The Winds All Blow Toward More War …
ø
The Congressional Wind
The determination of the Executive Branch to “stay the course” of the Project for a New American Century is anything but news. There was some hope with Election 2006 the Congress might nudge the steersman a bit. Earlier today the House cast doubt on that and a few minutes ago, the Senate dashed those hopes on the rocks. Discouraging as that is, there is more to the story. Bear in mind that there are almost as many “contract security agents” or more properly, mercenary soldiers, as uniformed military in Iraq. In all the discussion about supporting the troops, very little was said about how many billion$ will actually go to private contractors like Blackwater USA and Kellogg, Brown, and Root who are paid much more per capita than uniform military and are almost as numerous. And what accountability do these contractors have?
The Judicial Wind
Yesterday Team Juan/Amy had a report from Jeremy Scahill [author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army] about a further erosion of the rule of law. In defending itself against a lawsuit by the families of four brutally slain employees, Blackwater is claiming immunity of the U.S. Government i.e. sovereign immunity. As I read the Wikipedia entry, it seems to me that the Tucker Act specifically excludes such a claim. In any case, should this defense succeed, and it already has in part, Blackwater will have the immunity of the U.S. Military without any of the accountability of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Judiciary has joined the winds of war.
Blowing through the Straits of Hormuz: a Horde of Hardware
You cannot simultaneously prepare for war and prevent war. -Albert Einstein.
The military build up in the Persian Gulf has been going on for a while and is well documented. Steven C. Clemons reports on his blog The Washington Note that Veep Dick Cheney is actively planning to give the President and Secretary of State the end run – go directly to war with Iran. [Do not pass Congress. Do not collect public support.] Does this fall within his advertised need to work “on the dark side, if you will?”
- previous:
- Do demonstrations work?
- next:
- The sun rises and sets on U.S.-Iran talks.
