There's Hope! West Point students hear Norm Chomsky on US complicity Saddam's atrocities late 1980s... and the APPLAUD his speech!
God Bless America!
There's Hope!
And God Bless the future Army graduates and Army officers at the United States Military Academy, more commonly known as simply "West Point"! The students at the academy heard a clear and concise speech by noted "liberal" - bordering on outspoken socialist-idealist Norm Chomsky. Chomsky explained that the US invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush did not meet ANY of the international standards for a defensive or "just war," and that as such it was a war of aggression and imperialism; bullying on an international scale.
Chomsky is such a prolific writer that it is hard to find his latest published book. but then - duh! - it was the one he was presenting to the cadet: "FAILED STATES" available at Amazon and elsewhere.
<< http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805079122/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_img/104-3493809-4388729?%5Fencoding=UTF8 >>
And Chomsky is also available on the Zmag.org website, at Zmag.org/chomsky
Upon the end of Chomsky's presentation, the class of 2008 presented the speaker with a plaque, and gave him a thorough ovation!
Bravo! To the US Military Academy Cadets for keeping an open mind, and giving at least momentary consideration to an author who has spent his entire career confronting and contesting the use of US military force in furtherance of imperial and corporate hegemony policies - that is, the absolute, diametrically opposite philosophy as that under which the US Army operates in so many instances.
*****************************************
Of futher interest to all future Military Academy Cadets would be another famous writer, Mr. Mark Bowden, author of "BLACK HAWK DOWN" now in the process of touring to support the release of his latest book, "GUESTS OF THE AYATOLLAH: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam."
Mr. Bowden's book has its own website, prefaced with "the" [TheGuestsOfTheAyatollah.com], to distinguish it from a web site set up by producers who have optioned the book for a movie.
Mr. Bowden relates that he decided to write a book on the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the capture of the US Embassy and kidnapping of US hostages back before 2001, and although his publisher approved the book, he wondered why Mark had choosen such an "obscure" subject. Today, as news of Iran (or, to be more precise, US administration threats to Iran, and Iranian counter-threats) DOMINATES THE "mainstream" bought-and-paid-for media, Mr. Bowden's book is a timely discussion of the events that led to the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq war.
Bowden explains that, prior to the Iranian Revolution, Iran was a client state of the United States, and the military under the Shah was a regional super-power. The revolution destroyed Iran's military officer corps, degraded the high-tech weapons systems which were dependent on American parts and supplies, and threw the rest of the military in chaos and disarray. Worse, Iran went from being a US client to a US enemy, and following he addage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", the United States under Reagan and Bush EMBRACED SADDAM HUSSEIN as AN ALLY.
Chomsky points out that the US remained a stalwart ALLY of Saddam ALL THROUGH THE WORST PERIOD of Saddam's regime's atrocities - mass murders, ethnic-cleansing, and the use of poison-gas on Iraqi civilians and Iranian miltiary units. Chomsky even relates that the Bush (Sr) and the Cheney-Rumsfeld Department of Defense tolerated, indeed WELCOMED, Iraqi nuclear scientists to an American convention of atomic physicists and nuclear engineers - The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration had indeed WELCOMED and ENCOURAGED Saddam's WEAPONS_OF_MASS_DESTRUCTION research and production efforts.
Bowden lays out and explains three massive failures of US policy and execution: The Iranian Revolution, which captured American hostages and made America look hapless; Blackhawk Down, which repeated "the lesson" and led to the exodus of the US military/disaster relief efforts from Somalia, and a similar debacle the failed Iran Hostage Rescue Mission by the Delta Force Rangers under the American military's Delta Force command.
Indeed, Mr. Bowden points out THAT AT THE TIME OF THE IRAN REVOLUTION STORMING THE US EMBASSY in Tehran, the CIA had only THREE foreign-language specialists in the US mission, they had collectively been there only 5 months, AND NOT ONE OF THEM SPOKE FARSI, the dominant language in Iran!
THIS IS, of course, MASSIVE INCOMPETENCE in regards to providing accurate and timely "intel" in a foreign land, and land that up until the Iran Revolution had been a regional superpower.
Today, under the Bush administration, the probability is that US intel gathering IS EVEN WORSE, since the Republicans and their administration have nothing but barely disquised CONTEMPT and scorn for "locals" in the Mideast, and, as well, a scorn and contempt for INTERPRETERS here in US government agencies in America. Dozens of US-employed translators HAVE BEEN FIRED due to gay orientation, politicial views,
Since "Blackhawk Down"-esque HUBRIS and ARROGANCE are the DEFINING ATTRIBUTES of President Bush and his administration, and since Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and George W. Bush all three AIDED, ABETTED, and IGNORED the massacres and atrocities of the Saddam regime in Iraq, it probably would be well worth the investment in time and effort for US Military Academy Cadets (future Army officers) to read both Mr. Chomsky's latest book (Rogue Nations), and both of Mr. Bowden's books on the tactical (Blackhawk Down) and strategic (Ayatollah's Guests) uses of the US military in the hostile, chaotic, and dangerous Mideast.
http://theguestsoftheayatollah.com/
There's Hope!
