Althouse: "Mass beheadings reported in northern Iraq as al-Qaeda forces take Mosul and Tikrit..."

June 11, 2014

"Mass beheadings reported in northern Iraq as al-Qaeda forces take Mosul and Tikrit..."

"US 'stands ready' to provide assistance to Iraq... No detail yet on what that means - but almost certain to be diplomatic and equipment, rather than actual military intervention."

90 comments:

Original Mike said...: I'm sure a little smart diplomacy will patch this right up.; 6/11/14, 1:51 PM
The Drill SGT said...: " almost certain to be diplomatic and equipment, rather than actual military intervention."

In order words, same old same old. The equipment the ISIS is using? yep, ours.

If we send more gear, give it to Kurds. They won't abandon it, like Arabs.

It may be time to consider Kurdistan...

As for the Shiite rump of Iraq? The Iranians are going to gain a client province.; 6/11/14, 1:56 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Don't make excuses Democrats. Don't apologize. This is the policy chosen with clear eye and cold blood.

Obama's job was to deal with reality as he took office, not to pretend that history never happened and that human nature is somehow different than it is. Given those constraints, this is the policy he chose.; 6/11/14, 1:57 PM
Sebastian said...: U.S. "stands ready" -- will move just as soon as C-in-C finishes round of golf.; 6/11/14, 1:57 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Joe Biden's Omnia Iraq est divisa in partes tres speech is looking better. I must admit.; 6/11/14, 1:58 PM
wendybar said...: Just like we said it would happen. The Islamic Extremists are getting stronger every day. But Obama says Al Qaeda is on the run. We have a better relationship with the Muslim world.....Who do you believe now???; 6/11/14, 2:00 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Thanks for voting for him!; 6/11/14, 2:07 PM
Beta Rube said...: Harry Reid is finally proven correct. Oh happy day!; 6/11/14, 2:09 PM
Original Mike said...: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."; 6/11/14, 2:12 PM
David said...: "Ready to provide assistance . . . "

Sure. They trust us, right?

"Heads will roll" is not metaphoric in Iraq.; 6/11/14, 2:13 PM
David said...: Twitter: "rafsanchez Raf Sanchez
State Dept asked whether militants are heading to Baghdad: "It's a fluid situation...we're obviously very concerned"; 6/11/14, 2:17 PM
jacksonjay said...: Yeah, but he sure is hot (Buzzfeed) and he can run a hell-of-a-campaign!; 6/11/14, 2:19 PM
Alex said...: Can we not "lose our heads" talking about this?

Hyuk hyuk.; 6/11/14, 2:21 PM
lgv said...: If they keep going, it could result in a UN resolution.

Al Qaeda is on the run. They are running toward us, not away.; 6/11/14, 2:23 PM
traditionalguy said...: Mass beheadings could work their way over to New Hampshire next.; 6/11/14, 2:30 PM
Amichel said...: I wouldn't be shocked to see an epic adjustment of borders in the ME's near future. Two rump states in western Syria and southern Iraq, a new Talibanesque sunni state in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, and hopefully a free Kurdistan. If only Kurdistan actually had some outlet to the sea, it might make a for reliable ally of the US in the region.; 6/11/14, 2:32 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Better these people be beheaded than Obama lose an election. I am sure each beheaded soul appreciated as the blow descended, the fierce moral urgency that required Obama's election.

Of course nobody can trust America as an ally anymore, can they? We have gotten ourselves into the situation that the Soviets got in, where they were not considered reliable allies because their weapons sucked.

Our weapons are great, it is our political class that sucks.; 6/11/14, 2:33 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Hey Alex, Holocaust jokes are always in good taste too. Got any?; 6/11/14, 2:34 PM
Anonymous said...: The conflict in Syria really doesn't have much of an ending in sight, from what I hear. I remember reading a paper about the danger of a region-engulfing war, spreading outwards. About four years ago, now.

The last election, aside from being about Obamacare and domestic issues, was also about withdrawing as guarantor of stability in the Middle-East, and cutting off a generations long experiment in American involvement there

There doesn't seem to be much of a plan beyond this.; 6/11/14, 2:44 PM
CWJ said...: Predictable? Yes, in fact I'm surprised it took this long after we bugged out.

OTOH, did we really need yet another permanent extra-territorial military pressence to support, man, and fund for how long?

