Libertarian Commentary on the News, 29 July - August 04, 2007

Afghan front:
Afghanistan: Police find body of 2nd slain hostage
Colorado Springs Gazette
“Police at daybreak Tuesday discovered the body of a second South Korean hostage slain by the Taliban, officials said. A purported Taliban spokesman had said the hostage was killed because the Afghan government failed to release imprisoned insurgents. The Al-Jazeera television network, meanwhile, showed footage that it said was seven female hostages in Afghanistan.” (07/31/07)

Murdering butchers who really do deserve to have their genitals fried and served back to them with relish and pork sauce: these missionaries have absolutely nothing to do with the Afghan “government” or the insurgents: they are the equivalent of two drug gangs fighting over a piece of turf stopping a school bus passing through their battlefield and taking the children out and butchering them. Martyrs these Koreans may be, but their martyrdom is not for what they are teaching, but just because of where they were (and how unarmed they were). Remember, Jesus told the disciples to carry a sword. Today, that comes out to mean at LEAST an AK-47 and a decent automatic pistol.

Afghan front:
Islamic militants stage assault near Afghan border
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Army helicopter gunships and troops repelled a guerrilla raid on a military checkpoint Tuesday, killing at least 15 Islamic militants amid escalated fighting in Pakistan’s tribal belt. With anger still fresh over the government’s deadly assault on Islamabad’s Red Mosque, 2,000 women and hundreds of men from a hard-line Islamic group rallied to declare the ‘blood of martyrs’ will not be wasted.” (07/31/07)

The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a line on a map, drawn 150 years ago by people sitting around a table someplace in Europe, and is meaningless except to legalists and bean-counters. Of course, that doesn’t excuse Obama’s call for invading Pakistan.

Afghan front:
Rumsfeld denies cover-up in Tillman case
Orlando Sentinel
“Ex-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other former Pentagon brass denied a cover-up and rejected personal blame Wednesday in the public deceptions that followed Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s friendly-fire death in Afghanistan in 2004. During four hours of questioning by a House committee, Rumsfeld and former generals expressed regret at the Pentagon’s five-week delay in telling the truth about how Tillman died.” (08/01/07)

Despite all the claims, I see no reason NOT to believe what Rumsfeld said – which is NOT what the headlines said. Right or not, it is natural to tell a family that their son died heroically and not mistakenly or foolishly – a trait that is recorded as far back as King Saul of Israel when he committed suicide to avoid capture. This does NOT mean that a conspiracy existed at levels anywhere above company level, or with any other motive than to spare the family more grief.

Mama's Note: I wish I could believe that, but I don't. Rumsfeld and all the rest of them tell far too many lies, all the time, for their own reasons and there is simply no basis for credibility now. He could say the sky was blue and I would not believe a word of it.

Islamic imperialism:
War against radical Islam, not against “terrorism”, expert says
CNS News
"The War on Terror is a misnomer," Jonathon Schanzer, director of policy at the conservative Jewish Policy Center, said at a conference organized by the Young America's Foundation in Washington, D.C., on Monday. "Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. You'll never win a war if you don't know who the enemy is." Schanzer said the enemy facing the United States is radical Islam. "It is incredibly difficult to separate Islam and the enemy we're fighting," he said. "Ten to 20 percent of adherents of Islam view it in a backward or violent way -- that is the enemy. "We're looking at a population that is already larger in [size] than the entire population of the United States," Schanzer said. "We appear to be losing this battle with radical Islam.

Schanzer may be considered a biased expert, but you don’t have to be a Zionist or a Neocon to see that he is right: a message I’ve been stating in this space for a long time. No matter how bad we are, no matter how many mistakes the FedGov has made, the failure to defeat Islam will lead to worse.

Mama's Note: By this report, however, only about 20% of "Islam" is our enemy. If we destroy the other 80%, even if it is possible, we will be the aggressors still. How to fight the 20% without harming the others is a good question, but one we must be asking.

Islamic imperialists:
Truck bomber turns against jihad in Iraq
MSNBC
“The last time Ahmed al-Shayea was in the news, he was in the hospital at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, being treated for severe burns from the truck bomb he had driven into the Iraqi capital on Christmas Day, 2004. Today, he says, he has changed his mind about waging jihad, or holy war, and wants other young Muslims to know it.” (07/29/07)

1 out of 250 million? Supposedly several other “extreme” Muslims, including one or more very prominent leaders, have been persuaded or convinced themselves to renounce jihad and military operations. I suspect they simply write their own death sentences.

