Con Mail: When Countries Become Killers

September 5th, 2008 at 06:28am Michael Conniff 2

I received this email from a listener to "Con Games." Her question is followed by my inadequate reply:

Mr Conniff, I have a question, and unfortunately I do not know where to get my answer.

I thought of you because you seem to be more politically savvy than I. You can either give me your opinion, and then give me references to check, articles to read, what ever.

My question has to do with the quote I took from Democracy Now, (Amy Goodman) Sept 3, 2008 interview with Scott Ritter.

Below is what I copied from democracy now.

"Scott Ritter, Former Marine Corps Officer who served from 1991 to 1998 as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the United Nations Special Commission.

Scott Ritter’s recent articles have focused on Iran. His latest piece on Iran, published earlier this summer on Truthdig.com, is called “Acts of War.” It begins with the lines: “The war between the United States and Iran is on. American taxpayer dollars are being used, with the permission of Congress, to fund activities that result in Iranians being killed and wounded, and Iranian property destroyed. This wanton violation of a nation’s sovereignty would not be tolerated if the tables were turned and Americans were being subjected to Iranian-funded covert actions that took the lives of Americans, on American soil, and destroyed American property and livelihood.” Those are his words."

My question is, we the people of the USA voted in a majority of Democrats. They were voted into office by citizens believing they could, and would stop Bush from his tyranny, and his invasions on ‘other’ countries. Read 'other' as Muslim.

But alas, nothing, read that as NOTHING has been done! No expectations have been met. We are still entangled in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and now Iran, there is still no health care changes, . Need I go on?

First, what happened? Why are they totally impotent??

Secondly, and most important, why are they going along with this lie about Iran Mr. Ritter is explaining above? We voted for them to get us out of the war and now they are voting to get us in another one???

Who do I contact to find out some answers to these questions? It is hard to believe if we vote a Democrat in office that he will make any more difference then they did.

My answer:

I'm glad you contacted me though I don't know that I really know the answer.

The legal/legislative answer is that Congress has ceded power to the President over time to commit covert activities. This was reigned in by the Church Commission in the Seventies but has since been an impulse running amuck. After 9/11, in a series of rulings by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), the Bush administration (primarily Cheney and Addington) simply decided the conservative Unitary Executive Theory meant the President in essence could do anything he wanted--including ignoring bills passed by Congress via castrating "signing statements" and OLC rulings that provided legal cover for torture, rendition, ignoring the Geneva Conventions, and anything else they want to do.

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees are supposed to act as watchdogs but they're not better than pussycats if that, particularly when the chairs are of the same party as the President.

The power to intervene in other nations overtly and surreptitiously has also been growing in this environment where the laws don't seem to apply. Under cover of "the war on terror," the Bush-Cheney Administration intervenes wherever they see fit. Before the Church Committe, the Allende assasination in Chile and attempted assasination of Castro were historical examples of the same impulse. You use the example of Iran, but did you know we were in effect supplying weapons through Egypt to Fatah to fight Hamas, even though Hamas was democratically elected?

These interventions in Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere have unintended consequences that indicate we should keep out of these internal deliberations. Perhaps the best example is "Charlie Wilson's War." We armed the mujahideen to the teeth to fight the Russians, and in so doing we literally made an obscure character known as Osama bin Ladin into a hero in the Muslim world, and set the stage for the rise of the Taliban.

As for solutions, the only answer I have is democracy. Make sure you vote. Make sure your friends vote. Make sure everyone votes. It's the only weapon that works.

Thanks for caring.

All best, Con Man!

Entry Filed under: Movies, Con Games, Foreign Policy

7 Comments Add your own

1. reckless G | September 5th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

All due respect Con Man but if voting still worked, we wouldn't be in this mess. The last two elections were stolen and the next one will be too. McCain will be our next president because the people who are manipulating the system for their own profit want it that way. But even if things go wrong for them and Obama gets the seat, you can be sure that the powers that be will still be able to carry out their agenda, as they did when Clinton was president. In fact it will be even easier now that they have removed some of the safeguards from our Constitution that might have prevented them from getting away with their treasonous acts.

There have been a lot of books explaining how things have gone wrong, but the best answer I can give to the letter writer above is to follow the money. Look at who stands to benefit from the policies put in place by this administration and then look at who the major contributors are to the campaigns of our Congresspersons. Also look at the connection between weapons manufacturers and mainstream media corporations. This is why we don’t get gritty investigative reporting on the corruption and covert military operations being sanctioned by our leaders. The less the people of America know about what is going on, the better. When the truth does get out, nothing is done about it because those who have the ability to require accountability (Congress) are all in on the power for profit scheme.

The simple answer is that we are no longer a democratic republic. The U.S. is functioning under a corporate-driven government now. When that happens, and it already has, no one can really stop it. The corruption and greed and nepotism is rampant at all levels. We can’t even vote them out of office because anyone who raises the money to campaign for the position, must take it from corporations and lobbyists who stand to gain from favors now owed them by the Congressperson. Our representatives no longer represent the American people’s interests or the good of the commons, they represent big business. And the biggest business of all is war. So it’s in the corporate-driven government’s interest to not only engage in armed conflict, but to provoke it.

No American wants to believe this, which is why so many just turn away and close their eyes to what is happening. They prefer to think a presidential election will change things. It won’t. Our only hope is campaign finance reform and guess who’s in charge of getting that legislation passed. Yeah, right.
2. Michael Conniff | September 5th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

Oh please, reckless! Automatic cynicism?

Yes, there's reason to be sceptical but the best way to make the vote work is to make sure it's not even close.

Or else what? Give up? To say the vote doesn't count is to say democracy doesn't exist. I'm not ready for that yet.

Best, Michael!
3. reckless G | September 5th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Yes exactly, democracy doesn't exist. You're just the kind of American I was talking about in my last paragraph.

Make sure it's not even close huh? How ya gonna do that? It's already close and it's going to stay that way.

But hey, more power to your positive attitude! Good luck with that election stuff.
4. Mitch Mulhall | September 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

Cheers,
5. infowars.com | September 11th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

I agree with Sue.....

"We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world -- a nation of bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are not just whores for power and oil, but killer whores with hate and fear in our hearts. We are human scum, and that is how history will judge us... No redeeming social value. Just whores. Get out of our way, or we'll kill you."
-- Hunter S. Thompson
6. Mitch Mulhall | September 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pm

Killer whores? Since we're such pigs--capitalist pigs--let me be the first to offer up a new kind of ice capades: killer whores on ice. I'm not talking about mother puckers with a hangover, I'm talking about bitches with a death wish, like Tonya Harding wielding a Vladimirov KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun on 18 inch, premenstrual biceps.

"Get out of our way or we'll kill you."

Indeed.

Cheers,
7. Star Eagle | September 13th, 2008 at 10:56 am

As usual G, right on the money!

Mitch, Hunter had a way of cutting the chase, putting the laser point directly between the eyes and.. squeese!

Michael, " automatic cynicism"? Have you been paying attention? How and why can I ask that? Mmnnn.

G sums it up perfectly. "No American..WANTS.. to believe this, which is why so many just turn away and close their eyes to what is happening. They prefer to think a presidential election will change things".

Infowars.. reality rocks, you keep rockin'!