(no subject)

I wonder if the whole thing with sending an inadequate number of troops to Iraq, despite the assessment of the top brass, was a scheme to get the public to pay for a larger armed forces. Because that's probably what will happen anyway; you know, 'the lessons learned in Iraq show us that our current military strength is inadequate to tackle the problems of the 21st century etc etc.' It's just a theory.

scamming the war on terror

Macedonia faked 'militant' raid
Macedonia admits staging raid, killing innocents

[Police spokeswoman Mirjana Konteska] described a meticulous plan to promote Macedonia as a player in the fight against global terrorism that involved smuggling the Pakistanis into Macedonia from Bulgaria, housing them, and then coldly gunning them down.

[...] Since breaking away from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia has been eager to win U.S. political and economic support in its search for acceptance into the Western camp of nations. Macedonia has been a close U.S. ally in the Balkans. It has staunchly supported the U.S.-led war on terrorism and sent troops to Iraq.

hazing goes awry

Well. Last I checked, wasn't our single surviving valid reason for going to Iraq that we removed the awful dictator Saddam Hussein and saved his people from continued torture and murder? I'm amazed... are the administration trying to make themselves look bad? A few photos of flag-draped coffins seem harmless now, don't they? And these torture pictures are basically fraternity pranks compared to what Hussein did, but to have them come out of one of his most infamous prisons... brilliant.

And now everyone at the top is busy blaming the individual soldiers. I remember that after the end of World War II, there was one Japanese general who was tried and executed for atrocities carried out by his troops while he was unable to communicate with them. Will we be applying that standard now? Oh, right, it's us and we're the good guys, so holding our rulers accountable would be idiotic, since they are merely the living embodiment of the will of the people.