And God Bless the future Army graduates and Army officers at the United States Military Academy, more commonly known as simply "West Point"! The students at the academy heard a clear and concise speech by noted "liberal" - bordering on outspoken socialist-idealist Norm Chomsky. Chomsky explained that the US invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush did not meet ANY of the international standards for a defensive or "just war," and that as such it was a war of aggression and imperialism; bullying on an international scale.
Chomsky is such a prolific writer that it is hard to find his latest published book. but then - duh! - it was the one he was presenting to the cadet: "FAILED STATES" available at Amazon and elsewhere.
<< http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805079122/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_img/104-3493809-4388729?%5Fencoding=UTF8 >>
And Chomsky is also available on the Zmag.org website, at Zmag.org/chomsky
Upon the end of Chomsky's presentation, the class of 2008 presented the speaker with a plaque, and gave him a thorough ovation!
Bravo! To the US Military Academy Cadets for keeping an open mind, and giving at least momentary consideration to an author who has spent his entire career confronting and contesting the use of US military force in furtherance of imperial and corporate hegemony policies - that is, the absolute, diametrically opposite philosophy as that under which the US Army operates in so many instances.
*****************************************
Of futher interest to all future Military Academy Cadets would be another famous writer, Mr. Mark Bowden, author of "BLACK HAWK DOWN" now in the process of touring to support the release of his latest book, "GUESTS OF THE AYATOLLAH: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam."
Mr. Bowden's book has its own website, prefaced with "the" [TheGuestsOfTheAyatollah.com], to distinguish it from a web site set up by producers who have optioned the book for a movie.
Mr. Bowden relates that he decided to write a book on the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the capture of the US Embassy and kidnapping of US hostages back before 2001, and although his publisher approved the book, he wondered why Mark had choosen such an "obscure" subject. Today, as news of Iran (or, to be more precise, US administration threats to Iran, and Iranian counter-threats) DOMINATES THE "mainstream" bought-and-paid-for media, Mr. Bowden's book is a timely discussion of the events that led to the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq war.
Bowden explains that, prior to the Iranian Revolution, Iran was a client state of the United States, and the military under the Shah was a regional super-power. The revolution destroyed Iran's military officer corps, degraded the high-tech weapons systems which were dependent on American parts and supplies, and threw the rest of the military in chaos and disarray. Worse, Iran went from being a US client to a US enemy, and following he addage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", the United States under Reagan and Bush EMBRACED SADDAM HUSSEIN as AN ALLY.
Chomsky points out that the US remained a stalwart ALLY of Saddam ALL THROUGH THE WORST PERIOD of Saddam's regime's atrocities - mass murders, ethnic-cleansing, and the use of poison-gas on Iraqi civilians and Iranian miltiary units. Chomsky even relates that the Bush (Sr) and the Cheney-Rumsfeld Department of Defense tolerated, indeed WELCOMED, Iraqi nuclear scientists to an American convention of atomic physicists and nuclear engineers - The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration had indeed WELCOMED and ENCOURAGED Saddam's WEAPONS_OF_MASS_DESTRUCTION research and production efforts.
Bowden lays out and explains three massive failures of US policy and execution: The Iranian Revolution, which captured American hostages and made America look hapless; Blackhawk Down, which repeated "the lesson" and led to the exodus of the US military/disaster relief efforts from Somalia, and a similar debacle the failed Iran Hostage Rescue Mission by the Delta Force Rangers under the American military's Delta Force command.
Indeed, Mr. Bowden points out THAT AT THE TIME OF THE IRAN REVOLUTION STORMING THE US EMBASSY in Tehran, the CIA had only THREE foreign-language specialists in the US mission, they had collectively been there only 5 months, AND NOT ONE OF THEM SPOKE FARSI, the dominant language in Iran!
THIS IS, of course, MASSIVE INCOMPETENCE in regards to providing accurate and timely "intel" in a foreign land, and land that up until the Iran Revolution had been a regional superpower.
Today, under the Bush administration, the probability is that US intel gathering IS EVEN WORSE, since the Republicans and their administration have nothing but barely disquised CONTEMPT and scorn for "locals" in the Mideast, and, as well, a scorn and contempt for INTERPRETERS here in US government agencies in America. Dozens of US-employed translators HAVE BEEN FIRED due to gay orientation, politicial views,
Since "Blackhawk Down"-esque HUBRIS and ARROGANCE are the DEFINING ATTRIBUTES of President Bush and his administration, and since Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and George W. Bush all three AIDED, ABETTED, and IGNORED the massacres and atrocities of the Saddam regime in Iraq, it probably would be well worth the investment in time and effort for US Military Academy Cadets (future Army officers) to read both Mr. Chomsky's latest book (Rogue Nations), and both of Mr. Bowden's books on the tactical (Blackhawk Down) and strategic (Ayatollah's Guests) uses of the US military in the hostile, chaotic, and dangerous Mideast.
http://theguestsoftheayatollah.com/
posted by verifi at 10:59 AM
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