MURK
Steve Coll writes in the Dec. 25 issue of The New Yorker: "The opportunities for decisive action in Iraq drained away some time ago. Managing catastrophic failure so as to minimize its harmful effects is not glamorous or emotionally rewarding work, but that is all Bush and his advisers have available in Iraq."
And: "Much of this work is defensive in character, such as managing Kurdish autonomy to prevent a wider regional war, stopping the formation of an Al Qaeda mini-state in Anbar province, and challenging Iran's clandestine warfare."
*
Although, it occurs to me, an Al Qaeda mini-state is really exactly what we need. It could be like setting up a gigantic mouse-trap. Al Qaeda agents welcome!
This metaphor is probably no more ridiculous than the mind-numbing metaphors that brought about the Iraq "policy" catastrophe in the first place.
It is supposed to be an ideological war–about "freedom" and "democracy."
But it is just as much about technology, pollution, and "Hubris." Social and economic feedback loops we have no control over. Or, as Gregory Bateson puts it, it is about " . . . conventional (but wrong) ideas about the nature of man and his relation to the environment."
We have acted upon a remarkable number of wrong ideas. The outcome has been disaster. Huh. Shows what we know.
*
"Character is fate," as Davenport translates Heraclitus. In other words, personalities are like the weather.
Onward into the murk.
And: "Much of this work is defensive in character, such as managing Kurdish autonomy to prevent a wider regional war, stopping the formation of an Al Qaeda mini-state in Anbar province, and challenging Iran's clandestine warfare."
*
Although, it occurs to me, an Al Qaeda mini-state is really exactly what we need. It could be like setting up a gigantic mouse-trap. Al Qaeda agents welcome!
This metaphor is probably no more ridiculous than the mind-numbing metaphors that brought about the Iraq "policy" catastrophe in the first place.
It is supposed to be an ideological war–about "freedom" and "democracy."
But it is just as much about technology, pollution, and "Hubris." Social and economic feedback loops we have no control over. Or, as Gregory Bateson puts it, it is about " . . . conventional (but wrong) ideas about the nature of man and his relation to the environment."
We have acted upon a remarkable number of wrong ideas. The outcome has been disaster. Huh. Shows what we know.
*
"Character is fate," as Davenport translates Heraclitus. In other words, personalities are like the weather.
Onward into the murk.
posted by borneman at 5:18 PM
1 Comments:
the first mistake
as i go back
and follow the thoughts
not unattended by passion
from the days of the attack
was to ignore jesus' admonition
to forgive
turn the other cheek
OK we took a
political cultural religious
ideological slap in the face
but then we played right into their hands
do we suppose that sheik al bin laden never considered
the retaliation
what the phuq would jezuss do?
i maintain that osama is the most righteous dude on the planet...this is not to say that he is right...it is simply to say that as far as being successful in living out one's convictions -nobody is doing it better)
a second mistake was to ignore the outpouring of vocal resistance to war that came from "the people" who if i am not mistaken are to be the governors of this country "of...for...by...the (who)?"
i call for a referendum process:
any move toward war must be submitted to a nation-wide popular vote
an egregious oversight
as long as we were destined to be taken like custer into the the little river valley of doom
was the total negation of the wisdom from the east
why did our fearless and intelligent leaders not convene a consulting board made up of arabic and islamic thinkers and diplomats?
we have yet to come to terms with the internal machinations that took place in the year after the collapse of "nelson and david" (the nicknames of the twin towers)
in the "restructuring of 'intelligence' in the inner sanctum of the political machine
john poindexter
john ashcroft
carl rove
richard cheney
and others
created a "secret underground government facility" which is in operation today and is probably monitoring this very diatribe
phuq em
it was all done while we were in shock and then distracted by some rather ingenious smoke screens
which i think lend themselves to a brilliant conspiracy theory
1) the DC sniper
2) the Catholic Church sex abuse
broadway musical
"character is fate"
well what do we do when the leaders are nearly devoid of character
imbecility breeds upon itself like seaweed or plankton
even saddam hussein allowed for ancient forms of local governance
bedouins in particular have a practice of communal dialogue and assent or dissent to the directives of leadership
in the southern villages of iraq there was a form of representative voice that was heard in baghdad
now this has translated to
"who will drive the car tonite?"
our (or...their...for i do not permit myself to belong to the ruling ideology of our fair land)
biggest mistake was perhaps more anthropological than strategic or political
the admission that we do not understand the language the culture the history the weltanshaung..if you will...of the people we are fighting against us would perhaps give us some pause to suspend the judgements leading to violence
america is a big truck stuck in the mud upto her axles...gunning spinning
pope benedict has humbly put forth a critique that seeks to elucidate a theme of anti-intellectualism throughout the centuries of europe and manifesting itself fully in USA
it is that tendency to ignore the warp and woof of the intellectual tradition as it has been woven from the time of the dawning of wisdom
that movement that has given rise to radical skepticism
and the positivist spirit that posits: humanity can attain to it's own perfection and satisfaction in the world...there is no need for such superfluities as FAITH...fraught with myth
what are the myths of the humanist agenda?
Reasonable man endowed with reason is sufficient to handle the problems of the world reasonably...OK...yeah...and then what?
from hobbes to descarte to locke to hegel to marx to freud to sartre to heidegger to the american pragmatist school there has been this proponderant emphasis on the ideology of the greatness and potential of man...man and the program of freedom
two question il pap puts forth...
1) is it possible to speak of matters of faith resonably as did Irenaeus of Lyon Basil the Great Clement of Alexandria Athanasius Augustine Anselm of Canterbury Thomas Aquinas Pere Bossuet Ignatius Loyola Benedict of Nursia Hans Urs van Blathasar Henri de Lubac Jacques Maritain et al ??
2) Can Faith inform or participate in the progress of reason? I it possible to have a conversation between established culture and established religion?
in some way the predicament we are in has to do with the curse of fundamentalism...which is a sin against the intellect
i maintain: christian fundamentalism is far more hypocritical than the muslim variety...and therefore more insidious
i will hold to the position that the main focus of hatred in the mind of the extremist position in islam is the perception that the west has allowed for the freedom of atheism...they fear the influx of "western evil" into their well-ordered culture of god-infused daily life
salaam al aleikhem
j
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