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July 16, 2007 at 09:34:42
Time to Wage War on the The "Winning the War in Iraq" Lie-- by Rob Kall Page 1 of 2 page(s) 
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The problem with the right wing is they think that brute force is the way to win, and we've seen, for four years that it is a failure. Matter of fact, to really respond to the right wing's positions, one must refuse to use their language, rejecting the very idea of the "war on terror" and on "winning" in Iraq.
The war on terror is a metaphor, at best. Real war with armies and guns and bombs, is all about territory and nations. You can't attack an enemy that can fade into the background with bombs. You can't conquer a territory when the enemy can continue to fight and thrive, even grow and get stronger thanks to your presence.
One has to question the value of even calling the conflict, the confrontation, the challenge of facing and dealing with terrorists a "WAR." Sure, you can use the word, just as we talk about the "war on crime" or the "war on cancer."
Then there's this talk, from Bush and his surrogates, of Winning. This idea of Winning is a sad distortion of reality, aimed as another metaphor, at the sports minded, macho right wingers who have personalized the "war on terror" as a war they are, through their young military troop "heroes" vicariously salvaging or "viagra-izing" their sense of strength, power and power to do something. But this is a chimera that has, so far failed and will continue to fail. That's why so many who embraced this illusion have already let go of it, with revulsion, realizing that they have been under the spell of a sophisticated, powerful media propaganda blitz funded by the CIA and the Bush Whitehouse.
That propaganda campaign was very effective. We the people are still paying for it, I am certain, probably at least hundreds of millions of dollars worth. Read the article and you'll see that the NY Times' Judith Miller was a part of it. This is what we are fighting-- a massive media assault on the truth. It speaks to the need for support of independent media, and I don't mean the right wing whitehouse propagandists who get their talking points almost directly from the Whitehouse, through the Drudgereport, newsmax and sources of similar ilk.
It is time that the politicians on the left start taking a stand calling the "war on terror" and the idea of "winning in Iraq" the bogus lies that they really are, and the people who are still under spell as the dupes of the propaganda assault that they are.
It's time that we start using the language against the parties that are pushing for the war, like charging the oil companies with war profiteering for manipulating gas prices.
It's time we take a look at how Bush now has plans to veto half the legislation before congress, meaning that congress will become a do-nothing congress as long as Bush and Cheney are at the helm.
Bush talks about winning in Iraq. That is a neocon masturbatory fantasy that is getting limper and limper. The US won the war against Japan when the Emperor surrendered. There is no leader to surrender. You don't win a battle with the wind or the rain or air. You can only hide from them, build walls against them. Terrorists and freedom fighters, insurrectionists and fighters on either side of a civil war are like this. They fade into the background, and there is no taking over their territory. It's failed in the middle east, in the border territories of Pakistan, in the rural regions of Afghanistan and it's failed in Iraq. Sure, if the US keeps adding more and more troops, and focuses them in very limited areas, then the attackers are squeezed to other, less policed locales. That's not winning, that's playing whack-a-mole.
There are some things on this earth that one side doesn't win at-- relationships, partnerships, child rearing, truth, integrity... In all of these, destructive conflict causes both sides to lose.
We have to reject the macho, shallow arguments of the far right that this failed occupation of Iraq can be won. It has always been an experiment in imperialism and we must face the fact that it failed almost as soon as the bombing by the US stopped, that it is at best a failed experiment, at worst a horrible atrocity started based on lies and propaganda.
The people Besides Bush and Cheney, like Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, who lead in talking about "WINNING" the "WAR" must be called on their abuse of the English language. The Dem led congress should be hiring staffers who can work with language-- people like George Lakoff, to counter the echo chamber "languaging" that Frank Luntz and others on the right have excelled at. They should be developing elevator arguments, deliverable in 15 second sound bytes, that totally put down and contemptuously mock the idea of "winning the war in Iraq." Winning is for football games with set times and measurable goals, not for right wing extremists to subject a great country to. War is something that great nations are forced into, after being attacked, by nations led by vile, evil, dishonest power hungry leaders. Hmm. Does that sound like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld?
