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Friday, November 1, 2013

Richard (RJ) Eskow: Tick-Tick-Tick: Do 60 Minutes And America's Billionaires Want Us to Beg?

If you're a jobless person looking for food or a wounded vet who needs health care, 60 Minutes has a solution: Beg a billionaire for it. That was part of the powerful, if covert, message behind last Sunday's 60 Minutes broadcast.

The rest of Sunday night's message, which tracks closely with the right-wing agenda promoted by billionaires like Pete Peterson, goes like this: Keep downsizing government. Keep tolerating and promoting the hijacking of our national wealth by the rich, even as it suffocates the middle class and creates soaring poverty rates. Surrender democratic control over the social safety net to wealthy donors.

And whatever you do, keep stroking their insatiable egos.

The Agenda

Did the 60 Minutes staff sit around a table and choose this message? Probably not. Chances are we're just seeing more evidence of a herd mentality among our well-paid elites. But they might as well have.

This ideological bias agenda was glaringly evident in Lesley Stahl's "Counterinsurgency Cops" story. Viewers weren't informed that Stahl is on the board of anti-government billionaire Pete Peterson's Foundation, for example, or that her foundation works closely with the defense contractors of "Fix the Debt." Those contractors stand to make billions more in taxpayer-funded profits if America's cities buy into Stahl's premise and purchase even more military equipment -- including tanks, sniperscopes, full battle regalia, night vision goggles, and drones.

The Peterson anti-government vision dovetails nicely with a conservative fantasy world in which all government spending is bad - but military and police spending somehow isn't "government," or "big government," or whatever it is they're railing against today. We discussed "Counterinsurgency Cops" in Part 1 of this piece.

Sunday's broadcast also featured Scott Pelley's flattering portrait of a hedge fund billionaire's generosity, which failed to ask the fundamental question: Why do we need to depend on a hedge fund billionaire's generosity in the first place?

As they say on 60 Minutes: The answer might astonish you.

Say what?

The 60 Minutes website [1] tells us that "Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' charity -- the Robin Hood Foundation -- fights poverty with the hardnosed, business sense of Wall Street." Say what? The "hardnosed, business sense" of Wall Street? That "hardnosed business sense" was actually, by any objective measure, fiscal incompetence and gross managerial negligence.

Wall Street's "business sense" would have driven every single financial institution in the country into catastrophic collapse - that is, if the government (which presumably lacks such "sense") hadn't stepped in to rescue them. Not only did Wall Street's titans grievously mismanage their books. There is now overwhelming evidence that executives at every major bank criminally and fraudulently deceived their customers.

You could call that latter trait "hardnosed," I suppose.

Mr. Jones

What about Paul Tudor Jones himself? We don't hesitate to trash bankers and hedge funders, and there are plenty of them who deserve it. (See Robespierre of the Hedge Fund Revolution or any of our Jamie Dimon pieces.) But as hedge fund managers go, Jones seems to be one of the smarter ones.

As hedge fund managers go, that is ... Jones' apparent talent doesn't change the fact that, based on current incentives, today's hedge fund industry is unethical by design. We remain unconvinced that hedge funds as they're currently structured are anything except economically and socially destructive.

That said, Jones the Trader seems to be an intelligent and effective business person. Jones the Political Donor is straight GOP, all the way, but that's not surprising. And Jones the Philanthropist seems to be well-intentioned enough. He deserves a lot of praise for devoting so much time and energy to good works.

So far, so good.

You Are What You Measure

Even Pelley's misguided "hardnosed" comment has a kernel of truth to it. There are new and smart initiatives which seek to apply better metrics to philanthropy. They're sometimes called "SROI" (for "Social Return on Investment"). But, as in business, the value of your measurements is determined by what you choose to measure. Those are the decisions which reflect your values. "Applying business metrics" is a meaningless notion in philanthropy, since profit - the proverbial "bottom line" -- is always paramount in business.

Profits are relatively easy to measure, compared to questions like: How many kids did we feed this year? Would they have eaten otherwise? Could we have fed more kids, and more needy kids, with different foods? Different advertising? A different location? There are thousands of questions like these for each charitable venture.

