World News 10/10/2006

Mr. Rumsfeld While up north I read the NY Times about Donald Rumsfeld. I had never understood him nor felt empathy for him before. I hadn't thought too much about his military philosophy. Succinctly, he envisages a small, mobile, and flexible army able to respond quickly with high tech weaponry. This is not the type of army required for occupation of a country. Occupation of an unfriendly country needs lots of troops and they sit there holding the country. There seems to be an egregious dissonance between Mr. Rumsfeld's views and what has actually been going on for the last 3 years. Once the role of the small, flexible force was finished - back when Saddam's statue fell - we were really in the soup. Now we needed a big, hulking presence. We had disbanded the Iraqi police and army. There was nothing left except the small, mobile force unsuited for the role it was suddenly called upon to play. My question: Mr. Rumsfeld and company are smart people. Once it was apparent that the small and flexible army phase was over did they not meet the new situation with what it required? Why? Why? Why? Mr. Putin Three cheers for Mr. Putin and Gazprom. They have decided to go it alone on the development of the Shtokman gas field. It will be 100% Russian. Good. We never did enough to assist Russia in the years following the collapse of the USSR when everything fell into chaos and the Russian Mob ran the country. Gangsters took control of state industries and we pretty much looked at it and thought what a lovely view of a new capitalist society! Russia isn't even a member yet of the World Trade Organization. They haven't jumped through all the hoops. Mr. Chavez Our local gas station is Citgo. Actually, it was Marathon until Katrina. Since gas was in short supply after Katrina, Marathon cut them off and they were able to continue as Citgo. So I have been buying Citgo and will continue. (If I remember correctly, Citgo was Cities Service was Sinclair Oil...and Sinclair had that cute dinosaur. I may have met Harry Sinclair once.) All of a sudden my parents think I should buy my gas elsewhere because some fop has said Venezuela has applied for associate status in the axis of evil. The only thing I have against Mr. Chavez is the fact that he provided price relief on heating oil for Massachusetts and not me! I point out to my parents that no oil company of any sort has done me any favors and since we are going to actually continue to be dependent on foreign oil, then I will continue to pay 2 cents per gallon less at Citgo than at the station across the street. What's that? You are surprised we are going to continue our foreign oil dependence? Just look at how important that issue is in the mid-terms.