A Nation Without a Conscience

We are a nation without a conscience, and that friends, is a frightening thing.  Far more frightening than any terrorist group could ever be to this nation. Recently I discussed with a friend, the folly of our 23 year war on Iraq.  I cited the example of the US imposing the most brutal sanctions in the history of the world on an innocent people.  Nothing was allowed into their country, and as the sanctions took their deadly toll the rest of the world pleaded with us to remove them, but to no avail.  Children and the elderly were the hardest hit by the sanctions, as the sick and the infirmed always suffer most in cases like this.  In a 1996 famous interview on 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl asked then Secretary of State Madeline Albright a powerful question.  “We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" Without blinking Ms. Albright answered, “Yes we think it is worth it.”  I gasped, and was breathless and speechless for a couple of minutes, when I heard her answer.  What could be worth the lives of 650,000 children, most of whom were less than 6 years old? What could ever be worth that?  I was stunned that Ms. Albright could even get the words out, but was even more shocked when the entire nation barely raised their eyes at Ms. Albright’s comment.  The entire nation, somewhat like Ms. Albright did not blink at the deaths of 650,000 children.  There was no outrage or real anger among the American public. I was shocked yet again, and I am still stunned by the indifference of the US public, to the policy of taking 650,000 innocent children’s lives and apparently have no real regret, remorse, or even anger.  There was, and still is, practically no reaction to the mass killing of 650,000 children.   What kind of a nation kills 650,000 completely innocent children and does not blink?

When I brought up the case of the sanctions and the deaths of 650,000 children, my friend just looked at me; no shock, no horror, nor remorse, or anger.  Nothing. My friend showed the same indifference as did the US public, towards a government policy which took the lives of 650,000 innocent children.  Look into the eyes of the Iraqi children in above the photo?  Do you approve of killing 650,000 kids like those? Does it bother you that your government killed so many children like those in the picture? Do you have a conscience? Did you ever protest the deaths of so many innocent children?

To illustrate the folly of US policy towards Iraq, I pursued the next argument, by pointing out that this nation killed over 1.5 million Iraqis, and I dared or challenged that friend to tell me what they were killed for?  There is no logical reason, for the entire war was based on lies and distorted evidence. It was a war of choice. There were no WMD in Iraq. It was all for naught.  The deaths of 1.5 million were for nothing. I pressed this point to my friend and just got a blank stare. No shock at the 1.5 million, no shame, nothing. This nation did not care about the 650,000 innocent dead children, so why would they get upset about 1.5 million Iraqi deaths? We were not angry because individuals lied us into a war that caused the deaths of 1.5 million people.  We just do not care; we have no conscience.  We have never admitted wrongdoing, and no one has ever been held accountable for the 650,000 dead children and 1.5 million dead Iraqis who died for no reason.  As a people and a nation we have no conscience, and a nation without a conscience is to be feared by all.

Good beheading vs bad beheading. What’s the difference??

After 20 years of slaying evil dragons and failing, we have the mother of all dragons to slay. These evil dragons behead their victims, so we must take up arms and begin a “long “war according to the President, to slay the latest in a long series of dragons.  This should not be confused with the short war of 13 years in Afghanistan, and the first invasion of Iraq, followed by the Mission Accomplished short war against Iraq that all began over 20 years ago.  This one, warns the President, will be “long”. Why war now? Because these savage folks, our latest enemy, actually behead their victims.  At least two Americans have been beheaded in public spectacles and the nation has been in a state of horror.  But questions must be addressed.  Why are some beheadings so barbarically horrible, while others appear to be acceptable? Is it the act, or who commits the act, that makes it barbaric or not so barbaric? 

For example, on the same day the first American reporter was beheaded which shocked this nation, our good friend in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, beheaded 19 people and we did not even blink.  How come no horror and shock??  How come no bombs for them?  Why did the beheading of 19 people in one day not even make mainstream news? Some might argue they were guilty of serious crimes, but those folks don’t know what the Saudi system of justice is like.  They do not have trial by jury, they do not have trial. Someone of influence just says you are guilty and that’s it. Were these “good” beheadings?