When someone brings up the war against terrorism, stop him or her. Interrupt with "What war?" "What makes it a war?" "How do you win this kind of war?" then make it clear you don't think it's a war at all.
When someone brings up Winning in Iraq, laught at them. Seriously. Totally mock them for even thinking that this idiotic conflict, which we are horribly losing, can ever be won. Make sure you show disdain for the idea. Dont' let them get away with it any more. Make them feel like an idiot for even using the phrase. We have to do to the phrases "Win in Iraq" and "War on terror" what we did the "cut and run" a term, you know, that the right wing was forced to give up, with their tail between their legs.
We win wars when we end them. We win wars when the leaders of our nation work from truth and justice. We achieve success when our leaders do the right thing. Too many Democrats, afraid of standing on principles, failed to oppose our entry into the war. Some of them have had the guts and integrity to face their error. Others have been voted out of office. More should be voted out. None that still call this farce a war should be allowed to remain , failing to represent their constituents.
The way things are going, with Bush's vetoes going out of control, with the right wingers in congress brutally abusing the courage and patriotism of our troops so they can stay loyal to ideology and party, over country, the 2008 elections will be, perhaps, an even bigger route than the 2006 elections, one that might even give the Dems the 60% or even 67% lead in the senate they will need to fully un-do the damage that Bush and his rubber-stampers have done. If that happens, America will be, by then, teetering on the brink of real losing-- losing it's leadership on the planet, losing its economic hegemony, losing its diplomatic preeminence.... It will take real, courageous, creative leaders to bring us back from that brink. Sadly, none of the declared top tier presidential candidates on either side seem up to the job. That too, is much the fault of the mainstream media, which, having decided who they think are the favorites, fail to give the lower tier candidates the media air they need to be competitive.
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Rob Kall is executive editor, publisher and site architect of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, more...)
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| 13 comments |
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Well Said
Your article reminds me of something Jeanette Rankin, first woman to serve in Congress, said many decades ago: "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." So many lives so badly wasted, so many more to follow. by Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 11:03:48 AM  (0+)
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Reply: hmm, earthquake and BUsh
An earthquake originates from deep beneath the surface of the earth. If we're going metaphoric, so does evil Bush <g>. by Rob Kall (952 articles, 4177 quicklinks, 374 diaries, 2087 comments [45 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 12:42:50 PM (0+)
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Re: Time to Wage War on the The "Winning the War in Iraq"
Rob: The war on terror is indeed a metaphor, and a very profitable one at that! It is also like trying to catch smoke with your hand. Having said that, no matter how fed up the American people have become with Bush and Cheney's hubris and bellicosity, I don't see this nefarious administration ever leaving the Middle East. This war on terror will continue for a very long time. And now, with this administration acting like cornered rats, they're capable of just about anything. This is why I believe they will take a pre-emptive measure against Iran, which will undoubtedly change the talking points in Washington from subpoenas, to winning yet another unwinable war with Iran. Hence, the never ending (profitable) war on terror. by Munich (1 articles, 86 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 1125 comments [86 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 1:16:23 PM (0+)
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Defending TRUTH and Honor
Rob, I like this article especially where you bring out defending TRUTH and Honor. Others may use these words, but their actions and munipulations disgrace these words. There are quite a few people who have risked everything they know because of these words. They do it out of love for country and love of the opportunity that they have known. When someone has sacrificed so much for words like these it is devastating to find out just how these words are dishonored by so many of our elected officials and the corporate sponsored media. by Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 312 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 4:37:49 PM (0+)
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Great article, Mr. Kall
Mr. Kall: I've been saying the same thing for a long time-the war mongers are really white males who glorify war like it's the "big game" from their high school years; they are also using the glorification of war as a way to deal with their sexual frustrations and inability to think intelligently-they are really selfish, living in the past, and neanderthal-like wimps.Thanks for your aggressive commentary. by BillT (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 7:36:39 PM (0+)
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Reply: "thanks for your aggressive commentary"
Is there any other kind<G>? by Rob Kall (952 articles, 4177 quicklinks, 374 diaries, 2087 comments [45 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 9:13:20 PM (0+)
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speaking of insane tropes...
