Christian Democrats in the United States
Global Issues - IraqThe U.S. mission should be to bring Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran to the table to stop the balkanization of Iraq. Front-line troops should be empowered with effective body armor, armored vehicles and more non-lethal weapons, as well as discretionary humanitarian budgets. Every single field soldier should be required to work on training courses for local languages and criminal justice, each at least a half hour a day five days a week.
The U.S. should loan against oil futures to Iraq for public works employment in the style of the New Deal, beginning with the Hanging Gardens, and should equip Iraqi police forces adequately with trackable equipment. Offensive sieges of Iraqi cities only serve to recruit more resistance and must come to an end by pushing Iraqi forces into greater responsibility now. The U.S. must develop a withdrawal timeline that allows us peace with honor in Iraq but will not leave the Iraqi people to suffer at the hands of religious terrorists.
World War I started in the Balkans area of eastern Europe when small fighting factions got the support of different major European powers. Because those major powers were ruled by short-sighted idiots with big egos and personal agendas who refused to talk directly to each other, all of Europe collapsed into war. We cannot let this happen anywhere in a nuclear age. The United States can talk civilly with its rivals without sacrificing our values. It is impossible to negotiate with terrorists, but nevertheless, lines of communication should not be closed, to leave the door open for reasonable people caught up in the war who want to return to peaceful society.
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Friday, May 29, 2009
10:17 AM
Any prosecutor in the U.S. would go after U.S. prison guards who abused prisoners. Although, it happens in American prisons frequently enough that some people get away with it. It's the same psychological problem of authority, really. Even if the prisoner expressed willingness, no one can make an argument that it was consensual, because they were guards and the prisoners were prisoners.
But in the invasion, the U.S. Army swept in and threw everyone in their path in jail, some who were not terrorists and committed no crimes at all. Interrogation is supposed to sort them out and return good people to their everyday lives. Interrogation is not punishment.
If these guards had done their jobs as soldiers, behaved like civilized people and not abused anyone, the war would have been shorter because the enemy would have had less political ammunition, and many more civilians and their own soldiery would have survived. Don't let them use the excuse now that releasing the photos would put soldiers at risk. These guards already put those soldiers at risk. Let them stand responsible for all their crimes.
rape in U.S. prisons
Iraqis aren't good enough for American justice?Any prosecutor in the U.S. would go after U.S. prison guards who abused prisoners. Although, it happens in American prisons frequently enough that some people get away with it. It's the same psychological problem of authority, really. Even if the prisoner expressed willingness, no one can make an argument that it was consensual, because they were guards and the prisoners were prisoners.
But in the invasion, the U.S. Army swept in and threw everyone in their path in jail, some who were not terrorists and committed no crimes at all. Interrogation is supposed to sort them out and return good people to their everyday lives. Interrogation is not punishment.
If these guards had done their jobs as soldiers, behaved like civilized people and not abused anyone, the war would have been shorter because the enemy would have had less political ammunition, and many more civilians and their own soldiery would have survived. Don't let them use the excuse now that releasing the photos would put soldiers at risk. These guards already put those soldiers at risk. Let them stand responsible for all their crimes.
> detail, links and comments >>
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
11:31 AM
Our military cannot go the way of the failed states of history, in which soldiers translated that mentality to the real act of killing innocent people. Else, we will be remembered only as another failed state of history, like Athens, whose democratic master class failed to recognize the same entitlement to freedom in all people.
Just recently, some combative individuals took pot-shots at a pair of American helicopters. The "strategy" utilized by the helicopter team was to open full fire on the building, killing an innocent family.
With due respect to John McCain's time in war and as a prisoner, in his speeches, he criticized "the other side," making enemies across the aisle, of over-emphasizing America's failures in the war. It sounds as if he, like the current President, parrots a series of excuses written by the speech robots of war interests.
The fact of war is, decisions are difficult under stress, but the Commander in Chief needs to lay down the law on the enemy and his own troops. The short-term strategies employed by combat teams and drilled into their training should correspond to the long-term goals of the campaign. In this case, the long-term goals of the campaign were harmed by pursuing the short term goals of the strategy of the helicopter team. As a President, we need someone who is going to be honest about these things, who will not make excuses for these mistakes or downplay their gravity.
In the case of helicopter patrol teams, consider Los Angeles, California, where helicopters patrol the city around the clock. If an incident occurs, the helicopter is used to monitor the situation from a distance out of range of arms fire and to track the suspects for ground officers to pursue. They do not open fire on apartment buildings with heavy artillery!
In Iraq, the goal put forth by the President, though not Rumsfeld (Gates, what took you so long) was to restore freedom and civility to Iraq after the removal of the fascist state machine. So, our goals in Iraq should correspond to our common democratic goals for civil management of cities like Los Angeles, where, after all, things can get pretty rough.
