Our Worst National Security Problem: George W. Bush

"President" Bush says he is trying to do everything he can to protect our homeland.  This has to be one of the most disingenuous claims of all. 

Our ports are underprotected.
We need $8.8 billion over the next 11 years and $1.5 billion immediately, according to the Coast Guard. In 2005, Bush is proposing $46 million for port security.   Even a guy with half a brain and one eye can see how ridiculous that is.

Our public transit systems are underprotected.
We need $6 billion.  Since 2001 Bush has provided just $115 million.

Our air cargo goes uninspected (while we're sitting in the seats above).
We need big enough machines to scan enough cargo fast enough without slowing down commerce.  It's not happening.

Don't let George fool you!  He is not watching out for us.  Let's get rid of him and elect someone who cares about the American people.  Vote for John Kerry and John Edwards November 2nd!

(Click on the title of this blog to view the website which prompted this response.)

 

Hold Your Fire!

Our troops must now use their bullets sparingly because bullets are in short supply.  To offset the squeeze, the Army is taking unusual stopgap measures such as buying ammunition from Britain and Israel. 

CUT!!!  Are you telling me that, not only are we dependent on foreign oil,  we are now dependent on foreign bullets, too?   As Frank Barone would say on "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  HOLY CRAP!!

Military consultant Loren B. Thompson said, "In essence the Army underestimated what its future ammunition needs might be."   The tight supplies of bullets reflect a shutdown of factories in recent years and the unexpected level of resistance in Iraq, according to a Washington Post article July 22nd.  (Click on the title above to read the article.)  The Army estimates it will need 1.5 billion rounds of small ammo this year for the M-16 rifles, triple the amount produced in 2001.  Brig. Gen. Paul Izzo says we actually have a stockpile of 1 billion rounds, but he wants to save those for emergencies.  He calls the stockpile "our trump card." 

The U.S. has also beefed up its production of armored Humvees.  Now we produce about 350 a month, up from 60 a month.  By the end of 2004, production will reach 450. 

One concern is the high price tag of the ammo now that the military is using overseas suppliers.  Christopher Hellman, director of the Project on Military Spending Oversight at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said, "If you have to scramble to bring up capacity, then you're likely to pay a premium."    Okay, all together now, "DUH!"

All right.  Enough of this.  If you're fascinated by weapons, guns, and bullets, you may want to investigate this subject further.  But as for me,  I am not interested in ammunition- never have been.  Although I'm unimpressed with our military ineptitude in long-range planning,  I can't get excited about producing more and more ammunition to presumably kill more and more human beings.  And while we're here, doesn't this whole discussion prove that we are escalating our war agenda?  Of course, it does.  We are on the warpath.  

We need to seek peace in our world.

We are currently building 14 new military bases in Iraq.  God help us!  We are on the wrong road.  What energizes so many Americans today is the prospect of war and all its benefits.   Wars make billionaires.  Wars allow some to exercise that "bully" mentality that has been so evident since George Bush was selected as our "president." 

Work for peace, not war.

If we could be imaginative enough to visualize a peaceful world and put all our efforts into achieving peace,  we could get there some day.  If we don't change course,  our legacy to our children and grandchildren will be war and misery. 

Just a reminder:  A vote for Bush is a vote for war! 

Critiquing the 9/11 Commission

(As usual, click on the title of this blog to reach the web site.)

On July 22nd, as everyone knows who hasn't been living under a rock, the 9/11 Commission presented its report.  On the same day, prior to the release of the official report, another meeting was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and taped by C-Span 3.  This event was sponsored by the group, 9/11 Citizens Watch.  Founded by Kyle Hence and John Judge, this organization came into being with the express purpose of gathering as much information as possible regarding 9/11, believing strongly that, though the 9/11 commission accomplished its mission (to find out what happened, how it happened, and to come up with ways to prevent future attacks),  there is much, much more to consider.  This group presented its own 63-page report which claims that the official 9/11 report is essentially a whitewash.  Ray McGovern was one of the speakers.  A 27-year veteran of the CIA, McGovern explained that the 9/11 commission was neither independent nor representative of the people.  Most, if not all, of the commissioners have ties in one way or another to groups, previous jobs, and the like, which had the potential to compromise their ability to remain impartial.  And all are lawyers, politicians, or both.  Jules Aronson, brother of Myra who died on 9/11, spoke of the importance of examining the historical context of the tragedy, something which was not  done and should have been done.  As Ray McGovern said, "How do you stop terrorism?  It could be compared to stopping malaria.  Do you go out into the swamp and shoot as many mosquitoes as possible?  In the same way, do we deal with terrorism by trying to shoot as many terrorists as we can, a la Rumsfeld?  No.  You find out why so many Arabs hate the U. S. "  And he gave the short answer for that:  It's our policies.

