Iraqi's finally have their sovereignty or do they! I guess only time will tell. It is good to be optimistic.
Also these microbikes... i hate them. There are these kids who drive them in front of my house and boy do they make a racket. I thought that they were illegal and if they are not then they should be. These kids do not realize that anything in excess will finally hurt them. I am sure that like me my neighbours are also quite pissed off and eventually one of us will complain and this will stop.
Bill Clinton is visiting our area for his book signing deal. I am in two minds whether to go get an autographed book from the man. But all the reviews I have read about his book are quite bad so I am not too keen on buying the book. Typically I feel that one should wait for some time before buying a history or biography because by then some of the material is declassified. Anyway lets see what I do!
Monday, June 28, 2004
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Lies and Democracy
America is getting ready to transfer sovereignty to Iraq. It has been a long journey to get to this point. However looking back; the question that comes to my mind is, has this adventure (or misadventure) been worth it. It seems to me that this whole thing started on a lie and since then it has only gotten bad. So lets see what these lies are:
1. WMD: It started off as a hunt for WMD (this 3-letter acronym has entered our lexicon thanks in part to this war). The Bush Administration scared the public stiff with the image of a mushroom cloud delivered from Baghdad. So far the hunt for these weapons has not turned up anything smoking (not even a gun). Somehow this issue has just got buried under tons of other issues like the prisoner issue etc. The press has not pursued this. And the administration spoiled it relations with the UN and world community over this.
2. Al Queda: Sometimes I feel that the administration was probably thankful for the 9/11 attacks because without this it would have been very difficult for them to justify this war. After reading Paul O Neil's and Joe Wilsons accounts it seems like the administration was looking for a reason for this war. In 9/11 it found it. It drummed the beat of the connection between Al Queda and Saddam, again without giving any substantial evidence. And when the WMD reason did not pan out the drum roll only got louder.
There has been a lot of talks about the neocons driving this war and the President being manipulated by them. But the more I think of this, I am starting to form the opinion that the President himself is a neocon who has surrounded himself with neocons and executes a neocon strategy. Why then would the war planning have started even before the 9/11 attacks.
A President who came to power based on the promise of building International coalitions has done the most damage to coalitions. He has gone about with a single minded objective of the war against Iraq and setout to achieve this objective as soon as he came into power. I beleive that if 9/11 had not taken place then he would have used a different reason to go to war.
All in all the administration's strategy is based on a set of lies it has told the public. It has disgraced American intelligence efforts (De Gaulle once told Dean Acheson that he believed the word of President Kennedy about the missiles in Cuba when offered to review evidence, can you imagine this today!) and reversed previous foreign policy strategies of the previous admistrations. America is now stuck in Iraq and needs to complete its mission no matter what administration comes to power. However I sincerely hope that that the people of America will see through an administration who has used lies and half baked truths to push its agenda and turn them out of power.
1. WMD: It started off as a hunt for WMD (this 3-letter acronym has entered our lexicon thanks in part to this war). The Bush Administration scared the public stiff with the image of a mushroom cloud delivered from Baghdad. So far the hunt for these weapons has not turned up anything smoking (not even a gun). Somehow this issue has just got buried under tons of other issues like the prisoner issue etc. The press has not pursued this. And the administration spoiled it relations with the UN and world community over this.
2. Al Queda: Sometimes I feel that the administration was probably thankful for the 9/11 attacks because without this it would have been very difficult for them to justify this war. After reading Paul O Neil's and Joe Wilsons accounts it seems like the administration was looking for a reason for this war. In 9/11 it found it. It drummed the beat of the connection between Al Queda and Saddam, again without giving any substantial evidence. And when the WMD reason did not pan out the drum roll only got louder.
There has been a lot of talks about the neocons driving this war and the President being manipulated by them. But the more I think of this, I am starting to form the opinion that the President himself is a neocon who has surrounded himself with neocons and executes a neocon strategy. Why then would the war planning have started even before the 9/11 attacks.
A President who came to power based on the promise of building International coalitions has done the most damage to coalitions. He has gone about with a single minded objective of the war against Iraq and setout to achieve this objective as soon as he came into power. I beleive that if 9/11 had not taken place then he would have used a different reason to go to war.
All in all the administration's strategy is based on a set of lies it has told the public. It has disgraced American intelligence efforts (De Gaulle once told Dean Acheson that he believed the word of President Kennedy about the missiles in Cuba when offered to review evidence, can you imagine this today!) and reversed previous foreign policy strategies of the previous admistrations. America is now stuck in Iraq and needs to complete its mission no matter what administration comes to power. However I sincerely hope that that the people of America will see through an administration who has used lies and half baked truths to push its agenda and turn them out of power.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Amazon.com: Books: Khrushchev: The Man and His Era
Amazon.com: Books: Khrushchev: The Man and His Era: " Fantastic...Fantastic, June 1, 2004
Reviewer: Ashok S. Prabhu (see more about me) from San Jose, CA USA
This is one of the best written biographies I have read. With so much action going on in this book who needs Fiction. In terms of a historical biography it gives a clear insight into the workings of Khruschev. It looks at his strength and his weaknesses. It covers so much ground and so well that I think this book is an indispensible guide to Cold War, how it came about and how it was played out. It also offers a great insight into the workings of the USSR and the beginning of its end. But above all it offers a look into one of the most complicated man in history. "
Reviewer: Ashok S. Prabhu (see more about me) from San Jose, CA USA
This is one of the best written biographies I have read. With so much action going on in this book who needs Fiction. In terms of a historical biography it gives a clear insight into the workings of Khruschev. It looks at his strength and his weaknesses. It covers so much ground and so well that I think this book is an indispensible guide to Cold War, how it came about and how it was played out. It also offers a great insight into the workings of the USSR and the beginning of its end. But above all it offers a look into one of the most complicated man in history. "
Lastest Books Read
Note: 5 Stars Indicate the best
- Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters: Matt Ridley****
- The First Man: Albert Camus***
- The Persian Puzzle; the Conflict between Iran and America: Keneth M. Pollack***
- War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947-48: C Dasgupta ****
- Free World, America, Europe and the Suprising Future of the West: Timothy Garton Ash ***
- The Missing Peace: Dennis Ross ****
- In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam : Robert S. McNamara***
- When the War was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution: Elizabeth Becker****
- The Palace Walk : Naguib Mahfouz***
- The Politics of Truth: Joseph Wilson***
- Against All Enemies: Richard Clarke **
- Khrushchev: The Man and his Era by William Taubman *****
- 1419: The Year the Chinese discovered the World ****
- Arab and Jew : David Shipler ****
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