A helicopter team that comes under fire can rise to a safe altitude, monitor the streets (with the assistance of on-board surveillance technology and tasked satellites), and relay information to ground forces who should pursue the individuals who opened fire. Only in the case that those individuals begin to use heavy artillery against the ground forces should helicopter team commanders consider opening fire on civilian buildings.
Another excuse like "hindsight is 20/20" or "the fog of war, blah blah" will not accomplish the wishes of the American people in Iraq. These obvious facts of conscience and civil policing should already be policy after 6 years of continuing urban conflict. The Commander in Chief bears the responsibility of ensuring that short-term combat strategies correspond to the goals of freedom and democracy. In this war, we have leaders who do not take their own words seriously, who say them and do not feel or comprehend what they say. Leaders who have lied and continue to lie.
America needs Iraq, and the countries of central Asia need America, as a defense of freedom against all fascism. Saudi Arabia for instance, from which most of the combative individuals come from, is a country whose government prefers to let children burn alive because they are not wearing the proper hat, sentences "witches" to death for "having sex with evil spirits," and jails American women for having idle conversations with men. Yet, the current administration has just armed the Saudis to the teeth. The Bush administration is like a junkie for Saudi Oil and Afghani opium. It has lied, it lies, and will continue to lie, as will the majority of the Washington establishment.
This is why we must elect someone who understands what America wants, who is courageous and intelligent enough to go against the procedural grain and tell the troops what they should do to accomplish our goals and the goals of freedom and common respect for all humanity.
what is useful strategy?
Playing video games and training simulations, if you shoot up some innocent people, no one really gets hurt. This is a useful strategy because the simulated mission objectives, defined as eliminating the combative individuals, are then accomplished in the programmatic game.Our military cannot go the way of the failed states of history, in which soldiers translated that mentality to the real act of killing innocent people. Else, we will be remembered only as another failed state of history, like Athens, whose democratic master class failed to recognize the same entitlement to freedom in all people.
Just recently, some combative individuals took pot-shots at a pair of American helicopters. The "strategy" utilized by the helicopter team was to open full fire on the building, killing an innocent family.
With due respect to John McCain's time in war and as a prisoner, in his speeches, he criticized "the other side," making enemies across the aisle, of over-emphasizing America's failures in the war. It sounds as if he, like the current President, parrots a series of excuses written by the speech robots of war interests.
The fact of war is, decisions are difficult under stress, but the Commander in Chief needs to lay down the law on the enemy and his own troops. The short-term strategies employed by combat teams and drilled into their training should correspond to the long-term goals of the campaign. In this case, the long-term goals of the campaign were harmed by pursuing the short term goals of the strategy of the helicopter team. As a President, we need someone who is going to be honest about these things, who will not make excuses for these mistakes or downplay their gravity.
In the case of helicopter patrol teams, consider Los Angeles, California, where helicopters patrol the city around the clock. If an incident occurs, the helicopter is used to monitor the situation from a distance out of range of arms fire and to track the suspects for ground officers to pursue. They do not open fire on apartment buildings with heavy artillery!
In Iraq, the goal put forth by the President, though not Rumsfeld (Gates, what took you so long) was to restore freedom and civility to Iraq after the removal of the fascist state machine. So, our goals in Iraq should correspond to our common democratic goals for civil management of cities like Los Angeles, where, after all, things can get pretty rough.
A helicopter team that comes under fire can rise to a safe altitude, monitor the streets (with the assistance of on-board surveillance technology and tasked satellites), and relay information to ground forces who should pursue the individuals who opened fire. Only in the case that those individuals begin to use heavy artillery against the ground forces should helicopter team commanders consider opening fire on civilian buildings.
Another excuse like "hindsight is 20/20" or "the fog of war, blah blah" will not accomplish the wishes of the American people in Iraq. These obvious facts of conscience and civil policing should already be policy after 6 years of continuing urban conflict. The Commander in Chief bears the responsibility of ensuring that short-term combat strategies correspond to the goals of freedom and democracy. In this war, we have leaders who do not take their own words seriously, who say them and do not feel or comprehend what they say. Leaders who have lied and continue to lie.
America needs Iraq, and the countries of central Asia need America, as a defense of freedom against all fascism. Saudi Arabia for instance, from which most of the combative individuals come from, is a country whose government prefers to let children burn alive because they are not wearing the proper hat, sentences "witches" to death for "having sex with evil spirits," and jails American women for having idle conversations with men. Yet, the current administration has just armed the Saudis to the teeth. The Bush administration is like a junkie for Saudi Oil and Afghani opium. It has lied, it lies, and will continue to lie, as will the majority of the Washington establishment.
