Detached from Reality

So the Boy Prince went on air last night with another one-dimensional, sound-byte-driven speech asking Americans to stay the course. Of course the fact that Americans will stay the course is moot. What most Americans seem to be asking is if this team of neo-cons have any idea of what they're doing.

The evidence in favor is spotty at best: Continued aggression in Iraq and the absence of a cogent response from an Iraqi leader, seriously undermine the administration's claims that the elections were anything more than a publicity stunt. The ill-prepared Iraqi armed forces continue to be slaughtered as the insurgency—still in its last throes—continues to swat soldiers like flies. Can anyone else see the disconnect between the speeches and the realities? Here's another one: When the Taliban were in control of Afghanistan, drug use and cultivation were nearly zero; now, according to this report, Afghanistan is back as one of the major suppliers of drugs worldwide! In addition to this, the Taliban continues to be active, recently taking the lives of 17 serviceman. Also, warlords continue to dominate regional politics. Is this what George W. Bush wants America to sacrifice for?

Political Hotlinks

A great article on the West's role in the disintegration of the Russian state, from Alternet.

The State Department recently declassified certain documents from the Nixon-Kissinger era and though they cover old ground there are lessons in there about US Foreign Policy and how it is created. In this excellent Asia Times article, the author presents a chiling account of how Nixon and Kissinger attempted to protect the government of Pakistan as it slaughtered its own population. To all those who believe American foreign policy always "does the right thing" this is a must-read.