Slow Down

There's a principal of foreign policy I'd like to try out. Let's call it the McCain Violence Advocacy Principal. The MVAP states that in any given foriegn policy situation or crisis, John McCain will advocate the maximum theoretical amount of violence. There will be no one to John McCain's right on the use of the military. So if he can advocate all-out war and 100-year occupation, in Iraq, that's what he does. If that sounds too crazy, he'll advocate a lesser state of violence, like "bombing" Iran. (It doesn't stop with one air strike, but let's not get into that). Note how no one in American politics advocates an invasion and occupation of Iran? "Airstrikes" is as far as anyone goes, and that's where John McCain goes.  Now if bombing is too crazy, the MVAP will seek out lesser measures, like "being strong" and "not backing down."

Which brings us to Libya. What's the most aggressive policy possible? A No Fly Zone. Now some may think that a No Fly Zone is something other than war, a mere defensive measure that will keep Libyans safe. SecDefense spelled this out a No Fly Zone is a war. It means bombing the crap out of Libyan air defenses before putting large number of planes overhead. Its expensive and puts a strain on our military. You know that last Country we did a No Fly Zone over? Iraq. One of the reason given for invasion was to end the costly enforcement of the No Fly Zone. A No Fly Zone is a way to back into a full war in Libiyia.

Stay away from the MVAP.

Bad Country. Bad!

North Korea has shot-up a South Korean island. An inhabited South Korean island. Two South Korean Marines are dead, a number of South Korea civials are wounded and wrecked numerous homes. What the hell? Between this and the incident where North Korea torpedoed a South Korean ship, it really looks like North Korea is trying to start some shit. We are talking act of war here.

Which is crazy. The North Koreans are out gunned and know it. A full blown war will be a bloody mess, but North Korean is sure to loose. So what kind of game are they playing? Are they trying to get as close to war as possible and then pull back? Keep everyone off balanced with the North under pressure over its nukes and impeding leadership change? I don't know, but this is a crisis, no doubt.

Countdown

Nothing helps gin up a war like a sense of crisis. Remember how Iraq was so close to building a nuke and we HAD TO ACT RIGHT NOW. Well, I'm pretty sure there is exactly zero interest in the United States in getting into a third Middle Eastern war at the moment, but the warmongers are trying to get it going.

Here's everyone's favorite anti-diplomacy diplomat John Bolton calling on Israeli to bomb Iran in the next 8 days. The warmongers are trying to impose a sense of crisis and fear to override common sense. And if this deadline passes? Well, we will soon have another deadline, which if bombs don't drop, SOMETHING TERRIBLE will happen.

Iran Nuke Deal

They are shipping their uranium to Turkey.

Good news. No, great news. Iran will no longer have the stuff to make a bomb, everyone can take a deep breath, the war-mongers in both countries are deeply undermined.

Puppies for everyone!

For Some, War is Still the Answer

I find it amazing at this late date in history, Daniel Pipes is still out there banging the drum for war with Iran. As if the last ten years never happened, as if we still aren't dealing with the last two wars, and not well. Keep in mind, if the GOP ever gets back into power Mr. Pipes goes from "crank" to "trusted policy guy." We are always just one election away from disaster.

Why Not Defense?

We spend staggering, mind-blowing, gob-smacking amounts of money on defense. $768.2 billion in the new budget. Everybody knows this. We spend more money than the rest of the world combined, including allies like France and Great Britain. The defense budgets of counties that might be considered enemies, like North Korea and Iran, are rounding errors to the Pentagon. We continue, at this late date, to maintain huge military presences in both Germany and Japan, despite WWII being over for a while now and both countries being under threat from no one. If someone was really serious about cutting the Federal Budget, you would have to cut defense. The point is so obvious that even GOP member of the House are forced to concede the point.

Russia to Deflect Asteroid

Sure, the odds of this particulate asteroid hitting the earth so this is kinda a waste of time and money, but this how awesome Russia is going to feel when they do this. They totally kicked that asteroid's ass. So much better than say, invading a neighboring Country, which is something that Russia is always a threat to do.

I'm a big advocate of space exploration. The benefits are many, but one is that it gives you all the excitement and hard-ons of war, without all the death.

