Dr. J.’s Short Shot No. 11: Iraqi Straws in the Wind

Bush is fiddling while Iraq burns. He is stood up at dinner by his own designated Iraqi Prime Minister. But he keeps on saying “we will stay until the job is done, we will give the PM all the help he needs, until victory is achieved,” even though we are no longer “staying the course,” without ever defining victory. He is just delighted to have the battle of words rage over what we should call what is going on in Iraq rather than over the total failure of his policy regardless of what it is called.

 For some time I have wondered if the various sides in the Iraq civil war would ever come to their senses and realize that their prime enemy is not each other but the U.S., which is an occupying force with its own agenda: oil and bases, and for the Cheney wing, permanent war at the permanent expense of Iraq. Yesterday morning on CNN in a news item that I have not yet seen elsewhere, it was stated that several prominent Sunni and Christian leaders have reached out to Muqtada al-Sadr, the most prominent anti-US Shiite leader. He had temporarily suspended the participation of several of his top aides in the current government, to protest Prime Minister al-Maliki’s meeting with Bush in Jordan.

The aforementioned leaders have said that they are looking for common ground with al-Sadr and are in the process of asking the UN to review its mandate under which the U.S. claims to be acting. Yes, folks, the key to achieving peace in Iraq may very well not be the continued U.S. presence there but its departure at the earliest possible time. If such a demand comes from a united Iraqi front, I just wonder what Busheney will do then. We already know what both the Baker wing of the Republican Party and the Congressional Democrats will be doing: dancing down the Congressional isles together.

This item was originally published on BuzzFlash on Fri, 12/01/2006 – 11:17am. Steven Jonas http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/jonas/033Dr. J. is a nom-de-plume for Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, a Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) a weekly Contributing Author for The Political Junkies (www.thepoliticaljunkies.net) and a Columnist for BuzzFlash.

Dr. J.’s Short Shot No. 8: Not So Fast, Jim, or “The Return of the Chith”

So, just like me, you thought that Cheney was finished, huh? You thought that the upcoming report of the “Baker Commission” would set the course for a reasonable withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, primarily because the two original Georgite objectives of the invasion, oil and bases, had been achieved. You thought, like me, that the unceremonious ouster of Rumsfeld and the insertion of the old Bush-I/Baker hand, Bob Gates, signified that the battles had been fought and the Baker wing of the Republican power elite had won. You thought, like me, thought that the Baker folks were probably inwardly happy with the election of a Democratic Congress because dealing with rational people would make it easier for them to achieve their desired aim. Finally, like me, you thought that the next major head to roll might very well be Cheney’s. Well, we all have to think again.

 Vice-President “Permanent War” Cheney ain’t giving up without a fight. That was made clear by two events that occurred yesterday (Nov. 15, 2006). One was the testimony of the (obvious Cheney puppet) Gen. John Abizaid before a Senate panel that any talk of time-tables or “phased withdrawal” would be very ill-advised, that the “job wasn’t finished,” that the Iraqi forces needed lots more, better, and different training and leadership (as if it had not been his task to do that all these many months — what was this guy doing?) Sounded very much like “Stay the Course” without using those now prohibited words. Second was the announcement that the White House was setting up its own “study group” for Iraq policy and that the report of the Baker Commission was something they would certainly consider. Sounds like that report has suddenly gone from determining the future to teetering on the edge of the dustbin for policies that the Georgites just don’t like (any that are not their’s).

 This stuff has Cheney’s fingerprints all over it. And why would the No. 1 Georgite go in this direction? A) He really doesn’t feature losing his job and being unceremoniously tossed into the dustbin of failed Iraq policies himself. B) He still believes in the Neo-con/Project for a New American Century program for US world domination that has been at the heart of U.S. Middle East policy since Bush took over the Presidency. C) He still really wants to bomb the hell out of Iran “to show the world who is boss,” something that will definitely not happen if the Baker Commission polices, which include, oh my gosh, actually talking with Iran and Syria, are adopted. And D) most importantly, if an Iraq withdrawal is achieved, if Iran is not bombed to smithereens, if the “War on Terrorism” actually becomes a war on terrorism, not a cover for American imperialism, there go Cheney’s chances of establishing his dreamed of “Unitary Executive” otherwise known as “Fascist Dictatorship,” for which the legislative basis has already been established, right here in River City.

And so the Baker-Cheney battle is underway. It will be a fascinating to watch. The future of Iraq, Iran, Israel, and the rest of the Middle East and of Constitutional Democracy right here at home, are in the balance. Oh yes, what are the “Chith?” The Cheneyite Sith of “Star Wars” fame, of course.

 This item originally appeared on BuzzFlash on Thu, 11/16/2006 – 4:13pm. http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/jonas/028


“Dr. J.” is a nom de plume for Steven Jonas, MD, MPH is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) a weekly Contributing Author for The Political Junkies (www.thepoliticaljunkies.net) and a Columnist for BuzzFlash

Dr. J.’s Short Shot, 10-23-06: Pres. Ahmadinejad and Pres. Bush, Connecting Through God

Steven Jonas, MD, MPH

Back in 2004, the then Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, reported on a very interesting conversation he had had with George Bush. Referring to the “War on Terrorism” (otherwise known as the War on Flanking Maneuvers) Bush told Abbas that: “God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the US elections will come and I will have to focus on them (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=310788&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y).” (Well, Bush hasn’t done squat all about the Israel/Palestine conflict since the US 2004 elections either, but let’s not quibble.)  On October 19 past, President Ahmadinejad of Iran told us that: “I Have a Connection With God, Since God Said That the Infidels Will Have No Way to Harm the Believers (MEMRI, Special Dispatch-Iran, as reported by Iran News, 10-19-06).”  And so there we have it, a solution to the “Iran Crisis.” Both national leaders talk with the one God. Hopefully, the one God they talk to is the same one. Hopefully he/she will now tell both of them, “cool it, brothers. You have got to talk this thing out.” And then hopefully, since Bush will now know that he and Ahmadinejad both talk with God, Bush will pick up the phone and say, “You know, after my latest conversation with the almighty, who sends his (or her) best regards, I now know that we must talk first, bomb later, rather than the other way round. How about lunch?”