Sunday, August 17, 2008

Wag the Dog







In the 1997 movie “Wag the Dog” the premise of the plot was to use war and threats of war to distract the public from the economic calamity that was really happening within the country. The plan in the movie was very simply to assert "There’s a crisis in the White House, and to save the election, they’d have to fake a war."

Some are wondering if the fighting between the country of Georgia and Russia, which has started three months before the U.S elections were part of the same movie premise contained within “Wag the Dog.”

Consider the facts taking place in the U.S economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had just announced record losses, and so had most reporting corporations. Unemployment was mounting, the foreclosure crisis was deepening, state budgets were in shambles, and massive bailouts were everywhere. The stock market continued to fall as has the value of the dollar.

James Turk economist and author speculated "The banking problems in the United States continue to mount, while the federal government’s deficit continues to soar out of control. So what happened to cause the dollar to rally over the past three weeks? In a word, intervention. Central banks have propped up the dollar:

"When central banks intervene in the currency markets, they exchange their currency for dollars. Central banks then use the dollars they acquire to buy US government debt instruments so that they can earn interest on their money. The debt instruments central banks acquire are held in custody for them at the Federal Reserve, which reports this amount weekly.

The Federal Reserve reported holding $2,349 billion of US government paper in custody for central banks. This amount had grown over the past three weeks to $2,401 billion, a 38.4% annual rate of growth. So central banks were accumulating dollars over the past three weeks at a rate far above what one would expect as a result of the US trade deficit. The logical conclusion is that they were intervening in currency markets. They were buying dollars for the purpose of propping it up, to keep the dollar from falling off the edge of the cliff and doing so ignited a short covering rally, which is not too difficult to do given the leverage employed in the markets these days by hedge funds and others."

Some $400 billion in Adjustable Rate Mortgages will be due by October of this year. A wide majority of these loans are expected to default leaving the strong possibility of a pending economic collapse.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received a $800 billion credit line that will soon be gone once the coming mass of mortgage defaults take place. Banks everywhere are facing overwhelming write-offs, putting the entire banking system near collapse. Should the government provide another bailout it would bankrupt the nation.

Author and Commentator Mike Whitney reiterated the thoughts of many recently when he said "Washington’s bloody fingerprints are all over the invasion of South Ossetia. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili would never dream of launching a massive military attack unless he got explicit orders from his bosses at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. After all, Saakashvili owes his entire political career to American power-brokers and US intelligence agencies. If he disobeyed them, he’d be gone in a fortnight.”

Is the Russia-Georgia conflict another “Wag the Dog ”scenario as many are speculating? Considering the length the Bush administration and their surrogate John McCain have already gone to force a never ending war with Iraq, and the economic collapse that is lurking around the corner as well as the upcoming presidential elections, the “Wag the Dog” tale looks more plausible everyday.

14 comments:

  1. Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Colorado yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that recent Russian aggression in Georgia is the "first...serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War." McCain seemingly ignored the Gulf War, 9/11, and the Iraq War, to name a few:

    My friends, we have reached a crisis, the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War. This is an act of aggression.

    And the war beat begins.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Lack of Ethics Seems to Run in the Family

    John McCain came back from Vietnam and was unhappy at the sight of his wife. She had been disfigured in a horrible car accident and was not the appealing swimsuit model he had married some years before. So McCain began having affairs and eventually left his wife for the younger, more attractive and infinitely richer Cindy Hensley. McCain even got a marriage license with Cindy before the divorce to Carol was final. One final note: McCain sued Carol for divorce but it was “amicable” as he did agree to pay her ongoing medical bills.

    Now we come to find out McCain’s mother Roberta also sued Carol. Talk about adding insult to injury. And the final insult is that Roberta denies it ever happened. Is she senile? She certainly hasn’t appeared that way to date.

    In a 1980 lawsuit, filed shortly after John and Carol McCain divorced, Roberta sued Carol to reclaim some personal property.
    Roberta’s take on suing Carol?
    “I have never heard of what you’re talking about. … I will put my hand on a Bible.”

    Carol’s response to that? Laughter. Followed by:

    “Yes, she sued me.”