Other recent examples that did not bother us comes to mind.  During our best friend’s horrific bombing of Gaza, a mother was asked to identify the dead body of her infant child.  She could not identify her own child because the head was missing.  Why was this beheading so acceptable, while the beheading of the reporter so horrible? Is it the act itself, or does it depend on who is doing the beheading, or how it its done? Is beheading an infant with a missile, any different than using a knife?  Is the end result any different? Is this a “good” beheading?

What about the Free Syrian Army, the so called “good guys” in Syria, whom we have been and will continue to help.  They beheaded 6 people, and once again it was not a big issue. Why no bombs for them? Were those 6 beheadings “good” beheadings?

Another example from Gaza involved a father who had to claim his daughter’s body at two different hospitals because his daughter’s body had been cut into two separate pieces, with each part being brought to a different hospital. Why was there no outrage here? We did not blink at this “beheading”. It did not even make mainstream news. Is it because our friend did the beheading so it’s ok? Was this a “good” beheading?

US drones have killed hundreds of innocents in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  We have wiped out at least 7 complete weddings with all the guests killed.  Witnesses tell us and Amnesty International, that body parts were strewn all over the place and remains could not be identified. In one of those weddings 46 innocents were killed including the bride. Hajj Khan, an elderly man who survived, had been holding his grandson's hand as they walked toward the groom's village. According to a British paper, the Guardian, a bomb strike threw Mr. Khan to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he said, "I was still holding my grandson's hand but the rest of him was gone. I looked around and saw pieces of bodies everywhere." Is that beheading and the many others like it from US drones not horrible and repulsive because we did it? Why didn’t that beheading even make mainstream news? Was the beheading of Mr. Khan’s grandson a “good” beheading?

Is a public beheading any more inhuman than the botched legal execution of an American citizen in a state penitentiary which used experimental drugs causing an agonizing death which took over 43 minutes? 

 Are these “beheadings” any worse or more barbaric than the two reporter’s beheadings?  Why was the beheading of ISIS so barbaric, but we don’t even count our beheadings and slaughters, and those done by our friends? Just think about it. Could you be a victim of propaganda for the sake of war?  Did you buy into the WMD in Iraq?  Are you old enough to have bought in to the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

Martha’s Easiest and Best Recipe for World Disaster

Bomb Libya into oblivion creating chaos, lawlessness, and a failed state.

Pour in quickly weapons and yeast and watch the radical extremists “rise” to get control of most of Libya.

Add heavy weapons to the civil war in Syria insuring more bloodshed and anarchy.

Sponsor Al-Qaida like groups and even worse, with weapons to fight Assad in Syria.

Support our friend’s merciless bombing of Gaza and send them new fresh bombs when our friends run low, thus insuring more killing.

Add to the mix the killing of over 500 children in Gaza.

In a separate bowl add the most brutal sanctions ever imposed on any country in the world—Iraq.

Have those sanctions kill over 650,000 children in Iraq. 

Intensify the hatred by having the Secretary of State say on worldwide TV, that she thought the sanctions were worth it, enraging the world and the parents of 650,000 dead children.  

Add slowly, 20 years of no-fly zones and random bombings of that country.

Add two invasions of Iraq including one heaping large cup of “Shock and Awe”

Help induce sectarian hatred in Iraq.

Add a puppet dictator in Iraq and back him 500 million dollars of weapons which are now controlled by extremists.

Insure that dictator is a racist who hates Sunni Arabs.

Unleash drones and wipe out at least 7 entire wedding parties in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Kill more than one million people in Iraq for no legitimate reason.

Have drones kill innocent civilians in Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

When your recipe turns out to be a disaster Martha offers a hint.

Martha’s pointer. Your recipe failed because when you creates chaos, confusion, lawlessness, and you add weapons of all kinds to completely failed states, extremist elements always emerge to take control.

Out of the failed recipe you get ISIS, ISL, while many other radical extremist groups join the fray to get control and seek revenge.

Martha insists the cause of the failed recipe is basic cooking knowledge, and anyone capable of boiling water should know this.

 What to do now that the recipe or the policy is a disaster??

Add more bombs, weapons, and killing, which by the way, is not Martha’s suggestion. Her suggestion is to fire the failed cooks and get more intelligent ones.