Books: Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill

So speaking of troop deployment and Bush doctrine, has anyone read Blackwater? I'd be curious to know your thoughts.

My landlords' son Shea left for Iraq last October and comes back for his first leave in one week. He has been commanding his own unit - as staff sgt I think. He's VT Nat'l Guard, and so, as are they(VtNG) all apparently, he's on security and patrol duty: clearing roadways, disarming bombs, staffing checkpoints. He's in Fallujah as best we know from week to week. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say when he's back.

His father films documentaries for alternative energies, filmed and produced the Grace Potter music tour DVD, does odd projects for VtPTv. Shea's mother is a geriatric oncology nurse. A classic "support the troops / end the war last year" household. Okay, flaming "Eastern" liberal which partly explains how we've become friends. They ask me frequently to "explain Bush". It's still striking to me how different the "North" and "South" are in their perceptions of government, foreign policy, social policy, and this war.

So against this backdrop, with my own opinions, and with the facts and opinions provided by my multinational friends (and their respective news sources) via Scotland, it has been an interesting read so far. It requires some slogging through I'm afraid, but provides a narrative I find illuminating.

And off the subject a bit but what ever happened to North Korea? Have they repented recently and I missed it? Last I heard we were in imminent danger of being annihilated.

The Bush Doctrine

From the article linked by clicking on the picture:

[Jimmy Carter, the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner,] came down hard on the Iraq war, saying Bush had taken a "radical departure from all previous administration policies."

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered," he said.

Although I can no longer classify myself as a Democrat[1], I find it hard to imagine ever registering as a Republican, and I tend to listen when Jimmy Carter speaks. I have found myself respecting much of what he has to say over the years, and his criticism of the Bush Administration's foreign policy is interesting to me.

In particular, I agree that pre-emptive war seems impossible ever to justify.

Still, I have at least the vague impression that, though every historical event has its unique characteristics, the Bush Administration's aggression against Iraq has some historical parallel, even within the confines of U.S. history. In the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, for example, it seems that the addition of the explosion of the USS Maine to a list of supposed atrocities committed by Spain was most likely an interpretation of events in line with ulterior motives of certain politicians and William Randolph Hearst. Just as a certain interpretation of intelligence data may have been in line with motives within the Bush Administration. Although it was McKinley who was ultimately pressured politically to go along with war, the fact is that his administration did ultimately go along.

Carter seems to go a bit too far in speaking of "a radical departure from all previous administration policies." Perhaps he refers merely to Bush's departure from policies of the immediately preceding administration. Perhaps, but that would hardly be a news-worthy claim. According to my initial impression of the comment, Carter is claiming that the Bush Administration's policy is a fundamental break, say, even from Theodore Roosevelt's interpretation of the Monroe doctrine. Of course, the philosophical terms are completely different between Roosevelt's doctrine and Bush's; after all, Bush baldly talks about pre-emption, and such honest talk would indeed seem new. But what in principle is the big difference between (a) Roosevelt's claim that we can do whatever we want on the Western Hemisphere and (b) Bush's claim that we can do whatever we want on the Whole Sphere?

I am ready to admit that I have this all completely wrong, as I have little experience thinking carefully, clearly, and deeply about international politics. Anyway, I've been looking for a good excuse to post something to the new Blogger, and I think that the picture of Carter is a good one. :^)

[1] For example, the Democratic Party would have the government not merely permit but actually provide incentives for persons to behave in a way that I find gravely immoral and damaging to society. And then there's the whole abortion issue.

Jimmie Makes the New York Times!

In Wednesday' s edition of the New York Times, there was a story about the Navy's "exercises" in the Persian Gulf off the Iranian coastline. "Exercises" being a gentle euphemism for "flexing their military muscles". Anyway, Jimmie's ship (Bonhomme Richard) is mentioned a couple of times in the article. So if you were wondering where he is right now, now you know.
Here is the article:

