A tale of 2 countries
Enough about that little insignificant country of mine, now it’s time to rant about another one, well actually they’re 2 countries: the USA and Iraq. Beware of where you keep your toes: I might step on them! – this is a very touchy subject for lotsa people.
I do wonder how the world’s the largest capitalist economy (No, I don’t refer to China – admittedy it’s big and conmmunist in title only being completely capitalist in government circles, but they deny all advantages of capitalism to their subjects; it’s obviously still a dictatorship [at least judging on the reports I've received from the mainstream press (as if that's a reliable source)] – but enough of that sub-rant: I refer, of course, to the USA) could make such big economic blunders such as wasting such large amounts of money: Getting Saddam Hussayn in power cost them lots of money, and in order to keep him in power after he attacked Iran, Rumfield was sent as an American envoy (money courier) with lots more American taxpayer’s money to let Saddam Hussayn stay in control. Then a few years later (up to 2 decades) Rummie was among the leading warmongers in the US goverment to want Iraq attacked and have Saddam (once America’s pet dictator) hung. So what’s the economic sense in investing millions, even billions of $ then spending lots of money and effort to get try and write off your investment? Not only did they waste money: they also wasted blood, Not just that of Iraqi people (who were already living under oppressive rule by America’s dictator of choice, and therefore didn’t have much to live for anymore, not by western standards anyway), but also the blood of the very people who (unknowingly) funded Hussayn in the first place, the American taxpayer?
And it’s not just te spilling of the blood that’s a crime to the American people; also the lies that they were told, and the minds that got ruined in the warzones. Us spoiled western sissies aren’t suitable for such warfare anymore, we tend to get blown to mental bits by the horror of warfare, not by watching on TV (“here’s a report by our embedded journalist”), but having to endure it every day. Ever been to the island of Mannhattan, NY? At the southernmost tip is Battery Park, an impressive Monument to all American troops who’d fallen in all the wars since WW1 (or WW2, not sure), if you’ll ever get there, walk up north along the eastern (Atlantic) coast, past the shipping dock (to the Statue of Liberty) There, between 2 skyscrapers you’ll find a monument to the Vietnamese war casualties, they etched the contents of the letter which one soldier wrote to the parents of a killed platoon-mate of his. He describes how they felt out there fighting in Vietnam, the horror the experience and how it empties you out until you’re nothing but an rattling skeleton inside the remains of a man. This momnument was the most impressive war monument I’ve ever seen, much more so than the comparatively sanitized Washington Monument. OK, seeing the V with the large amount of names is impressive, but it’s this NY monument which should be mandatory visiting by any national politician (whether congressman, parliamenterian or president). It was chilling when I let it sink in, and I was amazed such a damning anti-war message was permitted to stand so freely & easily visible to all who opened their eyes, and happened to do so in the area.
I also feel that the teenagers who enlist because they want to do some good, and go about fighting in Iraq claiming they’re defending their country should open their eyes when near the monument. They should open therir eyes, period. (any time, anywhere will do) “How far away from America are you? How are you possibly going to defend it from that far away? All you’re doing is defending your president’s interests (including: looking good, not being so obvious when you lie, having started a nice lil’ war of his own [as any proper president will have done during this reign])”
