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faux diplomacy .....

The Editor,
Sydney Morning Herald.                                                             August 23, 2006.

Perhaps the assertion by US President, George Bush, that there “must be consequences if people thumb their nose at the United Nations Security Council”, might be taken more seriously if it wasn’t so blatantly hypocritical (‘Nuclear inspectors barred from Iran plant’, Herald, August 23)?

The US & its cronies ignored the Security Council in mounting their illegal war of aggression against Iraq, whilst Israel has ignored more than 20 UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue over the years. More recently, the US deliberately & cynically derailed attempts by the Security Council to bring an end to Israel’s criminal aggression against civilians in Lebanon.

As long as the likes of Bush, Blair & Howard pursue the doctrine of “do as we say, not as we do”, their claim to be making the world safer will remain pure fiction.

bumbling with panache?

From the BBC

US interventions have boosted Iran, says report

Staff and agencies
Wednesday August 23, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
The US-led "war on terror" [http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1856362,00.html|has bolstered Iran's power] and influence in the Middle East, especially over its neighbour and former enemy Iraq, a thinktank said today.
A report published by Chatham House said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had removed Iran's main rival regimes in the region.
Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and its invasion of Lebanon had also put Iran "in a position of considerable strength" in the Middle East, said the thinktank.
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Gus: we knew that this would happen way back in 2001, first as a flow-on from the US administration reaction to 9/11 and its attack of Afghanistan, then as a value-added benefit, when our Dubya was sabre-rattling to go and invade Iraq, trying to pin that 9/11 event also onto Saddam... The declaration of the "war on terror" was the worst thing a Dubya could have done for peace, unleashing the might of the US army on an elusive and varied enemies who got their best wish granted — an imprimatur of full-on existence by this declaration...
So, is the US diplomacy at the moment being reactive to event rather than being usefully positive (I do not mean the "we shall prevail" crap) but deliberately fostering peace through peaceful means while keeping an eye on the ball? Or is it deliberately bumbling, with pantomime appearance of genuineness, so it can go and still bomb the crap out of whom it decides next? Okay... Pass another shampoo bottle...
We know that there are better ways to negotiate...

yankee thuggery .....

‘To get a better idea of what ails the world, let's use our imagination to transport ourselves into outer space. From there, we can look down on Earth not as an American or as a European, but as a disinterested alien.

We see a collection of sovereign nations – some large, some small, some powerful and some weak. We also see that some of the powerful nations do not respect the sovereignty of some of the others.

For example, by what right do the United States and the Europeans tell Iran it cannot enrich uranium? Other nations enrich uranium. Iran is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and it grants the right to enrich uranium. Where does the United States get off telling the Iranians they can't do it?

Oh, the U.S. claims Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. Well, first and foremost, Iran denies that, and there is no proof to the contrary. But suppose Iran does want to build nuclear weapons. Why shouldn't it? We have nukes. The British, the French, the Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, the Pakistanis and the Israelis all have nuclear weapons. Why shouldn't Iran? For that matter, what right does anyone have to tell the North Koreans they can't have nukes and can't even test their missiles? Everybody else tests the missiles.’

Not a Clue

Dancing with Bushit


Dancers Land in Iraq. Marines Offer No Resistance.

By MICHAEL R. GORDON
Published: August 27, 2006
HADITHA DAM, Iraq — One by one, the marines took the stage for one of the most coveted [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/world/middleeast/27morale.html?hp&ex=1156651200&en=6fc952904e8e55a5&ei=5094&partner=homepage|photo opportunities of the war]. Tanea sat on a knee of an eager marine while Laurie rested on the other.
Hands on their miniskirted hips, Amber and Renee posed at each side. Dani stood behind and held the marine’s rifle as the camera snapped the photo. Some of the young marines who lined up for the memento were so mesmerized by the experience that they had to be reminded not to leave their weapons behind.
The Haditha Dam is in a hostile stretch of the Euphrates River 140 miles northwest of Baghdad where the marines do battle with insurgents in the oppressive heat. But for a few hours this summer, the chow hall inside the dam was transformed into a theater for five shapely dancers who seemed to embody many a young marine’s fantasy.
It was all part of a program to keep up morale in a war that is more dangerous than ever.

Gus: unless they drink bromide, something more than "morale" would keep up...

read more at the [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/world/middleeast/27morale.html?hp&ex=1156651200&en=6fc952904e8e55a5&ei=5094&partner=homepage|NYT]

rivers of iraq .....

in de-nial Gus .....