I have no idea what anyone is talking about on this blog. You are all crazy.

Each action will cause a reaction

to Chris Ford:

what a complete fascist.

it's a good thing knuckle-draggers like you are around to stand as a bright shining example of evil and intolerance.

and by the way, there's no better label in 2006 Amerika than seditious.

I love it & embrace it!

Hugs & kisses to Chris.

Frankly, like most people throughout the world, I am far more worried about a demonstrably aggressive USA than about a possibly aggressive Russia or China. Then Secretary of State Albright is said to have responded to then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Powell's expounding on the global superiority of US forces by remarking «What's the point of having the most powerful military in the world if you don't use it ?» ; the present US administration has not shown itself less willing to use military force (i e, kill people en masse) at every conceivable and inconceivable opportunity. The process invariably begins with the demonisation of political adversaries - thus Slobodan Milosević was a «Hitler», and Saddam Hussein a monster armed with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, which he was prepared to launch at the unsuspecting «West» on 45 minutes notice - then the bombs start falling in the by now familiar «Shock and Awe» pattern. Despite this, and a military budget as great or greater than that of the rest of the world combined, the outcome is not always that envisioned. So the boys need new toys. Somebody must be making a hell of a lot of money from this process - and the people of the US permit it to continue so long as the Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Germans, etc are willing to cover the deficit financing, so that the pain isn't felt. More than three and a half centuries ago, the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna is said to have remarked to his son Johann «An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur ?» (Do you not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is ruled ?). Nothing has changed....

"If Abbas had any intelligence, he would invite in some rabbis and convert his people to Orthodox Judaism. Then he could show up on Netanyahu's doorstop with 3 million new, truculent Jews --demanding the "right of return" and possessing a total net worth of $63.72. "

That is really funny. I wish some how they could work it out. And on a more serious note, You all remember when Ariel Sharon, despite recommendations from Ehud Barak visited the Al-Aghsa mosque and sparked the second Intefada? Well Mr. Sharon, chickens coming home to roost.

Re Jane Hussein's comment: "lekud and hamas can deal with each other isn't?. "

If I was Israel's Likud --wanting to destroy Palestine and seize the West Bank -- I could not have made a better move than to have helped elect Hamas in the recent election via massive donations of money.

American Neocons will now withdraw US protection and the Palestinians will be massacred in the "war on terrorism". By Fatah as well as by Israel.

If Abbas had any intelligence, he would invite in some rabbis and convert his people to Orthodox Judaism. Then he could show up on Netanyahu's doorstop with 3 million new, truculent Jews --demanding the "right of return" and possessing a total net worth of $63.72.

Surely! while you are feeling a hard-liner is dealing with you, you must have another hardliner. so lekud and hamas can deal with each other isn't?.

BTW, I appreciate Arkin's topics and blogs and most of the discussions that take place and find them enlightening and erudite.

Che, if you could summarize and post a link it would be appreciated. What you post is often interesting but not on topic necessarily and is irksome as it seems to be a form of hijacking attention/promotion of other sites rather than contributing to the topic discussion/conversation.

Washington Post, THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity to express our views on this article. Does this Arkin guys actually writes this crap or get it from StrangeLove in the basement of the Pentagon. God have mercy on us all.

Is this guy really a journalist? All the bombers in the world didn't help us in Vietnam. Then again, I guess that's just history. Like if we had analyzed Dien Bien Foo, but hay we always know better, and pay the price.

"Mr Maushard is not imprisoning Americans without trial. Mr Maushard is not getting rich by being a mouthpiece for the superrich -- and lying to Americans day in and day out about what is going on."

Don Williams. Join Lawence Maushard in the line of seditious Americans better suited for life in Syria, Cuba, Iran. Or, Israel.

Just don't pretend loyalties. Even though we have a corporate whore incompetent President - that does not give traitors on the fringes of American society a pass.

Beware, Wiliams! The sweet frission of treason may feel good to you, but after the next Islamoid assault here, people will be asking why terrorist supporters are still free.

For anyone who missed Mr. Arkin's reference, it is almost certainly to a line from Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower.

The actual phrase is "Neroism is in the air."

And, if the US attacks Iran, it will prove to have been most apt.

Charles of MercuryRising
www.phoenixwoman.blogspot.com

Suddenly Osama not so crazy.

He said that he would ruin us the same way he ruined the USSR. The USSR went bankrupt in an arms race. A portion of that bankruptcy could be attributed to the USSR's failed efforts in Afghanistan, in which, of course, Osama aided/fought.

Mr. Arkin lists a small portion of our very expensive weaponry. It doesn't even include the missle defense system that has failed 6 of 11 tests and yet the missles are being set in place as we speak (staged tests, at that). Current year cost $7bil, over 20 year something like $50bil.

