Why would major "news" outfits, like ABC, CNN or FOX, invite Rudy Giuliani to come to their Sunday shows, yesterday, and answer questions about the Obama administration's decision to try five 9-11 conspirators in New York City?

What possible information, what opinions, could Giuliani hold in his freaky little head that might justify ABC, CNN and FOX's invite? Rudy holds no office, hasn't been mayor of New York for quite some time, and made a national embarassment out of himself with his "noun, verb and 9-11" presidential primary campaign in 2008….the campaign he strategized so brilliantly by running in only one state, Florida.

Giuliani's appearance as some kind of "expert opinionator" about 9-11, of course, is laughable. Rudy Giuliani, on 9-11, was shrewd enough to get himself in front of the cameras,…but that's the extent of his knowledge or expertise on terrorism.

Rudy's recommendation to George W. Bush of Bernard Kerik to be Homeland Security Director is all one needs to know about Rudy's judgment. Kerik was convicted of a felony just a few days ago and sentenced to prison.

But there he was….Mr. 9-11….on ABC, CNN and FOX yesterday…..the slumped-back freak, in all his freakish glory, criticizing President Obama's decision to hold trials of terrorists in New York City.

"It's an unnecessary advantage to give to the terrorists," Giuliani said on CNN's State of the Union. "I don't know why you want to give terrorists advantages. And secondly, it's an unnecessary risk to the city of New York, which already has any number of risks."

The same guy who said that…also said this in 2006 about trying 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussauoi in federal court .

Several news show hosts called Giuliani out on some apparent hypocrisy — in 2006, he praised the civilian trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, saying he was "in awe of our system" and that we "are a nation of law."

For federal court trials until he was against them.

But think about what Mr. Noun & Verb & 9-11 said yesterday on CNN. If we bring the five 9-11 conspirators to trial in New York City, we are giving the "terrorists" an "unnecessary advantage." Trying those five in New York City federal court is putting New York under "unnecessary risk."

Bringing international anarchist criminals to justice following the template of American law, is giving "unnecessary advantage" to Islamic radicals. In other words,….according to Giuliani…we must forsake our own laws and history of following those laws, because if we follow American law and order, we will give extremists the "advantage."

WTF?

Suicide bombers carry out violent acts which kill civilians in order to scare the host country's government into CHANGING the way they live and carry out their system of government.

Rudy Giuliani says the U.S. must not rely on the U.S. legal system to try the five conspirators, the same system Rudy praised in the trial of Moussauoi,…..because if we follow our own legal system and precedence…..we'll be giving the extremists, "unnecessary advantage."

Rudy is now too scared of the U.S. justice system to trust it. That's no small detail.

Not only has Giuliani given up on the U.S. justice system's ability to adjudicate crimes and lock away criminals…he's, apparently, given up on New York City's ability to protect it's citizens too. Trying suspects of a horrific crime in one of our cities is now putting that city's residents under "unnecessary risk."

I guess that means that from now on if a significantly horrible enough crime is committed inside the U.S….we can no longer trust our court system to deal with it. Rudy, by making these statements, is announcing his agreement with Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden has said America needs to change it's system of government and that Americans have become "soft." Rudy Giuliani agrees.

Giuliani, as I mentioned, is a freak. The question naturally arises….why would what Rudy has to say be significant to Americans? I can't answer that question. I keep coming up with, "it isn't." CNN, ABC and FOX believe otherwise. The Villagers, don't forget, are very, very Serious.

One last backhand……if we try criminals in federal courts, find them guilty and execute or imprison them…..then, according to Rudy, we're playing Aladdin to those who wage "Islamic war against us"……

"Since when are we in the business of granting the wishes of terrorists?"

You know what I'm thinking?…..I'm thinking that Rudy Giuliani is full of sh*t.

Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb on AG Eric Holder's announcement that five of the 9-11 plotters will be tried in New York federal court…..

Those who have committed acts of international terrorism are enemy combatants, just as certainly as the Japanese pilots who killed thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor. It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts.

..[..]..

And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons.

House representative Jim Moran (D-Va)….has a different take….

"They (Republicans, neo-cons, wingnuts) see this as an opportunity to demagogue," he said. "They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they'll even take a stand that's un-American."

"It's un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial," Moran added. "It's against our principles as a nation."

"Opportunity to demagogue? Yep…like this….

Of all the mindless memes that non-reality-based adherents blare out like zombie pod people…..this one about "American soil" is the most ignorant. That's saying something….because the extreme right TeaBagger-FOX-Beck-Rush Group LLC….says a whole bunch of ignorant stuff on an hourly basis.