I don't have any answers. But secular strongmen with the will to maintain order against a tide of medievalism, do sadly seem preferable to the alternative. Face it, for some places, a dictator or preferably the professional military represent modernism and the ability to carry on a modern life and local economy, while democracy might in fact be a reversion to tribalism.

I write the above sadly as the host father to two arab exchange daughters.; 6/11/14, 2:46 PM
Anonymous said...: It's a good thing we pulled all of our troops out of Iraq. It was a huge waste of money and money is worth a lot more than security.

Besides which, the Democrats predicted we would lose in Iraq, before the surge, were losing, in fact.

Might as well do what you can to make sure that comes true.; 6/11/14, 2:54 PM
madAsHell said...: Maybe Hillary has an extra reset button that we can use.
Twitter hash tags can be very effective.
Perhaps, we can take a selfie, and demonstrate our disapproval.; 6/11/14, 3:07 PM
Alex said...: tim - it's always important to "keep your head" at times like this.

ROFL; 6/11/14, 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...: "OTOH, did we really need yet another permanent extra-territorial military pressence to support, man, and fund for how long?"

Because that's worked out so poorly for us in Germany, South Korea, etc.; 6/11/14, 3:17 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Meanwhile Boko Harem kills another 200, thank goodness they weren't girls though, or the hashtags wold be flying.; 6/11/14, 3:29 PM
Larry J said...: Original Mike said...
I'm sure a little smart diplomacy will patch this right up.

No, we need some stern hashtags. Perhaps #BeheadersAreBullies or #PeaceInIraqNow.; 6/11/14, 3:29 PM
twgin said...: Echoes of Viet Nam... We go in, we screw up, we figure it out, we win, and then we abandon the place. All we ever hear about from the left is about all the casualties due to waging war (100K dead due to US war in Iraq !); you can bet that people are dying right and left right now, and will continue to die in great numbers (kind of like when Saddam was in power). Nobody will care about them...

Could the result of the Obama-induced power vacuum in Iraq have been any more predictable ? We spent all that Blood and Treasure to birth an actual functioning Arab democratic state in the Middle East; a counterweight to Iran and Syria, a base for projecting US diplomatic and military power in the region. After we won in Iraq we had "hand" (as George would say) in the Middle East, we were the strong horse.

And what happened; the boy wonder absolutely and undeniably threw it all away. It is impossible to understate the tragedy he has engendered all over the Middle East, It is impossible to estimate how much killing is going to happen in that region. And it is certain that sooner or later, they are coming after us.; 6/11/14, 3:32 PM
twgin said...: Echoes of Viet Nam... We go in, we screw up, we figure it out, we win, and then we abandon the place. All we ever hear about from the left is about all the casualties due to waging war (100K dead due to US war in Iraq !); you can bet that people are dying right and left right now, and will continue to die in great numbers (kind of like when Saddam was in power). Nobody will care about them...

Could the result of the Obama-induced power vacuum in Iraq have been any more predictable ? We spent all that Blood and Treasure to birth an actual functioning Arab democratic state in the Middle East; a counterweight to Iran and Syria, a base for projecting US diplomatic and military power in the region. After we won in Iraq we had "hand" (as George would say) in the Middle East, we were the strong horse.

And what happened; the boy wonder absolutely and undeniably threw it all away. It is impossible to understate the tragedy he has engendered all over the Middle East, It is impossible to estimate how much killing is going to happen in that region. And it is certain that sooner or later, they are coming after us.; 6/11/14, 3:32 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I guess Alex is going to go through that whole Austin Powers routine, because beheadings of people who trusted us, whom we let down, is funny to liberals.; 6/11/14, 3:32 PM
twgin said...: Echoes of Viet Nam... We go in, we screw up, we figure it out, we win, and then we abandon the place. All we ever hear about from the left is about all the casualties due to waging war (100K dead due to US war in Iraq !); you can bet that people are dying right and left right now, and will continue to die in great numbers (kind of like when Saddam was in power). Nobody will care about them...

Could the result of the Obama-induced power vacuum in Iraq have been any more predictable ? We spent all that Blood and Treasure to birth an actual functioning Arab democratic state in the Middle East; a counterweight to Iran and Syria, a base for projecting US diplomatic and military power in the region. After we won in Iraq we had "hand" (as George would say) in the Middle East, we were the strong horse.