Islamic imperialists:
Israel signs off on US arms sale to Saudis
MSNBC
“In a break from historic Israeli opposition to U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday his country understands Washington’s plan to supply state-of-the-art weapons to Riyadh as a counterweight to Iranian influence. The United States, knowing that Israel is sensitive about such arms sales, is also offering a sharp increase in defense aid to Israel and has assured the Jewish state it will retain a fighting edge over other countries in the region, he added.” (07/29/07)

Huh? Must be in a part of the Constitution I missed. Thanks to Scott, I recently saw a posting that made the “avoiding foreign entanglements and alliances” more understandable in the light of the Constitution: the only form of alliance with other states sanctioned by the constitution was admission to the growing Union of free states: nothing less made sense. If Israel were serious about preserving their people and their culture and religion, they’d give up their state church and apply for admission, joining Alaska, Hawaii, and no doubt other future states, and maybe even restoring some balance between the States and their agent, the FedGov. (Not that I am serious about wanting Israel as the 51st State, mind you.)

Islamic imperialists:
Afghan leaders: Free female hostages
Daytona Beach News-Journal
“Political and religious leaders invoked Afghan and Islamic traditions of chivalry and hospitality Sunday in attempts to shame the Taliban into releasing 18 female South Korean captives. A purported Taliban spokesman shrugged off the demands and instead set a new deadline for the hostages’ lives, saying the hardline militants could kill one or all of the 22 captives if the government does not release 23 militant prisoners by 3:30 a.m. EDT Monday.” (07/30/07)

WHAT Islamic traditions of “chivalry” and hospitality? A bloodier bunch of butchers of women and children have not existed since the so-called Mexica (Aztec) were wiped out. The famed “desert hospitality” is extended only to those of the same clan and religious sect (if then) and those stronger (who could otherwise destroy them unless appeased).

Korean front:
UN nuke team says North Korea cooperative
Cambridge Daily-Jeff
“North Korea has cooperated fully with a team U.N. nuclear experts who were monitoring the shutdown and sealing of the country’s sole plutonium-producing reactor, the leader of the team said Tuesday. The 10-member International Atomic Energy Agency team went to North Korea on July 12 to supervise the closing of the Yongbyon reactor, the key component of the North’s nuclear program.” (07/31/07)

Hmm. And just how “expert” and observant were they? What new nasty surprises will North Korea have for the world, the next time they “need” more money?

Mesopotamian front:
Iraq [sic]: Gunmen target Iranian goods; US soldier killed
Monsters & Critics
“Gunmen on Monday seized and damaged Iranian goods in stores and markets in the Muqdadiya district in Diyala province, 45 kilometres northeast of Baquba, the independent news agency Voices of Iraq reported citing local residents. The gunmen also told shop owners to get rid of goods and commodities branded ‘Made in Iran,’ a resident of Muqdadiya told Voices of Iraq. … Meanwhile, the United States military in Iraq said that a US soldier had been killed during operations in eastern Baghdad on Sunday. So far 3,648 US soldiers have been killed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, 69 of whom were killed this month, according to Voices of Iraq.” (07/30/07)

Ah, yes, THIS will keep Iran from interfering in Mesopotamia, certainly. Beat up and ruin the livelihood of poor merchants, many of whom no doubt fled from poor conditions in the great Persian former-empire.

Mesopotamian front:
Report: Troops shot Iraqi many times
USA Today
“A soldier charged with premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi shot the man several times with a rifle before ordering a subordinate to do the same, according to an Army document filed in the case. Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales of San Antonio and Spc. Christopher P. Shore of Winder, Ga., are charged with one count of murder in the death, which the U.S. military has said happened June 23 near Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk.” (07/29/07)

Why? People flip out, and one of the problems with the rotation policy and the way the occupation is being run is that more and more soldiers are at the breaking point. Some people claim this is purposeful, in order to make them malleable and willing to turn on their own citizens back home, but I suspect it will be more likely to have them turn on the Congress and Administration and bureaucracy that pushed them so far.

Mesopotamian front:
Iraqi [sic] parliament adjourns for August
Huntington Herald-Dispatch
“Iraq’s parliament on Monday shrugged off U.S. criticism and adjourned for a month, as key lawmakers declared there was no point waiting any longer for the prime minister to deliver Washington-demanded benchmark legislation for their vote. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani closed the final three-hour session without a quorum present and declared lawmakers would not reconvene until Sept. 4.” (07/30/07)

Frankly, no matter what the legislature is supposed to do, or where it is, I can’t help but cheer when they go home, even for a while. Somebody’s pocketbook is going to benefit (and with this Baghdad bunch, I suspect that it is the American taxpayer’s pocketbook that will benefit the most), because they aren’t actively stealing from us.

