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Letting George Do It

Thinking About The World's Mother-In-Law




<http://www.fredoneverything.net/index.html>Home 
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I'm trying to understand American foreign policy. It's like oil-painting on 
a trampoline, but makes less sense. I'm not sure anybody could do it-not 
even if you took St. Augustine and Jimmy the Greek and Carl Friedrichs 
Gauss and wired them together in parallel.

It seems that we're going to blow up Iraq. Some folk will call it a war, 
but it'll be more like drowning a litter of puppies. Iraq is a primitive 
country and hasn't got a chance. That's convenient, and lots of fun, but it 
ain't war.

Now, understand: I'm patriotic, and believe in blowing up as many people as 
possible, wherever we can find them. But…why Iraq? It's mysterious. Sure, 
Hussein is a good, serviceable, every-day sort of monster and ought to be 
shot. So are about half the rulers in the world. Why this one? Bobby Mugabe 
needs it more, I reckon. Have we thought about Zaire?

Explain it to me. A ratpack of Saudis blew up New York, so we're going to 
wreck Iraq. We're going to do it because Hussein has Weapons of Mass 
Destruction, except that he doesn't, as far as anyone can tell. The more he 
doesn't have them, the more we want to blow him up because he does, or 
doesn't, or would if he did. Maybe.

I don't understand Weapons of Mass Destruction either. Actually, I do. 
They're a PR package, nice ribbon, pretty wrapping paper, but with nothing 
inside, to make it sound like we have a reason for attacking. Americans 
fortunately don't distinguish between a bumper sticker and a policy.

Now, if Iraq had nuclear weapons, blowing them up might be reasonable. But 
it doesn't. I don't care whether it has chemical weapons, and if it has 
smallpox, bombing won't help. So why do it? To grab the oil? Make the world 
safe for Israel? Historical codpiece for George? What's the scam, really?

It never stops. We're always bombing, invading, meddling, or embargoing. 
Nobody else does. Grenada, the Philippines, Panama, Vietnam, Cambodia, 
Afghanistan twice, Laos, Lebanon twice, Iraq almost twice, Yemen, Angola, 
Kosovo, Cuba, Libya. We're maybe about to get into a war with North Korea. 
In fact we have troops there as a tripwire, to be sure we get involved. 
What could be a better plan?

Why? Why always us? Can't we just, you know, spend an occasional Saturday 
night at home? North Korea is South Korea's problem, not ours, and South 
Korea is an industrial power. If it wants to defend itself, fine. If it 
doesn't, I don't care. Is Japan upset about North Korea? Then let Japan do 
something about it. Why are we always the International Mother?

What possible reason did we have for bombing Yugoslavia? Last I heard, 
Yugoslavia was in Europe. Granted, I haven't looked for a while. Maybe it 
moved to Mississippi or the outskirts of Detroit. Continental drift is like 
that. But if it's in Europe, I say it's Europe's problem. Let them bomb 
Yugoslavia till it squeaks. Or not. Why do I care? It's time Europe learned 
to diaper itself.

For that matter, why do we have troops in Europe? I don't get it. NATO was 
supposed to fight the Soviet Union, I thought, which we don't have one of.

Could we stop meddling for even a week? We're in Colombia and Mexico and 
Peru and God knows where because these folk work in the drug trade, and we 
have A Drug Problem. We have a drug problem because Americans want drugs. 
It's not Colombia's problem. It's our problem. Why don't we leave Colombia 
the hell alone?

Think about it. Suppose a Colombian crept up to you in a raincoat, peering 
around furtively, and whispered, "Hey, Meester, wanna buy some really good 
polio virus? Great stuff. You'll never walk again. Iron lung, guaranteed. 
Five bucks."

You would probably indicate that you didn't really need any polio just now. 
The Colombian would run off and starve, or jump his visa and get a job in 
construction. You can't sell what people won't buy. It's an economic law. 
(Unless you're the federal government, which consists of the compulsory 
sale of unwanted services. But Colombia isn't.)

Americans love drugs. Middle-schoolers through assisted living, black, 
white, blue collar, guttural lawyers in pricey turtle-neck sweaters, 
funny-looking urbanites, suburbanites with the little bag in the closet, 
country boys cutting ditchweed, growing hydroponic, cooking that righteous 
crank.

It's one of the biggest businesses in America. We'll pay any price, risk 
jail, do anything for our drugs. The cartel is just a service industry. 
Half the country wants them, and the other half doesn't have to take them. 
Why do we expect other countries to let us bomb their peasants to solve our 
problem?

If we have to poke our nose everywhere, could we at least stop being the 
Moral Nanny? Somebody said (me, actually) that the Brits fight for empire, 
the French for la gloire de la France, the Russians to steal watches from 
the wounded, and the Americans for mommyish moral causes. Spare me.

It's embarrassing. Europe fought world wars to get the Germans off its 
back. We fought The War to End All War, and then to Make the World Safe for 
Democracy. The Soviet Union was the Evil Empire, and now Iraq and Korea are 
the Axes of Evil. (Whether this refers to malintentioned hatchets or 
indicates that the White House doesn't know that points can't be lines is 
unclear.) I don't want to be a Manichean baby-sitter.

Americans may need to get out more. I recently heard that ferret-like 
little man in the White House trying to give a speech about Iraq and how 
we're going to liberate Iraqis and it's for their own good and they ought 
to welcome us like rich relatives bringing free stuff. Any day now. Can't 
we put George back into his storage box in Roswell? Last time we were in 
Iraq, we killed 125,000 of their men, or some other wholesome number, 
wrecked the country, set up an embargo that starved 100,000 of their 
children to death, and established an aerial occupation of lots of their 
country.

But they're going to welcome us because George has good intentions. We're 
from the government, and we're here to help you….

Why are we embargoing Cuba? When the Soviets wanted to put runways and 
missiles there, it made sense. Now we're making life miserable for 
perfectly decent Cubans because we don't like that tiresome gas bag with 
the beard. Yes, I know. We're rally doing it because Castro runs an 
oppressive communist tyranny. Like China, with whom we trade like starving 
encyclopedia salesmen. Consistency and churchy moralism go so well together.

I give up. It's beyond me.
----------


©Fred Reed 2003


Nekkid In Austin!


Buy Fred's new reprehensible book, Nekkid In Austin! 
<http://www.barnesandnoble.com>Barnes<http://www.barnesandnoble.com> and 
Noble has the sucker. Another collection of Fred's collected outrages, 
irresponsible ravings, and curmudgeonry from Fred On Everything and some 
innocent magazines that foolishly published him. Put Fred Reed in the 
search at thingy at B&N and the book will pop like mushrooms on a decaying 
stump. On request, they may ship it in a plain brown wrapper marked "Sex 
Books" so your neighbors won't suspect.


<http://www.fredoneverything.net/SubPage.html>Subscribe! 
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DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
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CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please!  These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.

Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
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