And what happened; the boy wonder absolutely and undeniably threw it all away. It is impossible to understate the tragedy he has engendered all over the Middle East, It is impossible to estimate how much killing is going to happen in that region. And it is certain that sooner or later, they are coming after us.; 6/11/14, 3:32 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: traditionalguy said...

Mass beheadings could work their way over to New Hampshire next.

We don't generally go with beheadings here in NH, but plenty of people from Mass head up here during hunting season. Not quite as many return to Mass afterwards...; 6/11/14, 3:33 PM
Freder Frederson said...: It was a huge waste of money and money is worth a lot more than security.

It was also a huge waste of human lives and bodies. If if you could care less about the tens of thousands (at the very minimum 100,000) of Iraqi dead, you must have some concern about the 4500 Americans killed and the the 30,000 plus wounded.; 6/11/14, 3:37 PM
FleetUSA said...: It is better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and be known as a fool. "stand ready"!; 6/11/14, 3:39 PM
Balfegor said...: As true today as it was in the 80's.; 6/11/14, 3:47 PM
Bayoneteer said...: The sad truth about these ethnically and religiously diverse places is that they require a brutal SOB running things so they keep the ruination and slaughter to a minimum.
Saddam, Assad, Milosevic etc. are a necessary evil in some places unfortunately never mind what the neo-conservatives say.; 6/11/14, 3:51 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Of course, Freder, you're "forgetting" that almost certainly a higher number of people would have been killed by the Hussein regime during their normal activities.; 6/11/14, 3:53 PM
twgin said...: hmm, only 3 reposts, patience grasshopper !; 6/11/14, 3:53 PM
Lucien said...: Seems like the people of Iraq will only end up with as good a government as they are willing to fight for after all.

But how smart can it be for the mostly Sunni (I believe) Al Qaeda to try to take over a predominantly Shiite Iraq, with the stronger Shiite Iran right next door, and Syria in a Shambles?

How is this good for anyone except Iran?; 6/11/14, 3:55 PM
jr565 said...: Maybe the us will provide plastic bags for the heads? Or
Maybe some spikes so the heads can be places as. Warming not to mess with Al Qaeda.... Oh wait....; 6/11/14, 3:59 PM
Greybeard said...: Who voted for this asshole?
How many warriors are dead because of your stupidity?
How many WILL die because we'll have to go BACK and fix what was nearly fixed before we withdrew too rapidly?
Now, Afghanistan too?
It's no wonder our troops won't speak the CinC's name.
It's no wonder so many of our true warriors fear for their lives because of our stupid leadership.
After Bergdahl and the many ramifications that will bring, would you want your son/daughter being put in harms way under this leader?
Obama voters, you have blood on your hands.; 6/11/14, 4:02 PM
Patrick Henry was right! said...: Professor, still think that orthodoxy has no beliefs? Better defend all those peace loving Muslims who just want to make the world safe for unbelievers.; 6/11/14, 4:05 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: This will make the Ukrainians feel really secure!; 6/11/14, 4:06 PM
jr565 said...: Feeder you can't POSSIBLY care about Iraqi dead. Or Al Qaeda considering what we are seeing today. This is on you. This is what your peace looks like. Your head chopped off and Al Qaeda in control. Plus Christians being ethnically cleansed and murdered and fleeing by the thousands with no were to go. You're a real humanitarian.; 6/11/14, 4:07 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Guys, when the Pres finds out whose ass to kick over this someone is in real trouble.

#BanBossyBeheaders

Meanwhile I sincerely wish the best of luck to the remaining civilized population of Iraq--it looks like they'll need it.; 6/11/14, 4:07 PM
Patrick Henry was right! said...: Freder, just like WWII? Good G-d you are dense.; 6/11/14, 4:08 PM
jr565 said...: With friends like Obama who needs enemies? Afghanis should start counting the days to when they get their heads chopped off.; 6/11/14, 4:11 PM
Alex said...: Freder - obviously a million Iraqis we murdered would still be alive and happy under Saddam Hussein.; 6/11/14, 4:14 PM
CWJ said...: eric@3:17,

We were in Germany and South Korea before I was born over 62 years ago, and we're still there!
Is that what you want for the middle east as well?

Is there any scenario you can think of where they (Germany and South Korea) will stand on their own two feet before we are cold in the ground? Do we really need to keep multiplying these open-ended commitments?

