Failing marks by 9/11 commission, Iraqi casualties, and More corrupt Republicans
If Bush feels that he has been chosen by God to protect our country and defeat Terrorism, why is the 9/11 Commission issuing failing marks to the US in regards to preparedness?
Failing Marks from 9/11 Commission
The following link is to The Iraq Index, a graph (PDF) of the breakdown of US casualties in Iraq:
Graph of US Casualties in Iraq
Less than a week before the 9.11 attack, Mohamed Atta and several other hijackers made a still-unexplained visit onboard one of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s casino boats. This story has a host of players from Tom DeLay and Mob Bosses, to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition:
Shady Republicans
Peace and Love,
The Rebellion Magazine
posted by The Rebellion Magazine @ 4:15 AM
4 Comments:
In response to Iraqi Casualties:
I love the Iraq index, all the pertinent casualty facts laid out and of special note; the figures are partially contrasted with other recent US conflicts. This is good because it lends credibility as bi-partisan, strait dope research, where as most strictly Iraq casualty list are written off as liberal smear tactics. Taking a look back at Vietnam casualty reports though, I can see why it spawned an incredible anti-war movement:
128,000 Wounded
58,238 Killed
14,000 Missing in Action
>50,000 Suicides since 1975
-not to mention the 5 million+ Vietnamese/Laotian/Cambodian soldiers and civilians killed.
The total US military involvement was something like 9 million out of a US population of 212 million or 4.3% of the populace. If you include those soldiers' direct nuclear family members it is around 35-50? million people who could say their brother/son/father was over in Vietnam, or 19% of the population roughly. Iraq has 1 million total deployment vs 295 million people, or less then 1/3 of 1% and maybe 3-5? million nuclear family members of soldiers (1%). I think because of this the war still feels to most like a necessary annoyance/duty that is always on TV.
I think the number of death's wasn't so important as the feeling the war began to exude on the US populace. As terrible as the situation in Iraq is I don't think it is yet affecting a significant portion of US citizens like Vietnam. Vietnam seemed a far off conflict, but things get closer and closer to home the more people begin to say "I know someone who died" or see wounded vets with missing appendages everywhere. Especially when they come back and begin to engage in high profile protest movements. Despite the increased media coverage in Iraq (that seems to have died off as of late- especially front line reporting), you really don't have the personal impact on a large number of people. I think maybe if more soldiers were from urban or suburban areas rather than the 51% from rural America; more people that have some influence (money) would be exuding heavy political pressure. This administration is making huge mistakes, but they also cover their tracks fairly well. Cheney in particular is amazing at issuing the most UN-damming obscure imprecise wording that covers his ass from every angle-despite its huge size. Johnson, Nixon, and McNamara were targeted by the press and public and questioned into precise diction, and they were reported on by sizable media outlets that were overtly anti war. Things began to get so heated that they couldn't coerce the majority into a favorable opinion of the war. I think the press has got to starting cracking down on the issues, and stop under reporting certain aspects of the war. They have been holding off direct confrontation with this administration, possibly because it bites back so hard- or maybe they have just been bought out. All major media in the US is owned by 6 companies; I find it hard to believe that the White House doesn't have a ton of influence on all of these entities. These supposedly bi-partisan mega companies with fair and unbiased reporting come off as washed out homogenized brown nosers. Who's got the richest ass to lick now? Sometimes I wish we could have some major news outlet that is fucking straight democratic or independent. Urbanites are almost always Dem; where the hell is the Dem urban media giant? Either way, it's tough to get through to a man that thinks he is on a religious mission from god to bring democracy to Iraq. A country that was cobbled together by imperial powers in the early years of this century, that included a lovely ratio of people that hate each other. Iraq border lines make about as much sense as Israel's, and I think we should blame some of these huge racial/religious/Arab problems on European imperialism. Of course, one could make a valid argument that we are marching to our own imperial drums, but not anywhere near the extent of Europe at its peak. Yet.
-EG
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