Still Think America Isn't an Empire?

There is no end to the expansion of the welfare/warfare state. It reaches into virtually every aspect of American life.

"A Global Force for Good"?

The U.S. Navy unveils its new slogan -- and no longer tries to conceal its true mission:

Anyone still want to argue that the U.S. is not imperialistic?

Ron Paul on Bill Maher's Show

War with Pakistan and Mexico?

The U.S. military has its eye on Pakistan and Mexico as countries considered to be on the brink of collapse. The Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2008 Report (PDF) states:

Some forms of collapse in Pakistan would carry with it the likelihood of a sustained violent and bloody civil and sectarian war, an even bigger haven for violent extremists, and the question of what would happen to its nuclear weapons. That "perfect storm" of uncertainty alone might require the engagement of U.S. and coalition forces into a situation of immense complexity and danger with no guarantee they could gain control of the weapons and with the real possibility that a nuclear weapon might be used.

The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.

How is this any different from the U.S. government's justification for war with Iraq?

Ron Paul on Foreign Aid to Georgia

Ron Paul is hated because he is the only representative in Washington willing to stand up to the corrupt establishment:

How dare he question the bureaucratic elitists!

A Brand New World

After what we've done to Iraq and numerous other nations over the years, what right do we have to condemn Russia for its actions against neighboring Georgia? As Dave Black notes, things have changed since Jefferson's time:

The hypocrisy is appalling, at least to me. That we have become a global hyperpower with imperial ambitions should cause Americans to weep. ...

... Welcome, friends, to a unipolar world in which America allows no peer competitor. A world in which the right of aggression is reserved only to the United States and perhaps a handful of its chosen clients. A world in which lies become truth if repeated often enough. A world in which virtuous declarations of intent suffice to lull a passive citizenry to sleep. A world in which countries with atrocious human rights records are coddled because they support our "war on terror." A world of moral hypocrisy and political double standards.

The Heart of the Conflict in Georgia

F. William Engdahl's perspective on the Caucasus conflict is one you won't get from the mainstream press:

Russia threatens Georgia, but Georgia threatens Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia looks like a crocodile to Georgia, but Georgia looks to Russia like the cat's paw of the West. Since Saakashvili took power in late 2003, the Pentagon has been in Georgia giving military aid and training. Not only are U.S. military personnel active in Georgia today, according to an Israeli-intelligence source, Debkafile, in 2007 Saakashvili "commissioned from private Israeli security firms several hundred military advisers, estimated at up to 1,000, to train the Georgian armed forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery combat tactics."

It was reported further, "They also have been giving instruction on military intelligence and security for the central regime. Tbilisi also purchased weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems from Israel. These advisers were undoubtedly deeply involved in the Georgian army's preparations to conquer the South Ossetian capital Friday."

Debkafile also reported, "Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia, finally threatening a crisis in bilateral relations. Israel responded by saying that the only assistance rendered to Tbilisi was 'defensive.'"

The Israeli news source added that Israel's interest in Georgia had to do as well with Caspian oil pipeline geopolitics. "Jerusalem has a strong interest in having Caspian oil and gas pipelines reach the Turkish terminal port of Ceyhan, rather than the Russian network. Intense negotiations are afoot between Israel, Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan for pipelines to reach Turkey and thence to Israel's oil terminal at Ashkelon and on to its Red Sea port of Eilat. From there, supertankers can carry the gas and oil to the Far East through the Indian Ocean."

This means that the attack on South Ossetia is the first battle in a new proxy warfare between Anglo-American-Israeli led interests and Russia. The only question is whether Washington miscalculated the swiftness and intensity of the Russian response to the Georgian attacks of August 8.

Read the entire article here.

Our New Declaration of Independence

(Originally drafted on July 3, 2002)

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another; a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which compel them to make that separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations reduces them to despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patience of these fifty states; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their system of government. The history of the present federal government is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all working toward the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world:

It has refused to abide by the strict guidelines of the United States Constitution, and has instead decided that it alone will decide what is necessary for the public good.

It has forbidden state legislatures to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, and has allowed the federal judiciary to strike down countless state laws as unconstitutional, in clear violation of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution.

It has refused all states the proper control of land within their respective borders and has instead used its power to confiscate even more property.

It has enacted legislation, on issues ranging from alcohol consumption to the ownership of firearms, for the sole purpose of forcing states and individual citizens into compliance with its wishes.

It has unlawfully persecuted, under various administrations, citizens and organizations for opposing its invasions on the rights of the people.

It has continued to pass laws affecting campaign financing and election procedures that have only served to exclude ordinary citizens from the political process.

It has endeavored to prevent states from taking steps to curb illegal immigration and has refused to protect the sovereign borders of this nation.

