Sunday, September 12, 2010

What Fisk says

Wolcott has this pertinent summation by Robert Fisk, the long-time British and Menkenesque writer who will always have a special place in my cynical heart for how much Andrew Sullivan hated him when the Iraq occupation was shiny and new.

Indeed, on this grim ninth anniversary - and heaven spare us next year from the 10th - 9/11 appears to have produced not peace or justice or democracy or human rights, but monsters. They have prowled Iraq - both the Western and the local variety - and slaughtered 100,000 souls, or 500,000, or a million; and who cares? They have killed tens of thousands in Afghanistan; and who cares? And as the sickness has spread across the Middle East and then the globe, they - the air force pilots and the insurgents, the Marines and the suicide bombers, the al-Qa'idas of the Maghreb and of the Khalij and of the Caliphate of Iraq and the special forces and the close air support boys and the throat-cutters - have torn the heads off women and children and the old and the sick and the young and healthy, from the Indus to the Mediterranean, from Bali to the London Tube; quite a memorial to the 2,966 innocents who were killed nine years ago...


And yes, the awfulness of next year's decade after the attack is going to be the most degenerate irredeemable hatefest yet.

28 comments:

StonyPillow said...

Not so bad, maybe. Next year won't be an election year.

Olives and Arrows said...

And yes, the awfulness of next year's decade after the attack is going to be the most degenerate irredeemable hatefest yet.

..."hatefest"?
Atta? ....Do you have personal knowledge of another impending al qaeda attack motivated by hatred? If so, I hope you're aware that you do have a legal obligation to report it to our authorities.

pansypoo said...

not sure. the rite's dysphoria of losing all power, has made them so hysterical, even THIS, their holy day of 9/11 that gave them everything, they had to pull out their dipleasure of not getting to do whatever they wanted.

expect bigger tantrums if they don't win either house.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that O&A will make a douchebag asshole comment on this blog on 9/11/2011.

Privatize the Profits! Socialize the Costs! said...

Do you have personal knowledge of another impending al qaeda attack motivated by hatred?

No,stupid, it's another pending GOP Wedge Issue Attack...

...just like the one that gave the world the Iraq War, quite possibly the greatest fuckup in US history...

Sadly, there are untold millions of dumb fucks just like you, who fall for the boogeyman-mania every time.

libhom said...

The weirdest thing about all of it is that more Americans have been killed in Iraq than were killed in the 911 attacks.

Olives and Arrows said...

The weirdest thing about all of it is that more Americans have been killed in Iraq than were killed in the 911 attacks.

What's your point? Simply that you think it's "weird".
What's your thoughts on comparing the number of Americans killed in Vietnam vs the number killed in Iraq?

Vietnam 58,267 and Iraq 4,418.


....and while you're comparing, how about the whopper that the Seize the Profits commenter manages to shit out:

...just like the one that gave the world the Iraq War, quite possibly the greatest fuckup in US history...

Twenty-one days to defeat the Iraqi military and he calls it a "fuckup"...

============
Just admit it.
You loser defeatists hate it whenever the US wins, mostly because it results in yet more people gaining their freedom from the oppressive regimes that you support.

Olives and Arrows said...

Ya gotta admit that you fuckers do manage to lose with an alarming frequency.
For instance, even after Obama won the election he turned on the defeatist at the extreme left of Democratic Party supporters (like the majority of regulars here). He kept the troops in Iraq, broke his already revised promise to close Guantanamo, strengthened the ability for warrantless wiretapping of terrorist scum and has copied the successful surge strategy in Afghanistan.
All in all... a good fuckin' over he's delivered for you, the habitual losers!

Montag said...

O&A, you're a professional asshole, right?

If not, you're at least at the semi-pro level.

Sure, twenty-one days to defeat an Iraq military decimated by twenty-three years of war and international sanctions.

So, it's seven and a half years later, and both Iraqis and Americans are still getting killed.

That's why it well might be the biggest fuck-up in U.S. history.