There are many unanswered questions.  The families of the 9/11 victims are committed to the task of getting to the bottom of what really happened, and they are not in any way satisfied with what has been discovered thus far.  There are so many things that simply don't add up.  For example, several of the hijackers who were supposed to have died have shown up very much alive since 9/11. 

Delving into this troubling subject is not for the faint-hearted, so only go there if you feel you have the energy to consider new information which will astound you.  Our media has not covered this part of the story.  And what you will find is very, very disturbing in terms of what our president knew, for example.  There are any number of web sites which are dedicated to finding the whole truth.  Of course, there are links which will lead you to the information that has been gathered so far. 

A good place to start is www.deceptiondollar.com .

We must elect John Kerry on November 2nd!  Kerry and Edwards will lead us out of the quicksand of 9/11 and the quagmire that is Iraq.  We must change course in 2004.  There just is no other choice.

Allawi: The New Iraqi "Democracy" Emerges

(You may click on the title of this blog to see the article which inspired this response.)
 
Breaking news from Truthout.org tells of the brutal murders of six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station just days before Washington handed control of the country to the interim government in Iraq.  This killing was reported by two people who  allegedly witnessed the incident.  The killer: Prime Minister Iyad Allawi himself.  It appears that Iraq has a cowboy, too.
 
The prisoners were handcuffed,  blindfolded, and lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block at the Al-Amariyah security centre in Baghdad.  Then Dr. Allawi told onlookers the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they "deserved worse than death."  With that, Prime Minister Allawi  drew a pistol from his belt and began shooting these young men in the head as about a dozen Iraqi policemen and four Americans from the Prime Minister's personal security team watched in stunned silence.   When the murders had been accomplished, Iraq's Interior Minister, Falah al-Naqib,  also present, is said to have congratulated Allawi on a job well done.  The Iraqi police, though surprised and scared at first, were reportedly very happy about the murders.  One witness justified the shootings as "an unintended act of mercy." "They were happy to die because they had already been beaten by the police for two- eight hours a day to make them talk."
 
Although Allawi's office has denied everything and claims he never visited the centre and did not carry a gun, one of the witnesses reported that before the shooting, Allawi told those around him that he wanted to send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents.   He wanted to assure the Iraqi police that they should not be afraid of killing anyone.   These allegations of a return to the cold-blooded tactics of Saddam Hussein raise the obvious concern:  Are the Iraqis any better off now?   Allawi has a bad reputation, according to a former CIA officer, Vincent Cannistraro.   At one time the 58-year-old Prime Minister lived in London where he was a paid Mukhabarat (intelligence) agent for the Iraqis.  Cannisatraro says, "He was involved in dirty stuff."  Some observers in Baghdad say that  this little-known polititian, after 33 years in exile, needs to prove his leadership credentials as a "strongman."  We know how that can be.  Iyad and George should get along fine.
 
When asked about this terrible incident, our new ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, said he had no time to look into the matter and that the case was closed. 
 
So with our own American security personnel on hand and our ambassador looking the other way, and with the intense resentment running rampant among the Iraqi people, much of it against the US,  it is clear there will be no peace in the foreseeable future.  Democracy in Iraq is not going to happen any time soon.
  

