And there are no invisible sky gods in it, either.

Of course we should do something. In addition to diplomacy abroad, that something should involve properly funding effective anti-terror initiatives (and doing things like getting a first-responder communication system that actually works up and running in New York and not giving Homeland Security money to petting zoos).

I don’t think Bush is the best example to illustrate the working principles of Wu Wei because Bush’s insecurities are so pronounced and his actions are so predictable that he doesn’t rise up to a level sufficient enough to present a challenge to the theory or the art. A halfway decent working knowledge of adolescence behavior is all one needs to steer Bush in the direction you want him to go. Look at what the neocons managed to get little Georgie to do.. A little stroking of his ego, and affirming of his greatness was all the Neocons needed to get little Georgie charging head first into Iraq.

C U N D gulag posted a comment a day or two ago about Bush supporters fashioning him as the American Churchill, it’s laughable to us who are grounded in reality, but to Bush that kind of fluff is hypnotically controlling.

Now it’s “Putting 9/11 into Perspective”

What’s missing though, is a discussion of our real motives for being in this fight. I don’t believe that BushCo’s actions are really about the war on terror. To me, this is window dressing, a useful cover, a very useful boogeyman to keep the masses from thinking.

Any discussion of why we’re there has to include both oil and Israel. There are zillions of dollars of high quality oil in this region, close to the surface, easy to extract. I am certain somebody in the Republican hierarchy figured if they could conquer and pacify Iraq, the oil could be drawn out and sold for about $30 a barrel or less. The resulting economic boom would produce enormous profits for the energy companies and solidify Republican rule forever. This comes at a time when the planet is running out of oil, and the competition for the remaining supplies is intensifying. I suspect that future historians will refer to the current war as the beginning of the oil or resource wars.

As for Israel, that’s a touchy subject, about which I know little. I do know that the neocons have strong ties to the right wing in Israel, and it’s been said by some that this faction “owns” our foreign policy (and please forgive me maha if this triggers a massive stream of angry comments - this subject is one of the third rails of blogging).

And so there are powerful forces drawing us into the Middle East for reasons much deeper than merely making the country safe from terrorism. It infuriates me to no end, that five or six years after 9/11, and three or four years after our invasion of Iraq - based entirely on lies - that very few people are willing to touch these driving reasons why we are there. Until we can have this honest discussion, we’re only scratching the surface of the problem.