[Mb-civic] No Mullah Left Behind By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

[richard haase]

yes and they should all back my shows
kissing up to every faschist i can

richard haase
the lithe thin bialystock
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robin McNamara" <olhippie at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <mb-civic at islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] No Mullah Left Behind By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN


> If & when "sanctions" go into place, it would never work Iran has Putin &
> the the oil & they know it, the whole thing is a joke he mother of all
> battles has only just begun, espeshally with Sistaini in Iraq with latest
> election results .What do we do now BOMB "again"  oooooo watch out Iran
> North Korea is watching with China "behind the scenes" Shit's beginning
,to
> get interesting folks :)
>
> Peace
> Robin
>
> Peace
> Robin
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Butler" <michael at michaelbutler.com>
> To: "Civic" <mb-civic at islandlists.com>
> Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 2:24 PM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] No Mullah Left Behind By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
>
>
> > The New York Times
> > February 13, 2005
> > OP-ED COLUMNIST
> > No Mullah Left Behind
> > By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
> >
> > The Wall Street Journal ran a very, very alarming article from Iran on
its
> > front page last Tuesday. The article explained how the mullahs in
Tehran -
> > who are now swimming in cash thanks to soaring oil prices - rather than
> > begging foreign investors to come into Iran, are now shunning some of
> > them.
> > The article related how a Turkish mobile-phone operator, which had
signed
> > a
> > deal with the Iranian government to launch Iran's first privately owned
> > cellphone network, had the contract frozen by the mullahs in the Iranian
> > Parliament because they were worried it might help the Turks and their
> > foreign partners spy on Iran.
> >
> > The Journal quoted Ali Ansari, an Iran specialist at the University of
St.
> > Andrews in Scotland, as saying that for 10 years analysts had been
writing
> > about Iran's need for economic reform. "In actual fact, the scenario is
> > worse now," said Mr. Ansari. "They have all this money with the high oil
> > price, and they don't need to do anything about reforming the economy."
> > Indeed, The Journal added, the conservative mullahs are feeling even
more
> > emboldened to argue that with high oil prices, Iran doesn't need Western
> > investment capital and should feel "free to pursue its nuclear power
> > program
> > without interference."
> >
> > This is a perfect example of the Bush energy policy at work, and the
Bush
> > energy policy is: "No Mullah Left Behind."
> >
> > By adamantly refusing to do anything to improve energy conservation in
> > America, or to phase in a $1-a-gallon gasoline tax on American drivers,
or
> > to demand increased mileage from Detroit's automakers, or to develop a
> > crash
> > program for renewable sources of energy, the Bush team is - as others
have
> > noted - financing both sides of the war on terrorism. We are financing
the
> > U.S. armed forces with our tax dollars, and, through our profligate use
of
> > energy, we are generating huge windfall profits for Saudi Arabia, Iran
and
> > Sudan, where the cash is used to insulate the regimes from any pressure
to
> > open up their economies, liberate their women or modernize their
schools,
> > and where it ends up instead financing madrassas, mosques and militants
> > fundamentally opposed to the progressive, pluralistic agenda America is
> > trying to promote. Now how smart is that?
> >
> > The neocon strategy may have been necessary to trigger reform in Iraq
and
> > the wider Arab world, but it will not be sufficient unless it is
followed
> > up
> > by what I call a "geo-green" strategy.
> >
> > As a geo-green, I believe that combining environmentalism and
geopolitics
> > is
> > the most moral and realistic strategy the U.S. could pursue today.
Imagine
> > if President Bush used his bully pulpit and political capital to focus
the
> > nation on sharply lowering energy consumption and embracing a gasoline
> > tax.
> >
> > What would that buy? It would buy reform in some of the worst regimes in
> > the
> > world, from Tehran to Moscow. It would reduce the chances that the U.S.
> > and
> > China are going to have a global struggle over oil - which is where we
are
> > heading. It would help us to strengthen the dollar and reduce the
current
> > account deficit by importing less crude. It would reduce climate change
> > more
> > than anything in Kyoto. It would significantly improve America's
standing
> > in
> > the world by making us good global citizens. It would shrink the budget
> > deficit. It would reduce our dependence on the Saudis so we could tell
> > them
> > the truth. (Addicts never tell the truth to their pushers.) And it would
> > pull China away from its drift into supporting some of the worst
> > governments
> > in the world, like Sudan's, because it needs their oil. Most important,
> > making energy independence our generation's moon shot could help inspire
> > more young people to go into science and engineering, which we
desperately
> > need.
> >
> > Sadly, the Bush team won't even consider this. It prefers cruise
missiles
> > to
> > cruise controls. We need a grass-roots movement. Where are college kids
> > these days? I would like to see every campus in America demand that its
> > board of trustees disinvest from every U.S. auto company until they
> > improve
> > their mileage standards. Every college town needs to declare itself a
> > "Hummer-free zone." You want to drive a gas-guzzling Humvee? Go to Iraq,
> > not
> > our campus. And an idea from my wife, Ann: free parking anywhere in
> > America
> > for anyone driving a hybrid car.
> >
> > But no, President Bush has a better project: borrowing another trillion
> > dollars, which will make us that much more dependent on countries like
> > China
> > and Saudi Arabia that hold our debt - so that you might, if you do
> > everything right and live long enough, get a few more bucks out of your
> > Social Security account.
> >
> > The president's priorities are totally nuts.
> >
> > Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy |
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