In fairness to the Americans, some degree of 'liberating' occurred in Kuwait in 1991 and as a result of the bombing campaigns conducted in the former Yugoslavia.

Way back in Sumer, the legends of Gilgamesh were that when he wanted war to address a perceived slight by a nearby city-state (Dilmun, I think), he approached the general assembly of householders and was immediately refused.

What's a warrior-wannabe to do? He went to the assembly of unattached males, ones with no mothers or wives to mourn them (or, presumably, be interesting enough to stay behind to hang out with), and asked them something along the lines of "hey, wanna go conquer places?" - and won unanimous approval.

Depressingly, things haven't changed much in 4500 years. Except now the juvenile war mongers get to stay behind with the comfort of their womenfolk AND send others out to war, and amazingly, those others GO. If this counts as progress, I want no part of it. Cuneiform tablets, anyone?

Wow! You seem like a really smart cookie. I bet you wear glasses and eat spinach.

I agree with just about everything you've said here. It just seems like a mean way to say it. It's fun to be smart and mean. Hey, how about a post directed at terminally ill children telling them there's no God?

Rob TT:

Your suggestion is hardly analogous, unless belief in god causes terminal illness in children.

I wouldn't tell a dying child God doesn't exist.
I would tell her she will live forever and, when it's time to go, mom and dad will come along and it'll be loads of fun up there with the angels.

But I will laugh my head off when I hear that Colin Powell was too scared of being shot to run for president. This is absolutely hilarious. A 4-star general, a man who whitewashed My Lai, a man who caused the deaths of thousands... he's scared of being shot. Maybe it's mean, but when you've got to laugh, you've got to laugh.

Shunra: Sorry, those tablets YOU've ordered were stolen during the 2003 siege of Baghdad, perhaps some depleted uraniunm might substitute.

Mike Meyer, the unexcavated ones might have been. I can't even imagine what we've lost by the airstrikes. However, according to Noah Kramer's books, most of his work was done on tablets that were stored in Pennsylvania, Istanbul, London, and such. These tablets are probably still fine.

FWIW, My library is boxed up at the moment for a remodel which is nearing its end. If you want citations and quotes, email me and I can get them to you in a few days... ...unless there's a change of schedule.

The French Air Force flies the second most sorties in Afghanistan. The US Air Force is first.

What this clearly indicates is that the French were never afraid to fight the war on terror, they just knew where it was. Same with the Spanish. When they took their forces out of Iraq they got tons of bad press in America, but when they then put an even larger force in Afghanistan, no American heard about it. It didn't fit the message out media wanted us to hear.

You see, it's never been that these countries were against fighting the war on terror, they were just against GW's leadership of that war.

And now America agrees, even if our media has a different spin for us.

Bernard et al.,

If you haven't read it already, I recommend "The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War," by Andrew Bacevich. Glorification of war, indeed. Seen from here it's like a football game, complete with cheerleaders like Bush and Petraeus. Our Team must win. The problem lies in the great differences between war and occupation. And war and football, for that matter.

Now back to my lair where I'm still trying to figure out the difference between jihad and glory.

Shunra: THANX but I can barely type AMERICAN. As far as the TABLETS and DEPLETED URANIUM is that each of 2 "civilations" left their permanent mark upon that land between the Tigris and Euphrates. One left Knowledge, Mystery, and History and the other left depleted uranium.

p.s. I'm guessing the depleted uranium will be the longer memory.

The American version may be "new," but militarism isn't. For analogies between games and war, read
Wilfred Owen, who said it best.

"In fairness to the Americans, some degree of 'liberating' occurred in Kuwait in 1991 and as a result of the bombing campaigns conducted in the former Yugoslavia"
-Turkey, Turkey

In fairness to the truth, most of the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and the accompanying atrocities began AFTER the US/Nato bombings not before.

But the 1940s were the last time the US military liberated anyone. In the last 60 years, it has killed millions of innocent people. It has not defended the United States against any enemy. Not once. It has not protected anybody's freedom. Just the opposite, in fact.

Actually, wouldn't it be more truthful to say that, aside from the 1770s and the 1940s, the US Military has rarely if ever liberated anyone--unless killing is given the status of liberation, as of the spirit from the body?

[Don't know why this stubbornly refuses to post!] General Petraeus' uniform is only the most visible manifestation of the US Army's over-the-top obsession with bling. We in the Air Force were always far more restrained, although I did notice some "bling creep" in recent years.

Re. Gen. Powell, surely there's some irony in what he said. The real reason he doesn't want to run for president has been known for years, & has to do with his wife.

It isn't just the US military that's obsessed with "bling." But you don't wear that shit in combat, only for parades and stuff. In the original edition of "Three Guineas" (and maybe in later ones, I haven't checked), Virginia Woolf included some photos of white guys in outrageously foofy outfits full of glitter and pomp, and mocked males for their pretense of not being into such display compared to trivial, shallow women. Soldiers are like pimps that way.