Originally posted by clivex@Nov 14 2007, 12:42 AM
Their energy companies have the hands on a new source of oil and gas.
Their military have had all the budgets increased
Their intelligence agencies have been able to bring in the patriot act giving them unbridled access to monitor and control their population
Their politicans have been able to establish a global primacy
And Bush has been able to settle a family feud
i cant believe you swallow this stuff wabler
1. the energy companies would have had an easier hand on the oil with complete appeasement
2. Why would they want to do that anyway? 99% of Americans are largely happy with the state they live in. the only ones that need monitoring that are an obvious internal threat are the far right libertarian nutters. this isnt china or soviet union with a generally disfunctional oppressed population. You dont need to "control" those that largely support the system they live under
3, Cant have that at all. they have that anyway and the republican ideal is more isolanionist than anything else
4. kill 3000 new york citizens to do so? u must really have a warped view of him to believe that. And again...the risks
An easier hand doesn't equal ownership. Invasion occupation and putting a compliant puppet into Iraq does. Why take the risk of negotiating when you have the military power to make it unnecessary?
99% of Americans are happy? You know that do you? that still means that even by your own estimates about 3 million aren't. Why do you think that supposed democracies are above such things. Governments of all sorts and colours have aspired to impose this level of monitoring on their populations if they could get away with it. It's not just governments either, how valuable do you think this information could be commercially? I vividly remember receiving a demonstration from one such monitoring company (who operate under the guise of credit referencing - and yes they are American). They brought up on screen a plan of my house, correctly identified which bedroom I slept in and could tell me just about everything I'd spent money on recently. The Soviets would have killed for this level of surveilance, the simple fact is, they lacked the technology so had to rely on ostentatious shows of force and marching around in jack boots etc The Americans by contrast completely outstrip the Soviets in terms of the scale that they can operate at. An American friend of mine had never met her father, and at the age of 40 this had troubled her for years. Eventually after she'd subjected me to yet another flood of tears I said I'd try and track him down (even though he was clearly determind not to be found). Based on a mis-spelling and a DoB I failed, and eventually paid $25 to an agency in Georgia. Within 10 minutes of my card clearing they came back with an address, phone number (including cell phone) and contact details for a half brother and sister she didn't know existed. For extra money they offered me a criminal record, credit rating, and pyschological profile.
The Republicans might be isolationist (or to be more precise a certain Taftest wing of the party from which GWB originates is) but I really don't believe you can invoke this to suggest that they aren't interested in establishing a global hegenmony when all the evidence points to the contrary.
I'm sure you'll conceed, as it's a matter of the record (re post of 11.22) that I'm not pointing the finger at GWB. Indeed, that post indicates that the drive behind any conspiracy is not likely to have had political origins, although some high ranking members of his administration would have needed to be party to its formulation and implementation. The first time I was alerted to what was going on (and I too chose to dismiss it as incredulous as well) was in 1997, when Bush was Governor of Texas.
It's hardly an original observation, but as has been said more famously before "follow the money"
