History will see us all as Bush's "Good Germans." Most of the world does already.

[babylonsister]

A date which will live in infamy

Six years ago France's Le Monde titled "Nous sommes tous Américains ! - We are all Americans ! " Six days ago the German Marshall Fund published its Transatlantic Trends 2007, making it plain that 46 percent of Europeans believe U.S.-EU relations not to improve even under a new U.S. administration, and 58 percent of French interviewees even favoring the EU to address global threats in disregard of the United States. In the collective memory of the world 9/11 lives in infamy, in the United States as an unprovoked attack and national trauma, while the majority of mankind perceives it as a killer argument employed by the Bush Administration to vindicate the crusades long decided on in advance. As diverse as they are, both views are justified. 9/11 is a date which will live in infamy, and both perpetrators, those who have committed the crime, and those who have abused it must be brought to justice for the global divide to heal.

The Bush Administration's felonies and complete failure on all fronts can only be fully comprehended when set in historic context. On December 8, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the declaration of war against Japan on behalf of a previously deeply divided nation, the American people entered the noblest war they ever engaged in as one, and Winston Churchill noted in his diary, "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful." Fifty-six years later George Bush presides over a nation more torn apart then ever, the United States, and not Iran or North Korea, are perceived as the greatest threat to world peace, and Ahmed Chalabi surely must have authored a similar diary entry.

Yet after Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the premises for U.S. action were almost identical. The Japanese attack on the Pacific Fleet forced the American people to tear apart the strait jacket of isolationism and to finally adopt leadership in the epic struggle between liberalism and fascism they had tried to ignore since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and united all major powers in a grand coalition unseen since the Napoleonic Wars. Before the attack on the Twin Towers, who would have ever dreamed of Russia giving the U.S. full access to, and unconditional support in Central Asia less than ten years after the end of the Cold War, even supporting her to indefinitely occupy Afghanistan, the Kremlin's equivalent of Vietnam? In his essay The End of History Francis Fukuyama was still deriding religious fundamentalists as "crackpot messiahs", after 9/11 at the latest, they and the grievances of the Muslim world at large should have had had the world's undivided attention. After WWII, it was understood that a military defeat of fascism had to be complemented by an ideological exorcism, that winning the peace and the hearts and minds of the defeated is as conditional to complete victory as aerial supremacy. With the invasion of Iraq and the incomprehensible aberration of Guantanamo, instead, George Bush has provided Osama bin Laden with a Heaven-sent PR he keeps making full use of until this very day.

The list of misconducts, crimes, and incompetences is as infinitely continuable as it is tragic. Yet, even in these times of moral decay America is no Chile, and George Bush and his cronies must not be allowed to steal away with impunity and hide behind the Augusto Pinochet-self-proclaimed-Senator-for-life-like immunity of a former head of state. They have to be hold accountable for betraying the trust the American people had placed in them in this moment of utter grief and taunting the victims of 9/11. An impeachment, as justified as it is, would only serve as a campaign tool and is unsuitable to initiate a national healing process. Such a trial is too important to let it degenerate into a farce or nothing but partisan argy-bargy. It has to be backed by a plurality of the populace, including a majority of the Republican Party and her voters, to furnish a universally accepted narrative and viable accounting of the past six years.

more...

http://agonist.org/hannes_artens_author_of_the_writing_on_the_wall/20070911/a_date_which_will_live_in_infamy

[panzerfaust]

1. Again: They HAVE NOT FAILED

The plan of the current administration is to enrich the rich, impoverish the poor, destroy constitutional government and establish a police state.

By and and all measure they are succeeding.

[lligrd]

3. True Except That They Did Think They Could Take Over

the Middle East. In that, they have and will fail. In turn, Americans will turn against them, (at least I hope they will).

[AdHocSolver]

13. They already have partners in the Middle East: The rulers of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait.

They don't need to take over Iraq or Iran, and never wanted to. They only want the oil. The model is Afghanistan. They never intended to "win" there - just build a pipeline through Afghanistan and let the warlords and the Taliban fight among themselves.

The purpose of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is to control the oil. The rest of the country is irrelevant.

A majority of Americans want to end the war. So far, they have been ignored. For America, the war is going badly. However, the people who have a vested interest in this war, and want it to continue, hold the power. Most Republicans in Congress and some Democrats are unwilling to do what is necessary to shut this war down. That is, Congress has to put a timetable for withdrawal in any funding legislation, and not back down. If Bush vetoes it, send it back with another timetable that withdraws troops even sooner - until Bush signs it.