    Roberta’s lawsuit sought personal property she claimed Carol was refusing to return. The disputed items included an “18th century Burmese Buddhist priest” valued by Roberta at $2,000, a “Butlers Tray for Liquor” she valued at $225, along with paintings, a needlepoint screen and a pair of earrings.

    (Methinks there might be another story here. Perhaps Roberta gave these to John and Carol as gifts. Maybe even John told Carol in the divorce she could keep them, which then infuriated Roberta. Just speculation. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was right on the money.)

    At any rate, a settlement was reached in 1981.

    Those McCain's just can't stop hurting a disfigured and hurting woman.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Speaking to reporters about the situation in Georgia, Sen. John McCain denounced the aggressive posture of Russia by claiming that:"in the 21st century nations don't invade other nations."

    "There will be more wars, lots of wars."

    John McCain 2007

    ReplyDelete
  4. Today's New York Times features an article about John McCain that tells us everything we need to know about why he is not qualified to be President of the United States. The article, by David D. Kirkpatrick, traces McCain's early response to 9/11, and it is a sobering read about his judgment in challenging times--especially as we are now faced with the challenge of dealing with a newly confident Russia. Although we know that George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and other members of the administration secretly had Iraq in their sights long before 9/11, McCain's gut reaction to 9/11 showed a lack of restraint that I find alarming.

    A few key grafs:

    Within hours [of 9/11], Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria.

    Nor did McCain cool down after those first heated days after 9/11:

    Within a month he made clear his priority. “Very obviously Iraq is the first country,” he declared on CNN. By Jan. 2, Mr. McCain was on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea, yelling to a crowd of sailors and airmen: “Next up, Baghdad!”

    Some of his supporters think this kind of attitude is just wonderful:

    To his admirers, Mr. McCain’s tough response to Sept. 11 is at the heart of his appeal. They argue that he displayed the same decisiveness again last week in his swift calls to penalize Russia for its incursion into Georgia, in part by sending peacekeepers to police its border.

    Well, let's just pause here for a moment. McCain has not been "tough" with Russia about its incursion into Georgia--not at all. He has merely parroted the same kind of blustering blather that we are hearing from Bush and Condi Rice, empty words with nothing to back them up. We all know, or at least we should know, that the United States is not going to get involved in a military confrontation with Russia, and we also know that talk about "sanctions" is the way that weak and confused leaders who are not holding many cards try to make us think they are being "tough"--as the response to Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program demonstrates full well.

    Now, back to McCain's response to 9/11:

    His critics charge that the emotion of Sept. 11 overwhelmed his former cool-eyed caution about deploying American troops without a clear national interest and a well-defined exit, turning him into a tool of the Bush administration in its push for a war to transform the region.

    “He has the personality of a fighter pilot: when somebody stings you, you want to strike out,” said retired Gen. John H. Johns, a former friend and supporter of Mr. McCain who turned against him over the Iraq war. “Just like the American people, his reaction was: show me somebody to hit.”

    Show me somebody to hit. Well, McCain doesn't seemed to have changed much, nor to have learned much, since 9/11 and our misadventure in Iraq. But somehow I think that many Americans have, including many Republicans. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that Obama has not been hitting McCain harder on the Iraq war, and moreover, that Obama has not put real distance between his position on how to deal with Russia and that of McCain and Bush (Obama's main concern has been trying not to appear "weak.")

    We need a president who realizes that the United States is no longer the only superpower, if it ever was, and who understands that testosterone-fueled fantasies about taking out terrorists and Russians Terminator-style are for boys on the school playground and not world leaders. In other words, we need a president with the maturity to hold his (or her) fire and actually think situations through. Indeed, tough-talking, would-be leaders like McCain should go back and take a second look at all those John Wayne movies they grew up on. They would realize that even Wayne did a lot more talking than shooting.

    "There will be more wars, lots of wars."

    John McCain 2007

    ReplyDelete
  5. According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul.

    Even the troops know a Deranged War-monger when they see one.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Larry said...
    Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Colorado yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that recent Russian aggression in Georgia is the "first...serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War." McCain seemingly ignored the Gulf War, 9/11, and the Iraq War, to name a few:

    My friends, we have reached a crisis, the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War. This is an act of aggression.

    And the war beat begins."