Giuliani is a discredited authoritarian moron, so it's easy to dismiss his grandstanding gibberish. But Rudy represents the FOX-BeckerHead position…so it will be the most prominent, because whatever FOX-Beckerheads spout is to be taken very Seriously by the Village. And, as the 9-12'ers and Rupert Murdoch have made clear, all wingnut-media decisions are for the purpose of "destroying Obama."

Remember, the only Job One there is for Republicans, Teabaggers, Drug Addicts on the Radio and myriad Wingnut Zoo Animals….is to bring about, as South Carolina cracker-senator Jim DeMint said…."Obama's Waterloo."

Now the analysis.

Senator Jim Webb is mistaken when he compares Japanese pilots during WW2 with 9-11 hijackers. Japanese pilots were operating under the authority of the Japanese Emperor. Japanese pilots during WW2 represented a country, a nation of people who declared war against America with the Pearl Harbor attack. WW2 was a war of nations. The militaries of the Axis powers were ordered by their nation's leaders to wage war on Allied nations.

9-11 Islamic hijackers represented who, exactly? A tiny international band of stateless anarchist criminals. No state or country sponsored the 9-11 hijackers. 9-11 hijackers did not act on the orders of a state dictator, politician, leader, or representative. Bin Laden's al-Qaeda carried out acts of violence for THEMSELVES….no one else.

Islamic extremists are seeking to make a symbolic "political statement" with their acts of violence. The entire point of killing others while killing yourself is to shock others into believing they are not safe. Japanese pilots who dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor were not making a "political statement"……they were beginning a monumental war of one nation against another. Japanese pilots were seeking to defeat the U.S. military, and thus America, the nation. Japanese pilots were not just trying to shock U.S citizens…..there was nothing symbolic about Pearl Harbor.

The second bit of "demagogic" nonsense-hype by American wingnuts only seeking Obama's demise by foolishly arguing we can't try 9-11 masterminds on "American soil"….is the, "they're too dangerous" to be housed in New York prisons…nonsense. There's no question the 9-11 plot was sinister and evil, but the five radical Islamic masterminds to be tried in New York federal court ain't squat compared to the most vicious, brutal, bloodthirsty deviants we currently have safely locked away in federal prisons, including, by the way, over 100 Islamic "terrorists."

To take the position that these five are too dangerous to bring onto "American soil" is, at best, a wingnut admission that America is weak, vulnerable, unsure of it's power and that the Constitution and set of laws which guide us are, somehow, deficient.

The final point I want to make is over the stupid claim that if we try 9-11 conspirators in New York…then New York will automatically become the focus of new terrorist attacks. Besides being another admission that America is just too weak or vulnerable to protect itself….this ignorant meme, meant only to diminish Obama's leadership, ignores the fact that America currently occupies two Muslim countries with some 200,000 U.S. soldiers. Daily, we are killing Afghani citizens. Also ignored is the fact that the American military has killed, at the very minimum, some 128,000 Iraqi citizens in our war of imperialistic aggression. 4 million Iraqis were displaced.

What more incentive would a Muslim crazy need to "focus" their extremist bile on the U.S.?

Here are the facts. George W. Bush, though he did not act on it, stated clearly that he would like to see Guantanomo closed. But Bush was a Republican president with very low approval ratings. In comes a popular Democratic President Obama who agrees with Bush's view of closing Guantanomo. If Obama succeeds in closing Guantanomo…..well, you know the wingnut drill….then America "fails."

The ignorant and disingenuous blatherings about not trying 9-11 conspirators on "American soil" is for the sole purpose of seeing Obama "fail."

Not that complicated.

First it was Rev. Wright…then Bill Ayers….with all the accompanying non-biased, and Pulitzer-Prize-caliber reporting. Then came the "Hillary Clinton was cheated," narrative suggesting (wrongly) that she had more primary votes than Barak Obama. All this was followed by "Obama's only a celebrity like Paris." Then came the "how can Obama overcome his problem with white voters?" question.

Sarah Palin's entry brought with it the "palling around with terrorists", "Obama is a Marxist", "real Americans in real America", and "Obama is not sufficiently patriotic." All accusations that had to be deeply plumbed for there wingnut wisdom.

Immediately following Obama's election, it became full metal jacket Blago. Obama is from Illinois, (via Kenya) Emmanuel is from Illinois, Blagojevich was governor of Illinois….ipso facto, weeks and weeks were spent "informing" us about an Illinois governor who did what every American elected official does….traded on his influence.

In January came Rush's "hope he fails" comedy routine….and a Serious search to unpack the deep profundity in that statement. The stimulus "discussion" gave opportunity for corporate-whore media to entertain (on a 2-1 basis over Democrats) the thoughts and demagoguing of Republicans and conservatives on the Sunday morning "news" programs. Despite having his electoral ass kicked, and despite the fact that McCain now plays an insignificant role in a 40 GOP'er Senate, John McCain recorded his 14th appearance on the Sunday morning "news" shows recently.

