"Oregon Law Would Jail War Protesters as Terrorists"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030403/ts_nm/life_protests_dc_1

Yeah, yeah. The bill won't pass in Oregon but - gosh - Ashcroft is sure to be smiling...and plotting.

Protest while you can but remember to stand on the sidewalk, keeping your hands raised in plain sight at all times. Protests will not be allowed during rush hour, lunch hour, weekends, or when school is out of session. Protests must cease immediately in the presence of a law enforcement officer, government official, Republican, Pro-War activist, or anyone morally superior.

Like I said, Sinclair, it sure can happen here...

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Scary quotes for the Bush age. I just made them up:
"For the Government to keep us totally secure they must have total information about us."
"'Privacy = Guilt' - You'd have nothing to hide if you were innocent."
"Dissension = Terrorism." see above.

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Bush claimed that the Iraqis are desperate for Freedom and, once the fighting started, would eagerly join our troops in the fight and would welcome them. Not quite happening. The Iraqis are fighting fiercely and cleverly.

Supposedly there was this imaginary line around Baghdad. Cross it and Hussein would use his Weapons of Mass Destruction (WoMD). We crossed it - no WoMD. Let's take a look at reality. If he had these weapons wouldn't it make more sense to use when your opponent is away from cities and isolated on the roads? Using them with a city confines makes no sense - you threaten your own military. Wouldn't it make more sense to have launched them when we were setting up in Kuwait - catch us off guard? And why call for suicide bombers if you have chemical or biological weapons? Suicide bombers seem so last resort. Oh, but that Hussein is crazy evil...

"But they found a thousand gas masks in a hospital...that's proof Hussein lied and has WoMD!" Do this. Go to darn near any residence in Israel and look around. You'll likely find a gas mask. Does that mean the residence owner has a WoMD? If your populace is threatened by such weapons where's a good palce to stockpile gas masks? Hospitals, Schools...places where the sick, elderly, and children can get access to them quickly. That they are finding caches of gas masks and uniforms is not proof of WoMD. Don't put it past Bush to use our WoMD if things get desperate. Hmmmm, is a 5000-pound bomb a Weapon of Mass Destruction?

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Darn it! The Government beat me to it. This posting was to contain a variety of excuses yet heard to explain or justify the Government's screw-ups and illegal actions. One of the yet-used excuses was regarding our Government giving out the lucrative Iraq contracts without following the normal bid process. The excuse was that it was for efficiency; in wartime the normal bidding process didn't apply. And sure enough Halliburton is now taking a little step back from their contracts because they're now under scrutiny. Something called cronyism and "conflict of interest". And the Government's excuse for giving them the contract in the first place? It would be more expedient to have the contracts in place before wars end. The normal bidding process would take too long. Translation: They thought it'd be a short war and were divvying up the spoils accordingly. Hey George, looks like there'll be plenty of time for the proper bidding process now.

But, but, but, as Anti-War as I am, I am also a Proud Patriot and supporter of our Constitution. Our Government needs our undivided support in this time of crisis. Therefore here is my individual contribution for the Cause. These Excuses haven't been used yet and I give leave for our U.S. Government to use them as needed:

Weapons of Mass Destruction:
- Hussein has them but isn't using them because our "Shock and Awe" strategy disrupted his communications.
- Hussein has them but isn't using them because he knows if he did he'd be in *SERIOUS* trouble.
- Hussein had them. He destroyed them immediately once the war started. Up to that point he craftily hid them from inspectors.
- Hussein has hid them extremely well in an attempt to discredit Bush. After the war we'll find them. Oh yes, we'll find them!
- Hussein is dead or missing. The remaining commanders don't know the launch codes.

"Shock and Awe":
- That was only the first round...wait until we reload.
- We weren't allowed to exercise full bombardment for fear of civilian casualties.
- It was a complete success. It's not apparent to average Americans, especially those Liberal Anti-War wimps.

Iraqis and Freedom
- After the first Gulf War Hussein killed a significant number of dissenters. The people remaining are just too cowed to launch any cohesive uprising.
- With the Iraqi soldiers illegally disguising themselves as civilians and coalition troops, the Iraqi civilians who want to uprise fear harming the wrong people.
- The people are ready to revolt. They're waiting for the correct tactically sound moment.

