LOL.........good one. Thanks for the giggle.
Absolutely Spot on.
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Imperial Delusions: Ignoring the Lessons of 9/11
by Robert Jensen
Ten years ago, critics of America’s mad rush to war were right, but it didn’t matter.
Within hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it was clear that political leaders were going to use the attacks to justify war in Central Asia and the Middle East. And within hours, those of us critical of that policy began to offer principled and practical arguments against aggressive war as a response to the crimes.
It didn’t matter because neither the public nor policymakers were interested in principled or practical arguments. People wanted revenge, and the policymakers seized the opportunity to use U.S. military power. Critical thinking became a mark not of conscientious citizenship but of dangerous disloyalty.
We were right, but the wars came.
The destructive capacity of the U.S. military meant quick “victories” that just as quickly proved illusory. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq dragged on, it became clearer that the position staked out by early opponents was correct -- the wars not only were illegal (conforming to neither international nor constitutional law) and immoral (fought in ways that guaranteed large-scale civilian casualties and displacement), but a failure on any pragmatic criteria. The U.S. military has killed some of the people who were targeting the United States and destroyed some of their infrastructure and organization, but a decade later we are weaker and our sense of safety more fragile. The ability to dominate militarily proved to be both inadequate and transitory, as predicted.
Ten years later, we are still right and it still doesn’t matter.
There’s a simple reason for this: Empires rarely learn in time, because power tends to dull people’s capacity for critical self-reflection. While ascending to power, empires believe themselves to be invincible. While declining in power, they cling desperately to old myths of remembered glory.
Imperial Delusions: Ignoring the Lessons of 9/11 | Common Dreams
When one reads something like the above article.........one cannot help but feel a surge of hope that such intelligent assessments will eventually have impact.
what is really insane..........after all that US killing..........OBL still "won" Killing him will not change that. What he won is in creating a mindset in the US that is completely unamerican. Wanting revenge so bad that they were seathing......they lost sense of who they are and what they had come to represent to the world. (progress, ideals, humanism. scientific advances, space exploration. ) Now......it is broke. Can't meet its financial obligations. Has lost its credit rating and owes its body and soul to China and others that hold the chips. No more space program. No more medical / scientific findings that impact qualtiy of care. and life. Poverty levels are at an all time high. There is virtually no middle class left. The american "dream" was just that. A dream and as fickle as any dream one wants to describe. It is turning into a nightmare for many who can't keep up the lifestyle they thought they were entitled to and lived by the I want NOW policy .