 

Kerry in Canada

No, John Kerry wasn't actually in Canada last week, but I was. My Kerry button was pinned on my jacket, and I debated whether to take it off while traveling in Canada, just because I didn't think anyone would be interested in it there. I left it on as it turned out. Then the people started coming up to me. I was surprised. I usually forgot I had the button on. After all, I was on vacation, and I needed a break from politics! I hadn't been near a computer or a newspaper in days. So when people struck up conversations, I was not expecting it. I discovered that Canadians and US citizens alike wanted to talk. Not surprisingly, the people I talked with were not Bush fans. Presumably there aren't too many Canadians who want another Bush term, and they wouldn't be approaching me wearing a Kerry button anyway.

I ran into a man from Florida in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. He wanted to know what I thought about Kerry's choice of running mate, so we talked about that for awhile. He thought Edwards will really help the ticket a lot. When I asked him where he lived, he told me Florida. I must have given a look without realizing it because he went on the defensive a little. He told me he regretted that Florida had been singled out in the media in 2000. He said there were quite a few places in the country where voting went awry, but Florida got most of the blame. I tried not to add to his discomfort. But I guess I may have when I asked him if he thought Jeb Bush would do whatever it takes to deliver Florida to his brother in November. He said he did not believe that could happen again. (I wish I shared his optimism.) And he made it clear that not all Floridians like Jeb Bush. I was dumbfounded that I was talking about the US elections in this little fishing and boat building village. I even had a conversation with the lady at the Visitors' Centre in Mahone Bay. She appeared to almost pity me, and she told me she would be thinking of me in November, wishing me luck!

Then in Baddeck, Cape Breton, I was approached again by US vacationers from Minnesota. They spied my Kerry button and wanted it! I just couldn't give it up! I had some bumper stickers and deception dollars with me, but they were in my suitcase back at the bed and breakfast. After that I put them in my purse in case I had the opportunity to give them out.

The funniest thing that happened was at a restaurant in Baddeck- the Yellow Cello. It is the only place that stays open after 5 p.m. in Baddeck. It is so quiet at night there that it is almost alarming! Bruce and I went in to get something to eat. Our server told us they weren't serving sandwiches since it was very late. We acted like we really wanted sandwiches I guess. To our surprise, she said she had noticed my Kerry button and she would go to the kitchen to ask for special treatment! She came back to say that we could have anything we wanted on the menu! Can you believe that a Kerry button could be so useful? She was so excited about meeting Kerry supporters. She told us she was going to tell her parents. I figured that she must be American, but she said no. We felt sort of like celebrities!

One day we sailed on a ferry to Big Tancook Island off the coast of Chester, Nova Scotia. Population: 130 in winter, 150 in summer. There is one little restaurant on the island run by the wife of the ferry captain. We walked there from the dock and had the best scallops we ever had. Some of the locals were there, too, having lunch. I decided to give some of them deception dollars. One man told me if I came back in 2 years I would see it framed on his wall! However, he did say he supported Bush in regard to Iraq and compared Saddam Hussein to Hitler. I responded by saying I opposed the invasion of Iraq which surprised him quite a lot. I told him I thought we should have concentrated on Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden, and I said Iraq had not been a threat at all, that Saddam Hussein had been contained. I don't think I won him over, but it was an interesting dialogue. The wife of the ferry captain said it's all about oil. I guess we aren't fooling anyone. These people are on a remote island! And they get it. Why are so many Americans fooled?

One day in Baddeck we were getting ready to sail on a schooner on Bras d'Or Lake. A young man approached me and point blank asked me why I was for Kerry. Thanks to the Norfolk Kerry Meet Up meetings, I felt somewhat prepared to answer him. He said he was a college student from Moncton, New Brunswick- a political science major. So he was interested in my position on the presidential election. He said he was not for Bush, but he just wanted to know what I thought. We had a short chat. It was a good feeling talking with him. I have never had anyone come up to me in the States, asking why I am for Kerry.

One morning over breakfast, two couples from Canada struck up conversations with us, due again to my Kerry button. Both couples were anti-Bush. Actually I didn't encounter any Bush supporters who wanted to talk!

This was a completely unexpected part of our vacation. I never thought we would be talking about politics as we went from place to place in Nova Scotia. I felt good about expressing my views, hoping that my hopes for a new regime would be well-received and would in some way promote the idea that many Americans were working hard to get rid of George. I felt I needed to almost apologize for our government. I am looking forward to the day when we can travel abroad proudly again.