About the Oil:
- We gave the contracts out as a matter of efficiency. The normal bidding process does not apply in times of war.
- Dick said he wouldn't make too much profit.
- Iraq has oil?!?

The Lengthening War:
- It could've been over in days but the Military is against me. They're all against me!
- We haven't gotten all our tech toys over there for testing.
- My financial advisor has told me my defense investments will increase the longer the war.
- We haven't decided whether Syria or Iran is next.

Civilian Casualties:
- Don't blame us. Blame Hussein. By not caving in he's forcing us to bomb.
- They looked like Military. Heck, they all look the same...

(I predict that we'll capture Baghdad but not find Hussein so..) On Finding Hussein and Sons:
- We'll find him. In the meantime we have a situation in Syria/Iran/Pakistan that needs our military attention.
- This war was not about killing Hussein. It was about regime change and we succeeded.
- Our sources say they're in hiding with bin Laden. See? We told you Hussein supported bin Laden.

And after it's all over - The War Would Have Ended Much Sooner If:
- we had complete support from all Americans. Even now the Justice Depatrment is creating a list of known Anti-War protesters for future detainment and re-education.
- we had had better information about Iraq. We will be expanding our information gathering to around the globe.
- Hussein had just surrendered. But enough about Iraq. Let's talk about Syria/Iran/Pakistan...

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Hussein: "So what if we do develop this nuclear bomb? We'd be even a stronger nation than now."
Bush: "'Stronger.' You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"

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Bush says things are going right on schedule, peachy keen, couldn't be better and thanks for asking. He also says we're in for the long haul at whatever cost. If we're right on schedule why the comment about an open-ended long haul?

Our Military commanders are asking for time to regroup. If we need time to regroup how can we be on schedule?

Politics as usual. Never admit a screw-up.

Meanwhile, the Iraqis are not rising up en masse and supporting us as planned. Our supply lines lines are threatened. Turkey, Iran, and Syria are behaving in ways not in our interests. Islamic fundamentalists are screaming for jihad against the U.S.. Suicide bombers are strapping on the bodypacks that go Boom.

And still no Weapons of Mass Destruction. Bush may have to use them soon if he wants this war to end before re-election.

Our Military Leaders have realized that a Military Strategies devised by politicians usually suck. But it's hard to argue strategy when you have impeccable Military credentials like Bush and Rumsfeld and one of them is your CinC (that Commander-in-Chief - hey, I got the terminology down. Can I be on the team?).

Yes, Bush et al are politicians of the worst kind. They see the polls ("70% approval by Americans. 1000 people asked") and believe the numbers. They have lost the ability - if they ever had it - to critically think and question the information they use for decisions. Worse yet their decisions are for their own agenda and not for the good of the American people nor for the World. They see only black and white and not the grey in between. They hear "will" or "will not" and cannot fathom the probabilities of "may" and "may not". They have our media as their mirror and we're always the fairest on of all.

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Looks like we'll be sending more troops over. This sounds familiar. Fighting an unconventional enemy, requiring greater and greater resources in what may be a futile exercise in carnage and destruction. It's the Vietnam War for the 21st century. We were handed a lesson in jungle warfare then. We're being handed a lesson in desert and urban warfare now by a leader who may be vicious but he's crafty. Hussein understands that there are no rules. That's why he has his soldiers masquerade as civilians. That's why he fires anti-aircraft missiles out of cars. He knows that our guys may have superior weaponry but he also knows that we follow procedure and that we hesitate at shooting "civilians". And how can you kill a suicide bomber if you don't know that person is a bomber until you get up close to him for a frisking?

So if we're having a Vietnam flashback where are the 21st century naked hippie chicks?

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France, bless them, is asking for part of the booty. Folks, for France to oppose the war and then ask to be included in the spoils takes cajones, far more testosterone than what we have on the Hill. We should let them run Iraq.