Big Talker

North Korea is a small, isolated, starving country. The biggest military threat it poses is that it would lose any conflict with the west and implode in a mass of refugees and chaos. So naturally, it talks big:

North Korea warned Wednesday of a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the U.S. and its allies if provoked, the latest threat in a drumbeat of rhetoric in defense of its rogue nuclear program.

North Korea would enviably lose any war, but war is bloody mess that all rational non-North Korean countries will avoid at all costs. North Korea needs the threat of war and an escalating crisis cause that's all they got. Lucky for us, we have an Administration that is the essence of calm and thoughtful. Just think about a President McCain, and how he wouldn't be able to resist getting into a dick-measuring contest with Kim Jong-Il. North Korea needs a crisis. Obama shouldn't give him one.

Mindless Violence

Imagine going through life if every single slight, bother or insult resulted in you punching someone in the mouth. Coffee guy got your order wrong - punch him in the mouth! Boss give you a hard time - punch her in the mouth! Now you have a pretty good idea of Bill Kristol's foreign policy.

Not so Big or Bad

Before we get too worked up or get truly crazy (Lasers! Fricken Lasers!) about the North Korean missile launch, let us please note that the Launch Was a Failure.

The Peacemaker

Not that there's lots of reason for hope in the Middle East, (Did you see 60 Minutes on the subject? Doomed!) but at least one reason is that Obama has appointed George Mitchell as a special envoy to the region. Michell did pull off a Northern Ireland peace accord, so the man does have diplomatic game.

Alex Massie takes a good hard look at how the two conflicts match up. Conclusion: The Middle East will be much harder. But you knew that already, didn't you?

Bloody Days are Here Again

See Andrew Sullivan on Krauthammer urge to return to Cold War. These guys do not look back at those years as bad, or the post-cold war years as better. War is always better.

Georgia On My Mind

Go read Belgravia Dispatch on McCains's rush to really get us involved in the Georgia crisis. As in war with Russia involved. That's what making Georgia part of NATO would entail.

The Georgians are taking it on the chin, but the solution is not war with Russia. The solution was not to encourage Georgia to poke a finger in the eye of Russia. And to have not invaded Iraq on a lie, and thus set the valuable precedent that any Country can invade another and just make up crap as to why. A precedent that the bastards of the world will dine out on for the next twenty years.

Don't let the idiots who brought us the Iraq war bring us a new cold (or hot!) war with Russia. They really want it.

Appeasement Everywhere!

Bush is lifting sanctions against North Korea! They are talking! Diplomacy! Not bombs! this is so wrong. We must put John McCain in office so he can undo this horror and give us the peace and stability of an all out shooting war on the Korean Peninsula.

Not Alex

I love this ad:



I saw a few blowhards, Pat Buchanan and Bill-O, laugh this one off, but drafting little Alex is the logical conclusion of John McCain's policies, John McCain wants to stay in Iraq forever, or at least the 17 and 3/4ths years it will take little Alex to reach draft age. McCain also want to go to war with Iran. He has policies that will like result in a shooting war on the Korean peninsula. He wants to ratchet up tensions with Russia and China. We simple do not have the manpower to fight four shooting wars and resume two more cold wars. Not to mention the fact that even if we "beat" Iran and North Korea, the inevitable result would be two more expensive, manpower intensive occupations. Occupations that would go on forever/ 17 and 3/4ths years, just like Iraq. Iraq alone is straining the volenteer army to the breaking point. So yes. John McCain wants little Alex.

And no, he can't him.

Today in Confrontations

Iran announced that it is freeing the British sailors, so I guess the chest thumping set will just have to come up with some other excuse for their nifty upcoming war with Iran.

Everybody yelled a little. Both sides put on a show and scored their points. And then it was done.

Again?

So over the weekend Sy Hersh and others put out stories about how the US is planning for an attack on Iran. I'm with Drum, the big deal isn't that we are planning to attack Iran. The Pentagon is full of war planners. Whole rooms of people just thinking up new and interesting ways to attack countries. I'm sure we have dusty plans to attack Canada and less dusty plans to invade Mexico. I think the North Korean and China plans get updated more often. Iran is a major trouble spot, we should have plans. I'm a fan of planning myself, of course I'm more about building it up, rather than blowing it up.

The big deal is that it seems that the same PR campaign that brought you the Iraq War is gearing up again. There are a lot of people who would love to sell the country on an attack on Iran. Or sell this President. A plan is fine. Using those plans would be a massive catastrophe that I will run out of words trying to describe.