A long time ago I wrote a piece for the New York Observer arguing that the famous talking-points memo was the work of Bruce Lindsey, and Bill Safire mentioned my piece in his Times column, saying it was "brilliant." My editor Peter Kaplan teased me about it. "You know why he thinks you're brilliant, don't you? Because you agree with him!" Ha!
Today Bill Kristol has a brilliant column in the Times. He attacks the new moveon.org ad against McCain that features a pretty blonde mom talking about her son, Alex, where she says McCain can't have him.
The MoveOn ad is unapologetic in its selfishness, and barely disguised in its disdain for those who have chosen to serve — and its contempt for those parents who might be proud of sons and daughters who are serving. The ad boldly embraces a vision of a selfish and infantilized America, suggesting that military service and sacrifice are unnecessary and deplorable relics of the past.
I agree with Kristol almost entirely. The truth is, that woman's child is in no danger at all of serving. I know the children of the privileged: they're in no danger. And that woman reads privileged to me. The privileged must begin to serve. As George Bush's father served. As Bill Kristol's father served. There should be a draft. It would energize the opposition to the neocons and the neolibs, and help to turn their ideas about the exercise of military power into just what they really are, armchair notions.And the sole responsibility of others.
"The privileged must begin to serve."
Ugh. Dreadful. The exact opposite of what is necessary: to tell the public that our wars are not wars of defense, but of imperialistic aggression; our military does not defend our freedoms, it enforces imperialism. As Marine Corps General Smedley Butler wrote in 'War is a Racket', the military act as enforcers for the multinational corporate gang.
Phil, you are coming down with a case of 'The New Republic' Syndrome, as Glenn Greenwald calls it in his post today. The belief that liberals need to prove their machismo by supporting war, and that Democrats need to vote as Republicans on issues of "national security" (what a joke), despite overwhelming evidence that it hurts their political chances to do so.
This is no high school pep rally, no silly "Go Wolverines" crap. This is deadly serious stuff. The 4,000 dead and over 30,000 seriously maimed in Iraq were placed in harm's way based on lies.
Phil is embracing the lies to tell "the privileged" that they, too, must fight in Imperialism's wars.
The war is unjust. The American people were lied to, the soldiers were lied to, the Army and Marines were lied to. Taguba testified that war crimes have been committed.
Nobody should have to act as helot and dragoon for Corporate-State Imperialism. End the lies, end the wars.
I don't know if a draft is the answer, though it's certainly one possibility. My preference in general is that government compulsion should be a last resort, but unfortunately our culture has become so selfish and self-absorbed that it is no longer possible to shame people into serving their country, nor do they feel any obligation to do so. The real issue here is a cultural shift described brilliantly over 80 years ago by H. L. Mencken in his book "In Defense of Women," which Google Book Search will allow you to download for free — link to books.google.com
. While Mencken's optimism about the long-term effects of women's suffrage seem rather naive in retrospect (women have proven, in this regard at least, to be just as stupid and easily manipulated as men), the book has many valuable insights.
To defend Phil, I think he is suggesting exactly what Charles Rangel suggested, that if there were a draft (or a tax for that matter) to man and fund the war, that people would have a reason to think twice about it.
The Iraq War was manned by the poor (minority poor) largely, and funded by debt (equivalent to credit cards).
A no money down mortgage, whose interest rate will increase in five years.
In Phil's emphasis on American interests as measure of loyalty, Phil seems to be gradually adopting the Buchanon agenda.
When he suggests that the way to address the politics of energy is by increasing the supply through reducing regulation of coal or nuclear siting, then we'll know that the transformation is complete.
George Bush's father served only after his father's bank was closed by FDR in 1942 under the "Trading With The Enemy Act". Prescot Bush was called Hitler's Banker. They needed to quickly rehabilitate the family name.
"There should be a draft."
What a prototypical left-liberal and knee-jerk Jewish reaction to frustrated will: sacrifice tens of thousands to accomplish a narrow, narcissistic goal.
The Neocons (who emerged from the Scoop Jackson school that also produced the Neolibs) were willing to sacrifice thousands of others with the Iraq war for Israel; now Phil, echoing ideas from mainstream Dems like Rangel, wants to reinstate the draft to teach them all a lesson — by sacrificing others.
This is what I call the civilization short-view that emerges from selfish, morally stunted infantiles who believe themselves to be the center of the universe.
