George Will spoke a powerful truth today.

[chieftain]

He described the Iraq adventure as imperialistic. i.e. the US is deploying military force in order to impose its will on a foriegn territory to secure various nationalistic interests. He went on to say that this raises the question whether a modern democracy equipped with pervasive uncontrolled sources of communication can function as an imperial power.
What we on DU know is that the answer to that fundamental question that Will poses is a resounding no. The recent poll that showed that an overwhelming majority of Americand reject the idea of deep US involvement in the internal affairs of other companies is confirming of our answer.
One of the minor reasons that spurred the RW war lords to invade a non threatening country was to snap our country out of what they viewed as a debilitating post- Vietnam syndrome.
The idiots have inadvertenly rekindled anti war sentiment and we need to punish the war party at the ballot box to make sure no administration ever tries this kind of immoral stupidity again.

[Vickers]

1. Sounds like George Will wants them to take away our internets.

"raises the question whether a modern democracy equipped with pervasive uncontrolled sources of communication can function as an imperial power"

How many here would know about Wee Cowboy's fuckups if it wasn't for the internets? :shrug:

[soupkitchen]

2. I thought the question should be

"Why would a modern democracy want to function as an imperial power?"

[AndyTiedye]

3. Didn't Have the Internet during the Vietnam Era...

and that didn't go so well for them either.

[RazzleDazzle]

18. but the media wasn't quite as controlled as it is now so

it was about equall, all in all. Some of us remember seeing real video of real war broadcast during our nightly dinnners.

Having learned its lesson from that, the Pentagon won't even let us see caskets for this war.

[AndyTiedye]

29. That is True. We Still Had a Free Press Back Then

Now they own it all.

[pretzel4gore]

10. george will is a paid prostitute

he sold his arse to the pig long ago...you're darn right....

[jimshoes]

11. I think you have

called that one correctly. Because if not for the net these thugs would have controlled the "message" completely through their media outlets. And I do think that was the plan right from the beginning. Thanks should go to those that afforded the masses with this medium. It may have saved America from the PNAC'ers. Time will tell however.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. He would rather that we be an imperial power

than that we be a democracy? I didn't see it, so I don't know the gist of what he was saying, but was he advocating ending our democracy so that we can freely persue imperialism?

With George Will, it wouldn't surprise me.

[IndianaGreen]

15. Censorship will take care of the "uncontrolled sources of communication"

Controlling the MSM isn't enough if people can get their news from the internet.

George Will is nothing but a Fascist with a bow tie.

[keta11]

4. Wasn't he for the war when the going was good?

Sometimes I wonder how smart these clowns that are held in so high a regard really are. Most of us here on DU could see where this was going when the boy king started saying in 2002 that "Poland" was an imminent threat.

[niallmac]

5. I think WE should be writing the opinion columns and

the George Wills of the world should just spend their days reading them.
We always seem to be about five years ahead of the big media curve.

[tularetom]

6. IMO that's exactly what is happening now

[marew]

7. So true, so very true!

I was in my 20's during the Nixon fiasco and got into a major argument with my then father-in-law. I said very specifically that with all that was going on there was no doubt that Nixon would someday leave office in disgrace. They thought I was the one out of touch. Just like W...he was a major loser, is a major loser, and will always be a major loser. Where are peoples heads? You would have to be deaf and blind not to see through these corrupt self-serving jerks.

[Canuckistanian]

9. So, what do you predict for Shrub?

Will he leave office in disgrace, too?

[marew]

17. I can only hope!

Based on pure speculation on my part, I think we are stuck with this creep for 3 more years. (Oh, do I hope I am wrong on that!) I think what shrub has done and is involved in makes Nixon look like a two-bit criminal. But shrub and the family are much more powerful and with seriously powerful supporters and allies. Just look, shrub has always used family influence to get what he wants. He was barely an average student and got legacy admissions (which he openly admitted) to Yale and Harvard. If he earned 'real' degrees from either, I'm Cleopatra reincarnated. He is dumber than dirt. (When he was in South America recently, he looked at a map and commented, "Wow, Brazil is big!" You remember he asked Charlotte Church, who speaks with an unmistakable accent, what state Wales was in. And on, and on.) He is completely incapable of any form of introspective thought. Everything he touched, he destroyed but was always bailed out by daddy's friends. He was a drunk and drug user until he was 40 (probably is now too) and by age 55 he became president? Not without a tremendous amount of help. I believe because of name recognition and/or he may be truly mentally ill and easily suggestible or whatever, he was plucked by others to be a figurehead so to speak. I think that many years after we are gone, there may be a big revelation about what a lunatic he really was. I could very well be wrong, of course, but something is seriously not right with this picture.