Not saying your sentiments are wrong. They're not. But at the same time, they are not a sustainable foreign policy.; 6/11/14, 4:17 PM
Browndog said...: Nothing matters until Hillary says it matters.

winning...; 6/11/14, 4:19 PM
jr565 said...: Winning! As Charlie sheen would say.
Smart diplomacy ends up being if you side with the US you will have your head chopped off.; 6/11/14, 4:20 PM
Kirk Parker said...: "If only Kurdistan actually had some outlet to the sea, it might make a for reliable ally of the US in the region."

If only we could be a reliable ally of theirs! Dear God am I ashamed to be an American at the moment.; 6/11/14, 4:20 PM
Anonymous said...: The democrats, and the international left, have no answer for Islamic terrorists/Jihadists.In fact they even seem to resent having to deal with it at all.; 6/11/14, 4:28 PM
Wince said...: Again, if you were for the sanctions regime, you were for Saddam's downfall (or did you just want civilians to suffer and die?).

Researcher Richard Garfield estimated that "a minimum of 100,000 and a more likely estimate of 227,000 excess deaths among young children from August 1991 through March 1998" from all causes including sanctions. Other estimates have put the number at 170,000 children. UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said that

"if the substantial reduction in child mortality throughout Iraq during the 1980s had continued through the 1990s, there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children under-five in the country as a whole during the eight-year period 1991 to 1998. As a partial explanation, she pointed to a March statement of the Security Council Panel on Humanitarian Issues which states: "Even if not all suffering in Iraq can be imputed to external factors, especially sanctions, the Iraqi people would not be undergoing such deprivations in the absence of the prolonged measures imposed by the Security Council and the effects of war."

Chlorine is commonly used to purify water, but because it can also be used to make poisonous chlorine gas, the sanctions regime included banning its manufacture under any conditions throughout Iraq and its import severely restricted. After inspecting Baghdad's facilities, David Sole, President of the Sanitary Chemists & Technicians Association, noting a high rates of diseases from lack of clean water followed the Gulf War and sanctions, recommended that liquid chlorine be sent to Iraq to disinfect water supplies

And a downfall of Saddam due to successful sanctions only brings you to the same or worse result occasioned by the invasion.

And for those who like to talk providing propaganda for al Queda, sanctions also provided two of three grievances listed in Bin Laden's fatwa before 9-11.; 6/11/14, 4:33 PM
jr565 said...: When obama used the words smart diplomacy he had to have been saying it ironically. Or he lives in bizarro world.; 6/11/14, 4:34 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Professor, still think that orthodoxy has no beliefs? Better defend all those peace loving Muslims who just want to make the world safe for unbelievers."

I think people mostly use religions for earthly goals, and the beliefs are about the desirability of political power and social control. Is the metaphysical business actually believed in? I'm not seeing much evidence of that.; 6/11/14, 4:55 PM
Browndog said...: Smart diplomacy ends up being if you side with the US you will have your head chopped off.

Name one American interest Obama has gone to bat for...unless you count the Chicago Olympics;while he was over there collecting his 1st Nobel Peace Prize.

To the Pakistani doctor that helped find Bin Laden to his insistence Honduras re-install their marxist dictator I can name endless examples of Obama working against American interests.

What's it going to take for people to catch a clue?

And no-if he was "incompetent" he would, from time to time, accidentally 'do the right thing'.; 6/11/14, 4:55 PM
Drago said...: Freder: "It was also a huge waste of human lives and bodies. If if you could care less about the tens of thousands (at the very minimum 100,000) of Iraqi dead, you must have some concern about the 4500 Americans killed and the the 30,000 plus wounded."

We're still trying to get the left to care about the 100 million dead at the altar of the lefts beloved marxism from just last century.

Not likely though.; 6/11/14, 5:27 PM
Drago said...: jr565: "Smart diplomacy ends up being if you side with the US you will have your head chopped off."

It's Vietnam and the dems all over again.

In terms of Vietnam, the dems wouldn't even send arms as the Soviet supplied tanks rolled right down Highway 1 into Saigon.

If only the dems had hashtags in 1975.; 6/11/14, 5:30 PM
Drago said...: rightguy2 said...
The democrats, and the international left, have no answer for Islamic terrorists/Jihadists.In fact they even seem to resent having to deal with it at all.

Oh, they have an answer all right.

And their answer is "we can be flexible".

Sound familiar?