Ordering that Guantanomo would be closed brought with it such an unhinged response from dishonest neo-conservatives and their obedient knee-jerk children that the thought of dangerous criminals being held on "American soil" became the most imminent national threat. Terrorists in American prisons?….How can we ever be safe?

And then it really started to get crazy. March brought with it the TeaParty Blitz….and the long awaited return of Dick Cheney to national corporate-whore media…..this time with mini-me-Dick, daughter Liz, out spreading the "torture love" doctrine of Father Dick. Neither holds public office, Father Dick is hated by most Americans….but there they were, "news" program after "news" program, telling us to be very, very afraid if America stops torturing. You see, the Dicks are Serious.

Don't forget the marvelously patriotic and sensible "birther" movement still championed by over half of Republicans and the recently released CNN xenophobe, Lou Dobbs….and naturally, all of the AM radio talkers and FOX.

The summer of 2009 may just be referred to in the history books as the "Summer of Incoherence"….as BeckerHeads, TeaBaggers, and Townhall Buster-Uppers, some carrying loaded weapons, saturated the "news" with their sour grapes of discontent with a black Democratic president intent on destroying America and replacing it with (take your pick)….socialism, communism Maoism, Stalinism, or Nazism……all conveniently interchangeable at a moment's notice. Desperate cries of, "I want my country back", echoed repeatedly through the TeaBags.

ACORN became, overnight, one of America's most dangerous domestic enemies. Amateur wingnut videographers, working with FOX, stung those primarily-black-employee-run Acorn offices in a daring and patriotic commando raid to save us all…..I guess from signing up more black voters. "Breaking News" ensued.

"Killing grandma", "death panels", (another 1/2 term Governor Palin gem), "death books for veterans", "Obama will take away your Medicare",…filled the late summer and early fall, with yet more incoherent TeaParties and 9-12'er events, led by America's brilliant new Paul Revere, Glenn Beck…and of course, FOX. No one is sure how many Baggers turned out on Beckerhead day. Somewhere between 60,000…..and 2 million. No way to know.

Now we're being flooded with "Obama and the Democrats are sneaking in tax-payer abortions", "Obama is 'dithering' on Afghanistan", and the recent election (which added a new Democrat to the House) is a "sign that Americans are rejecting Obama's leadership," "Obama and the Democrats (after 10 months) are in deep trouble."

This past week has brought with it the "Ft. Hood massacre is the first terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9-11," proving, I'm sure, that without the Dick's torture, we are all doomed. Calls for renewing "investigations" into American Muslims and Muslim groups are rampant.

Obama left today on an Asian-countries tour….and dollars to donuts….I bet we'll get to hear all about how Obama had to get out of D.C. to avoid all the "controversies" he's created. Just more "dithering."

Now….it could just be me….but it sure as hell seems like corporate-whore media has joined with conservative and GOP wingnuts in "creating reality" for the last year and a half. An anti-Obama-and-the-Democrats narrative template has been placed overtop of ALL events since the beginning of last year.

Or maybe not. Like I said….it could just be me.

The comedy show continues….

I realize that Newt Gingrich is considered to be a bonafide, certified, conservative intellectual…..a master GOP sharpie….the Republican go-to guy for "ideas."

So, I'm thinking Newt thinks, because he is just so smart and full of, like, ideas, that Republicans are going to take back the House and the Senate next year. What I would like smart Newt to tell all of us non-smart liberals….is how the f*ck, Newt, is that going to happen?

20% of Americans identify themselves with the GOP. Twenty percent.

Republicans are acknowledging Democrats could GAIN Senate seats next November, up to four….and the very best Republicans are projected to do in the House is a gain of between 20-24 seats.

Given that scenario…..Newt, nothing has a chance of being repealed, you know, this side of hell freezing over,….and Newt, I gotta' tell ya'…..if you're planning on things getting better in 2012 with some kind of Palin-Pawlenty-Romney-Huckabee combo-platter, you are going to be one sad conservative intellectual.

Republicans are still in denial, most all GOP politicans now are only appealing to the extremist base. America is moving away from the extreme right's conservative philosophy, not towards it.

Whether the far right likes it or not, the American population has become more tolerant of sexual and racial diversities. The neo-conservative doctrine is not favored by the American people. Laissez-faire economics has blown up in the face of everyone. The past GOP administration doubled the national debt in 8 years,….so much for small government and fiscal conservancy.

Republicans are still in denial. I think what has happened is that George W. Bush and The Dick have left a bigger neo-con, chickenhawk-cowboy, never-back-down, never-admit-error, impression on the individual psyches of the far right, than anyone expected. Or at least reality-based anyones.

