Tuesday, August 19, 2008

We Have Met The Enemy, and He is Us


Bastion of morality, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, told NATO that they better punish them Ruskies or she and George W. Bush will kick sand in everyone's face. Seriously, in an emergency session of NATO Foreign Ministers, the USA is demanding that NATO punish Russia for its operations in Georgia. Rice said:
"We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's democracy, to use its military capability to damage ... and to weaken the Georgian state."
I feel like I've fallen through the looking glass. Has any nation had the balls to tell NATO or any other body of officials We have to deny United States strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Middle East democracy, to use its military capability to damage ... and to weaken the ENITRE Middle East. Has anyone had the balls to tell the current administration in the USA that they are hypocritical, dangerous megolomaniacs and need to be stopped? I'm embarrassed to be an American, truly. I am embarrassed by the arrogance of the US Government. And I am deeply, deeply terrified at what this administration is capable of doing. Bush is the terrorist. Cheney is the terrorist. To quote Pogo, We have met the enemy, and he is us.

27 comments:

Randal Graves said...

Um, we're America. We can do what we want when we want to who we want. It's in the Constitution and the bible.

DrDon said...

My friend is dating a Russian woman and I talked with her this past weekend about the Georgian situation. Let me just say that she has a completely different opinion and understanding of this than what we're hearing in the media. Of course her opinion is colored by her allegiance to Russia but the perception of the people is critically important in situations like this. While I don't agree with Russia's actions, once again this U.S. administration is making no friends in the world.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Do as they say, not as they do.

susan said...

From what I can understand they can't really do much of anything since the entire imperial military is already spread so thin in Iraq and Afganistan any threats ring hollow to Putin and co. But what do I know about what these crazies consider possible?

Unknown said...

What Randal said.

Seriously, the US's military industrial complex has grown while everything else shrunk. Our only export is military power. We'd better get used to it because it's not changing any time soon. We're the global police, just like in Team America!

Unknown said...

Oh and from what I'm reading, Russia had every reason to go in as Georgia provoked this by invading and then expected the US to stand up for them, MILITARILY, not just "you go Georgia!" and the US didn't.

Missy said...

What's with all the American jingoism around here?

Anonymous said...

You make a great point Diva. When the U.S. gets rebuked by another country, particularly one of the G8 nations, this Administration becomes indignant as if stabbed in the back.

et tu, Spain?

One need not look beyond our own shores for examples of this. Our asshat Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton has officially registered U.S. disgust with this world body, only to love them when they vote in favor of her bidding.

However, I have to wonder if the current stance on Russia is just harmless saber rattling or an ominous foreshadowing of a wider conflict in the region. We all know how much Georgie and Dickie like to play army.

Mary Ellen said...

After reading what drdon just wrote, I'm also curious to see what my daughter's friend has heard about this. He is married to a girl from Russia, who happens to be currently visiting her family for a month (she went alone and her husband will be meeting her there in a few weeks). It's good to hear both sides and our news is certainly skewed most of the time.

Regardless, this is a big freakin' mess and Condi must be pissed as hell that it's interfering with her shoe shopping.

Tom Harper said...

Imagine if the tables were turned. The Soviet Union didn't collapse in 1989, and all of our former allies in Western Europe started joining the Warsaw Pact. The American government wouldn't mind, would they?

I also have a current post about the Russia-Georgia conflict. Not that I'm trying to push my blog or anything, but the post is linked to two excellent articles (both from AlterNet) about the history behind the Russia-Georgia-South Ossetia mess. It's the kind of in-depth reporting that our pathetic mainstream "media" used to do, way back when.

Unconventional Conventionist said...

IN order not to screw thigs up any more than they already are, Condi should just shut down the STate Department and go on vacation until there's a new president.

Couldn't be any worse than actually having her on duty.

Dean Wormer said...

Thanks for the pogo quote.

The United States under Bush has become something akin to Charles Manson lecturing everybody on the sanctity of life.

jmsjoin said...

Bush never should have happened! The damage he has done will now have to be reacted too. He did all this on purpose and the results are just beginning and will go on for many, many generations.
The instigation, hypocrisy, and war mongering has been allowed to go on too long. I was just talking to tc and I firmly believe the right will not let their power go what ever they have to do to keep it.
You: I am embarrassed by the arrogance of the US Government. And I am deeply, deeply terrified at what this administration is capable of doing. Bush is the terrorist. Cheney is the terrorist.
To the right Democrats are the countries enemy and terrorists merely the tool used to further their new order. I am afraid you will find Bush (our enemy) has yet to do his worst.

