That James Jones served under that idiot Paul Wolfowitz is a fact well worth keeping in mind. Richard Perle and Wolfowitz have advised Netanyahu on ways and means of duping the American public so that Israel can keep the Golan Heights and the West Bank, relying on the American taxpayers to foot the bill. Is a hundred billion dollars per year a fair guesstimate of the cost to the US of “protecting” Israel (meaning, enabling continuing insane oppression of the Palestinians)?

Interesting points. No question, many Americans were highly excited to see the devastation unleashed on Iraq in the opening days of the insane Bush administration adventure. Did Kissinger suggest there were elements of blood lust at work? He talked to Charlie Rose about the need many Americans felt to wreak revenge on someone, for “9/11″, even if they had nothing to do with the terror attacks that day. Katie Couric shouted on camera about how “We’re all nocons now!”! What total stupidity.

James, your statement is “generally” accurate, however, not for those innocent people who end up killed, injured, refugee, etc. The atomic bobs on Japan in wwii were not just a message to the Japanese, they were as just a message to the soviets, we have them and we’ll use them.

The war on iraq and else where is also sending the message we’ll use our guns. Though there are always un-intended consequences, at this point the sum of those consequences have not created enough pain/concern for those lunatics who promote them.

so long as their bets are covered the expense to the public in general is not much of an issue, unless the saner voices can counterbalance (i.e. jack Kennedy and the missile crises).

“I am saying one thing. There will be no freeze in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu declared, adding that he considered any precondition for peace talks to be unacceptable.

You and your president are NOTHING but a zionist puppet. Then the whole world tells you either act now or get lost.

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/04/22/netanyahu-rules-out-east-jerusalem-freeze/

“Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd should have been released long ago. It now seems that Iran’s mullah-led government has made them pawns in the political chess game with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. That’s unconscionable.

Really? That’s “unconscionable?” Really? Never mind that the US government held 5 Iranian diplomats for 2 1/2 years with no charges of any sort with even the Iraqi and Kurdish regional governments demanding their release. The Times thinks that Iran, surrounded by US armies and armadas and threatened on a near daily basis with attack “options” which include the nuclear option, is acting irrationally here in holding three American “Hikers” for going on 9 months now? And let’s not forget that the US is a country whose major politicians speak routinely of funding covert ops in Iran to destabilize its government. Nope- Iran is being a bad freedom hating country here in holding these poor Americans for no logical or rational reason! But that doesn’t even begin to fathom the bottom of the hypocrisy barrel in this editorial.

Iran using Americans as pawns in a political “chess game”? Why don’t I think the Iranians see their predicament with the US to be a “game”? Oh right- cause unlike the Time’s editorial writers and virtually all Americans- a war with the US will be fought on their soil and it won’t be a “game” for them. Unlike our political elite- war has consequences for Iran’s leaders. It isn’t a sick pastime for them like it is for our leaders. It is life and death for millions of their citizens.”

“The scariest thing about this editorial is that foreigners will read this- foreign intelligence political analysts will read this editorial and pretty much conclude the same thing I have here- we are ruled by an elite that is utterly incapable of introspection of any serious sort and that somehow actually thinks it still has the moral high ground to lecture other countries on human rights and due process.”

LOL

Interesting article by Zachar Karabell. However, I do not agree with his contention that the US military is highly effective. Vastly expensive to the point of utter lunacy, yes, but hightly effective, most definitely not.

I also question Karabell’s contention that “9/11″ brought foreign policy back to the fore. What “9/11″ accomplished was to frighten the American public so that warmongers hoping for colossal profits from re-engagement of the war machine, got untracked. And the US squandered well over $ 1 trillion. The war hysteria was also useful for the neocons hoping to secure permanent oppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis, with the gigantic costs of the idtiotic scheme footed by the ignorant American taxpayers.

Excellent article by Christopher Dowd

http://www.examiner.com/x-3665-Boston-Libertarian-Examiner~y2010m4d22-Sociopath-nation–The-New-York-Times-on-Iran

What it really does, however, is continue the demonization of Iran, which in itself gives added cover for the on-going displacement and extermination of Palestine.

But its a winning strategy within American domestic politics, and ethics / international relations be damned. America continues to push for a long war.