Al Franken's statement calling for the halting of reconstruction funds to the cash-flush Iraqi government is grabbing national attention. I read this on MSNBC.com. The red meat line?
"There's a line between being responsible for rebuilding a country you helped destroy, and being a chump, and I think we crossed that line," Franken said.
So, here's where it's going with American foreign policy. A former Russian satellite, Georgia, challenges the mother country of Russia and is brutally attacked. Georgia, like many former Russian satellites, has formed close relationships with western powers like the United States. Why wouldn't they? We are "The Superpower" after all. But now that they're about to be crushed by the resurgent power of Russia, a nation bolstered by its natural resource wealth, the U.S. has nothing to offer them but strong words of support. Both of our major presidential candidates are saying simailar things, knowing that there's not much they could do if elected, because a war with Russia is still, despite Cold War triumph, impossible to win cleanly. And that's the problem with our foreign policy. What are we going to do if Russia and China decide to act up at the same time? Oh yeah, there's Iran, too. And the problem with Afghanistan. And all of this is vastly more important than Iraq, which is the second most important issue in the U.S. presidential election, well behind the problems in our own domestic economy. Welcome to modern politics and policy!
We need diplomacy and we need a strong military. Barack Obama gets that; John McCain is clinging to the hope that a strong military alone will deter emerging powers like China and Russia. It won't. We aren't the only show in town anymore. It's time for a new generation of leadership. We need to project American ideals like freedom and democracy through modern means. Obama's election would inspire a generation of people here and abroad. McCain's would simply tell the world that we are trying to hold on tight to the power America has already enjoyed for 60 years, bolstering the views of anti-American forces all over the globe. Hey, vote how you want. Guns. The estate tax. Whatever. But ignore this Russia situation at your own peril. This tells us much about where America really stands.
Hibbing Daily Tribune editor Mike Jennings made an interesting observation Sunday based on his experience serving in Vietnam in regard to today's debate over the success of the so-called surge:Could we have sustained what seemed in 1970 a durable degree of security in Vietnam? Of course. All that was necessary was to keep American boots, and plenty of them, on the ground. Indefinitely. Because the North Vietnamese were prepared to wait us out.
It's a good read. Check it out.
Today, America and the Iraqi government appear to be winning their war. But in 1970 America and South Vietnam also appeared to be winning theirs. In concrete terms, if not always in appearance, we were winning the Vietnam War almost up to the very moment that we lost it.
It's been five years at war. As they say, I'm sure not against the soldiers, but this war has been the emblem of bad foreign policy from the start. For those interested:
Iron Range Rally to End the War
Who: Iron Range residents, members of MoveOn.org
Where: Hwy. 53 & 12th Ave. S. (by Kmart & Target) Virginia, MN
When: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Old news, but I've never seen the bogus run-up to the Iraq War quantified so specifically as in this AP report. I know Iraq policy is a touchy subject, but we're starting to see how badly the situation was handled at the start.
Study: Bush, other officials issued hundreds of false statements before Iraq invasion
By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL , Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.
"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.
The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.
On Saturday, we saw the HCC production of "Chain of Command," an original play about the Iraq war directed by my friend Mike Ricci and written by Minneapolis playwright Dominic Orlando.
The play was excellent. The script wasn't finished until less than two weeks before the first performance and this cast of amateur actors did amazing things with it. The play does a masterful job of putting the emotions of the Iraq war out of political context and into the context of families and the struggles faced by those involved in fighting, selling or opposing the war and all that comes with it. The play questions the war and government policies, but I think there is an overarching message for people of all political leanings.
You can still see the play at the Hibbing Community College Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
You need to see this play. It's one of the most moving stage experiences I've seen in Ricci's 10 years of productions. We must support ambitious endeavors like this on the Iron Range.
My friend Mike Ricci, director of the Hibbing Community College Theatre, is opening an original show this week. You should always come to Hibbing to see Mike's shows, but this one especially. A Minneapolis playwright worked with Mike and his cast to write an original play speaking to the human element of the Iraq war. Though it includes both sides of the controversy, it focuses on human relationships at home, in combat and in Iraq and how the conflict impacts them. It should be excellent and it will be well worth your entertainment dollars.
‘Chain of Command’ set to open at HCC Theatre
HCC Theatre Director Mike Ricci has announced that tickets are now on sale for the world premiere production of ‘Chain of Command’ – an original script about the war in Iraq. This play was written by Minneapolis playwright Dominic Orlando, a core member of the prestigious Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. Orlando was commissioned by Mike Ricci to write this play specifically for HCC Theatre and his cast. The play deals with a variety of issues surrounding the war, and focuses on the theme of ‘who do you serve’. While the play strives to remain politically neutral, many of the events leading up to the war, and events more current, are dealt with in the play, as well as discussions about religion, family loyalties, the life of the soldiers, and the ‘fog of war’.
Ricci, who had decided to direct a play about the Iraq War for the new theatre season, read nearly two dozen plays over the summer. Unable to find one that he liked, he realized that it might be an exciting prospect, and more beneficial for the student cast, if a playwright was commissioned to write a play just for them. “The cast has had an enormous impact in the direction the script has taken’ said Ricci. “Not only were their ideas about the war taken into consideration, but they’ve had a hand in creating their characters, and some of the plot elements. Dominic has been wonderful to work with, and has been doing constant re-writes and editing nearly every other day, sharpening the focus, and taking our rehearsal notes into account”. Also involved in the creation of the script were several members of the US Armed Forces, including members of the Army National Guard, the Marines, and the Air Force, who acted as consultants and provided research and authenticity to the development of the script.
Playwright Dominic Orlando is originally from New York City, where he graduated from NYU with a degree in dramatic writing. After running his own theatre company for several years, he started writing plays, and soon won a Jerome Fellowship to the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, where he relocated to several years ago. He has had several plays published, and his productions have played from San Francisco to New York, winning him enthusiastic reviews from audience and critics alike.
This production will be entered in the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Hibbing Community College is one of just a handful of community colleges in Minnesota that are actively involved in the Festival, which celebrates excellence in college theatre across the country.
Performances for ‘Chain of Command’ are October 25 – November 4, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:30 pm. Tickets are available at the Howard Street Booksellers in downtown Hibbing, or by calling the HCC Theatre box office at 218/262-7377. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, and $5 for HCC students. This production is rated PG-13, for some strong language.
