Comments for Empire and Burlesque: Permanent Bases Rise While Public Gawks at Geeks at http://www.chris-floyd.com , comment 1 to 19 out of 19 comments http://www.chris-floyd.com Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:46:22 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-7078 In a response to the initial post, Mr. Bernanke stated that the "desolate region of the planet with one asset invaluable to sustaining the economic and material progress of the rest of the world: OIL." We are killing our planet by not only the drive to obtain this resource but by not seriously seeking to find alternative methods of energy that are sustainable and less harmful to our shrinking planet. It is a dearth of the imagination of those on the Right, those who see the world in a Manichean fight between good and evil and they, of course, always seeing themselves as being on the side of good and those who disagree as evil. A simplistic, but comfortable view to be sure. The need is to think outside of the box of a run wild capitalism fuelled by unquenchable greed, the model that the whole military-industrial-corporate model operates upon. Unless we wholesale change the model, our "empire" will go the way of others. Already the signs of unsustainability are shredding the social fabric of America (after decades of shredding the social fabric of third world countries across the globe) in its pursuit of satisfying the insatiable. Your model is bankrupt. Time for you and your buddy Laer to clap yourself around your head and come up with a new thinking, one forward looking and grounded in reality, one not bound to strangling other nations of the world to get what you want. - Mike Carano Sun, 16 Mar 2008 13:35:33 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6893 Describing the problem in one sentence: [quote]those who choose not to negotiate Reality on any social plane, including their own minds or the souls of their brothers and sisters..[/quote] Why navigate reality, when you can recast reality in a fantasy that lays all blame at the feet of "leftists"? Especially when those one accuses of "left" thought are not wandering around with banners of socialism or communism unfurled and proudly flying, but instead simply are pointing out the serious flaws in pretending that only a small set of Americans know what is best for the whole world. Doubtless "laer" thinks him/herself one of that small set who knows what's best. I mean, look at his/her post. It's all right there in sadly deluded and utterly misinformed prose. - Evan Rhood Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:27:07 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6891 Our hegemonic desire will not be forsworn. As you point out, none of the surviving candidates denies this fundamental quest; they wrestle among themselves over the means, that's all. To the extent the topic arises at all in the campaigns. For the most part, the march of Empire is off the table, not to be discussed. Other things are FAR more important to the Masses, and those things shall have their airings. Is a flag pin enough patriotism? What about a magnetic ribbon? Should candidates be forced to provide detailed proposals about domestic issues in every speech or only some of them? Has the Swiftboating already begun, or will we have to wait till August? And did you hear? Barack isn't just a Muslim who wears a turban, he's a Communist, too. And a Fascist. So is his mouthy wife. These are the matters that concern the Public. Not Empire or its march. Geeks indeed. - Ché Pasa Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:56:14 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6882 If I owned Hell and Detroit, I'd live in Hell and rent out Detroit. God save me from Detroit. - jimmythem Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:40:45 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6881 Frederick, I say Iran is a democracy, you say it isn't. Actually I don't care. It's none of my business, nor yours. Iran is in fact having elections, which are unknown in the sultanates. Is the US a democracy, given the situations with nominations and elections, and corporate influence? You say the transfer of wealth to ME sultans makes the case for US hegemony in the ME? What makes you think that the US is in a position to control these people? They own us. Do you really entertain the dream that US Christians will be the new masters of Mecca? For its average citizens, the entire ME is hell on earth. Horsepucky. You don't know what you're talking about. Evidence? Is it really worse to live in Dubai than in Detroit or Kansas City? - Don Bacon Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:12:11 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6880 If you think Iran is a democracy, I've got this wonderful, almost antique bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you for next to nothing. Read Iran's written Constitution (which I have) and then tell me if you think it's a democracy. {Hint: The "elected" president of Iran has about as much constitutional power as does our Vice President, except our VP doesn't have to take orders from the ruling Council of Mullahs.] For its average citizens, the entire ME is hell on earth. - FredrickBernanke Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:28:16 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6879 As distasteful as it may be to some on the Left, the Middle East is of vital strategic importance to Western Civilization, including but not limited to the USA. Nixon called this "that God-forsaken region;' but god or whatever blessed that sand-filled, sun-soaked, primitive, brutal, desolate region of the planet with one asset invaluable to sustaining the economic and material progress of the rest of the world: OIL. That one commodity is the lifeblood of most of the world's economies. And that commodity is controlled by advanced socio-political entities like the House of Saud, the Emirs of Abu Dhabi, the ruling Princes of Kuwait, the Mullahs of Iran and various other antiquated conglomerations of