Raus! al-Maliki

Raus! Get out! Veterans of WWII would remember the phrase.

Bush basically said the same to Nouri al-Maliki for talking with Syria and Iran. We mustn't have our puppets courting the Axis of Evil, after all. Just like "Bring It ON", W, our Mr. Tough Guy, spoke impulsively, revealing his hand. So now, al-Maliki is a "good guy", as long as he doesn't do bad again by disobeying our wishes. That's democracy, Bush style.

One of the best writers to sort all the players, past and present, is Robert Fisk, writer for the Independent UK. He's been there, not just for brief tours, but for the duration. And his grasp of the history is lucid.

The Iraqis Don't Deserve Us, So We Betray Them
(August 23, 2007)

First, the Americans loved Ahmed Chalabi, the man who fabricated for Washington the"'weapons of mass destruction" (with a hefty bank fraud charge on his back). Then, they loved Ayad Allawi, a Vietnam-style spook who admitted working for 26 intelligence organizations, including the CIA and MI6. Then came Ibrahim al-Jaafari, symbol of electoral law, whom the Americans loved, supported, loved again and destroyed. Couldn't get his act together. It was up to the Iraqis, of course, but the Americans wanted him out. And the seat of the Iraqi government -- a never-never land in the humidity of Baghdad's green zone -- lay next to the largest US embassy in the world. So goodbye, Ibrahim.

Saddam Hussein: A Dictator Created Then Destroyed By America
(December 30, 2006)

Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.

You can see the trend line from reading more in these stories. We are the puppet master, and we will not be leaving, let the Devil take the hindmost.

…that is, until he takes our hindmost.

For extra credit read this interesting book, written in 1999, just before the bubble burst:

D E V I L T A K E T H E H I N D M O S T
A History of financial speculation from the Roman Empire to the present brims with bad tidings.
BY EDWARD CHANCELLOR

"I daily hear such reports of advantages to be gaind by one project or other in the Stocks, that my Spirit is Up with double Zeal, in the desire of our trying to enrich ourselves."

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