The Iraq War, 2003-2011

Image via WikipediaJust when you thought the war in Iraq would never end, President Barack Obama announced Friday it would do just that by January 1.  That's nearly nine years, two U.S. presidents, over four thousand dead American soldiers (32,000 wounded), thousands more Iraqis killed, billions of dollars spent and one executed dictator.

The Obama administration would like you to believe that the war had come to a satisfying, yet honorable conclusion.  In reality, they failed to come to an agreement with the Iraqi government on keeping a small number of American soldiers for another couple of years, strictly for security purposes.  So the war ends with a whimper, not a bang.

This was a war that never should have happened.  There never was any evidence that Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destructiuon, harbored terrorists, or had anything to do with the events of September 11, 2001.  Instead of concentrating on the war they already had going in Afghanistan, President George W. Bush and his cronies decided this was the time to remore an "evildoer" from power.

After all the "shock and awe" caused by bombs raining down on Baghdad and environs resulted in Hussein's regime being toppled and his eventual capture, that's when the violence really began.  Insurgents planted roadside bombs, refugees fled, a version of Al-Qaeda appeared, and every day became a living hell for American soldiers and private contractors.  Back home, reports surfaced that the Bush administration lied about the reasons for going to war, that this was just a money-making operation for Blackwater and the oil companies, and that the Iraqi government itself was shaky.

After Obama became president, he added more troops in an effort to stabilize the situation in Iraq.  It must have worked because, as more forces came home, the country got a lot more peaceful.

Now, with much of the American military on their way out, with the exception of some contractors and guards to watch over the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqis really are on their own.  The government is still shaky, the military and police force aren't 100 per cent ready, and there's still the possibility of another civil war or Iranian invasion.  Whatever happens, Uncle Sam won't be around to keep the peace any more.

Which leaves us with another ongoing war in Afghanistan, now a decade old with even less reason for it to continue.  Eventually, American soldiers will be coming home from there, too.  And, as Gerald Ford once put it when he became President during another time of crisis, our long national nightmare might soon be over.

Arab Autumn

Image via WikipediaMuammar Gadhafi, who had ruled Libya for 42 years, had been on the run since rebel forces started fighting back against his dictatorship.  Thursday, Gadhafi stopped running.  He was killed when those forces brutally attacked him in Sirite, one of his few remaining strongholds.

This was the latest victory in the so-called "Arab Spring", with people all over the Middle East rising up to get rid of despots who hog the glory and loot the national treasure.  In this case it never would have happened without military support from NATO and, to a lesser extent, the United States.

So how have the other Mideast countries who have revolted fared?  For them, "Arab Spring" has had mixed results.

In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak may be gone but the military remains as the real power there, so the protests go on with less worldwide attention to bank on.  It remains to be seen whether the Egyptian people will still get the free elections they were promised.

In Syria, Bashar al-Assad has done an effective job so far of crushing his opposition through violence and intimidation while shutting out the rest of the world.  There's not much anyone can do about this without invoking the wrath of nearby Iran, which has its own ways of dealing with dissidents.  Use sanctions all you want, but remember Syria can always do business with China while the crackdown continues.

Now that Gadhafi is gone, all Libya and its people have to do is to form a credible (and palatable to the West) government.  Easier said than done, because the history of the Middle East is one of pharaohs, kings and strongmen, not democracy. 

Politics 2012: Fitting The Glass Slipper

Image via WikipediaThis is where we are in the Republicans' determining who gets to challenge President Barack Obama one year from now.  As the song goes, they still haven't found what they're looking for.  Or they say they haven't.

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is the front-runner who's considered the best candidate to defeat Obama.  But no one seems to like him much.  For a GOP dominated by Tea Party conservatives and evangelicals, Romney's Mormonism and comparatively moderate political stance is a turnoff to them.  So who else is there?

