Dreaming War

...with free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the rich. The label "conspiracy theorist" holds a powerful stigma. For the most part, the conspiracy theorists themselves are to blame for that. For the most part the people I've run across who propagate and perpetuate these wild schemes are not the most critical thinkers out there. The evidence of this is the way conspiracies run in packs. Once they're talking about secret societies, secret connections and plots, more and more unfold, running off in tangents. It might start with the Kennedy assassination but soon area 51 and Roswell are evoked, the moon landing is a hoax, the Loch Ness monster and the inner Earth people. Not to mention the Catholics, the Masons, and the Jewish-communists. But that shouldn't dissuade us from investigating anything. The fact that conspiracy theorists are nuts doesn't mean conspiracies never happen. People who believe everything that's slightly exciting to believe are no less critical thinkers than those who dismiss outright anything that threatens the veneer of civility and order. In reality, a conspiracy doesn't have to be an intricate web of deception, some brilliant design everyone but you is in on. A conspiracy can be lots of powerful people acting in a similar way, through sneaky means and propaganda, for the sake of strengthening and securing their own power. Hillary Clinton was lambasted for speaking of a vast right-wing conspiracy, but as the story unfolds, we see a small handful of very powerful, rich people using their influence to try and drag down a President and his administration by any means necessary. She was right. This book is a collection of essays unified by the assertion Gore Vidal is making that American is an empire, and that American military action and behavior, since before world war 2, has been an imperial attempt to control as much of the world as possible. If one looks at the whole of human history, none of this should come as a surprise. But in the modern debate, where Neo-con imperialism is compared to Nazism, Mr. Vidal is telling us that a better analogy would be the ancient Roman Empire, and that this has been going on a whole lot longer than since the neo-cons have been in power. The primary difference today is near-transparency of the current administrations goals, and the deplorable depths of depravity to which they'll sink to accomplish it. The unprovoked, unilateral invasion of Iraq was just one of hundreds of unprovoked, unilateral military actions the American empire has engaged in post-WW2. But in the past, America had the self-awareness, pride and patience to do things in a deceptive manner, exercising domination economically (the Marshall plan), or through low-key military presences (like NATO in Western Europe) and by meddling around the world with an alphabet soup of secret police (CIA, FBI, DEA, DIA...). So, there's nothing new going on in the Bush-Cheney Junta. It is a matter of degrees,

DREAMING WAR: BLOOD FOR OIL AND THE CHENEY-BUSH JUNTA is an eye-opening account of how corporate interests now fuel our country and are the leading causes for our war with Iraq. Gore Vidal is an excellent writer who exposes many of the lies perpetrated by the Bush administration (he calls Bush a cheerleader, saying this high school activity was the only thing of note he's done with his life), including the likely falsification of poll statistics to make it appear that the US citizens support war. Vidal writes that we are typically an isolationist country who need to be manipulated by our politicians into thinking entry into foreign war is necessary. The attacks of September 11th, writes Vidal, were just such a manipulation (read the book to understand what he means). DREAMING WAR: BLOOD FOR OIL AND THE CHENEY-BUSH JUNTA is the first book I have ever read by Gore Vidal, and it's one of the best books I've ever read! He really is one of the best writers I've ever come across. My favorite chapter is "Mickey Mouse, Historian" where Vidal lampoons the difficulty of teaching history in an atmosphere where obeisance must be paid to the cheerful dictates of imaginary rodents.

Gore Vidal speaks truth bluntly and clearly. He addresses points that need to be addresses by every voter, for the people of America are losing their birthrights--their freedoms, their power over their own fate, their control of the resources of the nation that have been--quite literally--hijacked by a mandarin wealthy elite that would sooner cut deals with terrorists and their oil-field sponsors, than look after the best interests of the American public.Interestingly, this book emphasizes something I had not considered that bears emphasis: although there were numerous intelligence failures in detail, Vidal suggests that the Director of Central Intelligence is correct when he claims that 9-11 was not (at root) an intelligence failure--but then leaves unsaid what Vidal says explicitly: it was a policy failure in that Bush-Cheney decided not to alarm the people and not to share the warning information, in part to avoid turbulence and in part because such an attack would be welcome--as Pearl Harbor was welcome--as a means to remilitarize foreign policy.Indeed, Vidal focuses relentless on the fact that all of the terrorist planes were allowed to run their course, without being intercepted and shot down by any of the military aircraft in the area. Although it would have taken a "strip alert" aircraft to be really effective, and it may not have been possible to load and launch aircraft on standby status in a hanger, it does appear that both the civilian and military chains of command avoided any active efforts to stop the airplanes from hitting their intended targets.There are some extraordinary truths in this book that bear public discussion during the forthcoming Presidential campaign. I list just a few:1) It is the US, in its obsessive anti-communism (perhaps aided by the desire of those in power to accummulate wealth and extend their power) which really kicked off the Cold War and were willing to support any dictator, commit any crime, violate any oath, in pursuit of anti-communism. The number of US attacks within an *undeclared* war status is over 250--and this does not count the secret bombing runs into the Soviet Union in the early years when we were just testing their vulnerability.2) Japan was trying to sue for peace, and the US not only refused to receive their emissaries, but chose to drop the atomic bombs (two of them) to intimate the Russians rather than finalize the Japanese. He also addresses measures the US undertook to force the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor.3) Vidal talks about the number of covert wars that have been fought using taxpayer dollars, but without the knowledge or the approval of the taxpayer-voter. This is really a vital point--the people, and their elected representatives in Congress, have lost both the power of the purse and the power over war.3) Coming further forward, Vidal addresses some stark truths about the current American condition that include the incredible percentage of the population that is eith

Let's get this straight from the beginning: Gore Vidal is not anti-American, and in fact, he is a true patriot that loves his country enough to ask the difficult questions in the face of the current wave of false patriotism that is taking over since the 9/11 tragedies. _Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta_ is a bold and maginficent look at the Bushian chronicles leading up to 9/11, and the consequences thereafter. Two things that are important to dwell on: Both the attack on Afghanistan and the Patriot Act were well entrenched and ready to go before 9/11 ever came about. 9/11 was merely an open door to the growth of State meddling in the lives of U.S. citizens. Vidal looks at all the "interests" that are served by Bushian Imperial ambitions. As Vidal says, Osama is merely a poster boy for greater U.S. interestes, that being Empire, oil, and the corporatist State. Gore gives us decades worth of examples on how the U.S has come to this position.Perhaps the one thing that is missing is an in-depth analysis of why the State loved that 9/11 happened, and how it keeps that from the American people while shedding its false tears of sorrow, and suckering folks into buying the State moral code concerning the tragedies.Vidal's essays are compelling, truthful, and unapologetic. A fantastic read.

This excellent selection of essays details not only our imperialistic intentions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but several fine examples from the past 50 years. He shows that a plan was already in place for invading Afghanistan before the september 11th attacks, and that the patriot bill was also conveniently ready as well. To distill this book down to one fact would be to say that it definitely reiterates my inability to place any trust whatsoever in this administration.