60 Minutes told us that Jones and his Board like to do a lot of measuring, but they didn't tell us how. The entire issue was glossed over after Jones said "we probably de-fund 5 percent to 10 percent of our grantees." There's nothing wrong with that percentage -- it's reasonable and, if anything, on the low side - but the important question was, "How do you decide?" Instead we're treated to the sight of a starry-eyed Pelley repeating with slack-jawed admiration: "You do that to 5 percent to 10 percent of your projects every year?"

We weren't told which projects are de-funded or why. Instead the very idea is treated as a novel concept, as if the ordinary concept of withdrawing support for less effective programs is some new visionary breakthrough from the "hardnosed geniuses" of Wall Street.

Government measures its results, and so do independent economists and researchers. Did Paul Tudor Jones and his people find better ways to measure social services? There's no way to know, because 60 Minutes didn't tell us. Apparently it was too dazzled to even ask.

The Unasked Question

About the question we asked earlier: Why would New York City need to rely on the generosity of billionaires? Pelley poses it in typically breathless fashion:

"Paul Tudor Jones wonders that if billionaires, like him, are such geniuses, then why do nearly two million people live in poverty [2] in New York City alone?"[3]

We'll skip lightly over the "geniuses" remark [4] to offer a better answer to that question than Jones and Pelley provide: One of the reasons is because hedge fund billionaires like Paul Tudor Jones don't pay enough in taxes.

Paul Tudor Jones, Charity Recipient

When it comes to taxation, Paul Tudor Jones isn't a philanthropist. He's their beneficiary of everyone else's generosity. Let's do the math. Rather than a invade Jones' privacy, we'll run some rough estimates instead [5] for illustrative purposes: What if there had been no hedge fund loophole for people like Paul Tudor Jones and he had paid Obama's top tax rate of 39.5 percent? Our hypothetical Jones would have paid an additional $1 billion in taxes. That's nearly as much as all the donors to the "Robin Hood Foundation," including Jones, have given in its entire history.

If the top rate were raised to 70 percent, as it was when Ronald Reagan took over, our presumptive Jones would have paid roughly $2.3 billion in additional taxes, nearly doubling the "Robin Hood" figure.

And if it were raised to the 92 percent level, as it was under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower [6], our Mr. Jones would have paid an additional $3.2 billion in taxes.

Taxpayers Are Subsidizing "Robin Hood"

Of course, Paul Tudor Jones doesn't want to pay more taxes. That's undoubtedly one reason why he donated to the McCain and Romney campaigns. It's much more gratifying to give whatever you feel like giving, whenever you feel like it. And it must be way more fun to dictate terms to women running soup kitchens (as portrayed in 60 Minutes), give pseudo-evangelical speeches to adoring crowds, and be lionized on television under the adoring gaze of Scott Pelley.

Can't blame him for that, I suppose. But why should the rest of us subsidize it?

That's right. If the "Robin Hood Foundation" has collected $1.2 billion in tax-deductible contributions, that means the US government has given up nearly $200 million in tax income (perhaps much more) as a result. [7] The rest of us are picking up the slack - either with our taxes, or in the loss of needed services. We're subsidizing the generosity of billionaires.

That's no reason to end deductions for charitable giving, but here's a thought: If we're paying 15 to 40 percent of the pricetag, shouldn't taxpayers have a voice in how this massive foundation is run?

Robin Hood, My A**

Most Wall Street billionaires are Robin Hoods in reverse. The work of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the Levin Senate Subcommittee, and other investigative bodies have shown that they earned much of their wealth through the duplicitous treatment of bank customers, homeowners, union pension funds, and the plundering of other middle-class financial resources. And over the past several decades leaders in both parties (although the Republicans are far more extreme) have presided over the most extreme upward transfer of wealth in modern history.

"Robin Hood Foundation"? We admire his philanthropic instincts, but Jones should be ashamed of that name. It's a gesture of supreme arrogance. Robin Hood, as we all know, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Far too many of his foundation's benefactors have done precisely the opposite.

Jones says he wants to be "at the forefront of actually finding a way to kick poverty's ass." Gotta love that attitude. But that particular ass-kicking will require systemic change - and genuine sacrifice from the likes of Paul Tudor Jones.