Such a mentality now permeates America since self-absorbed Jews, left-liberals and the Baby Boomer-elite have ascended, and brought with them presidents like “Christian” Zionists Clinton and Bush.
A civilization of morally stunted narcissists brings nothing but trouble on itself, as the Jewish Israelis are quickly realizing. In that tradition, another klatch of overwrought, drama-queen "victims" as most Neocons, Neolibs, left-liberals and even Christian Zionists see themselves, has brought America low.
True, that may be the real difference between Bush I and II; the first actually walked the walk, whereas the second, in typical Boomer-elite fashion, both wanted to show up his father, and live a pandered life of luxury and glory on his father‘s coattails.
What a bunch of disgusting hypocrites. The entire Establishment — left and right — is morally corrupt beyond salvation.
@Macu Naima:
It is not really fair to say that G. H. W. Bush served only after (therefore implying because) his father's bank was closed. While certainly some young men lied about their age to join the war effort at 16 or 17, it really isn't fair to impute dishonorable motives to someone who joined up at 18.
Wasn't one of the reasons for ending the draft the limitations it put on the president's ability to act?
The elimination of the draft also made it possible to turn the military into a profit center within Milton Friedman's economic theory.
Friedman took part in the 1969 Gates Commission that recommended ending the draft.
Some of Friedman's arguments reflected the traditional Yiddish disdain for conscription.
Note that historically German Jews had no similar antipathy to the military.
See link to members.aol.com
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Why do we need armies, of volunteers or by a draft? Is it not easier to start wars ( illegal or otherwise ) when there are standing armies? Have we not learnt by now, WARS DO NOT SOLVE problems? They only bring destruction, devastation and untold misery, mostly to civilians and specially to women and children. In the twenty first century, aren't we going to learn to resolve our differences at a table rather than by bringing home coffins of eighteen and twenty years olds?
Zionism asserts that Jews have the right to plunder and kill non-Jews with impunity.
It is not a subject over which Zionists and non-Zionists can have a rational negotiation.
See link to eaazi.blogspot.com
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Palestinians can no more have a rational discussion with Zionists than Jews could have a rational discussion with German Nazis circa 1943.
Until the Zionist State is dismantled and Zionism is eradicated, Zionists and their allies will build big armies, and decent people will have to respond in kind.
"Zionism asserts that Jews have the right to plunder and kill non-Jews with impunity. It is not a subject over which Zionists and non-Zionists can have a rational negotiation."
And the left-liberals, permanently dumbed-down by political correctness, think somehow we can split the difference and let Jewish Zionists kill non-Jews merely part time, and call it good. All in the name of statism, multiculturalism, and materialism, you see, which the State-worshipping establishment of both left and right hopes can replace Western civilization.
It worked in Germany, didn't it? But at what cost? The cost was unleashing the Zionists on humanity, and the Zionists, who can be connected in a line with murderous Jewish Bolshevism, are no better than the Nazis, as we are seeing, and they're still only getting warmed up.
Jail them in Israel, and see that their neighbors can defend themselves. There’s no other humane answer. All the other answers are merely temporary patches.
i havent seen the ad.
but
maybe the young mother is simply protesting a 100 year pointless war that is not in defense of her and her son's country but is a war for the benefit of william kristol's country – israel. a country for which he has told, still does, many lies to deceive americans.
this is a legitimate ad and a legitimate concern for all young mothers even those in service. why is william 'diaper wearer' kristol so sure she isnt a soldier?
our volunteers volunteer and take an oath to defend the usa not israel.
finding something written by mummy face kristol that agrees with you is very liberal.
his "truth" is surrounded by how many lies? he and his ilk say nothing for truth but will give a "truth" to carry out a deception to strengthen a lie.
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yeah sure. we must serve der furher. just like der furher 'served' as well. and our hero john kerry was smart enough to 'serve'.
excuse me while i puke.
Re Witty's "The Iraq War was manned by the poor (minority poor) largely…"
This is false. Any one can look up it up on the internet. Most of the American troops taking hits are lower middle class white guys. One could also just take a gander at the faces of the dead
and their hometowns. Witty lives in a liberal armchair dreamworld (except for his fascist Israel first side).
Advocating a draft because it might end war is like advocating that one person in each family be murdered, because "then EVERYONE will see how awful murder is and work to end it."