An so there's ole' Newtie, 9 months into a new Democratic administration with big Democratic margins in Congress, and instead of coming up with some new, you know, ideas…..and admitting that, yeah, Republicans, like Michael Steele said, can't be trusted right now…..Newt runs his big, bait-the-base, mouth, about how Republicans are so big and bad and we're coming back and we're going to repeal Obama and the Democrats' health care reform legislation.

Perhaps someday, thoughtful conservatives will distance themselves from the likes of Fox and it's many Fiends. Maybe down the road Republicans and conservatives will genuinely analyze their humiliating failures to govern, their predilection to make everything they touch while governing corrupt. I suppose it's possible for conservatives to come up with other ideas other than, "let's cut taxes" or "be afraid" or "let's bomb another country"……I suppose it's possible….someday…but it sure isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Until it starts to happen Newt…..go back to Georgia and pound salt.

Glenn Greenwald…

"One of the most astounding feats in propaganda is how we've managed to take people who live in a country which we invade, bomb and occupy — and who fight against us because we're doing that — and call them "Terrorists," thereby "justifying" continuing to bomb and occupy their country further."

That sentence may not sound all that profound at first reading, but it is.

When the U.S. arbitrarily invaded Iraq, al-Qaeda "terrorists" were not there. Some came later to Iraq, especially following the release of the Abu Ghraib picnic photos. Neo-conservative propagandists, cheerled by Fox and Fiends, did their best to brainwash Americans into believing that shadowy Sunni figures or Shi-ite rebels (al-Sadr) or (Saddam's former) Baath Party remnants were each interchangeable surrogates for al-Qaeda. Even though Iraq had no al-Qaeda presence, no "terrorists", U.S. media quickly transplanted Sunni, Shi-ite, and/or Baath members into the role of the "terrorists."

America had attacked a sovereign nation where "terrorists" were not harbored, where al-Qaeda had no significant, if any, presence,….and within short-order of occupying a country that posed no threat to America, we were told that we were fighting the "terrorists" inside Iraq. Amazingly, Iraq had become the "central front of the war on terror." The lines were purposely blurred in explanation of who those "terrorists" were. Were they Sunni, were some Shi-ite, were they the remnants of Saddam's old political party? No one was sure…..and that, of course, was the point.

The same is true in Afghanistan, and has been for…..what is it now?…..over EIGHT years. al-Qaeda is a stateless, borderless group….so, in order to justify bringing the enormous U.S. military machine to the region in preparation for the already-determined plan to attack and occupy Iraq…..we needed a nation state as an enemy. The Taliban-ruled Afghanistan fit the bill. Those camel-riding Taliban were "harboring" those al-Qaeda, by god….quickly a whole new group of "terrorists" were created.

As Greenwald said, America attacks a country, occupies that country with it's military….an action that creates a resistance from natives of that country, whom we then quickly declare the "enemy" or the new "terrorists", which, completing the circle, justifies us continuing with our occupation.

The Reverend has often stated without apology that there is no "war on terror" and never has been. The U.S. "enemy" was/is al-Qaeda. After 9-11, the "war" America declared under Commander Guy, more appropriately, should have been called a "war on al-Qaeda"….but see?, that's too narrow, too specific. This American musical chairs style, changing-enemies game in Iraq and Afghanistan is often called a part of a non-existent "war on terror", but in all honesty, all it is, is an ongoing faux-justification to defend U.S. neo-conservative ideological and imperialistic goals for the region.
……….
Greenwald also writes about "why they hate us." The hopelessly incompetent Decider insisted that "they" hated us "because of our freedoms", a childish non-sequiter at best. A neo-conservative propaganda tool, at worst.

Overnight, a Fox and Fiends-led cottage industry developed complete with nonsensical "Islamofascist" name-calling and ridiculous notions of Islam's "real" goal to overthrow the "free" world. Americans were repeatedly told that Islamic radicals killed themselves in order to kill Americans because, somehow, America's freedom just drove them insane with rage. The Villagers all nodded, knowingly, in agreement.

Here's why "they" hate us…..

I also saw how some of the consequences of Washington’s antiterrorism policies had galvanized the Taliban. Commanders fixated on the deaths of Afghan, Iraqi and Palestinian civilians in military airstrikes, as well as the American detention of Muslim prisoners who had been held for years without being charged.

Here's why "they" hate us….

In 1996, Israeli jets bombed a UN building where civilians had taken refuge at Cana/ Qana in south Lebanon, killing 102 persons;…..

"On April 11, 1996, when Atta was twenty-seven years old, he signed a standardized will he got from the al-Quds mosque.l It was the day Israel attacked Lebanon in Operation grapes of Wrath. According to one of his friends, Atta was enraged,and by filling out his last testamentd during the attack he was offering his life in response."

