becoming a tooth on a cog in the machine that maintains the status quo.
C, As from your Chomsky quote, to suspect a darker ulterior motive to the one publicly stated by our duly elected leaders, people need to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. When you are told from toddler years onwards that the country you were born into is the good guy in any global scenario, all the feature movies you watch in your life confirming this, your history lessons at school omit the truth about the countless millions that were killed by your kinsmen in their quest for power and glory, then it becomes hard to fathom that the truth could be any different. Reality lies in the eye of the beholder.
D, Just like the dude in Matrix I who sold out his mates so that he could be inserted back into the program, knowing that he would be living his life as a battery for the machine, but at least the steak is juicy and has taste, people dread to find out what the actual reality is like. It’s less conflicting to live life in the belief that fundamentally things are ok, and whilst there are problems with our system, there isn’t a better one to replace it with, at least none which would be as tasty and juicy. Revolution is a scary word for many, so let’s satisfy ourselves with corrections merely to the fringes and any social conscience we might have gets channelled into one’s pet cause.
E, The laws governing the human trade of sheepish behaviour when it comes to authority are almost prehistoric, when say homo erectus came about, or even earlier. Lets call it herd instinct. Know your place in society and follow the leader of the pack.
This list of reasons for why many people prefer to keep their head in the sand could go on and on. And I’d like to point out that I myself to varying degrees am susceptible to all of them. I can’t say I can see the full picture either, akin to a blind person being led to a hyena for the first time. I get to touch its rough hairy back, legs, head and tail, and from that deduct what the creature must look like. I guess the reason I frequent the MoA almost daily (lurking mostly) is because it is one of the select few places where attempts are made to describe the spit dripping from its mouths and investigate the contents of its belly.
To put the above in context with the Iraq / Afghanistan debate, we just witnessed mass murder of epic proportions, perpetrated by willing soldiers paid for with our taxes. We are looking the beast straight in its eyes, describing its every move, and yet we don’t/can’t stop it. The invasion of Iraq, terrorising its people with shock and awe, bombing entire cities into blood and rubble, was so glaringly obvious a despicable war crime, but still Bush, Blair & Howard all got re-elected. The key word here is faith. Without it the world as we know it would come to a sudden end. People have faith that the machine in the bank’s ATM will dispense some printed paper, too small to be even useful as toilet tissue, and that it is exchangeable for goods and services. People have faith in their leaders and trust that what is done in their name is rightful and for the greater good. All they want in return for their trust is bread and games, or the modern version, microwavable precooked dinners and a big screen plasma TV to go with it.
To become aware that for all those years one has been chasing the tangling carrot in a closed circle labyrinth, with big signs and arrows everywhere announcing that wealth is just around the next corner, is a shattering experience, one that most people in rich western societies are not prepared to make. Instead, they cling to their visions of western grandeur, thoughtlessly accepting the lies and half truth spread by their beloved MSM as true.
But then, after years of slaughter and endless debacles, first a few, then more and more people start to smell the rat, one by one waking up to the scheme they are unwittingly a pawn in. The puppeteers running the show, picking up on the grumbling vibes coming from the audience, quickly redecorate the scene and offer a black guy as presidential candidate who promises to bring “change”. Hip hip hurray, the king is dead, long live the king. And so the emphasis changes exactly one iota, from subduing Iraqis back to killing Afghanis.
During his time in public office Obama made a number of statements on foreign policy issues that clearly indicated his will to continue the maintenance if not expansion of the US’s sphere of power, with the military playing the same prominent role as it always did. His rhetoric, whilst less blatant than Bush’s, is nevertheless pretty clear when it comes to who should rule the world – by any means necessary. And ruling the world means controlling the resources and their distribution, keeping your enemies close and your armed forces in training and action. Afghanistan meets all criteria.
Why not sell the embarrassing conditions the SOFA entails to your respective electorates as a success? The US citizenry is being told that the Iraqi resistance has been pacified, that Iraq is now democratic and has gained the ability to look after its own affairs, mission accomplished, troops are heroes. The Iraqis are given the spiel that they have regained their sovereignty and that the invaders have been shown the door. In reality though, the troops are simply shifted two houses down the road to raid their Afghani brothers and sisters homes instead of theirs, and should the Iraqis behave like the Palestinians and use their democracy to elect an openly anti-western government, the helicopter gunships and boots through the door at 3am would be back in no time, SOFA or not.
I might be completely wrong, but from the bits I’ve learned about the hyena, that’s what its plans are. Although it’s weakening by the day, it still knows how to make a kill. Divide and conquer.
Posted by: Juan Moment | Dec 14 2008 14:46 utc | 41
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