Herman Cain, who used to run a pizza chain, has been hogging the political spotlight since winning a straw poll in Florida a few weeks ago.  Cain has no prior experience in politics, but he does seem to have a knack for telling the other candidates where to get off, which might come in handy should he ever decide to work for Fox News.  But his "9-9-9" plan to stimulate the economy, which is one part lower corporate tax rate, one part flat tax and one part national sales tax, does nothing to solve the rift between the rich versus everybody else.

Rick Perry, currently Governor of Texas, is fading in the polls because of his poor debate performances, and because of controversies the other candidates have helpfully been pointing out.  Such as Perry's executive order mandating HPV shots for teenage girls to protect against cervical cancer (which he now wishes he hadn't done).  And then there's the Perry family retreat, which was purchased from the original owner who had named the property with a word starting with the letter "N", which also happens to be the mother of all racial slurs.

Michele Bachmann, sixth-district Congresswoman from Minnesota, is still in the race--just barely.  As the campaign money disappears and staffers are fleeing the sinking ship, Bachmann presses on in Iowa hoping for a miracle in the upcoming caucuses.  Now that her Tea Party supporters have moved on to Perry, Bachmann's numbers are dipping into the single digits along with Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsmann and Ron Paul.  It's just a matter of time.

As the Republicans find their Cinderella among the Seven Dwarf's (with apologies to Snow White, Disney and the vertically challenged), the pool for finding their prince (or princess) is getting shallower.  Sarah Palin and New Jersey governor Chris Christie have declare themselves unavailable after having dithered for so long.  Anybody else contemplating a run now would either be brave or foolhardy.  But through all this, Mitt Romney has been right there.  The Republicans may have already found their knight in shining armor right under their noses, and they don't even know it.

Occupation On The Street

Image by david_shankbone via FlickrIt began as a small protest at a park near New York's Wall Street, the financial capital of America.  Then it spread to other cities across the country to a degree that hasn't been seen since the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations of the 1960s.

They call themselves Occupy Wall Street, and they're protesting against what they see as the corporate takeover of the United States at the expense of the ordinary folks they claim to represent.  Their list of complaints go like this:  How politicians have been bought and sold by corporations.  How many jobs are being created overseas and eliminated here.  Why banks and corporations get a bailout and the rest of us do not.  Why more financial profiteers besides Bernie Madoff deserve to be in prison after the collapse of 2008.  And why the rich should be paying more taxes than they already do.

Republicans have largely pooh-poohed the movement, essentially telling the protesters to get a life.  Democrats are offering their support--sort of.  And the rest of the country is looking on with puzzled expressions.

The mainstream media is owned by several large corporations, many of whom happen to have a presence on Wall Street.  That's why you haven't seen much coverage of Occupy Wall Street, unless you're a devotee of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on Current TV, which has offered extensive coverage.  In between the networks' coverage of Amanda Knox's acquittal and the death of Steve Jobs, the media only gets interested when there's conflict.  A little police brutality here (to date, hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested), pepper spray there, and soon you'll have fodder for the Six O'Clock News.  "If it bleeds, it leads", you know.

Occupy Wall Street claims to represent the 99 percent of us who aren't rich and never will be.  They're not unlike members of the Tea Party except that they don't wear funny costumes, wear their racism on their sleeves, or are funded by corporate backers.  And just like the Tea Partiers, the protesters we've seen seem to be 99 percent white.

Fortunately for Occupy Wall Street, there is a Democratic President in the White House.  Had someone like George W. Bush or any other Republican been President, there would have been a crackdown under the Patriot Act to rival, let's say, Syria, China or Iran.

Forgotten in all this is that we've just reached the 10th anniversary of the American military invasion of Afghanistan.  How come nobody's protesting that?  Oh, that's right.  We love Our Troops, even though they haven't done a damn thing to earn it.

Folks, this isn't 1968.  We appreciate what Occupy Wall Street is trying to do, but it may be too little and too late.  Wall Street is more concerned about computer hackers and European countries defaulting on their loans right now.   Politicians aren't going to give up the money and influence they get from their corporate backers, thus they're not going to stop passing legislation favorable to Big Business.  Banks will just keep raising fees and foreclose on more houses.