A little over 5 years later, Atta led a group of hijackers who crashed planes into American buildings, killing 3000.

And here's why "they" will continue to hate us…

The 25 lines edited out of the court papers contained details of how Mr Mohamed's genitals were sliced with a scalpel and other torture methods so extreme that waterboarding, the controversial technique of simulated drowning, "is very far down the list of things they did," the official said.

A British High Court has just ruled that those 25 lines describing what CIA officials told British officials that they had done to an innocent Muslim detainee, Binyam Mohamed,…must be released to the world. Both George W. Bush and, now, Barack Obama, have tried, (up until now successfully) to keep examples of U.S. depravity and torture, like this one, secret.

But many middle eastern Muslims already know about U.S. torture and depravity. Many middle eastern Muslims know that we attack and occupy their countries with our military, then declare any subsequent native resistance, "enemies" and "terrorists." Many middle eastern countries already know that we will block any investigations into war crimes perpetrated against Gazans by Israelis…..or perpetrated by U.S. officials against Muslim detainees.

"They" already know all of this.

"They" are, just now, learning about this.

And that's why "they" hate us….and unless we change policy course….that's why "they" will continue to hate us.

A call to, at least, investigate….

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Friday to endorse a Gaza war crimes report that calls on Israel and Hamas to investigate alleged abuses, or face possible referral to international war crimes prosecutors.

What was the U.S. position?

The move — which was opposed by six nations, including the United States — means Israel could find itself facing a request at the U.N. Security Council to refer the case to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a move likely to be blocked by Washington.

If you recall, a highly sophisticated Israeli military attacked a trapped civilian population in the Gaza Strip to allegedly stop homemade rockets from being launched into Israel from Gaza. The nature of the slaughter is witnessed in these fatality numbers….

Almost 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the Dec. 27-Jan. 18 conflict.

Homemade rockets simply can't compete with helicopter gunships. By my math, I come up with over 100 Palestinian deaths for each Israeli death. Might be a revised Israeli take on the "eye for an eye" thing, it's difficult to tell.

The U.N. report found….

The 575-page document concluded that Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields and destroyed civilian infrastructure during its incursion into the Gaza Strip to root out Palestinian rocket squads.

"deliberately targeted civilians"….half of the Gaza dead were women and children. Half.

The report is not simply one sided…

It also accused Palestinian armed groups including Hamas, which controls Gaza, of deliberately targeting civilians and trying to spread terror through years of rocket attacks on southern Israel.

The U.S. voted against endorsing the report which recommended this…

The report recommends that the 15-member Security Council require both sides in the conflict to show within six months that they are carrying out independent and impartial investigations into alleged abuses.

How will the U.S. stand up for transparency and justice over this matter?…..

The United States is likely to use its veto (on U.N. Security Council) to block any call to get the International Criminal Court involved in the dispute over Gaza or to take action against Israel.

The last paragraph of the AP news piece includes this "no sh*t Sherlock" sentence….

Arab and African countries will likely point to any U.S. efforts to block referral to the international court as an example of double standards,

Why would "Arab and African countries" call U.S. efforts to block referrals by the U.N. to an international court a "double standard?"….

…it was Western countries that referred Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court in March for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes…

Although George W. Bush often insisted, incredulously, that "they hate us because of our freedoms"….you needn't look any further than this action by the U.S. to understand what might cause some Muslims to hate America.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration is taking the same misguided path, protecting and defending Israeli aggression and potential war crimes from being investigated and adjudicated, as the Obama administration has taken in protecting and defending the two American war crimes leaders, Bush and Cheney, from investigation and adjudication.

Neither decision, in the long run, will work out well.

I'm sure that inherent American and Israeli "exceptionalism" is the justification for blocking investigations into war crimes.

The United States is a uniquely exceptional country in the world and always has been. Take the former Soviet Union as an example of how superior the US. is. The Soviets were silly enough to allow communist authoritarians to rule over them. The U.S., on the other hand, is a much more advanced society in which only corporate oligarchs can be our authoritarian rulers. The U.S. is a Christian nation and the former Soviets were only godless atheists bound for hell.

The Soviets were foolish enough to invade Afghanistan in 1979 where they experienced a nine year quagmire of futility, and then left in 1989, not able to complete their mission of defeating the cave-dwelling Mujahideen. It is widely held that the Soviets foolish adventure in Afghanistan led directly to their disintegration as a superpower.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and are still experiencing a quagmire of futility 8 years later in what has been declared an attempt to defeat a medieval-Islamic group called the Taliban.

See? We're superior to the former Soviet Union. We're smarter. We don't make the same mistakes the godless atheists did.