religious or familial tribes, just as the west was not that long ago. [I am not going to defend in any way the Iraq Super-Blunder: It is likely to be remembered as the single greatest mistake in US foreign policy history.] With the violent increases in the price of oil, we are witnessing an enormous transfer of wealth from the West to the oil producers in the Middle East. And, of course, with that wealth comes even more power for, say, the House of Saud. It is they who have recently had to bailout Citibank and other major Western financial institutions in the wake of the subprime mortgage and worthless derivatives crisis. But the bailouts come in the form of acquiring significant equity/ownership stakes in these institutions, not in the form of loans. The point I am trying to make is that Western hegemony, military, social, political, is a worthwhile strategic objective of the USA. The means required to obtain that objective should be the only thing in question. Sending Marines into all these countries to topple regimes is nothing short of ridiculous and won't work, as witness the Iraq fiasco. But other modus operandi, equally as cruel but much more duplicitous and sophisticated, need to be employed to accomplish the same worthwhile goal of establishing Western hegemony over a region vital to our civilization. There would be only one loser if the West triumphed: the ruling oligarchies that current hold sway over this region. Does anyone doubt that the average Abdul and Syban in Saudi would lead more pleasant lives under US hegemony than they currently do under the King and Princes who rule by fiat? - FredrickBernanke Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:11:07 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6878 Unbalanced Rationality. I see the logical extension of this limited mode of living played out again and again by promoters of empire, and those who choose not to negotiate Reality on any social plane, including their own minds or the souls of their brothers and sisters.. I am not a man who believes that Being is inherently Moral. The study of Nature has been my guide to the discernable aspects of Being. How funny, then, that I find myself concerned for the greater good of Humanity, my neighbors, and, indeed, strangers in the street - while the clever, cutting, superior intellects of the Right revel in their own odd lesson from Nature: POWER IS HOLY. So deeply misguided. Do you, my adolescent friend, ever consider the obvious question that should arise from your self-defining confrontation with the 'left wing' which you so disdain - hmmm; something like: "Why do they view Humanity from such a disdainful remove and yet Trumpet the Importance of Human Values - while I sit upon a Mountain Top of Civilized Honours and tolerate all manner of Barbarous Horrors in obeisance to my God?" It's OK, Slag-Bo. You're a Devil-Worshipper. That's why I just asked the question for you. See how kind We are? "Imagine All the People..." Love, Scott - scott douglas Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:19:45 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6877 Laer, Did Chris use the word "imperialism"? I missed it. In any case the US goal of “full spectrum operations” in all ME countries seems to fit the definition, and in fact you seem to think US control is necessary in the ME because "none of the existing Gulf countries are anywhere near our model of what a nation should be" -- true imperialist thinking. Suggesting that Iran, with elections coming up, is less of "what a nation should be" than countries the US supports like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and UAE is amusing. In Abu Dhabi last month Bush said: "I'm proud to stand in a nation where the people have an opportunity to build a better future for themselves and their families. . .In my country, we speak of these developments as the advance of freedom." Flipping over to the CIA Factbook for the United Arab Emirates we see: "Suffrage: none". Nobody votes in the UAE. Some advance of freedom. Again, Iran is a democracy. But we already knew that Bush moving his lips is automatic evidence of lying. By the way, Russia, not the US, is by far the largest country in the world and it's arguable that the US is the most powerful country in the world, given the sad state of its finances, the economic strength of China and the demonstrated US incompetence in foreign and military affairs. Five years to pacify a liberated capital? Nothing to brag about, I'd say. But I quibble. You spelled every word correctly. - Don Bacon Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:16:18 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6876 If nothing else, the Empire will maintain the legions on the borders. A modern state may compel it's subjects to struggle to the edge of extermination. Boys in Imperial Germany in 1918 looked forward to going to the trenches, where they might recieve a meal. Germany and Japan were laid waste until there was little power to resist, and the people were dragooned to serve till death. Falling from the middle class is not the same as fighting over the remnants at the bottom of a garbage can. - Donald L. Smith Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:59:41 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6875 I'm thinking about including this post as a candidate for one of the most ridiculous stories of 2008. Imperialism is either interpreted as "exerting influence" or as "extending power and dominion by direct territorial acquisitions or gaining control over its political or economic systems." I can't imagine that the largest, most powerful country on earth wouldn't want to exert influence on an area as troubling and strategic as the Middle East. Certainly, everyone else is doing so, and if we were to leave our role of influence there, other nations would have no choice to but start paying their own way and increase their efforts to maintain some sense of control over this tinderbox of a place. Surely you've considered that, haven't you? So if you're not worried