Oh, and one more thing:  You think it's tough trying to get a job now?  It'll be doubly harder when potential employers find out that not only did you participate in the marches, but that you were thrown in jail as well.  Not a good thing to put on your resume, unless you're planning a new career in activism.

Steve Jobs: Making The 21st Century As We Know It Possible

Image via WikipediaOn Wednesday, October 5, people from all over the country gathered in New York and other cities to protest what they believe is corporate greed.  To spread the word about this, they used their smart phones to text, tweet, take pictures and go on Facebook.

On the same day Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple whose products he helped create made the 21st century as we know it possible, died after living with pancreatic cancer for several years.  He was 56.

Jobs was the man who brought you the Macintosh computer, the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod, and iTunes.  He changed the way we communicated, how we bought and consumed entertainment, and even the size of the computer itself.  He was what was right about Corporate America as far as innovation went, and for having a sense of what he thought the public wanted.

Jobs was also responsible for helping start Pixar, the computerized animation studio best known for such films as "Toy Story" and "Up", before selling it to Disney in 2006.

Apple had its failures, of course.  But they have had such a winning streak that no one seems to remember the misfires now.

New product launches became big events among Apple-philes and the media, because that's when Jobs would go into master salesman mode introducing his latest gadgets.  Before that happened, it's been said, this new product would undergo many changes before perfectionist Jobs approved the final version.

What will Apple do without Jobs?  Other companies such as Google and Microsoft see an opportunity to put out their own versions of Apple's devices that are faster, cheaper, and more compatible with their networks.  But they face an uphill battle.  Apple's products have become so successful and iconic (never mind the price tag) that, in the public's mind, anything else is a mere imitator.  But if Apple starts dropping the ball creatively, they're in big trouble.

From the California garage where he and Steve Wozniak co-founded what became Apple, to the multi-billion dollar Silicon Valley operation, the products, and the multitudes of fans he left behind, Steve Jobs is being hailed as a modern-day Thomas Edison.  But Jobs didn't build a better mousetrap.  He just reinvented one.

Chris Christie: Taking No For an Answer

Image via WikipediaChris Christie, the current Governor of New Jersey, has been in office for less than one term.  In that time, he's distinguished himself nationally as a tough-talking, take-no-prisoners executive who enacted headline-making budget reforms.  He's also just as embarrassed by the effect Snooki, The Situation, and the rest of the "Jersey Shore" gang has had on his state's image as you are--enough to deny the TV show a tax credit.

When the Republicans began pestering Christie to run for President in 2012 as an alternative to the Romneys, Perrys and Bachmanns of the world, the Governor always told them no, he's not interested.  He's also said the same thing to the media in what seems like a thousand times.  Trouble is, the more Christie keeps saying 'no' (and he's been using more elaborate settings like the Reagan Library to get his point across), the more party officials and political pundits take that to mean he's coming around to 'yes'.

What part of 'no' don't they understand?

Christie may be reluctant to challenge President Barack Obama because his abrasive style might be at odds with the diplomatic demands of the job.  One wonders what would happen if he met with, let's say, Chinese leaders and told them what he really thought of them in less-than-diplomatic language.

Christie may be a conservative, but not as far-right as the other guys are.  That could hurt him with a Tea Party-fueled electorate cheering executions and booing gay soldiers.

Sorry, but this has to be said.  Governor Christie might become the first overweight President since William Howard Taft, who also happened to be Republican.  Television wasn't around 100 years ago, and nobody gave a rip about obesity back then.  The Presidency is a demanding job, and Christie may or may not have the stamina for it unless he loses a few pounds.

If Christie really wanted to run for President, he should have started a long time ago.  Campaign financing and the crunch of primaries being what they are, it may already be too late for him to jump into the race.

Finally, Governor Chris Christie has been saying no because he just isn't interested.  Period.  Check back with him in 2016.

UPDATE:  Christie has officially announced that he's not running, which means that the GOP is stuck with either Mitt Romney or Rick Perry as their 2012 standard-bearer.  And we haven't even had the primaries yet.