This is why we must elect someone who understands what America wants, who is courageous and intelligent enough to go against the procedural grain and tell the troops what they should do to accomplish our goals and the goals of freedom and common respect for all humanity.
> detail, links and comments >>
Thursday, August 23, 2007
8:28 AM
It's clear that abandoning the Iraqi people at this critical time would leave blood on the hands of the United States, though those hands are already stained.
However, it just goes to show Bush's naivety that he would say the Iraq war is justified because pulling out would be similar to the backlash against South Vietnam after we pulled out.
Vietnam was another mismanaged war. Kennedy had the chance to wind it down and get out before it got out of control, but he was killed. Johnson had the chance to get it over with by cutting Hanoi's supply lines, but instead he played a stalemate and turned the country into a meat grinder for years to come, leading to the senseless death of hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of Vietnamese. In Vietnam, the U.S. waged war not against the communist leaders but against the common people-turned-soldiers, which only drove the people to support the communists. The principle of resisting communism might have been justified, but the senseless bloodshed without tactical or strategic value perpetrated by both sides of the conflict was not.
In that respect there might be hope for Iraq, that the common people of Iraq are beginning to realize that al-Qaida cares less about their welfare than the United States does. They are beginning to realize that the U.S. is the lesser of their choice of evils.
But that's coming from them, not from Bush, and considering this hope, Iraq is much different from Vietnam. Bush cannot take credit for the will of the Iraqi people. No political leader can ever take credit for the will of the people. The solution will come from the people, not from the leaders.
being like vietnam is not a "selling point"
The Iraqi people have to realize that they must come together — Sunni and Shia — to defeat the mindless violence of terrorism, not for U.S. interests but for their own.It's clear that abandoning the Iraqi people at this critical time would leave blood on the hands of the United States, though those hands are already stained.
However, it just goes to show Bush's naivety that he would say the Iraq war is justified because pulling out would be similar to the backlash against South Vietnam after we pulled out.
Vietnam was another mismanaged war. Kennedy had the chance to wind it down and get out before it got out of control, but he was killed. Johnson had the chance to get it over with by cutting Hanoi's supply lines, but instead he played a stalemate and turned the country into a meat grinder for years to come, leading to the senseless death of hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of Vietnamese. In Vietnam, the U.S. waged war not against the communist leaders but against the common people-turned-soldiers, which only drove the people to support the communists. The principle of resisting communism might have been justified, but the senseless bloodshed without tactical or strategic value perpetrated by both sides of the conflict was not.
In that respect there might be hope for Iraq, that the common people of Iraq are beginning to realize that al-Qaida cares less about their welfare than the United States does. They are beginning to realize that the U.S. is the lesser of their choice of evils.
But that's coming from them, not from Bush, and considering this hope, Iraq is much different from Vietnam. Bush cannot take credit for the will of the Iraqi people. No political leader can ever take credit for the will of the people. The solution will come from the people, not from the leaders.
> detail, links and comments >>
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
12:51 PM
Using a modular, pre-fabricated design, girder construction could start at the water treatment plant south of the University of Baghdad, which would pump water through the gardens and use that as a natural filter mechanism. (This is why organic fertilizer and pest control methods are required.)
In addition to suspension foot-bridges over the river, the modular walkway/planters span along the center of streets, and can be taken down easily and re-arranged when needed. They also provide strategic benefit combating snipers by giving a patrol route above the buildings. A modular, easily constructed system lets many Iraqi companies take part from all over the country, shipping in the pieces by rail.
Girder construction could proceed north over the Tigris, winding through the University of Baghdad and across the Al Jadriyah bridge, over and around the new presidential palace to Zawra park.
Then north-west over the central railroad station and train yards, to filter the air.
Also branch north-east from the train yard over the Hospital, finding a way to the power plant at Sarafiya bridge and reconnecting to the main route, where another water filter processing plant can be built.
There could be a separate branch from Baghdad university down airport road to the main airport, and another over the police college reaching out to the Sadr city neighborhood.
After filtering waste water from the sewer, waste water can be filtered again through the gardens before dumping it into the river. Water from the river can be directly cycled through the hanging gardens to purify the river.
hanging gardens of baghdad
There is a current map maintained by the U.S. military at this link.Using a modular, pre-fabricated design, girder construction could start at the water treatment plant south of the University of Baghdad, which would pump water through the gardens and use that as a natural filter mechanism. (This is why organic fertilizer and pest control methods are required.)
In addition to suspension foot-bridges over the river, the modular walkway/planters span along the center of streets, and can be taken down easily and re-arranged when needed. They also provide strategic benefit combating snipers by giving a patrol route above the buildings. A modular, easily constructed system lets many Iraqi companies take part from all over the country, shipping in the pieces by rail.
