All We Lost On 9/11
On the delusions and meanness that grew in the years after 9/11. Continue reading All We Lost On 9/11
Category: War in Iraq
21st Century Mendacity
Meet the unholy trinity of 21st Century liars: Bush, Trump, and Murdaugh. Continue reading 21st Century Mendacity
W’s Freudian Slip
A reminder about one of our nation’s gravest gaffes. Continue reading W’s Freudian Slip
MADE FOR TELEVISION
The first time I read John Irving’s novel A Prayer for Owen Meany I was younger, Catholic, and not quite connecting with the narrator’s obsession with the Reagan administration. This time around my husband and I are listening to the audio book while on long car trips and like the narrator I am older, Episcopalian, and obsessed with the actions of a presidential administration, although in my case it’s the George W. Bush administration. I’ve written a few posts about the Afghanistan war and the 2 Iraq wars and yesterday another piece of that shameful mess came to the foreground … Continue reading MADE FOR TELEVISION
9/11: History in a Vacuum
I never watch any 9/11 anniversary television coverage. I was in DC on 9/11 and for all of the months after it. I watched the Pentagon burn from the roof of my office building, just a few blocks from the … Continue reading 9/11: History in a Vacuum
I Won’t Forget
Our fearless leader has written 2 thorough and excellent pieces about the Afghanistan War and how we got where we are. If you haven’t read them, please do: here and here. I have some thoughts, too. There sure are a lot of familiar faces on the TeeVee over the last few days, blathering on about Afghanistan and tut-tutting over President Biden’s decision to get the hell out of, well, hell. They seem to think they have a blank slate for selling their snake oil. Well, I remember who they are and what they did. In 1990, Iraq annexed Kuwait and … Continue reading I Won’t Forget
Saturday Odds & Sods: Silent House
Since the recent death of a family member, I’ve had mortality on my mind. Hence this week’s theme song and an appropriately somber featured image by Edward Hopper.
Silent House is a song about grief and loss. It was a collaboration between Neil Finn and Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, and Emily Robison of The Dixie Chicks. For more information about the song, click here.
The Dixie Chicks recorded Silent House first on their 2006 album Taking The Long Way. Crowded House cut their version for 2007’s Time Of Earth. Since I’m more of a Crowdie fan and prefer their version, we’ll start with it. Sorry, Chicks.
I hope everyone remembers the whole The Dixie Chicks controversy involving their opposition to the Bush-Cheney administration’s War in Iraq. In this Rodney Crowell song, the Yuppie neo-con narrator calls them out.
Now that we’ve heard Rodney sing “give it to me” repeatedly, let’s jump to the break.
The Paint By Numbers Post-Presidency
It’s Always Gonna Be Democrats’ Fault
Tomasky, proving that nothing has changed since 2002 for his simple ass: Trumpworld sees these things differently. Mike Pence articulated the view in the vice-presidential debate. “We’re about freedom and respecting the freedom of the American people,” Mr. Pence said. The topic at hand was the Sept. 26 super-spreader event in the Rose Garden to introduce Amy Coney Barrett as the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court and how the administration can expect Americans to follow safety guidelines that it has often ignored. Kamala Harris countered that lying to the American people about the severity of the virus hardly counts … Continue reading It’s Always Gonna Be Democrats’ Fault
Bountygate Nouveau
There ain’t no cure for the sommelier blues. Continue reading Bountygate Nouveau
Okay. We Gotta Do This Again.
Fine. FINE, fuckers. “It was time to take action so that we can disrupt this plot, to deter further aggression from Qassem Soleimani and the Iranian regime…The risk of doing nothing was enormous…President Trump acted decisively last night.” https://t.co/RDdRXouzzI — Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) January 3, 2020 God, this is exhausting, at least with Vietnam they bothered to lie convincingly. But if we gotta do this again, we gotta do it again. Like I said on Tuesday night, bite down on a stick and get ready to play hurt because that’s all we ever do. The Iraq war was … Continue reading Okay. We Gotta Do This Again.