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What makes me truly sick are those frothingly in favor of the war lamenting how terrible it is that innocents are getting killed. What freaking hypocrisy! If life is so precious to you then you wouldn't have called for war in the first place. But, no, you called for war; you got it and now you're unhappy that civilians and Coalition troops are getting killed. Guess what? War is ugly, brutal, no-holds, no rules. Men die. Women die. Children die. Bombs go awry. Weapons misfire. People find it tougher to aim properly in the heat of battle. Accidents happen. Civilians get killed. There is no such thing as a clean and tidy war.

But we had no choice, you, say. "Hussein just wouldn't give in. We *HAD* to go to war." Bull! There were plenty of options but not all of them were politically pretty.

Here's one: We're going to spend at least $80 billion on this war. What if we had offered a bounty on Hussein and sons. $5 million dollars and free U.S. Citizenship to the families of the assassins. What - the U.S. doesn't do assassinations? Right - sure. We might not directly and obviously but it's in the handbook and we certainly sponsor it. Heck, offer $10 billion dollars to any country that can take out Hussein and sons. Bribery...payoffs...the American way.

Here's another one. Show the oppressed Iraqis the alternative. Drop radios. Give them an info-blitz on who exactly would run the country after Hussein. Foment rebellions. We're fighting for Democracy but not showing the Iraqi people anything about their proposed new Government. No wonder they're not supporting us as much as they could. Given a choice between a known quantity (Hussein) and an unknown quantity (U.S.-style Democracy) the Iraqis are sticking with what's familiar. They know their system. It's brutal and oppressive but they know it. They know the risks. They know how to live with it and work around it. What we offer - Freedom - sounds great but visually is a cloudy mess. Afghanistan isn't much of an example to point to - it's a camel shit away from breaking out in tribal warfare (again).

Here's yet another one: Containment. Look at Cuba. If we're for freeing oppressed people why haven't we freed Cuba? All it takes is for Cuba to get one missile and Washington is toast. Yet we leave them alone. We could contain Iraq. Freeze their assets (and many countries would join us in that endeavour - free money)! Put in a rigid embargo. And all the while a propaganda campaign for the people to overthrow Hussein.

And nothing says you can't pick and choose strategies and combine them with inspections. But this is all wasted typing. Bush wanted this war regardless and, by jimbo, he got it. There is no way he'll back down now and lose all face. He's blindly happy with the half-face he has now.

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After 9/11 we went into Afghanistan guns a-blazing to get bin Laden and to get to him we had to remove the Taliban. The world watched as we wrought our vengeance and -Boom! - the Taliban were no longer in power. But Bush committed a terrible mistake. He didn't finish the job. Chasing bin Laden (now that's a movie title) disappeared from Bush's view after all the months of rhetoric...

Imagine if we were using the force currently committed to Iraq instead to search for bin Laden. Imagine if Bush had said to Pakistan "Hey, we're going after bin Laden. He's hiding in your mountains. We're going in." Pakistan may have screamed bloody murder but would only have watched as the U.S. finished the job. But that didn't happen. Bush went for a bigger prize - Iraq. Nice seemingly easy victory, oil, another chance to show off the big dogs, and likely he could finish this job before re-election.

Make no mistake. This war isn't about Freedom and not about "International Respect".

What this is about is Control of Resources which is, in this case, oil. It's about "Spheres of Influence" which is, in this case, the Middle East. It's about increasing both. We have a presence in the Middle East in Israel and Saudi Arabia but it's not control. Let's face it, Iraq is a big fat sugar-coated untapped oil bonanza and conveniently enough they have a bastard ruler that we can exploit as justification for our takeover. Afghanistan was a warm-up to see if we could knock out a regime.

With Russia is out of the picture this is our time to expand our control and influence . But we have to hurry before the soon-to-be evil enemy that is China flexes her wings.

And we are threatening. Syria and Iran, if they don't kowtow, could find themselves suddenly victims of our brand of liberation.

And Bush had better hurry. Re-election is right around the corner. Bet he finds bin Laden just in time.

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How many lies must we endure from our Government? We may finally remove Hussein from power but is the credibility of our Government worth that price? Does our Government have any credibility left other than that backed up by force?

Bush has proved a greater threat to this Nation than Hussein. (All comments are protected by the U.S. Constititution as Freedom of Speech until Bush tramples that worthy document into dust.)