    I'm surprised McSame even knew where Georgia was since he doesnt even know the borders of countries he CLAIMS to be a National Security Expert on and isnt even aware of countries that havent been in existence for like 15 years..............it looks like the Neo Cons have given up on the war on terra and are trying to rewrite history in Orwellian fashion and restart the Cold War.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Larry said...
    Speaking to reporters about the situation in Georgia, Sen. John McCain denounced the aggressive posture of Russia by claiming that:"in the 21st century nations don't invade other nations."

    "There will be more wars, lots of wars."

    John McCain 2007"


    Did McSame say that as well Larry, because i heard GWB state that "in the 21st century its unacceptable to invade a sovreign nation"...............those silly Neo Con hippocrites if only the practiced what they preached......If only.........

    ReplyDelete
  8. Has ANYONE considered that it was Georgia that attacked South Osettia FIRST and committed the acts of aggression by bombing homes and killing civilians and Russian Nationals.........they killed thousands JUST LIKE 9/11..........i'm listening to the biased news coverage portraying Russia as the aggressor and only framing this from the Georgian's point of view and i see something very similar to the Orwellian and biased push to justify invading iraq.

    I hear the Neo Cons all parroting their talking point that this is like Czarist 19th century Russia trying to recreate their empire and restart the cold war.......and its become clear the Neo Cons KNOW the war on terra was a sham and will likely wind down when they lose the election so they made a contrived effort to restart the Cold War........they want to INSURE that the Military Industrial Complex wont be cut if Obama wins and they want to insure the masses have a common enemy to hate and fear so they can fear monger and use phony patriotism as election issues...........fear mongering to the electorate is the air the Neo Cons breathe!

    ReplyDelete
  9. For the record i'm NOT saying its right what the Russians are doing right now..........but considering what WE did after 9/11 invading 2 countries..........ONE that had NOTHING to do with attacxking us and getting sucked into wars lasting LONGER than WW2 seems like MORE of an over reaction than what the Russians are doing.........Keep in mind the Right Wing Media is framing this in such a way as to restart the cold war and turn public opinion against Russia because war and fear helps ratings and to help the GOP in this and future elections because fear mongering, war mongering, and phony patriotism and empty phony tough guy rhetoric is ALL they have left and all they will likely EVER have they are like a broken record or one trick pony.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey, didnt McSame say your NOT rich unless you make OVER 5 MILLION a year.............must be nice to be such a fat cat elitist that you consider people earning 4-5 million a year "middle class"

    ReplyDelete
  11. Larry, great article, thank you!!

    Mike - you are so right in your comments.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ...it is definently the Wagging of the Dog...any second Kirsten Dunst will appear with a Kitten in her arms ( ahh, that would be a bag of doritos...)

    Great post....sadly you have hit the nail on the head...

    ReplyDelete
  13. NEW THREAD ON JOHN McCAIN and how dangerous he is.

    Please leave comments on new thread.
    thanks!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. "Wag the Dog" was a fine movie. However, the actual intent of the fake Balkans war in the storyline was not to distract public attention from the economy. Rather, it was to distract attention from a scandal in which the President groped a "Firefly" (Girl Scout} girl. Interestingly enough, the movie almost coincided with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Bill Clinton's second invasion of Yugoslavia, a country that never did anything hostile to the USA.

    I don't buy the idea that W or McCain or whoever has instigated this crisis in Georgia for political gain. The unpopularity of the Iraq War has already cost the GOP politically in the 2006 elections, and conditions in Afghanistan have been getting worse for coalition forces. The last thing the Republicans would want is a THIRD unpopular war, especially against Russia.

    Mr. Whitney's comment, "Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili would never dream of launching a massive military attack unless he got explicit orders from his bosses at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave" is rooted in a false premise. Georgia never launched an attack against any other sovereign nation, massive or otherwise. South Ossetia is a region within Georgia that had risen up in rebellion. If Georgia doesn't have a right to defeat a rebellion within its borders, then Lincoln had no right to invade South Carolina or Mississippi.

    The idea that the Georgia government is afraid to "disobey American power-brokers" is a bit of a stretch. If anything, Saakashvili should be far more fearful of incurring the wrath of Russia, which he has done. Putin and his successor in the Kremlin are in a much better position to overthrow him than W is.

    ReplyDelete