The issue before the new American President is what to do now as we start our 9th year of quagmire. Having appeared 13 times so far this year on the Villager Sunday teevee morning shows, President John McCain, unelected but entitled to make our military decisions because….well…just because…..had this to say yesterday to Obama as 31 congressional members met with the elected President Obama to exchange ideas on our Afghan quagmire…..

Mr. McCain told the president that “time is not on our side.” He added, “This should not be a leisurely process,” according to several people in the room.

A few minutes later, Mr. Obama replied, “John, I can assure you this won’t be leisurely,” according to several attendees. “No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do.”
..[..]..
After the meeting, Mr. McCain warned against any middle ground. “Half measures is what I worry about,” he said. Citing the Bush administration’s experience in Iraq, he added that half measures “lead to failure over time and an erosion of American public support.”

Anyone remember the unelected President McCain chiding the genuinely-unelected President Bush about "half-measures" or "leisurely" approaches to Afghanistan when the genuinely-unelected President Bush was defrauding America into a new war of choice? Anyone?

More President McCain after the meeting….

McCain warns: "There's been this argument that the threat now is not Al Qaeda … The fact is, we all know that if the Taliban come back, Al Qaeda will come back. And they will come back in Afghanistan and they will come back in Pakistan."

The unelected President McCain's speciality is military strategy and foreign policy….and when it comes to those specialities, McCain is really, really smart. As Digby points out from this report….

The Taliban now has a permanent presence in 80% of Afghanistan, up from 72% in November 2008, according to a new map released today by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). According to ICOS, another 17% of Afghanistan is seeing ‘substantial’ Taliban activity. Taken together, these figures show that the Taliban has a significant presence in virtually all of Afghanistan.

President McCain: "if the Taliban comes back"…..umm, Maverick, they're back. And what of al-Qaeda whom Johnny Mac said emphatically, "will come back", if, you know, the Taliban comes back?

Petraeus, May 10, 2009….

The head of U.S. Central Command said Sunday that Al Qaeda is no longer operating in Afghanistan, with its senior leadership having moved to the western region of Pakistan.

McChrystal, Sept.9, 2009….

"I do not see indications of a large al-Qaida presence in Afghanistan now," McChrystal told reporters at the Dutch Defense Ministry, where he met military officials.

NSA Chief, James Jones, Oct 6, 2009….

He said that according to the maximum estimate, al-Qaida has fewer than 100 fighters operating in Afghanistan without any bases or ability to launch attacks on the West.

Whatever the Villager Choir and the Just Say No GOP Chorus have been, and will be, singing near term about al-Qaeda coming back if the Taliban comes back……it simply is not so.

There may be legitimate reasons to continue to strike at the skeletal remains of al-Qaeda inside Afghanistan…..but the "return of the Taliban" is not one of them.

We need to remove as many troops from Afghanistan as soon as we can, even if the Afghanis choose to support the already-returned Taliban. Our mission was to destroy the al-Qaeda network. We've made great progress towards fulfilling that mission.

We won't do any of that, of course, because we, unlike the former Soviets, are uniquely exceptional. Even when we make tragic mistakes, we don't. So, expect the same hew and cry from the neo-conservatives and the same braying from the military-industrial complex supporters in Congress…..and a continuation of a no-end-in-sight quagmire in Afghanistan accompanied with loud cheerleading about how we're "going to win."

My blog buddy King last week….

What our media hasn't bothered to tell you is that the early interrogation and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT's) used against terrorist monsters like al-Nashiri, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and Abu Zubaydah worked, just like former VP Dick Cheney said they did. Cheney was ridiculed endlessly for saying that, but the CIA IG report leaves no doubt.

Defenders of America's use of cruel and illegal torture tactics cling to the thread of their own devisings that "torture worked". Led by The Dick, many conservatives have desperately sought justifications for the obvious illegalities of torture. It could be that conservative watchers of "24" have been convinced by Kiefer that torture is good and just…or it could be that conservatives don't want to admit that their Super-Patriotic Heroes committed war crimes, because then, THEY, would be shown to be mistaken.

Whatever the motivation might be, these torture defenders are anxious, even frenzied at times, to find something, anything, to defend their indefensible gibberish……they'll grasp for virtually anything that even remotely, on first glance, can be construed to support their position.

That's what King from All Da King's Men does in the above block quote. Look at his words. Torture, or the name given to torture by the easily-queasied, "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques", according to King's reading of the recent CIA report on interrogations, "worked." Here's King in his own words….

The EIT's worked, whether we like them or not.

It's odd that King is so cock-sure that the CIA's interrogation report leaves "no doubt" that torture "worked" to save American lives. Why? Because even Fran Townsend, George W. Bush's Terrorism Advisor said of the CIA's report….."the report doesn't say that."

