Interesting coincidence

[Mark68]

Isn't it interesting how odd the parallels between what happened to vietnam after we pulled out & the unfolding evnts in iraq are? Hmmm....? Reminds me of the "pax americana" JFK warned of in 1963. I guess rubbing out John Jr was just a precaution since he undoubtedly would have trounced anyone the MIC would have run against him & his wife was just "collateral damage". All the $$ & power in the world won't prevent the rewards of the innocent lives they've destroyed.

[Bob]

Indeed, Mark68. The U.S. built super bases in Iraq while the conflict was ongoing. What does that mean? It means that the US will not be leaving anytime soon. WWII ended in 1945. The U.S. STILL has troops in both Germany and Japan 69 years after that war ended. That should tell you something about the future with troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Especially with oil and drugs (opium in Afghanistan) being a part of the equation.

[JDThomas]

Without wishing to get into an unintended conflict here, I think that what is going on in IRAQ is a little more complicated.At the end of the day the fault lies directly on the shoulders of the Bush regime with the aid of their poodle Tony Blair. Blair is currently touring the circuit complaining that none of the present crisis is his fault and it has nothing to do with the original invasion of Iraq - it has everything to do with the invasion - its the law of consequences, unintended or otherwise.The current crisis precipitated by the Islamic group ISIS could almost be considered comical in a DIFFERENT setting. Let's see: the US regime wanted the Assad regime out of Syria, he was anti-West, anti-Israel and supported Russian military bases within the country - kill two birds with one stone through means of an insurrection (much as Webster Tarporley predicted, as the average US citizen does not want troops on the ground there with the inevitably associated body bags).The insurrection starts to stall, there is no support for direct intervention despite what Barry pleaded for on behalf of his masters and the revolutionaries feel abandoned and betrayed by the West and turn inwards for their inspiration towards radical Islam which always made up a section of the uprising anyway. Too late, the western powers realize that the devil they know might actually be better than the devil that they don't, no matter how bad he is. They now do the best impression that they can that they don't know that the Syrian crisis exists, that Assad may not be such an evil little tyrant after all and what's wrong with Russia having middle eastern military bases, even though Putin appears to be another vertically challenged tyrant with a taste for territorial expansion. So it is almost with a sense of relief that Putin charges into Ukraine - now the western public will see this as a more serious problem, closer to home - they too will now forget about Syria. The Pentagon can now cheerfully chastise Congress for cutting military spending - the old Cold War enemy is back to frighten you, empty your treasury coffers and reignite the world of Spy Vs Spy - HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!Meanwhile the spooks have forgotten that the insurrection in Syria has not been defeated and the fighters have melded into ISIS - radical Islamic fighters of the Sunni faction, who just happen to have blood brothers over the porous border of a country called Iraq. Now these Iraqi Suni's are still feeling downtrodden after the regime of their Sunni leader, Sadam has been ousted and now replaced by a regime of the Shi'a faction. In the world of Sunni & Shi'a ('I got you babe' is not believed to be their battle cry), they may both hate the West, they may both hate Israel and Zionism, but there is nothing that they hate more than they do each other. So, shock, horror - these two Sunni forces join together under ISIS and cause trouble in fractious Iraq where there are stockpiles of American-supplied weapons to be pilfered to continue the fight in Syria and the devil's own Shi'a administration in Iraq - kill two birds with one stone.At the slightest sound of gunfire, the Iraqi army runs away (which chapter of the US Marine training manual have they been reading?) and suddenly ISIS quickly gains control of a large portion of Northern Iraq; within days, the capital, Baghdad is under threat and the whole country is on the brink of falling apart. Oil-rich Iraq falling apart? What possible consequences could this have? The oil price rises sharply endangering the economic recovery in the West. It also starts to refill Russian coffers, depleted by the low prices set by the American shale exploration boom. This also negates any effect of sanctions that the West have placed on Putin for invading Crimea. If Putin has money back in his pockets where will his next stop on tour be? All of Ukraine? Poland? The Baltic States? Hell, why not Alaska too? After all, Alaska was part of Russia before Crimea was. If that happens it might even put Sarah Palin back in the public eye and nobody wants that. It'll be time for the military to go back to Congress for even more money. Poverty or Palin - you choose.So who on earth can come to the aid of crumbly Iraq who for some reason don't seem interested in spending their time drinking cola, eating apple pie and watching baseball instead of fighting each other? Well it looks like the only volunteer is 'Death to Israel! Death to America!', the Anti-Christ incarnate.... IRAN! Faced with the alternative consequences, the response of the West is ' Thanks very much indeed! How kind of you to offer! You're not such bad chaps after all really, are you? Don't really care much for your death chanting, but I suppose death comes to us all in the end, though later rather than sooner if you don't mind.'Within days the British re-open their Embassy in Iran, something that they said that they would not do until relations had improved significantly. As little if anything has improved, it appears that a significant deterioration in Iraq is just as good (unless some diplomat just got the two countries mixed-up ... they both start with I..... then R, then A....contain 4 letters ..... sort of in the same part of the world.... some people find geography quite difficult.... is it near Kansas?). Anyone who will help, at any price seems to be the order of the day. It's better the anti-Western devil you know than the anti-Western devil you don't..Finally, please spare a thought and maybe a prayer for poor Barry. He looks just like an out-of-his-depth, inexperienced freshman, stuck in the hotseat because the only available alternatives seemed even worse propositions to voters. Which way does he turn? Help the Syrian rebels! err..... fight the Syrian rebels. Pledge to get all American troops out of Iraq. Mission accomplished! ... err we have to send our boys back in. We must confront Iran! err... must cuddle Iran. What's the next policy about turn? TIME FOR CHANGE indeed!None of this mess was started by Barry - Bush broke the toilet, but Barry is sill left to clean-up the mess and fix the toilet. The toilet is still broken, but Barry doesn't look like he fancies the job.. or knows how to fix it. Time for a new breed of Whitehouse Plumbers?

[Mark68]

^ Reminds me of Davif Ferrie (Joe Pesci)'s line in JFK "..everyone is changing sides all the time, fun & games man - fun & games". Once the oil dries up & nuclear war begins its going to be so sadisticlly comical fox news, cnn, etc., will have even less credibility than they do now hiding who they're truly the PR for.

[Bob]

Great post, JD! I know what you are saying, Mark68. The situation is a bit complex as JD states, but the three bed-partners keep "winning" over there. They are the Military Industrial Complex/CIA, big oil and big banking. The register just keeps on ringing for those three. Yes, the ultimate blame needs to rightly go to Dumbya Bush and his lap dog Tony Blair, but they just did what they were ordered to do by the power elite who really runs this world. That does NOT excuse what they did. Especially Dumbya, who just added more to the legacy of his treasonous family history. Remember the events of 9/11 set all of this up. Those events were definitely an inside job, much like the plan called Operation Northwoods which was presented to JFK by the Joint Chiefs in March of 1962. Stage an event where American citizens are killed so war can be declared on the enemy. The enemy then was Cuba, with Vietnam on the back burner. In 2001, the enemy was Iraq, but Afghanistan was on the radar as well. In the very first cabinet meeting of Dumbya and his evil minions, they talked about invading Iraq. This was always the plan. It was also very ironic. When Ronny Reagan was President and Poppy Bush was his VP, the U.S. sold arms and also financed both Osama and Saddam. They were friends then, but later became "enemies". Either way, the cash register kept ringing for the Big 3. Now that Barry is in charge, the rhetoric is different, but the results are mostly the same. As I've said on many occasions now, I believe Barry and the three Presidents who came before him were all CIA operatives (Poppy is obvious) before they moved into the White House. Just look at how much powerful and profitable the Big 3 have become in the past quarter century. Now Barry talks a big game, saying he'll do this and do that, but nothing has been done to control the Big 3 in his two terms. The CIA and the Military Industrial Complex have never been so brazen. Look at the BP situation. They caused the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history a few years back, but that seems to be all swept under the carpet. Meanwhile profits in big oil continue to rise. The Obama administration has not arrested, nor convicted anyone on Wall Street, even after they caused an economic calamity in 2008. In fact, Wall Street continues to do the same sordid things.Bottom line, don't expect a brave decision by Barry that is counter to what the CIA wants done in Iraq or the Middle East in general.