Goodwill Hunting, III

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions
which a minute will reverse
--The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,
T.S. Eliot

I thought when I was a young man
That I would conquer the world with truth.
I thought I would lead an Army greater than
Alexander ever dreamed of,
not to conquer nations but to liberate mankind.
With truth. With the golden sound of the word.
But only a few of then heard.
Only a few of you understood
--How Green was My Valley (1941)

We are turning into a nation
of whimpering slaves to Fear—
fear of war, fear of poverty,
fear of random terrorism,
fear of getting down-sized
or fired because of the plunging economy,
fear of getting evicted for bad debts
or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp
on vague charges of being a terrorist sympathizer
--Hunter Thompson
___________________

Do we think beyond the buzz words and the emotional, feel-good rhetoric of false logic and weak-kneed patriotism? These are further thoughts on the bogus military mission of "goodwill".

It is as if we are trapped in the lyrics of a cheap country western song espousing uber-patriotic themes. We may be able to wrap ourselves in the flag and award magnificent medals for the expenditure of lives, but this does not justify the tableau.

Where in the Principles of War is that of Goodwill? Doesn't a forced U.S. entry into an Afghan valley simply reinforce their militancy and further disconnect them from our goals and the ephemeral hold of their make-believe government? This not about us, and their definition of Goodwill might sound a lot like the statement, "Stay our of my valley!"

The question seems, "How does one dare disturb this universe created by a warrior mentality (ours) that bumps head-on with another entrenched warrior society (theirs)?" It is clear that we can back off, but they have too much skin in the game to do so.

A clean, sterile award ceremony in the White House cannot relieve the stench of death surrounding our leaders. This stench belongs to them, and not men like Medal of Honor recipients Meyer, Miller or Murphy.

He Talks Pretty

Those are my principles,
and if you don't like them... well, I have others
--Groucho Marx
_________________

From Seymour Hersh's "Chain of Command" (2004)":

"Referring to the war in Afghanistan, which was then underway, [Joe] Biden asked rhetorically, "How much longer does the bombing continue? Because we're going to pay an escalating price in the Muslim world. We're going to pay an escalating price in the region. And that, in fact, is going to make the the aftermath of our 'victory' more difficult . . . I hope to God it ends sooner rather than later."

"Biden also had these words for the Musharraf regime: "We have to make clear to the Pakistanis that, notwithstanding the fact that we need you very much right now . . . if you are going to continue to foment the terror that does exist in Kashmir, then you are operating against your own near-term interests, because that very viper can turn on you."

"Biden came as close as Democrat had come sine September 11th to straightforward criticism of President Bush's war aims. . . . (290)."

What a difference a day makes. What has happened to old Talkin' Joe? In 2001 he was against Bush's war policies in Afghanistan, but in 2009 he is foursquare behind the efforts being continued by his new boss.

At least Bush was honest in his blinkering of the American public. He blindly but audaciously led the country into a war without end. But how do We the People reconcile the fact that our new administration -- elected amidst anti-war sentiment -- has not changed course?

Why do we even bother to vote?