...the report reveals the extent of the imperial mindset shared by both Democrats and Republicans...

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1166271550347&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

Advising the Bush administration on how to deal with the Iraq fiasco, the report of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group urges the president to clarify that Washington does not seek to control Iraq's oil.

It then gets down to business and sets out exactly how Washington should take control of Iraq's oil.

The report calls for Iraq to pass a Petroleum Law — to be drafted with U.S. help — that would allow foreign oil companies to develop Iraq's vast and largely undeveloped oil reserves (which, the report notes, are the second-largest in the world).

It's hard not to feel exasperated reading the report. Released in the wake of the Republican trouncing in the U.S. mid-term elections, it generated excitement that George Bush's imperial adventure was finally coming under sharp attack, and that senior figures from both parties would force the president into line.

Instead, the report reveals the extent of the imperial mindset — shared by both Democrats and Republicans — that is the very heart of the problem of American foreign policy in Iraq, and elsewhere.

[Greeby]

1. None of the people on the ISG could call themselves "Democrats"

Through their acts, they gave up that right years ago

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Glad we've got you here...

...to decide who gets to be a Democrat.

[Greeby]

6. General rule of thumb: if you cover for the BFEE

You're not a Democrat

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

7. I guess I don't get it.

The ISG report says dubya is wrong, wrong, wrong and should change his policy. And he's effectively told them to fuck off. I do not see how that makes the members of the ISG bushco shills. I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the reccomendations they make - it sounds like a lot of wishful thinking that might or might not have been useful two and a half years ago. But that hardly means they're covering for Bush.

[enough]

8. How 'bout this.

from the article:

snip>

Yes, the report acknowledges the extent of the Iraq debacle, and outlines a strategy for getting U.S. troops out.

But it's essentially the strategy of the Bush administration: Create an Iraqi army strong enough to handle security — within the context of a U.S.-controlled Iraq.

One senses the impatience inside the White House and the Iraq Study Group. For heaven's sake, it's almost four years since the invasion! How long does it take to get a competent puppet government and army up and running?

The report sets out a vision for extending U.S. control over Iraq. U.S. officials will be embedded everywhere: U.S. soldiers inside the Iraqi army, American trainers inside the Iraqi police, FBI agents inside the interior ministry, CIA agents inside intelligence operations.

snip>


Thanks to the OP for posting this, which is worth reading the whole thing.

[ComerPerro]

2. no one ever takes a swipe at BushCo or Republicans without also blaming dems

or "politicans in general"

[Tellurian]

3. Never let it be said that altruistic motives should interfere

with business as usual where politics are concerned.
Especially when it involves Republican directives.

[ixion]

5. the imperial mindset will be our downfall

just like all the empires before us. How recover will say a great deal about what kind of nation we really are, IMO.

[Morgana LaFey]

9. Correct me if I'm wrong -- I thought their oil was ALREADY under

our control? Or, basically, the control of "our" multinational oil companies??????

I'm seriously confused. If not, what IS the current status of their oil?

[happydreams]

10. Neoliberalism and Trilateralism

In its dominant international use, neoliberalism refers to a political-economic philosophy that de-emphasizes or rejects government intervention in the domestic economy. It focuses on free-market methods, fewer restrictions on business operations, and property rights. In foreign policy, neoliberalism favors the opening of foreign markets by political means, using diplomacy, economic pressure and, for some neoliberals, military might<1>. Opening of markets refers to free trade and an international division of labour. Neoliberalism generally favours multilateral political pressure through international organizations or treaty devices such as the WTO, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. It promotes reducing the role of national governments to a minimum. Neoliberalism favours privatization over direct government intervention and production (such as Keynesianism), and measures success in overall economic gain. To improve efficiency and minimize unemployment, it strives to reject or mitigate labour policies such as minimum wage, and collective bargaining rights. It opposes socialism, protectionism, environmentalism, fair trade, and critics say it impedes democratic rule. Likewise, these critics argue that labour rights and social justice should have a priority in international relations and economics....


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism


....Shortly before Jimmy Carter's election in 1976, Richard Ullman wrote from inside the foreign policy establishment: "In the U.S.- among elites, at any rate-trilateralism has become almost the consensus position on foreign policy." But it was only at the time of Carter's election that the Trilateral Commission was given much media attention. "Sound the Alarm: the Trilateralists are Coming" teased William Greider in a post-inaugural article on the Carter Administration and the Trilateral Commission. Jimmy Carter has picked no less than twenty-five trilateralists to serve in the highest posts of his administration. Besides Brzezinski, founding director of the Trilateral Commission, we find: Vice-President Walter Mondale, (former) Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, (former) Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Paul Volcker....

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Trilateralism/Trilateralism_overview.html