It has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing to equally apply the laws it passes to members of the federal government.

It has allowed judges to become dependent upon their own political ideology without any regard for the Constitution.

It has established a multitude of new bureaucracies, and has sent out swarms of officers to harass the people.

It has maintained, in times of peace, standing armies both here on our shores and overseas.

It has effectively rendered the military independent of and superior to the civil authority.

It has subjected us to things foreign to our Constitution, giving its assent to burdensome acts of legislation:

For forcing states to quarter illegal immigrants.

For protecting them and refusing to deport even those convicted of serious crimes.

For implementing protectionist measures that have limited our ability to engage in free trade with all parts of the world.

For imposing taxes, hidden or otherwise, without our consent.

For threatening to deprive us, in times of perceived crisis, of the benefits of trial by jury.

For federalizing offenses that should remain under the jurisdiction of the states.

For implementing a foreign policy that has this nation engaged in costly and unnecessary entanglements overseas.

For taking away state sovereignty, abolishing federalism, and altering fundamentally our entire system of government.

For superseding state legislatures, and investing in Congress the power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever; including areas such as employment, health care, education, and housing, among others.

It has waged war against citizens of the United States by using armed troops to enforce unconstitutional laws.

It has denied states the control over valuable natural resources within their own borders.

It is, at this time, engaged in armed conflict overseas without a formal and constitutional declaration of war.

It has turned businesses into government agencies, forcing workers to report the "suspicious" activities of their fellow citizens to authorities.

It has succeeded, through its interventionist policies, in funding and arming enemies of the United States of America.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A government, whose character is marked by every act which may define a tyranny, is unfit to be the government of a free people.

We have warned them from time to time of attempts by Congress, the president, and the judiciary to extend an unwarranted jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of the founding of our nation. We have appealed to their sense of justice and fair play, and we have appealed to the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They have been deaf to the voice of justice and of reason. We must, therefore, hold them as we hold the rest of mankind - enemies in war, friends in peace.

We, therefore, the people of the United States of America, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our intentions, do solemnly publish and declare, that these states are, and of right ought to be, free and independent; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the existing federal government, and that as free and independent states, they have full authority to reassume those powers guaranteed to the states and the people by the Constitution. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

If the Media Won't Report Our "Progress" in Iraq, Cal Thomas Will

Cal Thomas is irked that the dreaded, liberal mainstream media isn't reporting all the positive stories coming out of Iraq. In his latest column, he bemoans the fact that while the New York Times did mention (albeit reluctantly) that overall violence in Iraq is down since 2004, it completely ignored the news of the Iraqi government awarding contracts to 41 foreign oil firms.

You see, imperialism does have its perks. Forget for a moment that suicide bombings were non-existent in Iraq before we invaded. Forget that widespread sectarian violence, the imposition of Sharia law in Iraqi communities, and the mass exodus of Christians are also post-invasion occurrences. The real sign of progress is that the puppet regime we installed has kindly agreed to allow us to further meddle in the internal affairs of the nation -- you know, just as we would do if someone were to invade our country, overthrow our government, and maintain a permanent military presence.

Thomas believes the biased reporting on the part of the media will have implications on the upcoming election. He concludes, "Since journalists never acknowledge errors of judgment or wrong predictions and are never held accountable when they err, that job must fall to John McCain." Yes, I'm sure that old war horse will prove to be every bit as much of a conservative savior as George W. Bush.

I will say that Thomas gets it half right: Media coverage of the war in Iraq has been lacking. But the problem isn't that it has been too critical; it's that it hasn't been critical enough.

Christian Statism: Killing for the Gospel?

(This was originally posted at The Contemporary Calvinist.)

"The War Prayer" is a short story that was written during the aftermath of the Philippine-American War by Mark Twain and published after his death. In 2007, Markos Kounalakis, the president of The Washington Monthly, adapted the text for this animated short film.

This could easily have been written in response to the current "war on terror." We really haven't changed all that much.

Consider how many churches display the American flag prominently in their pulpits. Is it any wonder why we seem to have such a hard time drawing a distinction between loyalty to Christ and loyalty to country?

A couple of months ago, I heard a comment that saddened me deeply. In the context of discussing how the brutality of bin Laden and other Muslim thugs may be turning people away from Islam, someone mentioned that it's good for Christianity to have the U.S. military involved in the Middle East, and that having Christian GIs in Iraq will help spread the gospel.

Oh. Is that why we invaded Iraq and killed hundreds of thousands of people? It was all part of furthering God's kingdom?

What we did was commit a naked act of aggression against a sovereign nation that neither attacked nor threatened us. Our "liberation" of Iraq has since given rise to terrorist groups that weren't there before and has resulted in a great amount of bloodshed. It has also displaced thousands of Christians who now face violent persecution from militant Muslims. Do American Christians now feel we must justify the actions of our government on the basis that it will help spread the gospel?

