Just got through reading Frank Rich's column about how we have become a country of proverbial "Good Germans" and I couldn't agree more. So unwilling are the American people to engage the realities of American torture, rendition, out of control contractors and the failure of policy in Iraq that the horrors and ineffectiveness of our occupation there are scarcely a topic of discussion among most of us even as we approach a presidential election year.
Forget discussions of the cost of the war in dollars and even in lives and ponder for a few moments these key questions:
--A lot of people are uneasy with the role of Blackwater in the murder of 17 apparently innocent Iraqis last month (and two
more Christian Iraqi women in a separate incident later), but has anyone asked what would happen to our American troops if Blackwater were to suddenly pull up stakes in Iraq? As Rich pointed out in his column, it is contractors--not the overtaxed U.S. Army--that delivers the "bullets and butter" to Baghdad.
--While some form of torture or "enhanced interrogation" has long been an aspect of American detention and information gathering (don't fool yourself otherwise), the horrors of rendition, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo suggest an even uglier element to the present day conflagration. Would we be so willing to torture enemy combatants if they were not largely Muslim or brown-skinned? And would the American people at large be so willing and able to turn a blind eye towards it if it were happening to "white people"?
It's been said by people on the right that if we pulled out of Iraq now, the remade country we helped create would collapse in factionalism and be left wide open to complete domination by al-Qaeda, making the United States less safe than ever in a world plagued with any number of terrorist organizations hellbent on sowing the seeds of chaos. My final question is this: does our continued occupation of Iraq combined with our not-so-secret endorsement and encouragement of global torture not also help recruit more terrorists and further destablize one of the most volatile regions in the world?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The 100-Word Review: THE KINGDOM (Rated 'R')
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper. Written by: Matthew Carnahan Directed by: Peter Berg
THE REVIEW: This is a thoughtful thriller about an FBI forensics team dispatched to discover the perpetrators of a horrific terror attack in Saudi Arabia while trying to navigate through the murky waters of Saudi sovreign concerns, political shenanigans back home and radical terrorists who are trying to kill them. Acting takes a backseat to the kinetic direction and editing, but all the players are effective and even if some of the plot elements are somewhat hard to follow at times, as a viewer you are always aware of the stakes and the conflicting loyalties involved in this dangerous mission. A middle section that occasionally drags is bookended by bloody and brutal violence that is not gratuitous only because it is necessary to show the motives, means and brutality of the enemy at large. My Grade: A-
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Another Top Ten List from the Inimitable Dr. Z!
Tonight's Top Ten List comes to you from the Home Office in Corona, CA:
Top Ten Things about the new fall TV season I (The Notorious Dr. Z? Infamous? Nefarious? Ridiculous?) want to talk about in Top Ten List form:
10. The geeks shall inherit the earth! (See "Chuck", "Heroes")
9. Geeks can see through poser geeks and dumb girl stereotypes. (See "The Big Bang Theory". Or better yet, DON'T)
8. Neil Patrick Harris is getting funnier with each season on "How I Met Your Mother"! He is legen - wait for it - dary!
7. Jim and Pam are making me think office romances have potential. ("The Office")
6. Dwight/Angela, Ryan/Kelly and Michael/Jan are making me think office romances are still not a good idea. (also "The Office.")
5. ''Friday Night Lights" now on Fridays! Way to go NBC! (Now don't screw this up!)
4. Caveman 40 second commericals = funny. Caveman 30 minute TV show = horribly, brutally bad. Seriously. Show us 30 minutes of the commercials. The show is THAT bad!
3. Ray Wise as the Devil is the best casting move of the new season! (For me, maybe ever! Watch "Reaper" to find out!)
2. I don't watch ANYTHING on ABC. (I tried to watch "Caveman", and look at #4 to see how that worked out!)
1. Will someone PLEASE give Nathan Fillion a great show to showcase how much fun he is?!?! (Oh wait, they did that. It was called "Firefly". Fox cancelled it. Well, give him another one, dammit! Don't make him wait for years and then hit it big by being called McDreamy, McMuffin or McWhateverelseisfunny! From what I hear, he's stealing every scene he's in on "Desperate Housewives")
Z, I couldn't agree more. And on that note...peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment