Lame Duck to Turkey: Stop cooking my goose!

[Houseman]

Did anyone else see the richly ironic footage of President Bush pleading with the Turkish Parliament not to authorize pursuit of Kurdish militants into northern Iraq?

Thus does the Decider become the Pleader. What else can he do? The Turkish parliament and government have the right at international law to defend their borders... and even to call on fellow NATO states to assist in their defence if attacked by another country.

But wait! The USA has already invaded Iraq to keep the oil - I mean the peace. So perhaps President Bush can argue that's he's already leaving no stone unturned to assist (except presumably in areas littered with unexploded ordnance since 2003).

Unlike President Bush, however, the Turkish government can offer substantive evidence of a link between Iraq and "international terrorism" directed at Turkish nationals. It can even point to the threat posed to Turkey's territorial integrity by de facto (and perhaps eventually de jure) Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq.

I'm not sure even the Federal Reserve could help the CIA create enough fiat money to keep the Turkish government quiet about this one - and it could cost the American taxpayer a lot more money yet to find that out...

[mkpdavies]

It would be funny, if it wasn't so tragic.

[Houseman]

Yes, it is tragic - and the tragedy is compounded by the fact that ordinary taxpayers like you and I are often unable to stop our own money being taken from us and used to support the evil policies of our rulers.

But I reserve ridicule only for those who order the perpetration of such terrible deeds.

Those who innocently suffer deserve our sympathy and support.

"What forbids us to tell the truth, laughingly?" - Horace, Satires

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot." - Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)

[Tsar Bomba]

How fortunate for leaders that men do not think. - Adolf Hitler

[dlegan]

In 1982 Ron Paul argued against giving Turkey and Saudi Arabia weapons and said that they would one day be used against our interest.  It is in his new book "A Foreing Policy of Peace."

Those F16's that Turkey are using were a "gift" from the U.S.  

Ron Paul knows it is bad for America to sell or give away weapons.  The world is pissed because most people killed in wars are killed by American made weapons / not to mention by the west (england included) meddling in the middle east.  

Turkey has a legitimate national defence reason , the U.S. does not!
Brits keep it up and pressure your govt to remove all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is Awesome!  Ron Paul is a world wide phenomenon. The news media here is starting to censure him less and his campaing is really growing.

Dale Legan,
Constituent of Ron Paul in the 14th congressional district,
Galveston, Texas.

I've proudly voted for Ron Paul as my congressman every time he ran.

[Houseman]

Thanks so much for your contribution, Mr. Legan!

Yes, successive UK governments and their supporters must also bear their share of responsibility in the current mid-East mess, and fortunately British troop levels are being reduced. Unfortunately, most people here will forget to ask UK government to stop paying private "security contractors" in Iraq and Afghanistan, and meanwhile the libertarian movement here is far less influential than in the US. This is partly because it's growing from a very low baseline. Consequently, the easiest way for UK libertarians to raise our profile is to back it all we can in the US - and wait for some "blowforward" as it were.

Ron Paul is indeed a world wide phenomenon, but that's partly because he's not only promising to save US taxpayers serious money by closing US bases - it's because, in so doing, he's promising over 130 countries freedom from US military pressure and interference. What's not to like?

Wishing you and yours all the very best in our joint quest for freedom,

Houseman

[Tsar Bomba]

Yeah! Libertarianism is a totally alien concept in the UK

And before anyone curious enough asks, libertarianism doesn't have anything in common with the British Liberal party or the Social Democrats.

Most people still alive in the UK have experienced life under welfare socialism, which encompasses both Labour and conservative sides of the political spectrum.

I hope Ron paul will open some eyes over here but I suspect we will need to undergo a very drastic and severe economic shock before more people realize we simply can't afford the welfare state anymore.

Anyone who would promote the destruction of our beloved welfare state would be ridiculed and effectively commit immediate political suicide.

The state of the global economy, the utter debasement of our monetary system, the nepotism of all our politicians and elected officials and the stranglehold the banking system has over all our lives is all indicative of a system on the verge of collapse. Expect much tougher times in the coming years as our debt fuelled ponzi economy implodes. Once people are begging in the streets, made homeless by the imploding economy and enslaved by debts that they cannot ever hope to repay, maybe, just maybe a greater number of people will wake up and listen.