Mesopotamian front:
Audit details Iraq’s corruption
Columbus Dispatch
“An Iraqi power plant rebuilt with tens of millions of U.S. dollars fell into disrepair once transferred to the Baghdad government, according to the U.S. office that tracks reconstruction spending. The Iraqis’ failure to maintain the 320-megawatt Dora plant, considered an important source of power for electricity-starved Baghdad, is just one of the issues hindering attempts to rebuild the country, the latest audit report to Congress concludes.” (07/30/07)

The problem, of course, includes the fact that it was transferred TO THE GOVERNMENT. If a private business were running it, things would be better. First, its employees and owners know that their next meal (and the one after that, and the one after that) is going to be there only because they keep pumping out electricity and keeping their customers content. Second, there is less opportunity for mischief in the form of politics (like appointing incompetent brothers-in-law and nephews) and it is harder for the graft to build up, when it is private and not government. And third, government ALWAYS messes up whatever it runs, sooner or later.

Mesopotamian front:
Nominee Mullen: Little political progress in Iraq
USA Today
“The Iraqi government has made little progress toward political reconciliation, and U.S. policy in Iraq would require a ’strategic reassessment’ if that does not happen by mid-September, President Bush’s nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a Senate committee Tuesday. Adm. Michael Mullen, Bush’s choice to replace Gen. Peter Pace, said there had been improvement in security following the recent buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, but ‘there does not appear to be much political progress.’” (07/31/07)

Who could have predicted this? Actually, a lot of us did – the imaginary state called Iraq is unable to govern itself and is naturally unable to reconcile the various nations locked up in that artificial construction for 80 years.

Mesopotamian front:
Kurdish leader warns of Iraqi [sic] civil war
Las Vegas Sun
“The leader of Iraq’s Kurdish region warned Tuesday of a ‘real civil war’ if the central government does not implement a constitutional clause on the future of Kirkuk, the oil-rich city claimed by the Kurds. Control over Kirkuk and the surrounding oil wealth is in dispute among the city’s Kurdish, Arab and ethnic Turkish populations.” (07/31/07)

The long-scheduled legislative “vacation” (long recognized as both a perk AND a real necessity in western democracies) is being blamed for a lot.

Mesopotamian front:
Attacks across Iraq [sic] claim 142 lives
Charlotte Observer
“Baghdad shook with bombings and political upheaval Wednesday as the largest Sunni Arab bloc quit the government and a suicide attacker blew up his fuel tanker in one of several attacks that claimed 142 lives nationwide. The Iraqi Accordance Front’s withdrawal from the Cabinet leaves only two Sunnis in the 40-member body, undermining Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s efforts to pull together rival factions and pass reconciliation laws the U.S. considers benchmarks that could lead to sectarian reconciliation.” (08/02/07)

Many of us have considered this “fusion” government to be little more than a forlorn hope, and this seems to indicate that we were right. Sadly, it opens the door for more bizarre attempts to “keep Iraq united” instead of allowing the regions to go their separate ways. On Thursday, I heard one talk-show caller state that the US needed to anoint a strong “Iraqi” general to “take over” – a truly incredibly stupid move that has failed over and over again for decades.

Mesopotamian front:
Marine convicted of conspiracy to kill Iraqi
MSNBC
“A Marine was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to murder an Iraqi man, but acquitted of premeditated murder and kidnapping in a bungled attempt to kill a suspected insurgent last year. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda also was found guilty of larceny and housebreaking, and cleared of making a false official statement. He stood rigidly alongside his two attorneys as sighs and gasps filled the packed courtroom.” (08/01/07)

The Marines, and all the Forces, have to clean up their own messes, and this one is at least a start.

Our British cousins:
Bush, Brown seek to establish rapport
Kannapolis Independent Tribune
“President Bush, starting a new relationship late in his presidency, welcomed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday with casual diplomacy. In the tranquility of the Catoctin Mountains, Bush and Brown began their brief meeting — Sunday night and Monday — at Camp David, with an emphasis on private time between the two.” (07/30/07)

The Great Gargler and the High Chancellor together – ALMOST as frightening as having Congress in session.

Our British cousins:
UK: Indefinite sentences “unlawful,” court rules
Independent [UK]
“The policy of locking up some prisoners until it is considered safe to free them is in crisis after it was condemned as ‘arbitrary, unreasonable and unlawful’ by the High Court. Two inmates, a sex offender and a man convicted of attempted robbery, won a landmark challenge to the system of indeterminate sentences, which have no fixed end-dates. They argued they could not demonstrate their eligibility for release as offending behaviour courses were not provided at the jails where they are held.” (08/01/07)

Gee, Britain’s Nazguli decided this? Sounds like the High Chancellor needs some new Law Lords

Our British cousins:
British Army officially ends occupation [sic] of Six Counties
Guardian [UK]
“The British army marked a milestone of peacemaking Tuesday as it formally ended its 38-year mission to bolster security in Ireland. The military’s longest-running operation officially was ending at midnight. But the symbolic moment came months after the reality — no British troops have been on patrol on Belfast streets for two years. As of Wednesday, all 5,000 soldiers remaining in this long-disputed corner of the United Kingdom will be committed to training for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere overseas.” (07/31/07)

Obviously, I disagree with at least some libertarian friends regarding the status of Northern Ireland, by throwing “popular vote” and “right to secede” in their faces. Northern Ireland shows, better than most, the need to end “geo-oriented” government as a mandatory service which one must accept and pay for, or be branded rebel and enemy of the state. It is ironic that this long-open sore of the UK and Western Europe is now at least scabbed over, with the war with Islam steadily growing hotter.