You're not just an asshole. You're a tendentious creep.

pansypoo said...

lah bla bl b.

georgee was the best asset al qaeda ever had. and cikee is THAT STOOPID.

pansypoo said...

oh dear. i misspelled cheeney.

Olives and Arrows said...

Sure, twenty-one days to defeat an Iraq military decimated by twenty-three years of war and international sanctions.

So, you felt very sorry for your friend Saddam, didn't ya?

BTW,....speaking of Saddam Hussein....
What did you think of those photos of low ranking US troops inspecting Saddam for head lice and checking his dental work, after they pulled him from his hidey-hole?

DanF said...

it results in yet more people gaining their freedom from the oppressive regimes that you support.

Saddam Hussein was thoroughly supported by Reagan - even after they shot the USS Stark with a an Exocet missile and used chemical weapons against Iran. Bush/Cheney supported the Taliban pre-9/11. Cheney was working deals with them before becoming VP to secure an oil pipeline, and while the was blowing up giant statues of Buddha - Bush/Cheney were - as late as July 2001, still trying to work a deal with the Taliban for the pipeline.

OnA spends a great deal of time masturbating to his autographed poster of Sharia Palin and has little time to read things like the 9/11 Commission Report or other things - like books.

Anonymous said...

The phrase "chasing his tail" comes to mind.

Olives and Arrows said...

Dan weighs in with his usual dose of willful stupidity.
Merely by coincidence, he mentions only that Republicans have tolerated (or done business) with various corrupt despots and the like. Mere coincidence, right Dan?


Dan is at base a dishonest person, a leftist extremist, so he purposefully leaves out the fact that policians of both US political parties have (at times) been dealing this way with corrupt regimes, sometimes even declaring formal alliance. (for an extreme example of this look back on WW2 history and our alliance of convenience with Russian dictator Josef Stalin....)

Olives and Arrows said...

....that politicians of both US political parties....

pansypoo said...

BLAH BLA BL B

Privatize the Profits! Socialize the Costs! said...

Twenty-one days to defeat the Iraqi military and he calls it a "fuckup"...

That's not what I was referring to, shit-for-brains.

I was referring to the three trillion dollar cost of the war.

I was referring to the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dead Iraqis, and the thousands of dead and maimed US soldiers and contractors.

I was referring to the fact that everywhere in the civilized world, US prestige has been needlessly squandered.

I was referring to the destabilization of the entire Middle East, and the fact that this destabilization has mainly been to the benefit of a lunatic regime like Iran's, which is arguably worse than Saddam's Iraq ever was.

I was referring to the Abu Ghraib scandal which has pissed away any pretense that the US actually cares about human rights.

I was referring to the fact that moderate Moslems all over the world have been sickened by this war, and that many of them have been radicalized to the point where they actually believe that Al Quaida has something to offer them.

I was referring to the fact that if there ever is a regime anywhere in the world that actually acquire does Weapons of Mass Destruction, the US won't be able to say anything, having already falsely cried wolf.

I was referring to the fact that the actual perpetrator of the crimes of 9-11, Osama bin Laden, was allowed to escape due to the idiotic Bush administration's fixation on Saddam Hussein as their Boogeyman du Jour.

I was referring to all these things, and many more, but these are just a few that immediately spring to mind...

Olives and Arrows said...

That's your perception because you are nothing but a posturing, whinging loser. Every time that freedom makes gain people like you become more shrill.

You expect perfection from the US military and our governments while you're simultaneously excusing unimaginable levels of oppression by those that perpetrate atrocity. In your mind the 50 million Iraqis and Afghans freed from those monstrous regimes aren't worth any amount of sacrifice. Iraqis and Afghans are simply worthless to your way of thinking.

You make me wanna puke.

Privatize the Profits! Socialize the Costs! said...

If we have done such great things for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, why aren't they grateful? And why don't the US simply accept whatever thanks we can get and then get the hell out of there?

The answer to these questions is that both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were not fought for the benefit of the people who actually live there, and they know it.

The people of Vietnam knew it, too.

These wars were fought in order to colonize weaker countries and control their natural resources.

