IF YOU AREN’T ANGRY OR SCARED
YOU ARE JUST PLAIN DUMB
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER
We get information from lying TV, lying newspapers and long proven liars like our government and their "spokesfreaks". We have religious leaders and even friends, who, over the years, have proven to be total idiots, most too stupid to live. Darwin needs to step in, perhaps.
I had a couple of things happen this week. The Government of Iraq and, especially, the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) contacted me, telling me they have huge amounts of oil to sell at well under market price. They are telling me that they have no buyers, nobody seems to need oil or will even come to a meeting, even with the Prime Minister or Oil Minister. I was with these people in March discussing oil marketing. At that time, they would have signed a yearly contract at 79 dollars per barrel. Something sound fishy here?
This week McCain is talking to the Disabled Veterans of America. McCains notorious votes against veterans and serving military make him one of the worst anti-military Senators. However, nobody will have the guts to say anything substantive. Perhaps he should visit the Paralyzed Veterans of America instead. This is a phony veterans group started by Karl Rove to push "talking points" and spread campaign lies, much as with the dishonored Swift Boat Vets who accepted bribe money to support known lies in the last election. Seems like any time we get veterans together in a group, the "snitches and brown noses" seem to take charge.
For those of us who remember the "real military", not the imaginary one we tell civilians about, we remember the idiots we served with. Now the Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney military has put the idiots "in charge of the asylum". HBO’s new show, GENERATION KILL gives you a good look with real troops as actors and some of the reality of wartime in a military where politics trumps all….
The papers and blogs are filled with two things. Both matter alot. One is the economic collapse under Bush and the other the Iran War that Israel seems to be pushing us into. I will talk a little about the collapse first. Telling you that things are bad and getting worse when you probably, like me, live on a street of empty homes, is a bit of a waste of time. I was talking to one of my friends, a Special Forces Colonel who has worked in intel for years. He lives a couple of thousand miles west of me. We were counting the empty homes on our streets. What does this tell you about where peoples "heads are at?"
Another friend, a big Bush supporter who works in DC out of "the community" sent me an article on the consequences of war with Iran. It seems our military believes that Iran can cut off all oil from the Persian Gulf for quite some time and turn several of our aircraft carriers into submarines. Maybe the stealth technology we gave the Chinese recently for their anti-ship missiles they send to Iran by the boat load can finally give Bush and Cheney what they want, a war with some serious American casualty counts.
Thus far, we have only been able to push deaths into the tens of thousands with bad medical care, suicides and operational incompetence. Even Iraq is getting tired of killing Americans and each other after years. I am willing to call this a victory. I would much rather have our dead kids back. As that may be impossible, perhaps we could put our Constitution back together, rebuild freedom at home and work on getting some of our jobs back from China. This is only a thought. Forgive me for this.
War with Iran, I am told, would take oil to 500 bucks a barrel and shut down half the world’s economy. For those who haven’t noticed, food prices, even in the US, have gone up a bit. In other countries where people actually eat rice, wheat, corn and other foods that don’t come "ready to microwave", food prices have gone up, in some cases, 1000%. People are starving by the hundreds of thousands again, soon to enter the tens of millions. This is happening now. Wonder why the "liberal press" is not telling this or so many other stories?
I would like to go back to my harping on Iran. I love it when people like Bush and Cheney, who are, if you don’t know it, chronically undereducated and obviously totally nuts try to sound "smart". I suspect that their medical records are top secret. The Marx Brothers could have run the country better than these two clowns.
Iran has a population over twice that of Iraq. They may be Islamic but are Shiite, note Sunni. This means they are not part of the Arab world and have little in common with Pakistan, Morocco, Syria, Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Iran was, for 40 years, our best friend and a close ally of Israel. That Israel fears them so much but secretly does millions in business with Iran should make people wonder a bit. Oh, maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Sorry.
Iran has always been threatened by Russia who has wanted access to the Persian Gulf. Russia, for centuries, has coveted, not only the Slavic countries, but Turkey and Persia. Wars have been fought over this, fought and forgotten. Today Russia and China do the business in Iran that America did. Russia and China may do business, but nobody likes or trusts Russia and China. Iran may be angry at the US but they aren’t stupid. Russia and China are not very nice, even worse than us on our bad days.
Iran let a group of religious freaks take over their government years ago. They, I assure you, are sorry for that. People who let religious freaks get involved in government are always sorry. Ask most Americans how it has worked out here? If you have never thought about it, buy a newspaper. Read the front page. Then read the employment classified. Then go to the business page. Then read the real estate section. Go thank your local preacher. They helped bring this about. Maybe people who know "bible stories" should stick to that and stay out of politics. Our Founding Fathers believed this. Perhaps a few people need to be reminded about the really smart things those guys did over 200 years ago and start remembering them again. This "Fascist Theocracy Neocon" thing doesn’t seem to have worked out all that well. Maybe we could find something else crazy and stupid to do or simply go back to being America again. Give it a thought if you have a moment or two.
OK, I keep forgetting about Iran. Anyway, I was in London a couple of weeks ago attending the Farnborough Airshow. Farnborough is an "airshow" prettymuch like Congress is a center for rational intellectual thought. Farnborough is where, every 2 years, people peddle defense technologies so that emerging nations have somewhere to spend the money they borrow from the IMF. I ended up being called there while on a hiking vacation in the Alps. I had shorts, Timberland’s, rain gear and few other things with me. This required, not only going to London, but having to attend "public receptions" in proper clothing. For that, my hosts had to foot the bill for London tailors to put some "things" together.
One of those tailors was Iranian. So, while being given tumblers of Scotch Whisky (they spell it without the "e"), measuring, laughing, socializing, some straight political talk was going on. It is always assumed that just because you are "at" an "important conference" you are important too. To become important, I would have to start telling people the lies they want to hear. I am too lazy and too easily bored for that. All the really good lies come from politicians, journalists and their "lackeys."
As we went on, things got a bit serious and I was being asked to tell "my friends" not to "blow up Iran." Our friendly Iranian tailor seemed worried about his family back home and said that Iran would much rather be friends with America again instead of filling their country with Russians and Chinese. It seems that wherever Russia goes, the Russian Mafia goes also. When China goes in, jobs and money go out. Surprise?
Americans used to know Iran well and many of us "had" Iranian friends. Iran was a nice country and Iranian people were both culturally advanced and also very Americanized. It is very possible that Iran has not enjoyed having a pack of fanatics try to turn them into a military superpower led by illiterates. Note that I am leaving out a comment here.
The point I am making is that Iran is the last country we should fight with. I suspect that Iran is waiting for any excuse to decide that "they" made the US change and become "good" again. What they really want is their American friends back and to avoid a war that would last a very long time, hurt every country in the world, and leave Iran a wasteland. Maybe I am wrong and Bush is right. What are the chances that Bush and his advisors are right when billion dollar arms deals and oil are involved?
That millions of Americans would end up living in cardboard boxes, under bridges, shelters or their parents basements as happened during the "boom years" of the Reagan administration is seldom a concern for the millionaires, billionaires and their thieving political "toadies" that make up the Washington establishment. As long as the dead, wounded or homeless stay off the better golf courses, at least during prime tee times, our government, both visible and "invisible" is immune.
Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam Veteran and Special Consultant to the UN
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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