You would think this is pretty much a no-brainer…well, you would be wrong. Michele Bachmann seems to think that the institution of slavery is just where she should rest her presidency-seeking laurels…endorsing it, creating make believe people who fought to end it, you know, just all around bastardizing American History and offending a large part of the nation with racist statements and all around stupidity. Yes, indeed, this is the way to win votes in this country. Let’s discuss the tenets of slavery…erroneously! Continue reading →
Are we all naive enough to believe that Palin doesn’t think that she’ll be the Republican white night riding in at the last minute to save the day? I think we’re fairly certain that Sarah Palin believes that all these other jokers littering up the field are just there to be her opening act, and that once all the squabbling begins and the race just looks like a bunch of loons held together by Mittens Romneypants and Michele BachmannGooglyEyes (slavery endorser) the Zeus and Hera of all stupid things, this is when she’ll emerge like a Bumpit-haired buzzard dressed in a Starfleet jacket waiting to pick the bones of the GOP carcass. We do think this will happen despite her latest interview in Newsweek magazine don’t we?
I’m sitting here in my cubicle eating the last of my homemade Pimento Mac n’ Cheese when the RSS feed shows me a headline America Sees Its Obesity Rates and Raises Them. I clicked the link and shoved a few more gulps of gooey goodness down my gullet. “This ought to be rich”, I say aloud to no one but my empty Tupperware. Why do I have this sinking feeling that my state scored high on this list? Why do I keep telling myself I’ll go ride my bike after work today? (just like I said yesterday) Why is this even news? I have so many questions. Do I run the risk of coming off like Rosanne Rosannadanna when I ask: “What’s the Big Problem With Fat People?”Continue reading →
On May 2, 2011, Canadians went to the polls and elected our first majority government since the 2000 election. We re-elected the most right-wing Prime Minister in living memory with essentially unlimited power. Way to go us.Continue reading →
The queen of all media and synergistic brain vomit, Sarah Palin, would like you to come see her at the movies! Yes, I can’t think of a better way to lobotomize myself, so sure, let’s all go to the movies and watch Sarah Palin dance around with a crown of doughnuts on her head while she winks and garbles human language and just basically runs around in a movie about lies and magic hair bumpits. Fantastic!
After making a serious flub and mangling American history for all to see, you would think that a person would keep quiet, and you know, maybe let the story just fade into the ether without further comment or display of utter, complete asinine commentary. But, well, that wouldn’t be the Sarah Palin that we all know and love. No sirree. The Sarah Palin rule of thumb is to stick to your story no matter how silly, and hope all the magical beans and dumbfuckery that exists on Wikipedia will carry you through the embarrassing irony of speaking wrongly about historic America while you have the Constitution emblazoned on the side of your bus of miraculous stupid.
Oh, joy! This is exactly what we all need…another batshit, crazy dude who wants to run our country, especially one who’s homophobic, racist, and just generally some sort of nutty political wombat. The GOP is just awesome at hand-picking their representatives.
Sleazy, grimy politics isn’t new. Much of the American consciousness has become desensitized when it comes to the political games, posturing, and all together insanity that follows presidential candidates, until you discuss John Edwards. John Edwards is a different kind of scumbag. He’s the kind of scumbag who’ll cheat on his cancer-ridden wife, father a child with his mistress, pay for her silence, cover it up, run for the presidency, fail miserably amid a shit-scorching scandal, attempt resurrection by traveling to Haiti on a pandering mission, look sullen at his wife’s funeral, and then when the shit really hits the now very real federal indictment fan, beg his mistress to cover for him. Yeah, this is the guy who was once a democratic darling who we’d now like to erase from our collective memories forever. Continue reading →
I have a three-inch scar on the right side of my head from the top of where my ear meets my skull upwards. This wouldn’t be noticeable except for the fact that I also have pretty standard male pattern baldness and so I sport a fresh clean shaven head. The result is a hand carved seam down the right side of my head. I don’t see it everyday myself as it’s outside of my field of vision. When taking my photograph though I do request you only use my good side. This is in all my contracts – or rather it will be if you’ll just sign on this line here… and then initial here… Great, now here’s the story: Continue reading →
For the second time in less than a decade, the United States is engaged in military actions against a Middle Eastern country. Since the passage of Resolution 1973 and the subsequent military actions, reported yesterday by Ken, a number of people have expressed uneasiness at the idea that Libya could “turn into another Iraq.” That’s understandable. I don’t think anyone, except possibly Tony Blair, wants another Iraq. But, this is a serious concern. So, in a two part series, I’m going to consider how the situation in Libya is similar and different from the Iraq invasion and, finally, whether, notwithstanding current distinctions, Libya could become another Iraq. Part I of the series will deal with how the situation in Libya is similar to Iraq.
