US To Inherit Second State Of Georgia
September 10, 2008, Matthew Good Under Secretary of Defense, Eric Edelman, said something interesting today during a congressional hearing on the Georgia-Russia conflict…
“The Department of Defense is sending an assessment team to Tbilisi later this week to help us begin to consider carefully Georgia’s legitimate needs and our response. After assessments of these needs, we will review how the United States will be able to support the reconstruction of Georgia’s economy, infrastructure, and armed forces”.
I’d like to ask Mr. Edelman, and his boss, what the view’s like with their heads up their asses? Because the last time that I checked they still had a nation to deal with whose infrastructure and economy they were directly responsible for destroying. In five years the only substantial reconstructive effort of real note has been that of the US embassy in Baghdad, the largest of its kind on earth – this while 2.2 million Iraqis are still displaced, power is still intermittent in various areas, line ups for fuel are so long that people sometimes spend the night in their cars just to get gas, the medical system is in shambles, abuse is rampant in Iraqi jails, citizens have to change the routes they use on a daily basis to get their kids to school so as to avoid kidnappings and carjacking, and a plethora of other problems.
But worry not displaced Georgians, the United States is at your disposal.
But my favourite quote from Edelman’s drivel is…
“Georgia, like any sovereign country, should have the ability to defend itself and to deter renewed aggression.”
Such as - just off the top of my head - Iran?
Edelman should have said “sovereign democratic country”. Then at least he would have properly stayed on message.
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Haha… I just love the subtlety!!!
What’s good for the goose is certainly NOT good enough for the gander.
That’s what consistently pi$$es me off about the US government’s attitude.
The spice must flow!
God created Arrakis to train the faithful.
Neocon fascism.
When will America be forced to realize they can not be the bandage to the world? When China and Russia decide that the holier then thou attitude of America drives them not to buy anymore of America’s debt. The way America is going, especially if McCain wins, you may have put lipstick on the pig, but it is still a pig. America is so afraid of allowing other governments to gain control of the developing world that they have taken their focus away from the nation’s problems - energy, infrastructure, education and so many more! As well, America is doing a terrible job keeping Chinese influence from growing dramatically. America can no longer carry the banner of Democracy alone! If it is so important to the world, let the countries of the world stand up.
I’m so pissed at what is happening in our world. We are all being sucked into the abyss by religious ideology that can only result in conflict as history has always proven to be true. Remember, their has never been a time in human history that we have not had a full out war utilizing our most powerful weapons. If we do not rise up to put religion where it belong, out of our politics, we will get what we deserve.
Will McCain/Palin continue the Neoconservative policies of the Bush administration?
Spray & Wash gets out what America gets into… so send some to Georgia!
I’d still like to know why America puts all blame on Russia, but I guess we all know the answer to that question.
Just on a side note, can anyone tell me how McCain’s idea of drilling for oil domestically in as many places as you can find will be a solution to America’s energy shortage? Does anyone else find a problem with this? I sure do.
hey didnt you say you were going to stop posting about Georgia?? or just the Russo-Georgian conflict?
im a shit disturber i know! :P
I would say this entry is about Iraq, but have at it. :)
hahahaha to tell you the truth, i didnt read the article fully, but as soon as I saw the title to it I said heeeeeeeeey didnt matt do a big spiel about “sides” and whatnot and wasnt gonna write about Georgia anymore??
It is indeed about Iraq, with Georgian tidbits thrown in there :P just keeping you on your toes, MG!!
“assessing the legitimate needs” is key here. I am sure “they” are still assessing the legitimate needs of Iraq. They are also assessing whether the needs of Iraq go hand in hand with the needs/interests of the U.S. - they probably do not. They could have, if the idiots in Washington kept Iraqi army intact, but they didn’t. Would you want to rebuilt infrastructure in a country where half of the population is hostile (legitimately so) to you?
Napoleon tried to bring progress to the Nile, he failed miserably, but he accepted the failure and left with the minimal damage to the region having built some bridges (physical, not metaforical) and taking with him a great amount of knowledge about the area. People back then put their heart and soul into campaigns, and knew how to read. Today, the damage is uncomprehendable, and the question is - will anything be taken away from it? The leaders of today, or tomorrow, who, even if they now how to read (I’m pretty sure at least Obama does) still have to do some serious soul searching.
p.s. leave pigs alone
Iraq, the neoconservatives dream come true. With the success of Iraq, they can conquer the world. The success you ask. America is pumping oil out of Iraq. We have 140,000 troops in the Middle East ready to help some another Middle Eastern country discover the benefits of Democracy. But, unfortunately, just like Iraq (civil war - 100,000 dead), this country will have to suffer so it can truly appreciate American style Democracy.
Over the years that the war has been going on, more than 80 000 people have been murdered in the U.S. I know this has nothing to do with Iraq (except maybe an occasional unreported case of PTSD), and the U.S. population is about 10x larger than that of Iraq, but this does say a lot about the American style Democracy.
Where would the U.S. go next? Kuwait - accuse them of being too buddy-buddy with Iran? Syria?
Somewhat outdated but a nice summary of the Middle East History for before 9/11:
http://www.isreview.org/issues/15/blood_for_oil.shtml (sorry, forgot how to do the proper link)
Yes. I love that we can condemn Russia for trying to do the same thing that we’re doing to Iraq.
Only problem is, we’re shitting on the lawns of people further away while Russia’s trying to do it to their next door neighbor; hence, making it wrong.
U.S. foreign policy has always been about meeting the needs of the U.S. not the the interests of anyone else.
It’s meant supporting depots the world over in the places like the Phillipines, Vietnam, Chile, El Salvador, Korea and on and on.
In the minds of the neocons a weak and fractured Iraq is a desirable thing. It allows the U.S. to claim it’s needed in the region, it causes tensions in the oil futures market inflating the price of a barrel of crude and intimidates long standing opponents. I don’t think the U.S. going into Iraq was ever about freedom, justice, democracy or any of the other spin. If the U.S. had been serious about rebuilding Iraq it would have sent adequate forces to secure the entire nation, not just the oil producing infrasructure. Much of what was needed to repair the damage done by years of blockade and bombardment was destroyed in the first few weeks of the occupation by looting and industrial scale vandalism.
The Georgians had better be careful about their new friends, the U.S. has a habit of walking away when it no longer sees a need for former clients.
that should have read ‘despots’…sometimes I miss the edit function
[quote comment="64613"]U If the U.S. had been serious about rebuilding Iraq it would have sent adequate forces to secure the entire nation, not just the oil producing infrasructure. Much of what was needed to repair the damage done by years of blockade and bombardment was destroyed in the first few weeks of the occupation by looting and industrial scale vandalism.[/quote]
Except for a delusional President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense that thought they would be greeted with open arms and be out in 6 months. Even the NeoCon elite fooled the American leadership, except Cheney who may the leader of the Illuminati.
[quote comment="64623"]Except for a delusional President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense that thought they would be greeted with open arms and be out in 6 months. Even the NeoCon elite fooled the American leadership, except Cheney who may the leader of the Illuminati.[/quote]
I don’t think they’re delusional. Bush and most of his Cabinet made a mint on the occupation, and the longer it lasts the more money they make.Sounds to me like they’re on the ball.
OK, maybe only Bush was delusional with dreams of commencing the countdown to the Rapture of Mankind. But maybe not. Does making a ton of money make people sane? I’ve seen many people lose touch with reality the richer they become. The three of them are delusional because they really believed that they would escape history finding out how much the Nation’s future was manipulated by a few men. (Condi was not IN at the beginnning)