My friend Dave Black asks, "How is that we have allowed the Christian Right to be defined by delusional idealism and religious zeal? How is it that American evangelicals not only approved but actually glamorized the war as a form of Christian 'mission'?"

As a Christian and a Calvinist, I understand that God controls all things and does ordain evil for good (Genesis 50:20). But we as Christians should never equate the spreading of the gospel with the use of military force. We are fighting a spiritual war (Ephesians 6:12-13) and our weapon of choice is the "sword of the spirit" (Ephesians 6:17). We should be prepared to give our own lives for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 16:25, John 12:24-25), not to take the lives of others.

The Fruits of Interventionism

President Bush on the war in Iraq:

Our enemies in Iraq are good at filling hospitals, but they do not build any. They can incite men to murder and suicide, but they cannot inspire men to live, and hope, and add to the progress of their country. The terrorists' only influence is violence, and their only agenda is death.

Our agenda, in contrast, is freedom and independence, security and prosperity for the Iraqi people. And by removing a source of terrorist violence and instability in the Middle East, we also make our own country more secure.

Our coalition has a clear goal, understood by all -- to see the Iraqi people in charge of Iraq for the first time in generations. America's task in Iraq is not only to defeat an enemy, it is to give strength to a friend -- a free, representative government that serves its people and fights on their behalf. And the sooner this goal is achieved, the sooner our job will be done.

The reality, however, is that the Iraqi people are facing threats they never knew before -- even under the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein. From Newsweek:

The insurgents have been driven out of her southwest Baghdad neighborhood, but the 30-year-old shop assistant is still frightened. A year ago Al Qaeda in Iraq ruled the streets outside her home, and Mahdi Army militia units kept the area under relentless attack. Now the Iraqis who helped get rid of the killers are the ones who scare her. The Americans imposed order a few months ago by recruiting and paying local men to turn in the names of suspected jihadists. Similar armed groups have popped up all around the city. Each has its own bizarre rules; some threaten to kill women who don't wear veils in public. The shop assistant is in mourning for her brother, who was killed last May, but she's asking for trouble if she wears black more than three days running. According to the new enforcers in her neighborhood, anyone who dresses in mourning is committing blasphemy by questioning the will of God. ...

... Saddam's Iraq at least offered women the protection of enforced secularism; they were encouraged to study at universities and to pursue professional careers. That changed in the 1990s as the dictator began to rely on tribal sheiks to prop up his rule, while U.N. sanctions drove families into poverty and reduced opportunities for women. Americans arriving in 2003 hoped to make the new Iraq a showcase for gender equality. But women's advocates say that dream fell by the wayside as violence engulfed the country.

Another "liberation" success story.

"Curve Ball" Revealed

From CBS News:

60 Minutes has identified the man whose fabricated story of Iraqi biological weapons drove the U.S. argument for invading Iraq. It has also obtained video of "Curve Ball," as he was known in intelligence circles, and discovered he was not only a liar, but also a thief and a poor student instead of the chemical engineering whiz he claimed to be.

60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon's two-year investigation will be broadcast this Sunday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Curve Ball is an Iraqi defector named Rafid Ahmed Alwan, who arrived at a German refugee center in 1999. To bolster his asylum case and increase his importance, he told officials he was a star chemical engineer who had been in charge of a facility at Djerf al Nadaf that was making mobile biological weapons.

Full story and video here.

The Iraq Trap

According to blogger James Lewis, Iraq is an "ant trap" for al Qaeda:

You don't shoot poisonous fire-ants with a BB gun; you just set an ant trap. Ant colonies are highly "distributed" biological societies, much like the world-wide web. They can't be killed with a BB or a pressure hose; even pouring flaming gasoline on an ant hill won't work.

Instead, you destroy ant colonies by attracting hungry ants to a chemical bait, and then kill them all in one small place. Ant traps work.

That's the Bush strategy in Iraq. Al Qaeda isn't centralized, with big cities or steel industries like Nazi Germany. So you can't destroy the enemy by hunting them one by one. Rather, you bait a trap -- provoke them to come to you, and make sure they don't get out alive.

Please. Are we really expected to believe the president is that bright? Setting a trap for al Qaeda in Iraq was never the plan. Besides, if we really believe they are so decentralized, then why do we brag about every second-rate al Qaeda "leader" we kill or take into custody?

Lewis goes on:

In Afghanistan, they have been on the run since 2003, although the Pakistan border regions continue to supply new recruits. But in Afghanistan they are being destroyed before ever reaching the cities. Add that to a sizable numbers neutralized in Pakistan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and more. Add to that the cells pinpointed in Europe and America, the Philippines and Indonesia. We are wiping out the fire ants wherever they can be found.

