"And To All..."

"...a good night?" Steve Bell

So let's be absolutely clear: The United States, having broken Iraq, is not in the process of fixing it. It is merely continuing to break the country and its people by other means, using not only F-16s and Bradleys, but now the less flashy weaponry of WTO and IMF conditions, followed by elections designed to transfer as little power to Iraqis as possible. This is what famed Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh, writing before his 1977 assassination by the military junta, described as "planned misery." And the longer the United States stays in Iraq, the more misery it will plan.

But if staying in Iraq is not the solution, neither are easy bumper-sticker calls to pull the troops out and spend the money on schools and hospitals at home. Yes, the troops must leave, but that can be only one plank of a credible and moral antiwar platform. What of the schools and hospitals in Iraq—the ones that were supposed to be fixed by Bechtel but never were? Too often, antiwar forces have shied away from speaking about what Americans owe Iraq. Rarely is the word "compensation" spoken, let alone the more loaded "reparations."

Naomi Klein | You Break It, You Pay For It

"I hope and pray that every family member of those who have died so bravely knows how deeply I feel their loss."

Donald Rumsfeld

The Art of War...

Nowhere to hide...

The Modern Era has nurtured a dream in which mankind, divided into its separate civilizations, would someday come together in unity and everlasting peace. Today, the history of the planet has finally become one indivisible whole, but it is war, ambulant and everlasting war, that embodies and guarantees this long-desired unity of mankind. Unity of mankind means: No escape for anyone anywhere.

Milan Kundera | The Art of the Novel (1988)

War dehumanizes people – soldiers and civilians alike – and, for this reason, I have never understood the willingness of parents to allow their children to become part of such a dispirited, hostile, life-destroying system. I can understand how a teenager – whose limited life experiences are not sufficient to see what is implicit in warfare – might fall for the heroic imagery that gets reinforced in computer games. I do not understand this child’s parents – with many more years of awareness – not protecting him or her from this force that devastates the lives even of its survivors.

Butler Shaffer | The Exploitation of Soldiers

"It's like watching your son playing in traffic, and there's nothing you can do. You can't reach him."

Janet Bellows

Meanwhile, back in Fallujah...

At the peak of the assault, the Americans held no more than 35-40% of Fallujah (largely the north on or around the 18th of November). Thereafter, they appear to have been steadily repulsed and in fact the coalition forces currently have been repulsed to where they were on November 13th or thereabouts and to the outskirts of Fallujah.

Abhay Mehta | The End of Warfare

The reason for fighting | I never got straight | But I learned to accept it | Accept it with pride | For you don't count the dead | When God's on your side.

Bob Dylan | With God on our Side

Note: Limited Internet access continues and unseen, unanswered mail piles up. No telephone till January, courtesy of our national telecoms hog. Dean, you're a saint... I don't know if that's theologically possible but, what the hell, we make our own rules around here.

For the innermost decision, | That we cannot but obey - | For what's left of our religion, | I lift my voice and pray: | May the lights in The Land of Plenty | Shine on the truth some day.

Leonard Cohen | The Land of Plenty