The truth in 32 seconds….

Transcript of Fran Townsend's comment…

It’s very difficult to draw a cause and effect, because it’s not clear when techniques were applied vs. when that information was received. It’s implicit. It seems, when you read the report, that we got the — the — the most critical information after techniques had been applied. But the report doesn’t say that.

How it is that King sees words in the CIA report leaving "no doubt" that torture "worked" to save U.S lives….when the Bushie insider Townsend doesn't……will have to be taken up with King.

I realize that many conservative supporters of torture could give a sh*t whether torture "worked" or whether the CIA report leaves "no doubt" about the wonder-working salvation power of acting like savages……it just doesn't matter, according to some conservatives. Their defense of institutionalized American savagery is simply….'if America is doing it, it is the right, just, necessary and proper thing to do, because America, of all world countries, is singularly exceptional.'

So, there's that.

However, in King's case, I'm beginning to think a reading and comprehension dysfunction is at work. I can't be 100% sure, you understand…but it kinda, sorta, looks that way…..

Now, don't forget…..King said of the CIA report that there is "no doubt" that torture "worked."

From King's Fox News link included in All Da King's Men's August 25th posting….

It is not possible to say definitively that the waterboard is the reason for Abu Zubaydah's increased production, or if another factor, such as the length of detention, was the catalyst. Since the use of the waterboard, however, Abu Zubaydah has appeared to be cooperative.

With respect to A-Nashiri, [redacted] reported two waterboard sessions in November 2002, after which the psychologist/interrogators determined that Al-Nashiri was compliant….Because of the litany of techniques used by different interrogators over a relatively short period of time, it is difficult to identify exactly why Al-Nashiri became more willing to provide information.

King has "no doubt" that the CIA report proves that torture "worked." The report from which King quoted, however, actually says, "…it's not possible to say definitively…", and, "….it is difficult to identify exactly…."

So…is it a reading and comprehension problem? Is it a wishful thinking problem? What is it that motivates some conservatives and libertarians to not be able to read and comprehend relatively clear language?

This CIA report reading and comprehension discussion can serve as a case study for the larger information wars that have blanketed America for a number of years.

It also helps in understanding how it was that America could so easily be talked into attacking Iraq, a non-threatening country that had done absolutely nothing to warrant being attacked and occupied by U.S forces for going on 7 years now.

It's all about deception……self-imposed because of comprehension in reading problems and wishful thinking, partisan blindness…..or gullibility. I'll leave it to others to determine which form of deception applies here.

Postscript: I just remembered another oddity. Ms. Condi Rice told the 9-11 Commission that Junior Leader didn't want to "swat at flies" in the months leading up to 9-11. Now we know why. The deviants of the Bush administration preferred catching anything that could be characterized as a "fly", and as many youthful deviants would prefer, torturing those flies by tearing wings and legs off one at a time. So there's that.

And there's also this….

Cheney thinks it was a sterling success when it came to national security and counter-terrorism. Perhaps there's something to this. After all, except for the catastrophic events of 9/11, and the anthrax attacks against Americans, and terrorist attacks against U.S. allies, and the terrorist attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Bush's inability to capture those responsible for 9/11, and waging an unnecessary war that inspired more terrorists, and the success terrorists had in exploiting Bush's international unpopularity, the Bush/Cheney record on counter-terrorism was awesome.

Over the past number of years, whenever I suggested that George W. Bush was actually an American terrorist leader, I was quickly reprimanded by those Serious and Grown-up Conservatives who immediately sought to describe the former president as "protecting us from Islamofascists."

Now, former Bush Homeland Security head, Tom Ridge, in a new book, follows in the footsteps of The Reverend, and tells his readers that, yes, George W. Bush terrorized the American people for political gain.

From the news release…

Former US homeland security chief Tom Ridge charges in a new book that top aides to then-president George W. Bush pressured him to raise the "terror alert" level to sway the November 2004 US election.

Then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and attorney general John Ashcroft pushed him to elevate the color-coded threat level, but Ridge refused, according to a summary from his publisher, Thomas Dunne Books.

……

He also says that Bush's homeland security adviser at the White House, Fran Townsend, called his department ahead of an August 1, 2004 speech to ask Ridge to include a reference to "defensive measures … away from home" — language that he read as being a reference to the Iraq war.

In those remarks, Ridge said he was raising the threat alert level for the financial services sector in New York City, northern New Jersey, and Washington DC, and went on to praise Bush's leadership against extremism.

……

He later publicly acknowledged that much of the information underpinning the new alert was three years old, stoking Bush critics' charges of political manipulation.