It does to Putin. Another of obama's fabulous faves.; 6/11/14, 5:31 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Althouse:

"I think people mostly use religions for earthly goals,"

True enough; where you fall short is in your lack of imagination as to what those goals might consist of.; 6/11/14, 5:35 PM
Michael in ArchDen said...: "Sometimes, I think that letting the Democrats control everything for 2 years would work out just fine. Let one party take responsibility for everything. When they can't whine and finger-point, what will they actually step up and do? It will be interesting to know."

Voters in Mosul were unavailable for comment.

P.S. Expect more whining and finger-pointing.; 6/11/14, 5:56 PM
n.n said...: Premature withdrawal is a common condition at Obama's age.; 6/11/14, 6:59 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Echoes of Viet Nam... We go in, we screw up, we figure it out, we win, and then we abandon the place."

We never won in Viet Nam.

"All we ever hear about from the left is about all the casualties due to waging war (100K dead due to US war in Iraq !);"

Yes, 100K (at least) dead due to our baseless decision to invade the country, 100K dead who wouldn't be. There's also all the millions who have been made homeless, turned into refugees. There's the destruction of a nation's infrastructure and civil society. We did that. For no good reason.

"you can bet that people are dying right and left right now, and will continue to die in great numbers (kind of like when Saddam was in power). Nobody will care about them..."

Saddam was a tyrant and a killer, yes, but Iraq was a largely stable, functioning society, and there was not the wholesale slaughter that has been wrought by us directly and indirectly by our having invaded the country.

"Could the result of the Obama-induced power vacuum in Iraq have been any more predictable ? We spent all that Blood and Treasure to birth an actual functioning Arab democratic state in the Middle East; a counterweight to Iran and Syria, a base for projecting US diplomatic and military power in the region."

We didn't spend that blood and treasure to "birth an actual functioning Democratic state," but, as you accurately put it, to create "a base for projecting US...power in the region." (Forget about diplomatic power; the only power we have exerted since 2001 is military power, and in so doing, we have built nothing and destroyed much, including our own constitutional republic.)

Basically, we destroyed a functioning state in the region, for our own ends and no other. We have won nothing; we have made Iraq into a desolation and called it a victory, to paraphrase Tacitus.; 6/11/14, 7:12 PM
Browndog said...: Robert Cook said...

I wonder... in the privacy of your own thoughts...which country you'd like to see overthrow America; to, you know, teach us a lesson.; 6/11/14, 7:24 PM
Cedarford said...: 1. For those screaming America the world's free 911 service Must Do Something!! - invade!! Stop bloodthirsty Freedom-Lover Muslims from shooting vs. beheading one another and help them to get girls, not boys, into college and playing soccer???

*Sorry! Americans want no more wars unless America's vital interests are threatened. Then only as a last resort. With clear goals the public and elected officials can understand if not wholly back, and a victory/exit strategy.
*Sorry! We can't afford to be the Post-WWII guarantor of global peace. America once had the wealth of 40% of the world's GNP coming in to afford that luxury back when...not anymore. Thank globalization, free trade, and huge wealth disparities.; 6/11/14, 7:31 PM
Drago said...: Cedarford: "1. For those screaming America the world's free 911 service Must Do Something!! - invade!!"

Good thing just about nobody is saying that, much less screaming it.

But do go on.; 6/11/14, 7:55 PM
mccullough said...: Cook,

What's with the "but" in between "Saddam was a tyrant and and killer, yes" and "Iraq was a largely stable, functioning society"?

Effective tyrannies always create stability. That's why tyrants are so often successful, especially if they rule in oil rich countries. Look at Putin. He can take Crimea and the rest of Ukraine because Russia has a lot of oil. Western Europe. Assad is also an effective tyrant. The US didn't invade Syria, but hundreds of thousands are getting killed. The same thing that is gong to happen in Iraq now and would have happened when Saddam died.

