this is not about 911 anymore...

[kpete]

Infantryman's War Experiences in Afghanistan

....Basically, I just don’t see how any politicians are still getting away with this conflict. I fought with the bravest Soldiers in the world for mostly the wrong reasons. I posted something about 911 long ago. Read it if you like. I stick to that. But this is not about 911 anymore. Anyone who thinks that is way off. We have lost more Soldiers in this conflict than we did on that day. So you tell me, why are we still allowing our leaders to do this?........

http://gijoe26.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/the-twilights-last-gleaming/
via:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/21/987393/-The-Drawdown:-50,000-Nowthe-Rest-by-Years-End?via=siderecent

[Electric Monk]

1. K&R

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/06/21/majority-want-all-american-troops-in-afghanistan-home-now/

[Vanje]

2. K&R

Stop these fucking wars!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. We allow it because we're stupid and spineless.

[RKP5637]

4. +1000 +++ n/t

[ZombieHorde]

5. I agree. nt

[MrMickeysMom]

11. That's the collective, "we", right Peggy?

But, you are right.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. You got that right! n/t

[peace4ever]

27. Our leaders, sure

Not to mentioned captured by the monied elite.

Our leaders stoped listening to we the people, decades ago.

[Rex]

45. We did protest the wars with millions of people, our leaders didn't

listen...we voted some news leaders in that are 'own our side' so we don't hold million person marches and the M$M is more then happy to ignore the wars for the corporations and the WH.

How do WE change? What do we do to make us smart and couragous? Storm the bastille? Is that all we can do?

[awoke_in_2003]

46. And if we say anything...

about pulling totally out here we get bashed for piling on the president.

[defendandprotect]

50. 80% of Americans want an end to the wars ... and that's what '06 was about ....

as Pelosi confirmed on video the morning after the election --

"Democrats were elected to end the war!" --

The Koch Bros. DLC/Dem Party is where the problem is --

[Horse with no Name]

6. I think that the answer to this is going to be very complex

and I think that it will knock the socks off of every reasonable American if they knew that one of the biggest reasons we are fighting wars is to give them political cover on the actual unemployment numbers.

Can you imagine if we didn't have troops fighting in endless wars then we wouldn't need to be using our reservists and troops the way we are?

Can you imagine what the unemployment numbers would be if we didn't have hundreds of thousands troops deployed to yonder regions?

Then, try to imagine how ANY of these assclowns would ever be able to be elected.

The wars are serving many different agendas--of course--this is only one. But it is one that is highly offensive.

[tblue37]

20. If we were not fighting those wars, we'd have more money for

investing in this country's infrastructure, which would provide jobs.

The reasons for the war are more closely related to profits for politically connected corporations and cronies than to jobs for soldiers.

If TPTB could run the war without any troops, so that they could make even higher profits, they would bring the troops home and just run the war with expensive machines that would need to be frequently replaced, so they could make even more money.

[Horse with no Name]

22. The problem is that the money is already gone

and there aren't any jobs for these reservists or soldiers to come home to.

We have an entire segment of our community that is indentured to the military at this point--if we stop the wars, we won't need the soldiers...we won't need the civilians who work on base or for the military contractors.

Right now--I would venture to say that ending the wars (make no mistake--I want them ended at whatever cost to our economy)would literally collapse our already fragile economy. That's why we won't end them and that is why we are out creating new wars to take the old one's place.

Our collective house is a virtual deck of cards--and ending the wars would be political suicide. That is what is criminal.

[Eddie Haskell]

24. The Carter Doctrine

Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union Address on January 23, 1980, stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, and was intended to deter the Soviet Union—the Cold War adversary of the United States—from seeking hegemony in the Gulf. After stating that Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed "a grave threat to the free movement of Middle East oil," Carter proclaimed:

"The region which is now threatened by Soviet troops in Afghanistan is of great strategic importance: It contains more than two-thirds of the world's exportable oil. The Soviet effort to dominate Afghanistan has brought Soviet military forces to within 300 miles of the Indian Ocean and close to the Straits of Hormuz, a waterway through which most of the world's oil must flow. The Soviet Union is now attempting to consolidate a strategic position, therefore, that poses a grave threat to the free movement of Middle East oil.

This situation demands careful thought, steady nerves, and resolute action, not only for this year but for many years to come. It demands collective efforts to meet this new threat to security in the Persian Gulf and in Southwest Asia. It demands the participation of all those who rely on oil from the Middle East and who are concerned with global peace and stability. And it demands consultation and close cooperation with countries in the area which might be threatened.

Meeting this challenge will take national will, diplomatic and political wisdom, economic sacrifice, and, of course, military capability. We must call on the best that is in us to preserve the security of this crucial region.

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force."

It seems pretty clear to me. The neocons just decided the best defense is a good offense.

[awoke_in_2003]

47. Let's say...

we have 300k in Afghanistan and Iraq, and 300M Americans. Bringing them home and discharging every one of those would raise unemployment 0.1%. We are there so certain corporations can rake in big money- nothing more.

[Boxerfan]

7. Money-its ALWAYS about the money

War is business nowadays-Big business. One that is so large that if we did a rational draw down it would increase unemployment numbers dramatically....


We need a CCC & PWA style direction for all these resources. And the only way to get it is to demand it.


'bout damn time we did...

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. The stand the mayors took yesterday was extraordinary

They called for an end to these nonsensical wars & a redirection of the money to the states.


http://usmayors.org/79thAnnualMeeting/documents/0620-release-wardollars.pdf


Things have gotten so bad.....