Girder construction could proceed north over the Tigris, winding through the University of Baghdad and across the Al Jadriyah bridge, over and around the new presidential palace to Zawra park.
Then north-west over the central railroad station and train yards, to filter the air.
Also branch north-east from the train yard over the Hospital, finding a way to the power plant at Sarafiya bridge and reconnecting to the main route, where another water filter processing plant can be built.
There could be a separate branch from Baghdad university down airport road to the main airport, and another over the police college reaching out to the Sadr city neighborhood.
After filtering waste water from the sewer, waste water can be filtered again through the gardens before dumping it into the river. Water from the river can be directly cycled through the hanging gardens to purify the river.
> detail, links and comments >>
Sunday, May 6, 2007
3:15 PM
Anyway, in that movie, the Falloujah men who spoke up said they wanted justice, that is, going after people who clearly committed acts, not random firing or wanting to kill people just for running away, and they wanted jobs. Then GW sent in the Marines to crush them, and the Marines did their job. It just doesn't make sense.
I've been having a hard time figuring out what to write about jobs. I can figure out what jobs aren't or shouldn't be. Enron, Halliburton, those aren't jobs, they're just a way to get money for ourselves while spinning in a lot of circles giving off the appearance of productivity. That's the only kind of job George Bush understands, because that's the only kind of job he's ever had. The mission needs to be to create jobs and provide security for the workers. Well, mesopotamia was at one time the center of world culture, and now it's FUBAR.
Iraq's hot. Needs to start with gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the wonders of the ancient world. Islam is against all forms of idolatry and doesn't have a good sense of humor about it, but as far as I can tell, it really appreciates the wonders of creation.
Pay Iraqi architects throughout the bidding process on an aerial girder system over Baghdad, on which to run waterworks and plant gardens. Fund Iraqi companies with incentivized timescales to construct and tend the gardens. It would make Baghdad a lot less hot. People would cool off and they'd have money to take to their families at the end of a good day's work.
I don't know about building the space elevator, though... they said the big guy didn't like that the last time they tried it in Baghdad.
a new deal in Iraq
A lot of Americans who have been to Iraq or even seen brief glimpses into the reality, like Occupation: Dreamland, saw the honesty in the eyes of the Iraqis, but it was mis-translated into what the translators thought the Americans wanted to hear. Americans don't want to hear that Iraqis have submitted their honor as human beings. Americans want to hear the Iraqis stand up for their honor — that's the whole point — and no one likes getting guns pointed in their faces, we know that, neither do we. That's why a lot of people value how George Bush stands up and represents their hope and anger. Or anger and hope? Which order do those go in? Are they incompatible?Anyway, in that movie, the Falloujah men who spoke up said they wanted justice, that is, going after people who clearly committed acts, not random firing or wanting to kill people just for running away, and they wanted jobs. Then GW sent in the Marines to crush them, and the Marines did their job. It just doesn't make sense.
I've been having a hard time figuring out what to write about jobs. I can figure out what jobs aren't or shouldn't be. Enron, Halliburton, those aren't jobs, they're just a way to get money for ourselves while spinning in a lot of circles giving off the appearance of productivity. That's the only kind of job George Bush understands, because that's the only kind of job he's ever had. The mission needs to be to create jobs and provide security for the workers. Well, mesopotamia was at one time the center of world culture, and now it's FUBAR.
Iraq's hot. Needs to start with gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the wonders of the ancient world. Islam is against all forms of idolatry and doesn't have a good sense of humor about it, but as far as I can tell, it really appreciates the wonders of creation.
Pay Iraqi architects throughout the bidding process on an aerial girder system over Baghdad, on which to run waterworks and plant gardens. Fund Iraqi companies with incentivized timescales to construct and tend the gardens. It would make Baghdad a lot less hot. People would cool off and they'd have money to take to their families at the end of a good day's work.
I don't know about building the space elevator, though... they said the big guy didn't like that the last time they tried it in Baghdad.
> detail, links and comments >>
2:43 PM
language training
Making all troops practice language training a half hour a day five days a week is the key to any kind of success in Iraq. It is an inexpensive measure that could take the form of photo CD-rom trainers or even textbooks. There is no need to waste millions on high-tech 3-D simulation pork projects. All that is needed is leadership issuing this requirement. We believe in the human beings standing in those boots, and we should empower them to do their jobs. Talk of our democratic values is empty if the troops are blind, deaf and dumb to the world where we sent them.> detail, links and comments >>
Saturday, May 5, 2007
9:26 AM
aid budgets for front-line troops
One other thought on the idea of empowering front-line troops with small humanitarian aid budgets — different Iraqis will respond differently to cultural and religious values, but almost all of them will respond to immediate help getting the electricity and water turned back on, getting food in their kids' bellies and a little money in their pockets.> detail, links and comments >>
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