Thank God for the Whistle-Blowers: What WikiLeaks did was brilliant journalism, & the bleating c… http://bit.ly/9022HS via @robert_scheer
11:03 Comment From Dan
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:03:40 GMT
Comment: I hope this will be a real conversation ... first time participating in this sort of thing.
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11:03 Comment From Dan
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:03:43 GMT
Comment: Ah, it is moderated then. Good.
Not sure I understand the question, Dan, but no, you can ask your questions now if you like.
11:06 Comment From Dan
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:06:07 GMT
Comment: Sorry for the unnecessary posts—there’s quite a lag.
11:06 Robert Scheer
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:06:48 GMT
Comment:
Hello everyone.
11:06 Comment From radson
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:06:57 GMT
Comment: Hello Mr. Scheer: The Afghanistan ‘quagmire’ is in essence a continuation of US foreign policy that President Eisenhower warned about, where the correlation between the ‘business’ aspect of growth was incorporated into a form of national economy, basically based on what is known today as the MIC and the oil corporations. Paul Kennedy, author, warned about the negative effects of such a policy in his book ‘The Rise and Fall ’ yet it seems that the status quo must remain. My question is: with regards to the Wiki leaks, is the US considering a reduction in Afghanistan, perhaps to focus its attention in other parts of the world?
(We are delaying questions so Bob has a chance to answer.)
11:10 Robert Scheer
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:10:44 GMT
Comment:
(To radson) Well I wish they would. The main issue is the military intervention. I don’t think there is anything involved in the world its whether you want to. Afghanistan is not the only place that is allowed to intervene. I am all for economic aid, and human rights concerns, but the idiocy that you can remake history through military intervention. These latest document releases make it so clear that the people over there don’t care a bit in what we are interested in, and our interest in stopping al-Qaida .
11:10 Comment From Ernest Fuentes
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:10:53 GMT
Comment: Bob: Big fan from “With Enough Shovels” days. Q: Neoliberalism has failed intellectually and from a policy perspective. However, do you think that the current drives for deficit reduction and “austerity” measures are simply another way to achieve neoliberal goals by different means?
11:11 Comment From Steve In L.A.
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:11:40 GMT
Comment:@ NYsportswriter: I don’t share your feelings, so I sent WikiLeaks my praise for their actions and some money to support their future actions for transparency.
11:13 Robert Scheer
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:13:11 GMT
Comment:
(To Ernest) Well neoliberalism never dies; it’s like herpes, it keeps coming back no matter what you do. It’s bizarre, these people are wrong about everything. Richard Holbrooke is the top adviser to Obama, [was] top adviser to Carter, when they originally decided to go into Afghanistan, was also important in Vietnam in pacification, is an example of neoliberalism that I don’t think it has anything to do with making the world safe. It has to do with people’s careers; it’s about power and this is their schtick.
Question from: Isernia in Buffalo, NY Since the linchpin is Pakistan with its intelligence services playing footsies with the Taliban, do you still agree with the administration stand to cooperate with the government there in spite of its duplicity? What alternative is there?
11:15 Robert Scheer
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:15:51 GMT
Comment:
(To Isernia) The alternative is to stop all this military involvement in that region. If you have specific information that someone is about to fire something, you can deal with it. We have the technology etc. But the idea of reordering the politics of Afghanistan and Pakistan is just folly. For 20 years, we were focused on Vietnam; does anyone now know what they are producing? Same as China, they carry our debt, make our underwear—it’s just nuts. And the idea that we have to transform Afghanistan and Pakistan is just absurd.
Click here to check out Robert Scheer’s new book, “The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street.”
The US needs to stop engaging in pre-emptive illegal wars - promoting them as defensive just wars of necessity can only convince those who need no justification because they have ulterior agendas or those who are logic challenged.
That is a sufficient scandal - any other leaking of corrupt dealings are secondary.
By sgt_doom, July 31, 2010 at 10:33 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I noted the report from the Special IG on Iraq Reconstruction mentioning that missing portion (96%) of $9 billion in funds slated for Iraq reconstruction.
I can’t help but remember those funds, similarly as noted in the report, went from Iraq to the NY Fed (headed at the time by one Timothy Geithner, now secretary of the US Treasury) then supposedly back to Iraq, where it went unaccounted.
At that time, Philip Merrill was head of the Ex-Im Bank and involved with the Iraqi Trade Bank, where those funds were supposed to be from and returned to.
Now too long afterwards, when Merrill was rumored to be giving an interview with a journalist, he became the victim of a most unusual “suicide” which went uninvestigated.
Yeah I guess you’re right. I could try to look at the positive part that more people
are voting against it.
I still don’t know about the public and how much it will change their mind. It
seems like people either knew this information, people hear it - but don’t feel
they can really do anything about it or people hear it and are upset that it leaked
because they feel it is messing up our path to victory.
In coming months it will be interesting to see polls on approval rating.
Last year 32 Reps. voted against funding. this year 114 Reps. voted against funding. Are we looking at a change in attitudes.