What other solution is there to the mystery of why the US somehow never bothers overthrowing tyrants in countries that lack desirable natural resources... or tyrants in countries which allow US full control of their natural resources?

Salvador Allende was democratically elected president of Chile, but the US helped overthrow him in 1973 when he threatened to raise copper prices.

But after rightwing tyrants took over the Chilean government and killed and tortured thousands, the US mysteriously lost interest in the well-being of the people of Chile---just as long as copper prices were low.

Unfortunately, rubes like you are too dumb to see what's really going on, since you're so busy working yourself into a lather of hatred for the Boogeyman Du Jour...

Privatize the Profits! Socialize the Costs! said...

Here's another example for you, dumbshit.

The 2010 population of Myanmar (Burma) is approximately 55,390,000.

Burma's human rights situation today is certainly comparable to Iraq's under Saddam Hussein, including genocide of minorities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Burma

If the US was really all about democracy and human rights, they'd be sending the marines to Burma in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately for those 55,390,000 Burmese people, there is no oil in Burma... so the US gives not one shit about their brutal military dictatorship government that rules Burma aka"Myanmar".

So, mysteriously, you'll never read impassioned pleas from the neocon think tanks or rightwing politicians to help the poor oppressed people of Burma.

Perhaps the people of Burma would be smart to mount a huge deception operation to make the US believe that there was a lot of oil there to be offered up to US oil companies...?

DanF said...

OnA ... The face of mendacity. You accuse me of leaving out the fact that both parties have supported foul regimes and yet you launch the thread with: "from the oppressive regimes that you support" implying that only a Democrats support evil. I point out that you are wrong, and what ... I'm the liar?

You idiot, Clinton walked away from the Taliban pipeline deal sometime around 1998 once it became obvious that they were too fucking crazy to deal with. But not Bush/Cheney! There's money to be made! Let's give it another shot for our friends at UnoCal.

The last thing liberals want anything to do with are fanatical religious extremists. They are, apparently, your natural allies.

Olives and Arrows said...

"from the oppressive regimes that you support" implying that only a Democrats support evil.... Clinton walked away from the Taliban pipeline deal sometime around 1998 once it became obvious that they were too fucking crazy to deal with. But not Bush/Cheney! There's money to be made!

Dan.
You're obviously too much of ideologue to consider that I might have voted for Clinton ( I did, both times). Voting for another political party is something that you and PTP,STC could never ever consider. That's one of the things that makes you extremists. Thorough indoctrination.

Unfortunately for those 55,390,000 Burmese people, there is no oil in Burma... so the US gives not one shit about their brutal military dictatorship government that rules Burma aka"Myanmar".

Nice copy n paste job!

The US can't really invade every country every time we see oppression. That's just plain silly, even if we do have the most powerful military ever known to man. We're much smarter than that, we have to pick our spots. Iraq and Afghanistan were festering problems that simply couldn't be tolerated (given the 9/11 atrocities).....(ummm yes, I'm aware that Saddam's regime didn't have direct involvement in 9/11 and weren't harboring OBL)

Perhaps an analogy might help you:(doubtful...)

Let's suppose you (PTP,STP) and I are playing chess and you're getting thoroughly thrashed by me. Just like what always happens here on the blog. ;) I make a move taking out your knight. You --being a whinging, habitual loser -- complain loudly that I "should have taken out your rook instead!" The rook is more dangerous (you say) and it was wrong for me to have eliminated your knight while the rook was still in the game.

I wink and say that I'm more interested in winning the game rather than doing what you -- the posturing, whinging leftist -- might prefer that I do.

Anonymous said...

Projector got a new bulb.

Privatize the Profits! Socialize the Costs! said...

You're right, Anonymous: a five-watt bulb, but greatly impressed by its own brilliance.

Anonymous said...

Ha! A bulb not bright enough to reveal reality, and only useful for creating hand shadows of doggies and bunny rabbits.

Anonymous said...

and doubtful analogies.

Anonymous said...

The sound you just heard was OnA turning his king over on its side and quietly leaving the building.