"But the world isn't like that."

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/13/02 12:59:21 PM, lycidas2 at earthlink.net writes:


<<Not quite and besides none of the other issues quite compare. The tired
old argument runs, the USA is an  arrogant bully superpower with no
respect for the earth, the law, anyone else. But this argument is over
the top nonsense and only muddies the waters of the issue we are
confronted with--war with Iraq. >>

That's your tired old argument, not mine. 

<<First, while war would not even be on
the table if the USA did not put it there, the USA will not act alone.
There will be a coalition. How the USA will get the coalition is worth
looking into. Take a look at how Bush Sr. got his for starters.>>

The U.S. is in decline. "Iraq" is attempt by those with the
most to lose by the economic decline of America to avoid
facing up to that reality and to intiate the needed reforms
to deal with it in a socially equitable fashion. Other great
economic powers have gone through very similar processes
of decline and reacted in similar ways. They eventually
accepted the need for reform and recognized the futility
of maintaining the regressive policies to perpetuate the
delusion of hegemony. We will, as well; I hope before too
many innocent people die needlessly. This has nothing
to do with Oswald Spengler, in case you were thinking that.

BW:

"The only real power that
 congress has in foreign policy is economic. They can cut off
 funding. That's it."

<<That's not little, is it? And they don't only cut off funding, they have
the power to fund in the first place. All politics is local but the
members of congress have the power to initiate aggression around the
globe, to start it, to fund it, and support it.>>

The congress can issue subpeanas and fund or not, that's about
it. Realistically, un-funding the executive's prerogative to intiate
hostilities is a time consuming and politically arduous process.
Given today's weapon systems of destruction- mass or otherwise-
congress is essentially a bystander and can applaud or boo, but
to little consequence within the time quotient of effectiveness.
In addition, the weapons systems themselves have taken on a
life of their own. The threat of their "awesome" power and the
selected examples the public is allowed to witness, are ends in
themselves, i.e., substitutes for the powerless of American
society to reform itself in meaningful ways to deal equitably
with its inevitable decline, by perpetuating the myth that it is
the sole hegemonic "superpower" in the world.

Furthermore, the untold billions in "black" money funneled to
the intelligent services, and largely unaccounted for except
by them, ensure that all manner of death and destruction
can be perpetrated in the name of American hegemony, 
completely beyond the knowledge of congress. We are 
already hearing how future U.S. wars will be fought more
and more by these "secret agents," "special forces," remote
controlled C.I.A. drones, etc., etc,... but none of that will
forestall what those pulling the switches and pushing the
buttons wish to distract us from, the decline of the U.S.-
economically and politically- from its short-lived reign at
the top, and their inability to deal equitably with that.

<<And they do.  They just
voted to do so, so how can you argue that they don't? And some members
of congress pushed and were not pulled to pass these resolutions.>>

Because I'm a realist. Their vote was entirely predictable.
They could have mailed it in.

<<Under article I, section 8, of the Constitution... {snip}

Unfortunately, the constitution is largely irrelevant in this
situation and is already being violated on a daily basis by
Ashcroft and company, but the main reason that the
constitution is not relevant, is because it has nothing to
say about how America should come to grips with the
reality of its own decline: sunset in America. This is not
necessarily a good or bad thing, it is just the reality that
the current power elite is struggling to deny. That struggle,
to a large extent, is what defines current U.S. foreign and
domestic policy. It cannot last, nor should it. Unfortunately,
because the U.S. is the largest stockpiler of all types of the
most deadly weapons in the world, many innocent people
are at risk of being killed in the throws of this American
identity crisis.

regards