Comments on: Public Service Is an Ignoble Calling

By: JT

JT — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:34:31 +0000

The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait invited the US military there to defend them from Iraq.

By: ryan

ryan — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:47:19 +0000

In a globalized world what happens in economically important states is our concern. What happens there affects us here. In order for any system–political or economic–to succeed there must be stability. Our armed forces have acted as that stabilizing force in nations deemed to be crucial to the world’s economy and thus of upmost importance to our national security.

By: nate-m

nate-m — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 04:17:50 +0000

It’s a bit worse. At least a going to a brothel and paying for a screw is voluntary.

By: Sione

Sione — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:45:05 +0000

Walt D

Yup! Sure is, but it’s a nation wide franchise. Lots of people are getting screwed there.

Sione

By: Sione

Sione — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:39:30 +0000

You’re assuming that you know what Saddam was thinking (you mind reader you!) and that the conflict between his gang and the gang that runs Kuwait requires foreign intervention from your US empire.

Sione

By: FN Cee

FN Cee — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:37:41 +0000

“A & M” is a long way from the top of a very long list of colleges and universities who are “contributors to heinous national and international crimes and financial mayhem” … a list on which Harvard holds the auspicious number-one ranking.

By: Sione

Sione — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:33:16 +0000

And only a wet botty-wipe would interfere in other people’s business. Iraq and Iran and Kuwait and all those outfits are not part of the USA. Hell, they’re not even part of the county you live in. Best not to interfere. Stay out of it.

Sione

By: Lee Adams

Lee Adams — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:22:23 +0000

As a former student of that once fine University. I must disagree with the “more or less ” statement. However, it has gone down hill since the early 90′s or ever since Bush eyed Texas A&M University. I do not agree with all of your comments although I have to agree that we are not I see no benefit in being the worlds policeman. I am not sure if I agree that imperialism is always wrong but half-ass imperialism is always a disaster.

H.W. Bush has destroyed what was left of the Southern Libertarian culture that Texas A&M University had and replaced it with his kinder and gentler form of bondage. In the true form of the first republican president (Linclon) who murdered about 1 million Americans to collect taxes and centralize power at the federal level.

The University is run by and is full of socialist (many of whom don’t know it) and the good people that still remain are brow beat to conform. LBJ ruined the University of Texas and Bush ruined Texas A&M University. I did get a fine engineering education there and it is absolutely is one of the best in the nation. I know many fine military officers from Texas A&M that have not seen any use in nation building nor the loss of their people to bring us this “New World Order” that Bush and his the presidents after him have pursued.

By: Walt D.

Walt D. — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 05:57:07 +0000

“Bush School of Government and Public Service”
Is this a brothel in Nevada?

By: Willink

Willink — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:31:01 +0000

I was struck by the same thing as JT when reading the article, I tried to focus on the breadth of the argument but the horrible section on Kuwait distracted me. The Kuwaiti-Iraqi relationship has been a precarious one for decades, it wasn’t simply a case of those insidious billionaire statist ruling Kuwait depriving the Iraqi’s of their rightly-deserved oil, as the setup here seems to imply.

Even beyond that approach the United States (as mistaken as it is in foreign policy) had interests beyond simply oil in Kuwait in terms of power projection and the like which Iraq threw a wrench in.

By: BioTube

BioTube — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:41:29 +0000

If you’d read the bit before the article actually begins, you’d see it was written back in January.

By: JT

JT — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:17:00 +0000

You’re assuming that Saddam Hussein a) needed a justifiable reason to do anything and b) used logic in economic analysis.

By: AZ Economist

AZ Economist — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:05:12 +0000

“Economic warfare by overproducing oil,” is such a ridulous statement. Warfare can not be justified by a non-violent act such as production.

By: JT

JT — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:46:50 +0000

The title of this article intrigued me. I had high hopes, but the author failed to develop any substantive argument except that all wars are bad.

Additionally, the whole reasoning for the Gulf War is quite off base. Iraq had made claims that Kuwait was a renegade province as far back as the 1960s. Kuwait also helped finance Iraq’s decade long war against Iran and refused to forgive the debt ($14 billion). Iraq also claimed that Kuwait engaged in economic warfare by overproducing oil to drive the price down. Only a Saddam loving footstool would believe the slant drilling story.

By: Inquisitor

Inquisitor — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:03 +0000

Their motto reminds me of the UK Home Office’s poster from last year “Thieves work office hours too.”

By: Docstout

Docstout — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:56:55 +0000

Any picture posted by a friend today, (April 1) is suspect, and I’d get independent verification that the image is not part of an April Fool’s Prank before writing about it.

By: victor

victor — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:55:47 +0000

Ah yes the youth… Semper Paratus… to die for some noble deeds in the steed of an American Ceasar. Thankfully, many grow-up and realize who are the Fortunate Sons.