From SNAFU to FUBAR

(For translations of the above military acronyms, please see the end of this post. I didn't want to begin with the F word right off the bat. But to paraphrase, let's just say that ever-declining 21st century America has gone from merely crazy to batshit insane.)

Syria. I can't keep up with the developments. Nobody can. But maybe that's the whole idea. When it comes to domestic programs like passing a pallid background check for gun purchases, gridlock rules so that the NRA dollars may flow and the campaign coffers grow. When it comes to war, the speed is lightning fast, because only with war can the defense industry truly profit. Still, it is stunning to witness just how damned fast the support for all-out war is mushrooming, even among the traditional "doves" of the Democratic Party, even among such "progressives" as Keith Ellison. We knew the Democrats were in thrall to Wall Street and big money. If nothing else, war fever is demonstrating once and for all that, with few exceptions, even the so-called Progressive Caucus is corralled by the kinder gentler right wing of the Uniparty. It should probably name itself something else, such as the Loyal Pretend Opposition.

Rather than rehash and repeat some of the best reporting on the situation out there, let me just recommend a few sites: Moon of Alabama, which you can find on the Blogroll to your right. Counterpunch, also on the Blogroll,  today has an excellent in-depth piece on the history of the whole conflict written by Andrew Levine. And nobody can parse the obtuse like Marcy Wheeler.... again on the Blogroll under EmptyWheel. Over at similarly "Rolled" Firedoglake, they're keeping a running rough tally of Congress Critters who are for, against, and waffling. So far, the Fors seem to be winning. Another good overview comes from David Dayen, who in turn points us to a "magnum opus" on the whole conflict by one William Polk (descendent of the same bloody Polk who invaded Mexico during another almost-forgotten military misadventure in the name of pure greed.)  I probably don't even need to suggest that you look outside the United States for information. The Guardian, Al Jazeera and the BBC are just three good sources.

(Reader Larry Lundgren of Sweden points us to the excellent BBC coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis, the under-reporting of which, here in the Land of Weaponized Liberty, is kind of mind-boggling.)

Speaking of waffling, the New York Times is in true schizophrenic mode. It alternates between being an official mouthpiece for White House talking points and doing its own "Doubting Thomas" editorializing. Here's my response to the Editorial Board's latest, calling for a wider international debate: (thanks to AnneEnigma for recommending it in previous thread!)

It strikes me that President Obama's decision to punt the Syria attack to Congress is a cynical fig leaf. It seems designed to give legitimacy and a theatrical democratic flair to an already done deal, and thus finalize the manufactured consent of the governed. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are falling into place like dominoes. There are the usual bloodthirsty hawks, the anguished undecideds obviously looking to make porkbarrel deals, and the usual coterie of staunch doves to add to the contrived suspense. Some of the same Pentagon functionaries who ginned up the Iraq invasion are back in force on cable TV, fomenting fear and patriotism.

John Kerry, according to NBC News, even warned a group of Congressional Democrats that they'd be Neville Chamberlain-like appeasers if they failed to back the Barack attack against Assad. Kerry's bathos should be grounds for immediate firing. But this is America, land of the free and home of Raytheon, whose stock is soaring with anticipated orders of all those $1 million Tomahawk missiles, Sequester be damned. If in doubt, just start following the money. When it comes to war, the deficit scolds and the anti-safety net misanthropes and food stamp cutters all suddenly turn into pliable little balls of humanitarian fluff.

And beware of the propagandistic weasel words, such as "limited", "no boots on the ground", "collateral damage" and "surgical strikes." War is war, and killing is killing. And blowback is inevitable. We never learn.

And speaking of Kerry, here's the shot of the Big Shot now being seen throughout the World (he dined with Hitler before he hated Hitler, I guess):

 

And it seems like only yesterday when Progressive Hawkess Nancy Pelosi beamingly shook hands with Assad before becoming appalled that he was a tyrannical despot mass murderer of children coming from a long hideous line of mass murderers of children:

 

 

SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.

FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.