Rising sun:
Japan’s Abe won’t resign, will shuffle cabinet
ABC News
“A day after a devastating election defeat in Japan’s parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday rejected calls for his resignation, saying the country couldn’t afford the resulting ‘power vacuum.’ In a vote for half of the seats in the upper house of parliament, voters voiced their outrage over a series of political scandals and the loss of millions of pension records, stripping Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party of its majority in the 242-seat body. Abe, regardless, said he wasn’t giving up his post. … ‘Voters said we must reflect on our shortcomings and refresh the lineup,’ Abe said. ‘I plan to reshuffle the Cabinet and top party posts at an appropriate time.’” (07/30/07)

Of course, he threw some ministers to the wolves to have their bones munched, while everyone else runs away. But this may derail his plans for a new Imperial presence in key points of the world, such as Tokyo and Okinawa.

The nearing collapse of Africa:
UN backs new Darfur peace force
BBC News [UK]
“The United Nations Security Council has voted in favour of sending peacekeepers to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. Up to 26,000 troops and police will make up the world’s largest peacekeeping force, under a joint UN and African Union mandate. The resolution will allow peacekeepers to use force to defend civilians and aid workers in Darfur from any attack. At least 200,000 people are thought to have died in Darfur and some 2m have fled their homes since 2003.” (07/31/07)

The UN thugs, probably drawn mostly from other African “countries,” are likely to be as murderous and thieving and abusive as the Sudanese troops and “militia” that they are supposed to be protecting Darfur from.

The nearing collapse of Africa:
Darfur: Evidence of war crimes in children’s drawings
Independent [UK]
“Dramatic new evidence of the attacks on the people of Darfur by Sudanese government troops has emerged in 500 drawings by children who escaped the violence by fleeing across the border to Chad. In a ground-breaking move, the remarkable collection of images will now be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has started proceedings against a Sudanese government minister and a militia commander accused of committing war crimes in Darfur. The testimony of the children, some as young as eight, emerged by chance when a peace campaigner handed the children paper, pencils and crayons to keep them occupied while she interviewed their mothers.” (08/02/07)

Why don’t I believe this? In a world where “psychologists” dredge up purely imaginary “suppressed memories” of child abuse and sexual abuse, this sounds very suspicious. Much as I want to see these murdering scum brought to justice for their killing and terrorizing their enemies, this strikes me as a bad idea.

World wars:
US touts billions in Mideast military sales
MSNBC
“The Bush administration on Monday proposed a multibillion-dollar military sales package for Arab nations, saying it would help secure Iraq and the Persian Gulf while promoting stability in a Middle East threatened by terrorism and the rising ambitions of Iran. Embarking on a four-day tour of the region with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the proposed U.S. package, estimated at up to $20 billion, ‘will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran.’” (07/30/07)

Have we not learned, after more than two centuries, that giving the weapons to the so-called leaders (tyrants, bully-boys, thugs, goons, etc.) is a really, really bad idea. Whether we are talking the Bey of Tripoli or some tinpot South American man on a white horse or the Shah of Persia or a trumped up group of tribal “elders,” we are just creating more trouble for the future. We need instead to be giving them to the people and helping them gain their own freedom AND liberty.

World wars:
Doctors blast Guantanamo treatment as unethical
CNN
“Military doctors violate medical ethics when they approve the force-feeding of hunger strikers at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, according to a commentary in a prestigious medical journal. The doctors should attempt to prevent force-feeding by refusing to participate, the commentary’s three authors write in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.” (07/31/07)

This sounds to me like a very twisted sort of logic for medical ethics: like leaving the knives, guns, ropes, and large quantities of pills around for mentally-deranged patients to use to kill themselves.

World wars:
Cambodia’s first step toward justice for Khmer Rouge
Christian Science Monitor
“Just after dawn Tuesday, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, gathered his clothes from the military prison cell he has lived in for the last eight years and walked, silent and expressionless, to a waiting car. Duch is the only man facing charges for the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist regime that oversaw the deaths of some 1.7 million people — roughly one quarter of the population — when it ruled Cambodia in the late 1970s. Experts say Duch could be a key witness in the long-delayed efforts to bring justice to the people of Cambodia, and in a Wednesday statement from the court Duch said he ‘is ready to reveal the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge.’” (08/02/07)

First step? Hardly even crawling, or squirming, as far as I can see. One man out of how many thousands?

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