It’s A Plame Shame
In which Adrastos resurrects the ghost of smear tactics past. Continue reading It’s A Plame Shame
(War) Party Like It’s 2002
John Bolton and his mustache of war have plans for a sequel to the Mess In Mesopotamia. Continue reading (War) Party Like It’s 2002
Remembering the War
I know the “we live in a poorly written TV show” joke is extremely overused but jesus christ pic.twitter.com/MHQb9F9xe9 — Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) April 15, 2018 It’s been a particularly infuriating week, what with pardoning Dick Cheney’s chief of staff and resurrecting the entirety of the monsters’ ball that was the Bush administration to comment on it. We’ve forgotten, people my age say to people younger, what the beginning of the war was. We joke about the memory hole like it’s something new, like Henry Kissinger isn’t our National Foreign Policy Grandpa, like any mention of the antiwar movement doesn’t … Continue reading Remembering the War
Save One
We are arguing about how much of the house is on fire, with the refugee/immigrant ban. We are arguing closet versus attic versus living room, instead of picking up a damn bucket and putting the fire out: President Trump and his aides love to cite a small number and a big number in order to minimize the impact of the president’s executive order suspending the visas of citizens of seven countries. But these figures are incredibly misleading, so let’s go through the math. Let’s not, because it doesn’t fucking matter. I don’t care if this executive order affected one person. I don’t … Continue reading Save One
Speaking Of Dictators
Adrastos on Trump’s crushes on Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin. Continue reading Speaking Of Dictators
Ahmad Chalabi & The Politics Of Exile
The man who conned the Bush administration into war is dead. Continue reading Ahmad Chalabi & The Politics Of Exile
On Disqualification
Everybody is just so shocked and horrified that someone would say something mean about a veteran who served bravely and was hurt in the war: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says Donald Trump’s comment that Sen. John McCain is not a war hero should disqualify him from the 2016 presidential race. “It’s not just absurd, it’s offensive. It’s ridiculous. And I do think it’s a disqualifier as commander-in-chief,” Rubio said in an interview Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” The Florida senator was the latest Republican White House contender to hit Trump after the real estate mogul said Saturday that … Continue reading On Disqualification
Charles Kennedy, R.I.P.
Charles Kennedy, the leader of the British Liberal Democrats from 1999-2007, died today at the age of 55. He was far from perfect: he recently lost his parliamentary seat in the SNP tsunami and lost his leadership post because of a serious drinking problem. But Kennedy stood tall when it most mattered in his political career and opposed the UK’s entry into the Iraq War: Doubtless it will be his decision to oppose the war in Iraq for which he will be defined as a politician. He described it as the biggest British foreign policy mistake since Suez, and told parliament … Continue reading Charles Kennedy, R.I.P.
‘What’s my job, right?’ On the CIA, False Intelligence, and Other Obligations
What was your job? MATTHEWS: You’re the briefer for the president on intelligence, you’re the top person to go in and tell him what’s going on. You see Cheney make this charge he’s got a nuclear bomb and then they make subsequent charges he knew how to deliver it…and nobody raised their hand and said, “No that’s not what we told him.” MORELL: Chris, Chris Chris, what’s my job, right? My job— MATTHEWS: To tell the truth. MORELL: My job—no, as the briefer? As the briefer? MATTHEWS: Okay, go ahead. MORELL: As the briefer, my job is to carry CIA’s … Continue reading ‘What’s my job, right?’ On the CIA, False Intelligence, and Other Obligations
The Fog Of History: Last Days In Vietnam
Last night we watched the American Experience documentary Last Days In Vietnam. It’s quite simply an amazing film, and one doesn’t have to have supported that war to be moved by the tales of heroism by Americans and Vietnamese alike. It all happened 40 years ago, but director Rory Kennedy and some of the most interesting talking heads I’ve ever seen in a documentary make it come alive as if it happened the other day. There were vast swaths of the film that played like a thriller; the stories of individual bravery and moral courage. We all know the big … Continue reading The Fog Of History: Last Days In Vietnam
Make Room, Judith Miller
There’s really only one question she should be asked. Where are the profits from your book going? Are they being given to charities that make prosthetic limbs for the soldiers returning from the war? Are they being given to an Iraqi family that is homeless? To a child that is orphaned? To a city or town bombed or burned or overrun? Are they being used to dig wells, to buy generators, to lay sewer pipes? Are they purchasing back the cultural heritage looted in the chaos following the war about which you were “proved fucking right?” If they are not, … Continue reading Make Room, Judith Miller
Remembering the War the Way We Have To