This official is a crazy man. Drug czar gives warning The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment. John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press conference that provided an update on the "Operation Alesia" marijuana-eradication effort. "Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said. After touring gardens raided this week in Shasta County, Walters said the officers who are destroying the gardens are performing hard, dangerous work in rough terrain. He said growers have been known to have weapons, including assault rifles. "These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists." [...] by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 10:28:45 PM (0+)
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Reply: And The Beat Goes On
What next? Pot smokers aid terrorists? Bill Maher sent to Gitmo? I don't use the stuff but it's seems to me we are sinking to no lows in WMDs (Weapons of Mass Distraction)! by Kenneth Barr (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 107 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 at 8:23:18 AM (0+)
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Naming names, citing sites, invoking choke. BRUISE News !
Full agreement with you, Rob, from this quarter. "It's time that we start using the language against the parties that are pushing for the war" So I put up my Diary Entry naming a small-town newspaper "party" matching your description of suspect(s). Now let's push. www.DemocratHerald.COM/news/opinion/ March seven times around the stonewallers. One by one, they all fall down. by meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 30 diaries, 572 comments [22 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 16, 2007 at 11:54:04 PM (0+)
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I have maintained...
...for some time now that the Iraq war was lost on day one of shock and awe. How could an enterprise built upon complete guile, arrogance, and complete stupidity be anything but a losing proposition? Simply put, this war cannot be won. Even if we were to nuke the Middle East until it resembled a huge piece of glass with bits of steel in it, that wouldn't eliminate terrorism or terrorists. Actually, we would be the terrorists ourselves because we set off said nuke. I do want to thank you for one thing, though. I have been wondering what kind of mindset would think there was a chance of winning...and you are right, it's tired old jocks who hope for that one last boner worthy of jacking before they take their dirt naps. It makes sense now! That was the missing piece. That's why I couldn't understand the mindset that could conceive we could cull success out of the brairpatch of failure which we ourselves constructed and then entered. I am not a jock. I don't have that ass grabbing, towel snapping, kiss the coach's ass mentality. I am all for calling people on the winning the war lie! I have been doing so for some time now. I guess I will have to redouble my efforts. I am always willing to do what I can for the cause... Blessed be! by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 at 2:24:44 AM (0+)
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What war? Capturing clouds.
FINALLY !! Why has this issue not been addressed every minute since the beginning? I can only conclude america has become a land of people so afraid that arse kissing has become the norm. My ol pal's son who did two tours in Iraq, one was Faluga told his dad that it's not like fighting an army all dresssed in grey but it was like capturing a cloud. As an X pat when I read about the "terrorist" color coding I was convinced america had lost it's collective mind. Let's look back, way back and take a look at americas participation in world events, whoooeeee can you imagine if the schools told the truth or even knew the truth for that matter. Seems like were hanging by a thread, thank God for the net, it's one thing we can still afford in Britian, thou they are rumbling about closing our local library, ya Afghanistan is more impt. Our local air base Kinloss morale is sky low, they are leaving in droves, the Russians couldn't do it with might so we send a few thousand Brits to do it. Holly sh*t back to bed, head under covers. by davy (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 240 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 at 3:46:44 AM (0+)
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Republicans believe their own lies
Maybe everyone should write and call Lindsey Graham's office. by John R Moffett (89 articles, 18 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 697 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 at 4:36:52 AM (0+)
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Total Agreement, And Frustration
I am in total agreement with you. We are dangerously close to castastrophe here. I have lost five friends, all of whom were outstanding people. Now they reside in Gardens of Stone. For what? For the greater glory of Weasel, Cowardly Cheney and Rummy? If my anger, frustration and bitterness shows, so be it. I am at the point that maybe being a citizen of this country is a total waste of time. That's saying something considering I served this country for over ten years on active duty in the US Army! I also had the technical frustration of trying but failing to contact my electeds and papers using the link provided. The page loaded with errors & wouldn't forward my comments. by Kenneth Barr (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 107 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 at 8:18:41 AM (0+)
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