We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Iran Sends Missiles to Iraq: US Finally Shows Concern for Sectarianism, Civilian Casualties

Click here to access article by Jim White from emptywheel.
The hubris involved in the US suggesting that Iran’s missiles could inflame sectarianism or cause civilian casualties is nothing short of staggering. But none of the idiots engaging in this hand-wringing will ever be forced to account for the real source of sectarian tensions and civilian casualties in Iraq.
Stirring up sectarian tensions has been a primary strategy of the Zionist-conservatives (euphemistically known as neocons) that have taken control of US foreign policies in the Middle East since 9/11. All actions toward this end have been supported by these ideologues whose interest was/is to encourage Muslims to kill other Muslims. 

Before the US-British invasion of Iraq the relations between Muslim sects were very much like the various denominations of Christians in the US. But soon after the invasion we started reading reports of mysterious bombings of mosques in Iraq and the blame put on other Muslim sects. Then there was the mysterious report of British soldiers dressed up like Arabs who were arrested by Iraqi police for carrying numerous weapons and explosives. Following their arrest they were just as mysteriously rescued by the British army using tanks in an assault on the prison where they were being held. No official explanation was ever offered and the story soon disappeared down the capitalist media black hole.