[justiceischeap]

28. Since I can remember, when our economy has been down and Repubs are in office

we've had some sort of war or conflict to fill certain coffers.

[JFN1]

8. K&R

Damn right.

[RC]

9. 911 or 9/11

One is a call for help and the other was an excuse to start some wars for profit.

[ixion]

13. I've always felt there was a reason they planned it for that day

which is why I use 911. It was an 'emergency' call from fascist 'murika.

[WinkyDink]

10. 9/11.

[lib2DaBone]

15. The machine needs an enemy if war dollars are to flow....

Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam.. (never happened) etc, etc....

911 was the means.. the way... the Reichstag fire. A means to appeal to the most basic hatred and hypocrisy in America.

Joe six-pack sucked it up and never questioned the motives of the corrupt bankers.

Here we are... ten years later... broke.. with millions dead and middle class America on the rocks.

The war continues. The wealthy prosper... every day is the same endless parade of ignorance and stupidity.

[Scuba]

18. Good summation. Thanks.

[EFerrari]

33. "Where there is blood, there is money."

[russspeakeasy]

43. and where there is money, "There Will Be Blood".

[Eddie Haskell]

53. Medici family motto:

"Money to get power. Power to protect money."

[russspeakeasy]

54. absolutely...

[amborin]

16. K&R

[xiamiam]

17. i understand that this is a neocon agenda..i dont understand how one can support an administration

which has expanded and escalated the same wars..especially a democratic administration..baffling

[awoke_in_2003]

48. our side has to prove...

that they are tough, too.

[nichomachus]

19. It's the drugs, silly

Drug production in Afghanistan under US protection is at an all-time high. The CIA just loves that drug money.

[Blue Owl]

21. The Profiteers are in power

n/t

[Eddie Haskell]

23. The park across the street from my home is erecting a 911 memorial.

A WTC beam will be placed outside the library window. My wife feels it's a tribute to those who died. I have mixed feelings.

[woo me with science]

25. Robert Reich's video about the economy

includes his hand drawing of two cartoon guys screaming at and pointing fingers at one another, while the oligarchs walk away with all the money and power.

You would not see Democratic support of many outrages that have gone on in this administration if they had happened under a Republican, including increased searches and surveillance of ordinary Americans, corporate takeovers, and escalating war.

We are being led to attack mirages and each other instead of uniting against the real problem.

[2Design]

26. never been about 911 - even memorial day at WH make iraq about 911

[truth2power]

29. It NEVER was about 911...

It never was about OBL or women's rights or terrorists.

It's always been about pipelines and people sitting on resources that we want.

And, while we're at it, someone should ask about Ghaddafi and his plans for a unified African bank system. Coincidentially, that happened before we discovered he was attacking his own people and we (NATO) needed to intervene in Libya. Hmm..

[comtec]

40. I'm surprised it took so long for someone to say this

it was never about 9-11.
*sighs*
oh well. more useless waste of our money and troops

[truebrit71]

30. That's an interesting blog...

...bookmarked for later...

[Solly Mack]

31. K&R

Was it ever?

[KurtNYC]

32. this is why the Bush admin wouldn't kill OBL n/t

[glynnhintzeII]

34. I don't even think 9/11 was about what they want you to think it was about.

Yes, I'm one of those "kooks". What they want me to believe is more of a conspiracy than the so-called conspiracies. And its after-effects benefit every corporate and Republican interest there is. So, my friend, I'm sorry to say, you and you're buddies fought and died to keep our Republican sponsored plutocracy alive. And we're still allowing this to happen because too many of us believe that we were victims of Islamists when in fact we are victims of greed and deceit.

[comtec]

41. There's plenty of contradictions and vague answers to ive most thinking people pause about 9/11

I can't wrap my head around MIHOP.... it just poisons my heart to believe our gov did this to us on purpose.
LIHOP is far more plausible. an opportunity came about, and they simply let it happen.

Personally i think the towers were designed to fail and fall the way they did.
an easy ting for the government to say, that would have pacified many 9-11'ers.

building 7... yeah that bothers me, as much as the pentagon. The lack of footage or people coming forward to describe what they say. A friend pointed out that the damage the pentagon took vs the amount of armour it has is about right.

Still... i wonder where all the footage of the pentagon BEING hit is....

[Canuckistanian]

35. It never was about 9/11

You KNOW the PATRIOT Act was sitting in a desk somewhere long before 2001. All they did was dust it off.

9/11 was the excuse to use it.

[avebury]

36. Agreed

[Beam Me Up]

37. it wasn't just an 'excuse'... it was a pretext and prevarication.

[Octafish]

38. Afghanistan is a staging area for the war on Iran, soldier.

Same for Iraq.

Get ready for the march on Tehran.

And thank PNAC for that.

[Scottybeamer70]

39. rec.

Thanks, kpete

[libodem]

42. Ahhhh

The pleasure of reasoned discourse on DU. My thanks.

[RoccoR5955]

44. 9/11 was an inside job.

Either LIHOP, or MIHOP. They knew about it.
I know that there are many of you who who will call me crazy. I know. You just weren't there when they were building the thing.
They got their "New Pearl Harbor," and now it's over for that.

[KansDem]

51. No way can a sane person look at the photo of Card telling Bush "we are under attack."

...and Bush just sits there and does nothing...absolutely nothing...and come away with the mindset that he didn't know about it beforehand.

No way...

[defendandprotect]

49. PLUS more than a million Muslims dead --

[Marblehead]

52. thank you for your service

unfortunately it was for uber rich sociopaths who are only interested in enriching themselves further at the cost of any human life on the planet. Sorry