Rwanda, Sudan and various shitholes around the world see much killing that the US had nothing to do with and can't resolve by diplomacy or military action. It was stupid to get involved in Iraq for this reason. But that country, like so many others, has been and will be a shit hole regardless, like all the Islamic countries. It was stupid of W and Obama to think otherwise.; 6/11/14, 7:55 PM
jr565 said...: "We never won in Viet Nam. "
We did win.dems like always ceded victory
We also won every major battle. Every single one.
Including TET which was actually a Vietcong route which the media portrayed as a victory.
As per usual our ability to win wars is
Tied into democrats ability to rein victories into defeat.
It will happen again in Afghanistan
Very shortly.
We haven't won that one yet, but we are certainly going to lose it.; 6/11/14, 7:57 PM
jr565 said...: "*Sorry! Americans want no more wars unless America's vital interests are threatened. Then only as a last resort. With clear goals the public and elected officials can understand if not wholly back, and a victory/exit strategy."
Having Al Qaeda control
Billions of dollars to fund further terrorism
Surely is not in our interest.; 6/11/14, 7:59 PM
Drago said...: I see cookie and the left have transitioned from the we invaded to steal the oil (which never happened) to we invaded to project our power further into the Middle East.

Of course, given cookie's history with strange and wildly out-of-whack conspiracies, you can take that for what it's worth.; 6/11/14, 8:00 PM
Greybeard said...: "The offensive failed militarily, Gen. Giap’s forces suffered heavy casualties and a hoped-for civilian uprising against the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam did not happen.

But politically, the offensive was devastating in the United States, where it shattered public confidence in U.S. policy and led Johnson to decide against seeking reelection as president."
Washington Post.
Ya can't win if you tuck-tail and quit.; 6/11/14, 8:10 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I wonder... in the privacy of your own thoughts...which country you'd like to see overthrow America...."

We're doing a good job of it ourselves...that's the problem.; 6/11/14, 9:06 PM
Jupiter said...: "But politically, the offensive was devastating in the United States, where it shattered public confidence in U.S. policy and led Johnson to decide against seeking reelection as president."
Washington Post.

Well, you shouldn't get your history from the Washington Post. The reason Johnson didn't seek reelection is that he was being blackmailed by someone who had evidence of his involvement in the JFK assassination.; 6/11/14, 9:15 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I see cookie and the left have transitioned from the we invaded to steal the oil (which never happened) to we invaded to project our power further into the Middle East."

It's all part and parcel of the same thing, Drago. An empire doesn't project it's power just to project power, but to acquire or control the valuable resources available to be had wherever it extends itself. The power is projected to first obtain control of the desired resource and then to make sure no one else tries to move in on the claimed turf, at least, not without paying for access.

Don't think Western oil concerns are not avidly accessing Iraq oil fields.

Commentary on the above linked story.; 6/11/14, 9:18 PM
Robert Cook said...: "We also won every major battle. Every single one."

Winning the battles does not always win the war, as we learned in Viet Nam.; 6/11/14, 9:20 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Effective tyrannies always create stability. That's why tyrants are so often successful, especially if they rule in oil rich countries."

Yes...and your point?

Where most, understandably, do not want to live in a tyranny, most prefer, also understandably, to live in a stable society that is a tyranny than in a chaotic, essentially ungoverned society that has been torn apart by war and by continuing violence by competing sects (political, religious, etc.) within the country post-war.; 6/11/14, 9:26 PM
Browndog said...: Robert Cook said...

We're doing a good job of it ourselves...that's the problem.

Alas, we agree-

Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev:

“We’ll spoon feed you socialism until you’re Communists...; 6/11/14, 9:30 PM
Drago said...: I see Robert Cook has transitioned from the we-are-going-to-steal-their-oil (again, which never happened) to, horror of horrors, western oil companies are seeking to acquire rights to oil!!

Shocking!

Shocking I tell you.

In related news, Agribusiness seeks agricultural products.

Furniture manufacturers seek access to wood products.

When will this madness end!!!; 6/11/14, 10:00 PM
Drago said...: You'd think Cookie would take just a moment to lament the beheadings.

But, like crack, nope.

Not sweating it in the slightest.

These are "good" beheadings.

The best really.

They are non-western "people's" beheadings. So, you know, it's all good.; 6/11/14, 10:02 PM
twgin said...: From of all places, the NYT:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01morris.html?_r=0

Seems like we did win the war in Viet Nam after all. Not only did we (USA) win all our battles but the South Vietnamese did pretty well as long as we supported them. And we managed to defeat the Viet Cong militarily and politically when we finally let a competent general run the war (that would be Creighton Abrams).

But gee whiz, we left (peace with honor, remember ?) and cut off the money (sorry suckers ! you trusted us !), and soon enough the whole thing fell apart in a big way. Lefties call that "losing".