This is the one I think of: Washington (CNN)One former employee of the private Blackwater Worldwide security company was sentenced Monday to life in prison and three others to 30 years each behind bars for their roles in a 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad that left 17 people dead. A federal jury convicted the four in October after a lengthy trial that saw some 30 witnesses travel from Iraq to testify against the security contractors. Prosecutors accused the men of illegally unleashed “powerful sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers on innocent men, women and children.” Senior U.S. District Court … Continue reading Remembering the War the Way We Have To
The Past Isn’t Even Past
Fuck Jeb and his entire family sideways with a rake: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) isn’t interested in talking about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially as it relates to his brother, former President George W. Bush. “I won’t talk about the past,” Bush said on Friday when a reporter asked him about an upcoming foreign policy speech in Chicago, according to Bloomberg Politics. “I’ll talk about the future. If I’m in the process of considering the possibility of running, it’s not about re-litigating anything in the past. It’s about trying to create a set of ideas and principles … Continue reading The Past Isn’t Even Past
Brian Williams’ Consequences are Severe
Oh, for fuck’s sake: “This has been a painful period for all concerned and we appreciate your patience while we gathered the available facts. By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate. Brian’s life’s work is delivering the news. I know Brian loves his country, NBC News and his colleagues. He deserves a second chance and we are rooting for him. Brian has shared his deep remorse with me and he is committed to winning back everyone’s trust.” Eat a dick. Perhaps … Continue reading Brian Williams’ Consequences are Severe
Iraq War Facts: American Sniper and What We Verify
The Rude Pundit, being not rude but merely awake: Through it all, all the people he shoots (and, truly, Bradley Cooper seems like he’s acting in a different, much deeper film), all the scenes of him watching fellows soldiers get killed and wounded, all the psychological damage he does to his poor wife when he calls her during firefights, Kyle maintains a pathetic belief in the good of his mission and in the protection of his “brothers.” It has an effect on him – he suffers from PTSD – but the film wants us to believe that it was necessary. … Continue reading Iraq War Facts: American Sniper and What We Verify
Deep State Visit Thought
French President Francois Hollande is here on a state visit.To my dismay, non-Fox MSM outlets are trotting out Bush-Cheney era cliches about the French. Yup, they’re on about “cheese eating surrender monkeys,” “freedom fries” and the rest of that shit. Hardy, har, har. Guess what: THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR. I had many arguments with people at the time. A real friend tells you the truth instead of what you want to hear. If President Beavis had listened to Jacques Chirac instead of Tony Blair we’d be a helluva lot better off. Hell, Chirac was a center … Continue reading Deep State Visit Thought
Deep State Visit Thought
French President Francois Hollande is here on a state visit.To my dismay, non-Fox MSM outlets are trotting out Bush-Cheney era cliches about the French. Yup, they’re on about “cheese eating surrender monkeys,” “freedom fries” and the rest of that shit. Hardy, har, har. Guess what: THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR. I had many arguments with people at the time. A real friend tells you the truth instead of what you want to hear. If President Beavis had listened to Jacques Chirac instead of Tony Blair we’d be a helluva lot better off. Hell, Chirac was a center … Continue reading Deep State Visit Thought
Deep State Visit Thought
French President Francois Hollande is here on a state visit.To my dismay, non-Fox MSM outlets are trotting out Bush-Cheney era cliches about the French. Yup, they’re on about “cheese eating surrender monkeys,” “freedom fries” and the rest of that shit. Hardy, har, har. Guess what: THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR. I had many arguments with people at the time. A real friend tells you the truth instead of what you want to hear. If President Beavis had listened to Jacques Chirac instead of Tony Blair we’d be a helluva lot better off. Hell, Chirac was a center … Continue reading Deep State Visit Thought
Deep State Visit Thought
French President Francois Hollande is here on a state visit.To my dismay, non-Fox MSM outlets are trotting out Bush-Cheney era cliches about the French. Yup, they’re on about “cheese eating surrender monkeys,” “freedom fries” and the rest of that shit. Hardy, har, har. Guess what: THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR. I had many arguments with people at the time. A real friend tells you the truth instead of what you want to hear. If President Beavis had listened to Jacques Chirac instead of Tony Blair we’d be a helluva lot better off. Hell, Chirac was a center … Continue reading Deep State Visit Thought