February 15, 2005

The Beat Goes On
By Michael Gaddy

With the worldwide revelations of the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the subsequent media upheaval and trials of the idiots who thought it “cool” to photograph their crimes, many believe the mistreatment of detainees has been curtailed, if not out and out eliminated. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The U.S. military seems to have simply changed its modus operandi when it comes to the handling and treatment of detainees.

During the Vietnam War, success by individual units morphed into the totally ridiculous yardstick that was “body count.” Career-minded officers wildly inflated these numbers because body count was viewed by the command structure as an indicator of success. Today in Iraq, mid-level military commanders are practicing the same dynamic. The more detainees captured and linked to the “resistance,” the more these officers are seen by the command structure as being the kind of leader worthy of promotion. Like Vietnam, this dynamic is being grossly misused. (Read the rest here)

Panic Depressive - Shock and Awe Ebbs
By Ted Lang © 2004

Concern over the non-existence of Iraq's WMD is now non-existent. The American public is displaying group memory loss as concerns "regime change." Our military is now killing, maiming and torturing Iraqis while humanely bringing them precisely the same stupefying bromide of democracy via "voting rights" as we have here in America.

Our chief export, democracy by death and torture, has become an Iraqi deliverable served up in a far more brutally efficient manner than was ever the case with Saddam's despotic regime. And as we export democracy while both our trade and government deficits increase, China's non-interventionist economy and its educational system's productivity are skyrocketing. (Read the rest here)

The War on Pain Sufferers
By Sheldon Richman

A good deal of air is exhaled over the state of medical care in America. Open state worshipers want a complete government takeover, while a more subtle band of state worshipers, the kind that like to call themselves advocates of limited government, propose instead to use “market incentives” to accomplish their aims. What neither party wants is to let free individuals choose their own aims, applying their own means (incomes) to accomplishing them.

The pseudo-debate is useful — to the pseudo-debaters, that is — because it keeps people’s minds off the real government-induced medical scandals, of which there are many. (Read the rest here)

Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

We hope you and your true love enjoyed Valentine's day! Continuing my "Character counts for Libertarians", the character trait for today (it being Valentine's Day) is "Deference." This trait is best described by that old saying - "My liberty stops at another person's nose." Deference is important for husbands and wives, family members in general, friends and lovers, and, yes, fellow libertarians! It is voluntarily limiting my freedom to avoid needlessly offending others. Especially within the ranks of lovers of liberty, it is important to avoid giving offense needlessly, so this is a good trait for us to practice. Well, that's my opinion, like the rest of this column, not necessarily that of TPoL, RRND, FND, or anyone else!

Shiite religious bloc claims victory in Iraq
Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]
"Final figures released early today for Iraq's January 30 election confirm a significant win for Shiite religious parties - but their 47.6 per cent share of the vote is lower than earlier projections that they might have been sitting on as much as 60 per cent. .... And despite US and Iraqi attempts to play down the response to calls for a boycott of the election in Sunni-dominated provinces, in the sprawling western province of Anbar, the poll turnout was less than 2 per cent and in the central province of Salahadin it was 29 per cent. The results set the scene for a Middle East power struggle like no other - it will unfold within a novel democratic framework in a country racked by insurgency violence but which at the same time has the resources potential to be one of the richest in the world." (02/14/05)

Well, as it says, the stage is set. What kind of constitution will come out - and what kind of government? (Or will it be possible to even form a government - perhaps a loose federation will be the best they can do.) (Read the rest of the Commentary here)

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