So now history is repeating itself, or at least rhyming. We can see the farce from here easy enough, but when your head is suddenly separated from the rest of your body you probably don't see much of anything.

From our Hostess with the mostest:

"I think people mostly use religions for earthly goals, and the beliefs are about the desirability of political power and social control. Is the metaphysical business actually believed in? I'm not seeing much evidence of that."

Do women do chin pulling ? In the faculty lounge or at cocktail parties ? Is it sexist to suggest this or sexist to assume it one way or the other ? Maybe trans women still chin pull. I know its very important, but I get confused. I digress.

These guys loping off heads over there (sry, no womyn lopers allowed) could care less about metaphysics and care even less for these discussions. They just flat out hate. Before too long the lopers are going to have access to a nuclear bomb. Thats probably OK because they will use the first one on Israel, not our problem, right ? The second or third one, that could be a real bummer.

Too bad that we don't have much influence in the Middle East anymore, might have come in handy.; 6/11/14, 10:12 PM
twgin said...: You know, on second thought maybe I am being too harsh. We just traded five All Star Lopers for a psychotic deserter. We made a deal ! They're going to love us for it and make more deals ! Our worries are over !; 6/11/14, 10:25 PM
Jay Vogt said...: . . . . Ann Althouse said...."I think people mostly use religions for earthly goals, and the beliefs are about the desirability of political power and social control." . . . .

Maybe, maybe not.

"Is the metaphysical business actually believed in? I'm not seeing much evidence of that. . . . . "

You're not supposed to. That's kinda how it works.; 6/11/14, 11:01 PM
Unknown said...: ----Is there any scenario you can think of where they (Germany and South Korea) will stand on their own two feet ---

Since the 1980s a large part of the reason for our presence in Korea is to restrain the South from invading their hollow corpse neighbor to the North.

They and the Japanese (who we also have bases on) are now considering up arming to meet the Chinese threat.

Germany has taken pretty good leadership of whatever you call the EU.

Your comment really brings little truth to the table.; 6/11/14, 11:09 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I see Robert Cook has transitioned from the we-are-going-to-steal-their-oil (again, which never happened) to, horror of horrors, western oil companies are seeking to acquire rights to oil!!"

Um...Drago, that was always the point, always the intent. (As you well know, your clumsy attempt at rhetorical sleight of hand to the contrary...or, if you didn't know it, you would have if you'd read the article I linked to, which pointed out Western oil interests had been kept out of Iraq since 1973.)

We acted for the Western oil interests. Just as General Smedley Butler said back in the 1930s, that in his 30 years in the military he had acted as a "high class muscle man for big business and Wall Street."

As the song sings: "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was."; 6/12/14, 7:20 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I wonder how many of them thought, in those last instants of consciousness as their heads fell to the ground, "at least Obama stopped waterboarding and has taken up a policy of killing by drone rather than capture and interrogation."; 6/12/14, 9:20 AM
Jason said...: "If you like your head attached to your shoulders you can keep your head attached to your shoulders."; 6/12/14, 9:51 AM
Anonymous said...: "We acted for the Western oil interests."

It's good to know the Western oil interests lined up with the right thing to do.

Somehow I doubt that happens very often.

And now, I'm assuming, Obama is not acting in the best interests of Western Oil Interests?

If so, clearly the western oil interests were right.

This is the problem with making an argument by demonizing the other, even when it's big business.

If tomorrow big business says, "Love your wife and kids." Robert Cook will demand a retraction and insist beating them is the best option.; 6/12/14, 1:37 PM
Anonymous said...: "Where most, understandably, do not want to live in a tyranny, most prefer, also understandably, to live in a stable society that is a tyranny than in a chaotic, essentially ungoverned society that has been torn apart by war and by continuing violence by competing sects (political, religious, etc.) within the country post-war."

In other words, he'd choose for black people the tyranny of slavery over a south that has been torn apart by war and by continuing violence (like by the KKK) that arise within the country post-war.; 6/12/14, 1:43 PM
mshnaya said...: Who's at the head of the beheading queue? Our interpreters, our drivers, our teachers, our gophers, our allies who took risks for America.; 6/12/14, 10:54 PM
mshnaya said...: Who are at the head of the beheading queue? Our interpreters, our teachers, our drivers, all who believed and risked for America: http://tiny.cc/r9hdhx; 6/12/14, 10:57 PM