about that definition of imperialism, then you must believe that having a base equates to seizing land and overwhelming local political/economic systems. Put another way, you must not differentiate at all between what we are doing with a few bases and what the Soviets did to Eastern Europe. Clearly, our goal is not the Soviet's goal; we are not imperialists like they were. Our goal is to keep the world's oil -- not just ours (because our sources are more varied than the Middle East) but Europe's and Asia's oil as well -- protected from falling into the hands of Islamist theocracies that would jeopardize global systems, and to help countries like Kuwait and Iraq not fall under the dominion of a new Hussien or a jihad-promoting Tehran. None of the existing Gulf countries are anywhere near our model of what a nation should be, but they are all better than the Tehran model. The Left's obsession on America as evil, which is so beautifully exhibited in your post's equal disgust with all three remaining major candidates, blinds it to true evil. Which is ridiculous. - Laer Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:47:09 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6874 How else? Considering the current state of the volunteer military, conscription is not far behind. - Grandma Jefferson Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:19:22 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6873 [i]these policies are actually exacerbating, empowering and emboldening terrorism all over the world.[/i] Exactly! Instability is the goal, the better to employ the US military in the expansion of US power and profits. Bush, speaking last November: "And now we're at the start of a new century, and the same debate is once again unfolding -- this time regarding my policy in the Middle East. Once again, voices in Washington are arguing that the watchword of the policy should be 'stability.' And once again they're wrong." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071101-4.html And as Chris points out none of this has been countered by the midgets running for president. In fact they are all calling for an expansion of the military and increased military spending! - Don Bacon Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:37:33 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6872 Debbie: You are making a good point. The US already has over 700 military bases. That is crazy overextended. - libhomo Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:07:10 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6871 How long can the US keep up its military bases, both in the sense of manpower and money, before going the way of the Romans? - Debbie(aussie) Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:17:31 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6869 ...Welcome to Hell. Bread & Circuses are free, and the interrogation rooms down the hall on the left. The nations allowing the proliferation of our military bases have embraced the suicidal extinction drive of the race. And yeah, born in 1951, living through practically all of the Cold War, I'm puzzled that we need all this to fight literally a "few thousand" terrorists now, when we managed quite well against the "Russian Might", another con job BTW, with so much less, back then, especially with the horrific arsenal we now have, which didn't exist then. But hey, don't worry, be happy, munch the bread and enjoy the circus clowns. As Chris, so truly points out, "I have seen nothing to make me believe that any of the chicken-chompers bound for the White House will make any actual, substantial changes in this policy, much less begin the task of rolling back the empire." It must play itself out to the end. Nothing can stop it. - Grandma Jefferson Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:42:26 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6868 "Facts on the ground" indeed, Mr Floyd. The parallels in this essay are so perfectly apt. POTUS candidates = carnival geeks US Military base expansion = illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine Media circus re POTUS candidates = Dylan "handled" by a coarse, garish impresario whose produced entertainment is even more hackneyed and trite than his own personal vulgar tastes. I do believe you are the only political essayist writing today who combines literary skill with political insight. For this alone you should be commended. That your insight is accurate and prescient merely amplifies the extant quality and value. Thank you. - Evan Rhood Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:22:10 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6867 A post back or two you called Barack Obama "eloquent," which might have been the case in 1953, or 1911, but he is selling snake oil, pre-wrapped, with no history, no awareness of complication, another Jimmy Carter, as Alex Cockburn has opined. The empire's military, as you state, is enormous, metastasizing, but we don't even know the basics about it. How much money is it devouring? Is there the slightest regulation over it? Who even speaks publicly about it? What could ever even slow down its growth, let start to roll it back? Where is there one tarmac given back to the native people for use as a large roller blading park? How did the supersystem become impermeable, and we such fantasists? I would suggest that everybody look back at Michael Mukaysey's "unhh...unhh" testimony about torture, wherein one religious old man's blithering stupidity (oh, I forgot, Scott Horton's great friend of the "rule of law") in the face of his state violence speaks for the level of our "eloquence." - mjosef Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:51:46 +0100 http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1440/135/#comment-6866 The rage seems to be right. The madness of the geeks has won the mob. How in the world did we find ourselves in a place which gives so little value to life and the feelings of all our family? - Donald L. Smith Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:12:56 +0100