At that attrition rate, every single year we stay in Iraq, we could get rid of another couple of thousand AQ fighters. Yes, we pay a high price -- but nothing like the price that baddies running loose and attacking us at home would exact.

I see. By staying focused in Iraq, we are able to wipe out terrorism throughout the entire world. Is anyone else having trouble following this guy's "logic"? Oh, it gets better.

The syndicated sycophant reveals to us the real reason we are in Iraq: "We therefore have hundreds of thousands of military surrounding the next biggest problem, Tehran." (Seriously. Who didn't see that coming?)

The fact remains that we lose more Americans every day in Afghanistan and Iraq. And yet the ruling elite in Washington and their willing accomplices on both the Left and the Right want us to set our sights on Iran. When will they begin to realize that we are creating more "terrorists" than we can kill?

Iraq was a trap, all right. And we are the ones who fell into it.

Libertarian Filmmaker Aaron Russo Passes Away

Aaron Russo, who produced such Hollywood hits as Trading Places and The Rose, passed away on Friday, August 24, after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.

Over the last decade, Russo gained popularity as a political activist, candidate, and Ron Paul supporter. But those of us in conservative/libertarian circles will remember him for his most recent film, America: From Freedom to Fascism.

He will be missed.

You can view America: From Freedom to Fascism in its entirety on Google Video.

Iraq Is Safe...for Members of Congress

Desperate to justify their unconstitutional invasion of Iraq, many members of Congress have flown to the war-torn country for the obligatory photo-op with smiling Iraqis and proud U.S. soldiers. It's as if they're saying, "See? Iraq isn't as bad as the pictures you're shown by the liberal, anti-war media. Our pictures show the truth of just how good things are over here."

Here are a couple of shots from Senator John McCain's recent visit:

Not pictured are the other 100-plus soldiers, the armored Humvees, the sharpshooters on the rooftops, and the attack helicopters circling overhead. Yes, if nothing else, these images prove just how free and safe Iraq is with Saddam out of the picture.

Too bad these pictures aren't being shown to the Iraqis. Some of them are still under the impression that with all the car bombings, sniper shootings, and gun fights in the streets, their homeland really isn't the democratic utopia our government says it is.

What's Good for the Goose-Stepper...

The Financial Times is reporting on Germany's military expansion:

Germany will on Wednesday adopt the most radical restructuring of its military since 1945, turning the Bundeswehr into an international intervention force, according to an internal cabinet strategy paper obtained by the Financial Times.

The paper, which will be endorsed at a special cabinet meeting in the defence ministry, is the product of a review – the first of its kind since 1994 – begun by Angela Merkel, chancellor, after she won office last November. It will see Germany's military officially abandon its primary postwar task of defending the country's borders in favour of a more robust role for German troops on international missions.

It seems the Germans are following our example.

Fighting Terror with Tyranny

According to the pseudoconservatives, Congress effectively declared war when it passed a resolution, P.L. 107-243 (pdf), authorizing the president to use military force against Iraq. There are three main problems with this reasoning.

First of all, though the resolution does reference the "threat" posed by Iraq, it also talks specifically about dealing with those who were involved with the 9/11 attacks. Iraq wasn't involved.

Secondly, the resolution calls for the U.S. to "enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." I don't know about you, but I have a problem with a multi-national coalition enforcing the will of a global, socialist organization. Under any other circumstances, we would call that world government.

Thirdly, Congress authorized the president to use the "Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate." This isn't anything even remotely resembling a declaration of war. Either we are in a state of war, or we aren't. This resolution merely passes the buck to the president, allowing one man to determine whether or not we are at war. If this were any other country, that kind of power in the hands of one man would be called tyranny.

Why are so many people willing to destroy our constitutional republic in order to save it?

The Purple Finger

A thought-provoking article from Charley Reese on the Iraqi elections.

Sith Happens

As if "conservatives" didn't already have enough anti-American institutions to boycott, now there's Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith. To paraphrase the Bard, "The neocons doth protest too much, methinks."

Read my latest article, Revenge of the Sith: Science Fiction or Subversive Propaganda?, on EverVigilant.net.

The Quotable Dr. Black

Dr. David Alan Black, editor of DaveBlackOnline.com, is one of the most insightful and perceptive writers on the web today. It's quotes like this that keep me going back to his site for more:

We seem to be living in a time when we have acquired an Empire on which the sun never sets, and have lost a Republic on which the sun never rises.

Forgetful that our nation was founded upon the ideal of a limited, constitutional government, and proclaiming the "wonder-working power" of democracy in place of the Gospel, we strut along in self-absorbed importance.

(Read the full article, "Thoughts on the Anniversary of a War.")

Keep up the good work, Dave!