DivaJood said...

Randal, thanks for clearing that up for me. I can sleep better at night now!

Drdon, I would bet that she would have a completely different point of view - colored or not, she's getting different information that we get in the USA. That had to be an interesting conversation.

Dr. Monkey, that's the best way to approach government, and when elected, I will take the same approach. Feking commies.

Susan, there is always Blackwater. They hire mercenaries and are beholden to Cheney.

Helen, the US Military is preoccupied in Iraq and Afghanistan, so they could not go to Georgia and help pick peanuts. UGH.

Missy, aren't we supposed to be Jingoistic? We're Murikans, after all.

Spartacus, exactly. It's like a 3 year old having a tantrum. I think Bolton would love to suggest that the USA pull out of the UN, but he probably realizes that would not get up the flagpole. As for the rest - there's always the Blackwater Mercenaries.

Mary Ellen, our news is so filtered it ceases to be news. We just don't get any real information in the USA. Be interesting to hear what she has to say when she returns. Your daughter's friend, not Condi. Condi needs a new pair of Manolos.

Tom, I will be over to read your post - I actually have been working! at my new office. But Alternet usually does have more in-depth reporting - that's why we need it.

UC, that's a great idea! She could take John Bolton with her, they could go to the Maldives (which are sinking) and perhaps they might both drown.

Dean Wormer, you just made me spew ice tea on my monitor. Charles Manson lecturing on the sanctity of life - yep. Exactly.

Patriot, I tend to agree that the worst is yet to come. I don't know what that will look like, but it will take years to undo the damage of this Administration.

Fran said...

Deep sigh - great quote and graphic.

This is just another big cluster fuck... will we ever really know what is happening or why?

Unknown said...

Spartacus is correct about the ass-hat (he should know about ass-hats)ambassador but his boss the president thinks no knows how conniving and hypocritical our current regime is.

Life As I Know It Now said...

Did the Bush administration know what Georgia was up to? Did they expect Russia to call them on their shit? It's funny in a way. We are the big bad bully of little third world countries but a powerful country like Russia acts up and we can't and we won't do anything about it except splutter and demand other countries do our bidding. Russia called their bluff and now the Bush administration is wearing eggs.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, we live among many who will excuse anything our nation does because they believe we have some divine right to do whatever we like. For them, god is always on our side and thus we are are always right.

DivaJood said...

FranIAm, I remember the line from the Jack Nicholson Film, A Few Good Men - when he shouts at Tom Cruise's character, "You want the truth? You can't HANDLE the truth." That's how I feel about the last 8 years - that if we ever, really, learned the truth about the atrocities committed by this Administration, our heads would explode.

Mathman, I'm not sure if anyone really DOES know the extent of what this President does, has done, or will do.

Liberality, I believe that the US of A was supporting Georgia and Georgia expected military support. Surprise. Gosh, maybe they need to eat more yoghurt.

DCup, it's that "divine providence" crap that really infuriates me. Everyone thinks that god is on their side, and the other guy is the heathen. So everybody's right and everybody's wrong. We're really all connected by a river of light. Why can't the far Right Wing see that?

Unknown said...

I love the graphic too. Your message is spot-on as usual dear Diva!

DivaJood said...

Dusty, did you pick up your award yet?

Unknown said...

Is there a checkout counter I don't know about here? ;p

Madam Z said...

What do I think? I think Bush is the pot calling the kettle black. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard Bush announce (very shortly after the Russians entered Georgia) that Russia "has invaded a sovereign nation..." and done a lot of bad stuff, blah, blah (unfortunately I can't remember his exact words right now). I yelled at the TV screen, "You fucking moron! What do you think we did in Iraq?"

Great post, Diva. Keep up the good work.

Mariamariacuchita said...

I hear Condi has taken to playing the piano in the White House in the dead of night to relieve her Russian stress. Being part Vampire, she doesn't really need the sleep.

enigma4ever said...

I so hear you....and agree...it is dangerous times all around....I have to be honest I am much more afraid of Bushco than I ever was of Any other terra-ist...ever....

great post on an ugly situation...

Stella by Starlight said...

Yes, exactly. In fact, the entire Bush Administration are the true terrorists. I doubt if Putin would have spearheaded the invasion without the example set by Bushit.

Naj said...

In persian we have a saying:

"The best answer to the fool is silence"

I guess that's how NATO's answered that dumbo!