I wrote many times during the Bush-Cheney overthrow of the United States that Karl Rove's obsession with a permanent Republican majority led him and Bush to politicize everything emanating from the White House. Early critics of the Bush administration called the Bushies "Mayberry Machiavellis" for a reason. "Everything was political," is the answer.

When a high government leader seeks to frighten the population he is responsible to protect, and he does so for the purpose of gaining a political edge……that person is a terrorist. Osama Bin Laden's political philosophy and George W Bush's were the same. Bin Laden's philosophy states that if people are scared, terrorized by events, political leanings can be altered, changed.

George W. Bush thought the same as Bin Laden. The Bushies actively sought to terrorize the American voting population just prior to the 2004 election, without any credible evidence to justify the terrorizing, in order to alter the outcome of what looked to be a very tight presidential race with John Kerry.

None of this is new. I've known about Ridge raising the terror chart levels for political purposes for years. But as Glenn Greenwald blogs, whenever someone, you know, from the loony left, suggested that's what was going on…..well, we were just loony…..and not Serious, like corporate-whore media members.

And it wasn't just terror color charts. The Iraq crime was sold to America using terror. "Mushroom clouds", "chemical and biological weapons", "WMD", "no doubt that Saddam has reconstituted his weapons program"…..etc. Spying on Americans without benefit of warrants, torturing detainees, Gitmo, extrordinary kidnappings…..all of this was sold to us with terror. All of this, as we have witnessed with The Dick since Obama's inauguration, was meant to scare, to terrorize the American people for conservative political purposes.

It's not simply George W. Bush who is guilty of terrorizing the American people during his administration, though he definitely is guilty. The Republican Party has become the Party of Terror. Constantly seeking to frighten and terrorize Americans through the use of imminent danger fear. That's the purpose of the townhall bust-ups, the carrying of semi-automatic weapons, the shouts, the visible hatred…..it's to scare, to terrorize other Americans for a political objective, in this case, to defeat health care reform.

All of this is transparently obvious, just as it was transparently obvious when the Bushies were leading the nation around using terror tactics in order to complete their wet dream of attacking and occupying Iraq.

It's a good thing that a moderate Republican, like Tom Ridge, is setting the record straight.

UPDATE: Here's a prime example of what I'm getting at today, from Idaho.

Also this.

America has been involved in imperialistic-minded interference in other nation's governments and elections for as long as I can remember. It's what we do. And I suppose that helps in understanding why America's leading neo-conservatives, senators like Lindsey "Huckleberry" Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (ASSH*LE-CT) have been calling for U.S. interference in the Iranian election dispute. Old habits are difficult to break.

Watch Graham and McCain explain how it's our duty to interfere with other countries. First 2 minutes….

McCain…"America's position in the world is one of moral leadership. And that's what America's all about."

America's "moral leadership" in Iran, over oil, in the 1950's led directly to the dysfunctional Islamic government in Iran today. America's "moral leadership" in Iraq during the 1980's led directly to the rise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, which led to more American "moral leadership" in the crime and quagmire of today's occupation of Iraq. America's "moral leadership" in Afghanistan during the 1980's led directly to the establishment and strengthening of Bin Laden's extremist group, al-Qaida.

If that's "moral leadership"…..what the hell would immoral leadership look like?

Set aside the 50's and the 80's "moral leadership" for a moment. How has that leadership been on display the last 8 years? America now admits to having savagely tortured detainees held in secret gulags around the world….and reserves the right to continue doing so. THAT'S what America is all about.

America attacked the nation of Iraq, without just cause, and still occupies it today with U.S. military troops and bases. Hundreds of thousands were killed, millions displaced. THAT'S what John McCain calls "moral leadership."

And don't forget that the shameless neo-conservative, John McCain, wanted to spread that American "moral leadership" to the country of Georgia when it was in a dispute with Russia. "We're all Georgians, now", McCain ridiculously insisted.

America's "moral leadership" has been on display in Latin and South America and southeast Asia, and many other places, as the U.S. attempted to mold the world in it's image against the wishes of the people being molded. It's what we do. Meddle in other countries affairs. THAT'S what America is all about.

This messianic mentality, this triumphalistic attitude, is hated by the people of other countries. This "moral leadership" is seen by others for what it actually is…..the mindset and actions of a bully always seeking to get it's own way.

There's an undercurrent throughout American political thought which sees the U.S. as the nation that god, himself, has raised up to do his bidding. Because of such thinking, many Americans deceive themselves into believing that all this "moral leadership" that McCain talks about, no matter how abhorrent, no matter how bloody, is god's will…..that no matter how we interfere or who we interfere with….it is always the right thing to do, because we are America, god's new chosen people….and as McCain said, "moral leadership is what America is all about."

Many of today's Republicans are just itching to spread that "moral leadership" to the streets of Iran.