The fascinating thing is to watch the propaganda panopticon (that would be the MSM, folks) and see how adroit they are at normalizing war, at making war seem necessary. Russert, with his Joe Palooka face and blue-collar cred, happened to be the perfect mouthpiece for projecting elite imperial ambitions. "He spoke for America!" Bullshit. He spoke for his masters at General Electric, a willing cog in the machinery of mass persuasion.
Which of the following wars was a Just War, a war of self-defense? (Answer: none) Which of these was sold to the public as being necessary to American national security (ie. corporate overseas interests)? (Answer: all).
Panama
Vietnam
North Korea
Granada
Serbia
Cuba
Nicaragua
Cambodia
Laos
Mexico (Tampico invasion)
Philippines
The privileged don't need to "serve" this Moloch. We need to identify the propagandists for what they are — liars — and we need to demand that these perpetual wars of aggression end.
Approving a draft to end war is like approving gonorrhea to end promiscuity.
That sounds Carlinesque, and here's the great sage himself on the matter. Carlin won't be canonized by the MSM the way Russert has been, because Carlin, not Russert, was the one who spoke Truth to Power:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaS2bRGS86c
I thought that the ad was from AFSCME and not Moveon.org.
But, I could be wrong.
Most of the wars on Oarwell’s list were efforts to counter Communism, which in its original formulation was similar to Zionism vis-à-vis the Mideast Islamic majority — that is, largely a Jewish enterprise designed to emasculate and destroy the Russian Christian majority and its values, which is contrary to the usurious Jewish ethos, and thus perpetually at odds with Jewish ideologues.
Like left-liberalism, Communism purported to be a new post-religious consciousness, and Jewish ideologues roped in a hodge-podge of bitter malcontents and deviants by promising them elevated status, and by exploiting the general opposition to WWI, the way the Democrats exploited the opposition to the Iraq war in the last election. Communism then betrayed (ring any Dem bells?) enslaved and murdered its early supporters just as the Dem Zionist leadership has sacrificed its purported principles (and many Americans) to their ideology. Eventually even Stalin, the Jewish Bolsheviks’ partner in murder, was threatened by their fierceness, and turned on the Jews.
I’m not saying the wars of the Cold War weren’t exploited financially the same way the Iraq war has been, but opposition to Communism was the right thing to do, just as opposition to Zionism is right. They are both murderous, anti-Western ideologies and originally engineered by Jewish ideologues with an agenda. Israel’s advanced propaganda and brand of slow, torturous and sadistic treatment of dissidents and Palestinian resistance is reminiscent of the Soviet Union for a reason: that’s where it was perfected and is where the Communists slowly murdered millions of Christians in plain view and got away with it scot-free with the help of their Western partisans. Israelis have been doing the same to Palestinians and Arabs (not yet by the millions) in plain view for decades, also with the help of their Western partisans.
This is why left-liberals were the original partners of the Zionists in America in the early years: they made the perfect useful idiots, and largely still do. All it takes to convince most left-liberals is an anti-Christian bias, sappy sob stories and a victim identity, and clever racial and social ideologues can write their own tickets. The Democrats today are a hodge-podge of these groups.
Establishment left-liberal useful idiots over time have been joined by Christian Zionist useful idiots (also recruited by clever Zionist operatives) in worship of the Jewish “victim,“ resulting in what we have today: a Zionist occupied government.
If the left-liberal establishment blows the whistle on Zionism, it will be simultaneously blowing the whistle on its own ongoing scam. This is why opponents of the Iraq war within the left-liberal movement are being shunted off to the side and marginalized. Obama, Pelosi, Reed, Hillary, Schumer, Emanuel et al understand the scam and its implications. They will play it out until the end, and never abandon Zionism.
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~Ed~ i think you should get your usage straight. left liberal is an oxymoron buddy, but i suppose it has come to mean somthn or other to right thinkers. pelosi et al it is surely not, since left implies opposition to capitalism.
Witty seems to be trying to "get at" Phil with a one-man "good cop/bad cop" routine. The first post correctly defends Phil's intentions (a draft would make such wars much more difficult). Then having proven his good intentions by defending him, he proceeds to taunt Phil with the accusation of Buchananism. Buchanan's unforgivable sin is the belief that American policy should be based on American interests. Witty's convoluted arguments are aimed at justifying American policies that are based on Israeli interests. Because the US is not a nation based on race or ethnicity a policy that was truly in the interest of the American people would be closer to an internationalist position than Witty's ethnocentric positions which ignore the interests of all but the zionist minority.
Chimpsky, good observations.