The heavens cry out for this rule!

Just as the Syrian conflict seems to be entering a stage where the government has attained a commanding advantage, if not victory, John McCain crosses into Syria to appear the..... well, we are not sure what, but it must have been serious.  It was not all that Syrious though.

The opposition is, for the most part, Islamist radicals with the occasional nice guy fig leaf.  The recent finding of sarin gas in rebel possession should give pause to the American cheerleaders, but it doesn't.

As usual, if there is a possibility of bombing someone, The senator from Arizona is at hand.  I don't know if he was depressed, but if anyone could give our man heart, it's the Syrian Rebels.

Anyway, whether it's Georgia, Iran, Libya, Iraq, or now Syria, you can count on John being for buffoonery.  Our man is sort of an anti-North Star, always pointing the wrong way.  The Neutralist therefore posits the McCain Rule.  If John McCain is for something, it's not merely wrong, it's dopey.  Granted, dopey is not a kind word, but this is not the time for euphemism.

A couple of pertinent links.

THOSE OLD COLONIAL LUSTS

Did John McCain Provide Material Support for Syrian Terrorists?

What was that all about? Libya at war's end?

Naturally, a country swimming on light crude makes one think the overthrow might have been about securing some cheap gas, not for us lumpen slugs, but maybe for an oil company or four. The Neutralist sure doesn't know, just lets his inner paranoiac out. This guy has an idea it might have been Mo suggesting al alternative monetary system. Again, we don't know. Maybe such interpretations are whacko, but no more than the belief it was peace,freedom and goodness led NATO and us into support of the noble Libyans.

Speaking of the noble Libyan opposition, This has been hard to miss:



You may not have seen it with one of our grande dame:



What a barbarian.

With a fair trial, Mo could have been sentenced to death. It is a sad commentary that his demise means the world is no better or worse.

See Eric for alternate take on Brother-Leader.

Col. Patrick Lang has an interesting and useful website called Sic Semper Tyrannis. He was early on calling for intervention. I do not think he came out of this looking at all well. Back on the 25th of February he wrote, "As a "card carrying" non-interventionist (isolationist maybe?), I think that I have the "street cred" to call for intervention in Libya." This of course is like the people I met in a previous incarnation who would say, "I never took a dime from the government," to justify a little feeding at the trough. He may disagree, but I thought him gung ho and blithe. Anyway,he should give up his card.

That was then. Maintenant is another story. Last Friday, he wrote, "How did he die? Who cares? IMO the "Gs" killed him after they got through kicking him around. They are not soldiers. They are undisciplined civilian enthusiasts with a smidgin of training. If MQ had died in an ambush or as the "Gs" shot their way into his hideout a lot of you would think nothing of it." Hey it happens, he wrote, he was a cheerleader, someone else get the mop. No pottery barn for The Colonel.

Oh well, this wasn't as costly as some of our other interventions. Onto Uganda.

Don't think modern imperialism's a loser. Now we've gotta bailout their lousy banks too!

Per the Washington Post, The Kabul Bank is pulling a Citibank and crying for succor.

Now this is the Neutralist and we want all the troops home. Still, if we are going to do Imperialism, let's get something out of it. We don't bail them out, they bail us out. None of this pottery barn stuff.

This decree should go forth: On December 25th, everyone shall go to the city of their ancestors to be counted for taxes. Pay up by April 15th. Or we withdraw. That is our final offer.

Okay, Augustus didn't threaten to withdraw, but America needs love.

Interesting video from the other side-The Taliban speaks!

Interesting video from the comments section on Pat Lang's Sic Semper Tyrannis site. A Norwegian was able to film them as they fought us due to their hatred of our freedom. Ah, wait a minute, at 3:14 your man talks about fighting for freedom. Who does he think he is, George Bush.




Well, I think these lads want Afghanistan more than we do. I know they want it more than I do. Heck, they probably want it more than Bennett and Kristol. And...what would you do if someone invaded your country. What those guys are doing I hope.

The man who posted the video goes by the cute name, Charlie Wilson. His actual comment was, "I don't think these guys can be beat. I think we need to redo Panama or Grenada." If we really want to feel good about ourselves, we can let the Japanese build another fleet and do Midway again.

The Neutralist Position on Haiti

So what is the Neutralist position on Haiti? Yes, the desperate call for guidance from our headquarters can be measured in almost less than single digits. No matter, we are happy to state our position. The Neutralist is against Neo-Colonialism in all its forms, but especially when it leads to American military assets being deployed to save another benighted people from themselves.

Want to throw a twenty into the special collection at your church? Be my guest. Give to make Yclef Jean (whoever that is) wealthier and yourself feel better? Go for it. Whatever charitable expenditure you make is your business and if you know what you are doing or get lucky in your choice of organization, it might do some good.

We have been intervening militarily in Haiti since 1850, according to one source. Now I have no right to say that has made Haiti the supposed basket case it is. I do aver that it has not in any event really helped.

I spoke with someone who has had extensive aid experience and he does not believe the current save Haiti thingie to be glorious.

One interesting news item was that all the buildings made by Euros and Euro Americans, or in the style thereof, collapsed. Now the building codes in our sister republic might be a bit fluid, but contrast that with the shanty towns. It appears the flimsy stuff held up nicely.

I suspect that left to themselves the Haitians would build something suitable. Okay, they might not set up universities, but does a nation need a lot of sinecure factories anyway? There is an overpopulation problem that is probably being "fed" by all the do good agencies that work in the country. The thing is, Haiti should be a Haitian problem, not a people who have to be the special project of the rest of the world.

And the Haitians are not the helpless wards of the world in all things. They beat up the imperial armies of France, England and Spain. I would guess in some of our adventures, we were happy to leave.