mental midgets and a tune by John Williamson
Published 1 year, 9 months ago in My life.It is hard to fathom that we would help attack and occupy a sovereign nation on the whim of a mental midget yet refuse to turn on the tap when the world’s best minds tell us our house is on fire.
The Bush administration and its allies – namely us – invaded Iraq based on the flimsiest possible evidence. Bush – the thick-headed son of an oil baron and the mouthpiece of Christian fundamentalists – whistled. And Australia came to heal.
Yet the Bush administration and its staunchest ally – unfortunately us - refuse to combat climate change because there is not enough evidence – not enough certainty.
This despite the overwhelming majority of scientific thought and evidence supporting the notion that human-produced CO2 is causing our planet to overheat.
Our defence minister Brendan Nelson tells us today - without a hint of embarressment - that “there is no such thing as a victory in Iraq'’, that regardless of what we or the US do, Iraq is now and will continue to be a magnet for terrorists, “characterised by degrees of sectarian and other violence'’.
Yet the Howard Government insists we should remain in Iraq. Why? - No longer are we there because of WMDs, that myth has long been swept under the table. We are no longer there to liberate Iraq from the monsterSaddam or to promote democracy, we’ve even given up hope of keeping Iraq from becoming a playground for the Bogey Man, Osama and his pals.
So why are we there Mr Howard? Because George is there and Dick is there and Aussies live by the code of “standing by your mate when his in a fight.'’
God help us John Williamson is writing our foreign policy and we dance to the tune of an American idiot.
If there is no other reason to vote ALP at the next federal election, try this - at least then we’ll dance to Midnight Oil.
5 Responses to “mental midgets and a tune by John Williamson”
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Politicians always loose touch with the will of the people AND it is not until they are smarting at the end of an election night that they suddenly realise that they should have listened. Our Defence Force is spending way too much time overseas defending our relationship with the Americans and not doing what it was manipulated to do… save money.
I understand exactly where you are coming from ..
My only issue with the OTHER choice for australia is that Rudd HIMSELF is a christian Fundie.
out of the frying pan ?
I hope you don’t think Arabs or Muslims are unworthy or incapable of living in a democracy or enjoying the same freedoms that you take for granted? If not, surely we should be helping them to defend their fledgling democracies from pre-medieval nihilists. Australians are helping the people of Afghanistan fight a similar struggle to that in Iraq, plus also helping the people of Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands with their difficulties.
We may need to be prepared, in the words of John F Kennedy, to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. Afghanistan and Iraq may be a long, difficult struggle, similar to the Cold War. Don’t expect any conventional declaration of victory in an asymmetric conflict - any more than has happened in the case of the IRA, the New Peoples’ Army in the Philippines or the former communist insurgency in Malaysia or the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Imitating debate in the United States there is a fixation on ‘exit strategies’ from Iraq, by contrast their was never any ‘exit strategy’ from the Korean Peninsula but peace has been maintained for over fifty years, due in large to the presence of the United States military.
Climate change is an unrelated issue, but whatever the position of the Bush Administration, the fact remains that a central obstacle is the United States Senate, which voted 95-0 during the Clinton Administration not to commit to any treaty that did not include major developing nations such as China and India. When you understand that, you begin to appreciate why the Asia Pacific Six initiative that will involve China and India starts to make sense.
The Kyoto Protocol may have been an exercise in moral exhibitionism for many of the signatory nations while Australia is likely to meet its Kyoto target commitments, despite not having ratified it. Many of the countries that signed up to Kyoto, including Canada, Ireland and most of Europe (but maybe not nuclear powered France), are already around 15% above their Kyoto targets.
Thanks Ham for your thoughtful reply. I’m in a hurry right now so will answer more fully later. For now though, no I do not think that Muslims or Arabs are incapable of anything. Democracy however - like any “way of life'’ - takes time, centuries in fact to evolve. It cannot be forced on any nation, culture or people, regardless of their ancestory or religion. I don’t recall Iraq posting a WANTED: VIOLENT DEMOCRATIC REFORMISTS poster.
My kids algebra teacher was recently arrested whilst visiting Iraq. They caught him at customs trying to smuggle in a protractor, compass and set square. He was arrested for being in possession of Weapons of Maths Instruction. yes, yes, you’ve heard it already. I still like it.