As sheer said,
“It took a long time to end Vietnam even after the publication of the Pentagon Papers, what, 3 years later. It doesn’t turn on a dime, but the fact is that the Vietnam War could NOT be defended through the Pentagon Papers. And this latest disclosure doesn’t have the same angle as the Pentagon Papers. it seems to me that the cynicism and corruption that is exposed and that we are being played by Pakistan shamelessly, and our so-called allies turn out to be our enemies and I think this is a very important leak that will give strength to those critical about the war and it is a teaching occasion and will increase enlightenment in the American public, and I think this will hasten our exit.
Summers, Geithner and Bernanke occupy the positions they do BECAUSE OF their respective track records, NOT IN SPITE OF THEM.
To hold otherwise ignores the facts and gives the POTUS cover.
BTW, BHO occupies the position he does because a substantial “constituency”, one that thinks that Summers, Geithner and Bernanke are just dandy, concluded that BHO could be relied upon to serve their needs. 18 months in, and he has yet to disappoint them.
I have been reading The Red Orchestra by V.E.Tarrant
and, while not wishing to compare the behaviour of
Nazi Germany to the present wars involving American
forces, the revelation that disparate people were
prepared, by whatever means available, to oppose what
they saw as an affront to decent human standards,
then be prepared for further disclosures that are not
in the National interest, in other words, they are
deeply embarrassing to those in charge of military
affairs in America, from the President
downwards,exposing utter incompetence and murderous
behaviour within the coalition’s armed forces.
Keep on disclosing.
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By RayLan, July 31, 2010 at 12:10 pm Link to this comment
The US needs to stop engaging in pre-emptive illegal wars - promoting them as defensive just wars of necessity can only convince those who need no justification because they have ulterior agendas or those who are logic challenged.
Report thisThat is a sufficient scandal - any other leaking of corrupt dealings are secondary.
By sgt_doom, July 31, 2010 at 10:33 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I noted the report from the Special IG on Iraq Reconstruction mentioning that missing portion (96%) of $9 billion in funds slated for Iraq reconstruction.
I can’t help but remember those funds, similarly as noted in the report, went from Iraq to the NY Fed (headed at the time by one Timothy Geithner, now secretary of the US Treasury) then supposedly back to Iraq, where it went unaccounted.
At that time, Philip Merrill was head of the Ex-Im Bank and involved with the Iraqi Trade Bank, where those funds were supposed to be from and returned to.
Now too long afterwards, when Merrill was rumored to be giving an interview with a journalist, he became the victim of a most unusual “suicide” which went uninvestigated.
Interesting to review that matter…..
Report thisBy Richard Nixon, July 30, 2010 at 12:17 pm Link to this comment
JDmysticDJ
Yeah I guess you’re right. I could try to look at the positive part that more people
are voting against it.
I still don’t know about the public and how much it will change their mind. It
seems like people either knew this information, people hear it - but don’t feel
they can really do anything about it or people hear it and are upset that it leaked
because they feel it is messing up our path to victory.
In coming months it will be interesting to see polls on approval rating.
Report thisBy JDmysticDJ, July 30, 2010 at 11:03 am Link to this comment
Richard Nixon (No comment)
Last year 32 Reps. voted against funding. this year 114 Reps. voted against funding. Are we looking at a change in attitudes.
As sheer said,
“It took a long time to end Vietnam even after the publication of the Pentagon Papers, what, 3 years later. It doesn’t turn on a dime, but the fact is that the Vietnam War could NOT be defended through the Pentagon Papers. And this latest disclosure doesn’t have the same angle as the Pentagon Papers. it seems to me that the cynicism and corruption that is exposed and that we are being played by Pakistan shamelessly, and our so-called allies turn out to be our enemies and I think this is a very important leak that will give strength to those critical about the war and it is a teaching occasion and will increase enlightenment in the American public, and I think this will hasten our exit.
Report thisBy Mark, July 30, 2010 at 9:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
To erniesfo and Rbt. Scheer:
Summers, Geithner and Bernanke occupy the positions they do BECAUSE OF their respective track records, NOT IN SPITE OF THEM.
To hold otherwise ignores the facts and gives the POTUS cover.
BTW, BHO occupies the position he does because a substantial “constituency”, one that thinks that Summers, Geithner and Bernanke are just dandy, concluded that BHO could be relied upon to serve their needs. 18 months in, and he has yet to disappoint them.
Report thisBy tedmurphy41, July 30, 2010 at 4:39 am Link to this comment
I have been reading The Red Orchestra by V.E.Tarrant
Report thisand, while not wishing to compare the behaviour of
Nazi Germany to the present wars involving American
forces, the revelation that disparate people were
prepared, by whatever means available, to oppose what
they saw as an affront to decent human standards,
then be prepared for further disclosures that are not
in the National interest, in other words, they are
deeply embarrassing to those in charge of military
affairs in America, from the President
downwards,exposing utter incompetence and murderous
behaviour within the coalition’s armed forces.
Keep on disclosing.
By Richard Nixon, July 29, 2010 at 5:35 pm Link to this comment
Really disappointed I missed this talk because here is one question I did not see
asked:
Will this make any difference in our Afghanistan approach?
My vote is no. I mean didn’t anyone see a day or two after this was released, the
house voted 3:1 to approve 59 billion dollars more funding there?
I mean after this and the rolling stones general story, I would think it would be at
least a closer vote to not fund it anymore.
This is why I would have answered Truthdig’s last question as, no, this isn’t really
Report thisa big deal because things will go on as usual.