The only reason for staying longer in Iraq is to enrich Halliburton, et al. Go after your Senators and Representatives to oppose Bush, or promise consequences for them in 2008.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Impeach Them and Send Them To the Hague

[BB1]

10. The doors are open

bring 'em on. We'll choke them to death on our gazillion
little rules we have. 

Just one little thing: There seems to be a law in effect which
allows the US to invade the Netherlands in the event of
Americans being detained in Scheveningen (which is where the
international jailhouse is). get rid of that little law first,
wouldn't you agree?

[AndyTiedye]

11. If We Can Get the Votes to Impeach, Repealing That Law Should be No Problem

[BB1]

12. In that case,

there should be a list of 'Good Americans'. For the past five lurking years I've been thinking about a way to figure out who's OK and who's not. I have not yet figured it out.

[tnlurker]

4. I used to teach new managers for my company

And I used to tell them that whenever you see bad behavior or policies broken by workers (or other managers) and you do not address the issue then you are condoning their behavior and legally you have no defense when you (the manager) are fired for condoning that behavior. When a worker breaks a safety rule like speeding when driving a company truck and has a wreck, their defense is often "my manager has ridden with me and know I have to speed to do my job" the manager should be fired.

We as Americans are in the same pickle. We have been condoning the behavior and actions of this administration for over six years now. We are as legally libel and guilty as they are. It mainly falls on Congress as our elected representatives to not turn a blind eye to the situation but we should work at every level of government to fix this mess we have gotten ourselves into. Not in Jan 09 but today.

I am as guilty of sitting on my ass as anybody else is. I ran for Congress in 2002 and lost badly. In 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 I wrote and call my Representative (Marsha Blackburn) and Senators Alexander and Frist but it was like beating my head on the wall. I have written letters to the editor and some on blogs. I have tried to open my co-workers eyes to the problems and possible solutions and have made some headway. Today and for the past few months I have grown tired of the situation. The only viable candidate in my mind is Dennis Kucinich. Only he is not viable at all according to the MSM and many people here. But I am not actively helping his campaign.

But that is not all. I have not taken to the streets. I have not protested in front of Blackburn's' office. I have not been to DC. I have not organized my neighborhood or asked my city for a get out of Iraq decree or impeachment resolution.

I sometimes feel like a miserable failure. It should not be so hard to make a difference.


Sorry,
I was just having a pity party for myself.
Tnlurker

[fasttense]

5. Well, I have made a point of joining protest marches

so that I can at least tell my grandchildren that I tried to fight the bushes. I've been to several local rallies and to DC. I've made a point of talking to reporters at the protests in the hopes of getting my name in the paper to prove to my grandkids that I didn't stand idly by. But I also have picture.

Maybe I should start keeping all those "thanks for your input but I don't care" letters I get from my Senators and Representatives as proof that I complained?

[babylonsister]

6. I don't think we've not condoned it so much as having been powerless

to do anything about it, at least until last November. Now there's absolutely no excuse; I have to believe the Dems in Congress have gotten the message from us all. The ball is again in their court, but what they do with it remains to be seen. As for you, it's never too late to start 'activating'.

And enjoy that pity party; I have them daily!

[madrchsod]

7. we are not bush`s "good americans"

the majority of the people in the usa want out of the war and want a change in the direction of this country. bush is not well liked by the majority of americans of either party.

it is our house and senate that have failed us. all but a few democrats stood up against the war and as the years dragged on it was obvious that this country was headed in the wrong direction. the people did speak up against what they saw was wrong in our country and in 2004 they voted for a change and they received it. it`s our party and the republicans who have`t done their duty to those who elected them and to their responsibility to up hold the constitution.

the germans did`t have what we have..the right to vote and the ability to protect that right

[Karenina]

8. Protect that right?

How many Floridians have had their voting rights restored after that Choicepoint assfucking in 2000? :shrug: Just asking.

[babylonsister]

9. The right to vote?

Not necessarily:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x482571

And the ability to protect that right? Not so much in 2000 or 2004. I'm convinced the votes were stolen, so don't consider that protection came into the equation.

[tom_paine]

15. I do not think you realize how close we and they are

Please read this. If you don't feel like buying it, get it from the library.

http://www.amazon.com/Will-Bear-Witness-1933-1941-Paperbacks/dp/0375753788

Make special note of the great numbers of German opposed to Hitler, mentoned throughout the book. How Klemperer's daily travels are largely undisturbed, even as late as 1941, and how the German People show kindness and sympathy to the Liberal Jews.

I think you are only safe in your illusion because you haven't dared to take a good look at the reality.

Please read Mr. Klemperer's diaries.

[tom_paine]

14. Of course it will: IT'S WHAT WE ARE!

Why should we not be called accurately for what we are?