The U.S. Navy staged its latest show of military force off the Iranian coastline on Wednesday, sending two aircraft carriers and landing ships packed with 17,000 U.S. Marines and sailors to carry out unannounced exercises in the Persian Gulf.
The carrier strike groups led by the USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz were joined by the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard and its own strike group, which includes landing ships carrying members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The Navy said nine U.S. warships passed through the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. Merchant ships passing through the busy strait carry two-fifths of the world's oil exports.
Aircraft aboard the two carriers and the Bonhomme Richard were to conduct air training while the ships ran submarine, mine and other exercises.
The maneuvers came just two months after a previous exercise in March when two U.S. carrier groups carried out two days of air and sea maneuvers off the Iranian coast.
Before the arrival of the Bonhomme Richard strike group, the Navy maintained around 20,000 U.S personnel at sea in the Gulf and neighboring waters.
U.S. warships have frequently collided with merchant ships in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf.

Eggs

I went to the end of our street and around the corner to buy eggs yesterday at a really pretty farmhouse. I knew folks were home because the key was still in the front door. I asked Petra if she had eggs today and she said she had to check. So we went through the drive to the chicken pen in the back and she stepped over the gate and walked up to the chicken shelter and felt around and came up with 8 eggs. All different colors and shapes (check out that one in the upper right corner) and fresh within about 8 hours. 8 eggs cost $2.11. I don't even know if that is expensive, but it seems like it is. Even at the cost, I will miss buying eggs from Petra when we leave here in two years.

Blogging About My Today Show Blog

Here is a copy of the blog that I posted on The Today Show website after the show revealed our secret location at Boeing on Monday morning. Got a lot of nice comments from viewers in response to my blog, so it made me feel better about potentially boring our audience.

WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE IN WASHINGTON?

With the possible exception of the Olympics, landing an assignment with Matt Lauer for the “Where in the World” series is the most coveted gig for a Today Show producer. You get to travel to exotic places, experience new cultures and immerse yourself in all the food and fun that the destination has to offer.So, you can imagine my excitement when my boss told me that I would be working on my first-ever Where in the World for Matt. I already had visions of paddling canoes down the Amazon River or riding camels in the Sahara Desert when my boss informed me that we would be going to Everett, Washington.As in Washington state?Don’t get me wrong. The Pacific Northwest is one of my favorite parts of the country and the Seattle-area happens to be my father’s new retirement community. I have spent many relaxing weekends riding motorcycles in the Cascade Mountains and enjoying the local seafood in Puget Sound. However, I don’t think it would qualify as an exotic destination for most of our viewers.
Then, my boss revealed that the focus of the show would be the Boeing airplane factory in Everett. This “Where in the World” would look at how airplanes are made and meet some of the people who design and build the planes that all of us fly all the time. I immediately started reading three books about Boeing’s history and role in the aviation industry and interviewing dozens of experts in the field.
I still didn’t really get it until I walked into the Boeing factory for the first time six weeks ago. Whether you are an aviation buff or just an occasional airline passenger, I guarantee the first word out of your mouth when you walk into the Assembly Building would be “Wow!”Not only is it the largest building in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, but it also houses some of the largest planes in the world. It is an awesome sight to watch the cranes move the wings and fuselage sections of the planes from one part of the factory to the other. It also makes you appreciate the engineering feat it takes to create something so enormous that also manages to get off the ground and carry so many of us around the globe.
Once I had spent some time around the factory and the people at Boeing, it was obvious that this company was a great American success story. A man named William Boeing started the company in 1916, and it is still going strong today. Not only is Boeing the largest employer in the Seattle area, but it is also the country’s largest exporter, and Boeing is the number one commercial airline producer in the world.
We followed the workers as they built a 777 for Air Canada in less than 12 weeks (video). Boeing gave us access to their plane simulators and showed us all of the rigorous tests the planes must pass before they are certified. We even looked at how Boeing is dreaming up new ways to entertain and feed you while you fly. I bet the next time you get on a plane, you’ll look on the information card in the seat pocket to see whether it was made by Boeing and what kind of plane in which you’ll be flying.
The goal of any “Where in the World” is to take the audience to a place they’ve never been and show them something they’ve never seen. I hope we were able to translate the sense of awe and astonishment that all of our crew felt at the live location to your small screen at home, and I hope that you came away with a little insight about those planes that most of us take for granted when we travel.
Most of all, I hope there was at least a couple of times during the show when you said, “Wow!”