UNITED STATES TO INVADE IRAN?

I found this image on Facebook recently. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it does ask an interesting question.

TANKS ROLLING THROUGH SANTA CRUZ! (VIDEO)

Loudly beat the drums of war! After watching this video of tanks rolling through Santa Cruz, one must wonder if someone is planning an invasion. Of course, it may just be that someone is planning to sell arms instead...either way, I don't think this is a good sign.

Please visit my sponsor for some really great deals on camping gear:

Save up to 50% during our Winter Blowout Sale!

US PLANNING TO INVADE SYRIA?

The United States has troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen...not to mention our troops stationed in NATO bases all over the planet.
Increased propaganda in the mainstream news-media about civil rights violations in Syria strongly suggests that we are now planning to invade Syria.
Does anyone think I am wrong about this? I welcome your comments below.

U.S. SOLDIERS SPEAK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES ON DEPLOYMENT

Please leave comments below.

The Occupation - Johnny Punish

Gripping images from the Middle East are presented with original music.

Obama On Military Spending

There is not enough difference between the Democrats and Republicans. Because I live in very blue voting district for the first time in my life I had the luxury of "voting my conscience," instead of voting for "the lesser of two evils." I voted for the Green Party candidate, not because I thought she would make a great president, but because I really agree with the Green Party agenda and I wanted to send a message to the Democrats. I agree that Obama was a better choice than McCain, but only by a small margin. Both the Democrats and Republicans have been ripping off the taxpayers since way before I was born. The thing that worried me about Obama right from the beginning was his warlike and hawkish attitudes. We need to stop giving money to the military and Obama never talked about that.

Iraq War Raw Combat Footage

This is some pretty gripping war footage. I don't understand why we send our soldiers halfway across the planet to blow stuff up. Why can't they build rails, wind turbines, hospitals, schools, and other positive stuff that we need at home now?

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

"Support Our Troops." Used early in the invasion and occupation of Iraq as a counter to the growing anti-war movement, this patriotic slogan has since undergone a metamorphosis. As the scores of injured and mentally disturbed soldiers return from the battle fields to their home-towns and try to re-integrate into society, their friends and families are learning that no amount of support can ever heal the psychological wounds that soldiers suffer.

Although I have respect for people who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others, I believe heroism should be associated with a just cause. The illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq has caused such widespread destruction that any glory claimed from taking part in cleaning up the mess, should be carefully examined. Don't tell me they are fighting for my freedom, because in my opinion that is pure garbage! The war was sold to the American people with lies and propaganda. Even among the right-wing there are few who will now deny that the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan have had much more to with energy resources and geopolitical strategic posturing than anything else.

There is no justification for the illegal, immoral invasion and occupation of a peaceful country.

World War III

How does one make a distinction between "occupation" and "invasion"? It should be obvious right? Most would immediately say that an occupation is temporary and an invasion permanent.  But, let us look more closely at these words.

My Encarta Dictionary tells me that the first definition of "occupation" is "1. the job by which somebody earns a living." That makes sense when I think about what the United States is doing in the Middle-East. But wait, we're talking about a military action, right? The traditional military use of  the word "occupation" according to Encarta, is "4. MILITARY the invasion and control of a country or area by enemy forces."  Hhmmn, there is nothing there about leaving the invaded country...

The order by which Encarta lists the definitions for any given word are supposed to be representative of the commonality of their usage, so I was not surprised when I looked up "invasion" to find that the first definition was perfectly military in its application, "1. a hostile entry by an armed force into a country's territory, especially with the intention of conquering it."  Again, there is nothing here about leaving the invaded country. I like this word better for a description of what our country has done in the Middle-East; there is no deception with this word.

Of course our troops in the Middle-East are planning to leave...just as soon as they are done building a few more permanent military bases. Just like in Viet Nam, our presence there will eventually change the culture into a more "American friendly" place to be. The US military never had a plan for "leaving" Iraq, because that is not what an "invasion" is all about.

Let us use words that convey the true meaning of our actions in the Middle-East when we talk about our "enterprises" there. And let us not pretend that we are conducting "police actions" or "occupations"--this is not a "war on terror." We are in the middle of nothing less than World War III! How many nations are involved in this global power struggle? I think they all are...

Please leave your comments below.  Especially if you disagree with me!

Right Wing War Mongers Honest At Least

I admire one thing about the right-wing...they are fairly straightforward about their objectives. See the PNAC's mission statement:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf

At least they aren't afraid to admit their evil intentions....

Iraqis Celebrate US Troop Withdrawal

The news media has been so focused on the death of Michael Jackson that people in the United States may not have noticed that US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities today.

The Iraqi people noticed though, and they have been celebrating the event with great joy. In an article from the Associated Press, one Iraqi man, Waleed al-Bahadili, is reported to have said "All of us are happy _ Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day....the Americans harmed and insulted us too much." One Iraqi woman said that she "...finally feel[s] liberated."

A flagrant violation of international law, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has lasted over six years. It has destabilized the entire middle-east; caused the needless deaths of thousands (some say millions) of innocent Iraqi civilians, and seriously damaged the reputation of the United States all over the world; it has cost the US taxpayers trillions of dollars and destroyed the United State's (and the world's) economy.

The pullout is mostly symbolic, as some US troops will remain in the cities to "...train and advise Iraqi forces...," while the vast majority of them will be conducting operations from their newly built permanant military bases, outside of the cities.

Coincidental to the pullout, Iraq's oil interests were placed on the world market, allowing international investors to buy shares of Iraqi oil.

Iraqis Mark Sixth Anniversary of Invasion With Protests

Watching the news this morning I noticed that there was little to no mention of the thousands of Iraqis who turned out to protest the invasion and continued occupation of their country.

Even internet searches fail to produce results for the protest, which dwarfed the handful of paid protesters that were filmed pulling down Saddam Hussien's statue with the aid of US soldiers after the sacking of Baghdad in 2003. There are few people who don't remember the video footage of that event, which was aired over and over again.  

The failure of the US media to report on today's protest is reprehensible.  In fact there has been very little mention of Iraq in the news lately.  Meanwhile, US military spending continues to increase, despite the soaring national debt which has resulted from the illegal and immoral war in the middle east.

With some difficulty, I did manage to find this article on the protest. 

I welcome your comments, especially opposing viewpoints...