How Libya Is Another Iraq
Libyan rebel waves the Libyan flag atop a destroyed government tank.
The Region- The most obvious similarity between Libya and Iraq is one of geography and religion- both countries are in the Middle East and have majority Arab Muslim populations. It’s easy to dismiss this as glossing over a number of important differences, but I would caution against such an approach. The fact is that it does matter to many people that the US and our Western allies seem selectively focused on the Middle East while ignoring human rights abuses and humanitarian crises in other parts of the world (Burma, for example).
This criticism is similar to that levied against the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s selective prosecutions of only African conflicts. Skepticism on this issue can undermine how the world, and more importantly Arab populations, view the legitimacy of the UN and US actions and potentially re-raise a number of the neo-colonialism charges that so damaged America’s reputation from the handling of the Iraq invasion and subsequent occupation.
No Fly Zone Again– The US and her allies established and enforced two separate NFZs over Iraq from 1992 until the “conclusion” of the Iraq invasion in 2003 (once the US officially occupied Iraq under our “rebuilding” rationale, the NFZ was quickly lifted). Like the Libyan NFZ, the Iraq NFZs were premised on humanitarian grounds, specifically to protect civilians, the Kurdish populations in the North and the Shiite Muslims in the South.
The Usual Suspects Advocating Military Force in the Middle East- Just as with Security Council Resolution 1441 (declaring Iraq to be in material breach of WMD disarmament and the pre-text for the US/UK unilateral invasion), Resolution 1973 was co-sponsored and heavily supported by the UK and US. The Iraq NFZs were also jointly operated by the US and UK (with Turkish participation). There are non-nefarious explanations for this, mainly the reality of which countries have the military resources to actually enforce anything the UN authorizes and whose support is therefore critical.
The recent history of the US and UK in Iraq is also the reason you may be hearing people refer to fears of “mission creep”- the steady expansion of a military mission beyond its original mandate and purpose. Resolution 1973 is limited in its scope and mission and expressly bars any ground occupation. But, Resolution 1441 expressly did not authorize invading Iraq, yet that didn’t prevent the US and UK from dishonestly using it for that purpose. The UN, like any organization, is only as effective, disciplined and honest as the nation states that make up its membership. For this reason, many view any US/UK advocacy for military involvement in the Middle East with a great deal of alarm and question the “real” motivations of these two countries’ constant warmongering positions.
Middle Eastern Countries’ Participation- The Arab League’s endorsement of the Libyan NFZ has been hailed as a remarkable step and a move that inoculates Western powers from neo-colonialism claims in attacking Libya.
The Arab League never endorsed, as a group, the Iraq NFZs or the Iraq invasion, but these events did have Middle Eastern nations’ participation. Turkey officially participated in the Iraq NFZ enforcement, twice passing legislation extending Turkey’s military involvement. And, while technically no Middle Eastern country was included in the “Coalition of the Willing,” Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar all allowed the US and UK military to launch the Iraq invasion from their countries and provided air and ground access into Iraq. While Arab League members’ involvement in the NFZ is substantially greater (Qatar and UAE jets are involved in enforcement actions over Libya), their involvement, in itself, does not particularly distinguish Libya from Iraq.
Western Accountability Lacking Again– Saddam Hussein was prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Provisional government. However, his conviction and death sentence was based solely on the murder of 148 Shiites following a failed assassination attempt in 1982. Left out of the trials was any evidence related to crimes against humanity that were carried out with American provided weaponry and, in some cases, with US knowledge that the arms and weaponry would be used against civilian populations. Documents declassified by the National Security Archive spell out US involvement in installing and arming Hussein and, as reported by the Washington Post, “Americans drafted many of the statutes under which Hussein and his associates [were] tried.”
The US and UK, like with Iraq, have provided Gaddafi with many of the arms his military is using in committing potential crimes against humanity. Resolution 1970 gives the ICC jurisdiction to investigate these crimes, but is limited, some would say specifically to avoid US and UK accountability, to actions after February 15, 2011.
Will we one day say Libya intervention, 2011: Another Iraq?
For the reasons listed above and many others, many people watching the situation in Libya feel a creeping sense of déjà vu as these similarities revive unpleasant memories and serve as a powerful reminder that the noblest intentions (I’m being charitable here!) can lead to great, potentially irreparable harm. With that in mind, the second and final installment in this series will focus on why the situation in Libya is not like Iraq, but also acknowledge how it could become, in the future, the next Iraq.
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For an excellent interactive feature on the Iraq NFZs, see here.
For an overview of the Iraq NFZs enforcement, questionable legality and a list of US/UK military strikes in Iraq based on NFZ breaches, see here.