[chosen_one]

8. there was nothing done

'inadvertently' or out of 'immoral stupidity'.

Everything the Bush Empire does is planned. The mass-murder and chaos are deliberate.

[Mz Pip]

12. How true

Everything BushCo does is planned. What they didn't plan for was the outcome. They thought this would be easy - a small country, with a morally bankrupt leader would readily embrace those who brought about Saddam's fall. And Voila'! THe surrounding countries would get theri acts together and embrace democracy, too. Couldn't be simpler in the minds of these arrogant Neocons.

They missed the memo about how countries aren't too welcoming of those they believe are occupiers.

:hi: Welcome to DU

Mz Pip
:dem:

[newyawker99]

14. Hi chosen_one!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[LunaC]

16. George Will must have discovered the PNAC agenda

See link in sig line for details

[grasswire]

19. egad, that's frightening

Is he sending up the trial balloon?

In his syndicated column today, he denounces those who do not behave with civil manners. (A point well taken, but he could be communicating a desire for more UNIFORMITY, too.)

We're watchin' ya, George. Don't be donning that brown shirt, now.

[chieftain]

21. I really don't think there was anything sinister

in his comments. He did not imply that the internet should be regulated, rather he put on the table the idea that a modern democracy cannot sustain imperialist ambitions. I agree with that proposition and would argue that war parties will never be able to sustain power unless they are willing to overthrow the Constitution.
He said nothing that would indicate that he would side with the Fascists. Indeed several of his recent pronouncements would seem to presage an abandonment of his support for this Neocon conned administration of soon to be cons.
Democrats have been presented with the ultimate wedge issue. We have a huge opportunity to drive a stake in the imperialist/ religious right because most Americans believe that we should mind our own business in international and personal affairs. To read Will lately is to see that even one of W's most sycophantic cheerleaders is beginning to be repelled by what he sees.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

20. He's been kind of interesting to watch lately. He is conservative

and not happy with what * is doing to his party and beliefs.

Not long ago he said something about them disproving or ruining everything he believes in.

A conservative who is growing uneasy.

[grasswire]

22. the Bushes dine at the Will home...

...and I wonder if that has changed? Will is the ultimate Washington society insider, part of the group that considers itself the "rock" of the establishment -- the group that believes that politicians will come and go but the Washington establishment will remain in charge. The Cosmos Club, Alfalfa Society group.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

23. Hard to imagine at this point, given what Will is thinking and given

*'s aversion to hearing "truth" unless it is HIS truth.

And just given how unhappy Will is about it all.

But that's my perspective. I couldn't, wouldn't ever want to be around * cause I could not be polite. And I wouldn't wanna deal with the whole thing.

[chieftain]

25. I'm not carrying water for Will, but the ideas he has been

positing over the past few weeks are relevant to what the country is facing and consistent with what the anti- Iraq voices have been saying. To capitalize on his musing does not absolve him of his past misdeeds including but not limited to using a stolen Mondale briefing book to help Reagan in debate preparation. After all , even a blind pig finds an acorn every once in awhile.

[AX10]

24. KICK

:kick:

He must have found out about PNAC.

[Crunchy Frog]

26. If he didn't already know about PNAC

he must have been in coma. I don't find that very plausible. If he's suddenly decided that he doesn't like the war, it's because it's gone sour and become unpopular, not because he's had any great new revelations. JMO.

[xchrom]

27. then it was an accident.

[chieftain]

28. I grant you that . Nonetheless, the US and the world will be.

exponentially better off when our politicians realize that launching imperial adventures is the surest way to be consigned to the dustbin of history. The appeal of a staged aircraft carrier landing will have little attraction, when elected officials finally internalize that the great bulk of the American people will not tolerate long, drawn out military actions unless our existence as a country is threatened.