Would our big boys get to buy their big toys if Osama weren't kicking sand in our face?

Whether you think all these big weapons are great and necessary or not, our spending is unsustainable. Despite the fact that we're the sole superpower we are increasing our defense spending on things that simply WILL NOT combat terrorism.

I love watching your country become apopleptic when things don't go your way. Mr. Arkin's reminder of your military's capacity to bomb "anywhere, anytime" is only somewhat sobering; I doubt the U.S. could drop enough bombs between now and the big train wreck to actually change the outcome.
Please stop being so stupid, America. You have been offered a truce on several occasions in the last few months (Osama, Kyoto, Iran) and yet you continue to believe in the incorruptability of your political system. WAKE THE FUCK UP!

And needless to say, when it all blows up in their face (again), the voters will blame Bush (again), completely forgetting their own role in facilitating it (again).

It always amuses me when American voters call Bush unaccountable. They should take a look in the mirror.
They've made one catastrophic error of judgement after another, yet when a politician says: "I have great faith in the commonsense of the American people" or "Americans are smart enough to know etc etc..." they lap it up.

Well, I have no faith left in the commonsense of the American people. Nor in their sense of fair play, nor even their goodwill. I've seen enough.

Re Chris Ford's comment "We really do need a system whereby folks like Maushard could more easily renounce their citizenship, cash in a portion of their wealth, and move to a "less inhumane and murderous" country like Cuba or Iran - or, if liberal Jew - to Israel...Go for it, Laurence! Just don't let the door hit your seditious ass on the way out. "
----------
Actually I would like for Mr Maushard to stay -- and George W Bush to go, along with his buddy Chris Ford.

After all, Mr Maushard is not stealing $4 Trillion from Social Security. It was not Mr Maushard's greedy actions abroad which provoked the Sept 11 attack.

Mr Maushard did not lie us into a war which has killed over 1000 soldiers and maimed over 10,000 of our military men -- many for life.

It is not Mr Maushard who is creating a dictatorship in which bald faced lies and bland sophisty is being used to destroy the Bill of Rights.

Mr Maushard is not imprisoning Americans without trial. Mr Maushard is not getting rich by being a mouthpiece for the superrich -- and lying to Americans day in and day out about what is going on.

It is not Mr Maushard who every day rewards the richest 2% of our population by heaping more and more misery on the working poor. Mr Maushard is not the one who is a pathetic buttkissing mouthpiece for the wealthy.

Today's poll:
Americans approving of Bush - 43%
Americans approving of bombing Iran - 57%

Sounds like a no-brainer for Secretary of State Karl Rove.

Time to break out the Weapons of Mass Deception! Again...

"Iran -- now Hamas -- bombing is in the air."

Aha! So democracy is a good idea only when it suits you. Well, guess what, weaponary alone can not guarantee victory. It takes brain! and not only you don't have a monoploy on that, it looks like all the crap you smoke and drink, as evidenced by the performance, has left you in a pretty disadvantageous position. Keep bombing boy ...

Can you for once post on the topic at hand?

Can you for once post on the topic at hand?

maybe they want foreign aid...that's what I heard....they don't need anything from Iran, that I'm aware of...

breaking up the Iran, Pakistan, China connection has already occured....walmart and china are in eachothers pants....and destroying amerika by killing the attention span of the average walmart shopper.....sugar and videogames...

they're dropping like flies....300 lb 10 year olds.

Could be the coming Iraian Oil Bourse will have more to do with reasons for bombing Iran than nuclear reasons.

More bombings and military strikes in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Palestine, will only confirm to the world how inhumane and murderous this nation has become.

May God forgive Amerika.

"In the long term, the need may indeed be the build up the capability to defeat an aggressive China or Russia or fight a war against Iran. A fabulous precision strike capability to do so merely hides the fact that the overall military and national capability to prevail any one of those wars would necessitate a larger military overall and a commitment beyond bombing."

What kind of better strategy or larger military would enable the US to 'defeat an
aggressive Russia?'

Still dreaming of winnable nuclear wars, Arkin? Maybe you've been hanging around the Pentagon too much.

Russia has about 8,000 nuclear weapons.

A committment beyond bombing? Try total committment.

Dan, I am afraid, the insidedefense.com link does not work since it is subscription only. Can you provide the document for everyone to read for themselves?
Thank you,
K.O.

The only publicly available excerpts from the Quadrennial Defense Review were compiled and first reported by InsideDefense.com. They can be accessed here:

http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/defensenewsstand_spclsubj.asp?s=qdr05

William

If you are making insinuations about the "military industrial complex" and a self perpetuating acquisitions empire, that provides sinecures for "old soldiers" - then you are absolutely correct.