Nobody wants to steal from the ultra-wealthy class, a group which 60 Minutes shows celebrating itself at a Jones fundraiser. But we do want them to pay their fair share. It would be nice if they stopped stealing from others, too.

Handout Nation

The Jones/60 Minutes vision of America is of that of a nation in which the majority must tolerate the slow siphoning off of its wealth, while hoping against hope that some of the siphoners will then deign to rescue them from poverty. Is that the kind of society we want to become? A "Handout Nation"? A people who must rely on the kindness of strangers?

We'll close with a few words about the third and final story on last Sunday's 60 Minutes, entitled "The Invisible Wounds of War." The producers couldn't even cover that story without ladling out a thick gravy of anti-government ideology. Instead of covering the Veterans Administration, for example (it's done some impressive things), the story focuses on yet another private donor. Says host David Martin:

"Head of one of New York's most successful construction firms, (Art) Fisher offered to build a state of the art brain injury center. His foundation would raise the money. All he asked of the government was to stay out of his way." (Emphasis ours)

The story never asks why our government doesn't have the money or resources to treat brain-injured veterans, especially since we supposedly honor and respect their sacrifice. Again: One of the reasons is because people like Art Fisher don't pay enough in taxes.

The report doesn't even raise the issue. Instead it gives the floor to Fisher, who sneers that "we can build (a veterans' brain injury facility) in half the time, half the cost and twice the quality" (as the government can).

The numbers say otherwise. Government health care is more efficient, and more cost-efficient, than its private-sector counterparts. And its greatest cost limitations come from the restrictions which Republicans (beneficiaries of these donors' generosity) have placed on its ability to negotiate prices and manage its services.

The Kindness of Billionaires

"All he asked of the government was to stay out of his way."

That's Art Fisher's agenda, and it's Paul Tudor Jones' agenda too: If you're nice to us, and if you let us keep siphoning the nation's wealth, a few of us will help you - just as long as the a) flattery keeps flowing, b) you keep subsidizing our gifts, and c) you relinquish control over your destinies to us. It seems to be the 60 Minutes agenda, too.

60 Minutes was once a shining light of independent journalism. Now it's a covert mouthpiece for the far-right, anti-government values of the Peterson crowd. Once it spoke to, and for, a majority whose interests it fought to defend. Now it represents an atavistically self-centered billionaire class which expects flattery from its subjects whenever it deigns to take notice of their misery. CBS News, I want my hour back. But then, I want my country back too.

Tick-tick-tick. They'll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Curiously, the CBS web page which touts his work also tells us that "Bill Clinton tried to get Led Zeppelin back together." I don't get the connection between these stories. That group's bass player was John Paul Jones. Different guy altogether. Maybe the common thread is the Clintons, who have benefited mightily from the generosity of hedge funders. You're not likely to find them challenging the 60 Minutes narrative.

[2] Twenty percent of New Yorkers - one in five - live in poverty. Neither Pelley nor Jones seems curious about that - at least, not curious enough to investigate it.

[3] I don't know why the CBS News website uses so many commas in its sentences. It's distracting and hard to read, but that's how they transcribe their scripts.

[4] The money-making talent doesn't always equate with intelligence per se, although there are forms of intelligence that can be used to accumulate great wealth. Some billionaires are very gifted people. But sometimes average intelligence, when combined with rapacious greed, personality quirks, or character defects, can do the trick very effectively. And sometimes "idiot savant" is a better description of their gifts than "genius."

[5] Let's assume that Jones' wealth comes from income taxed at the "hedge fund loophole" rate of 15 percent. (That's generous, since he and his fellow billionaires often pay far less than that.) That would mean that he earned $4.235 billion and paid $635 million in taxes.

[6] Conservatives love to claim that the actual top tax rate under Eisenhower was much less than that. They base that argument on a simple math error, or deception, which has been explained elsewhere.

[7] Here's the math: Even if all the donors were hedge funders (which is unlikely), they were able to write $1.2 billion off at a 15 percent rate, which comes to $180 million. At the 35 percent Bush tax-cut rate, the figure comes to $420 million in lost tax revenue. (We're assuming these deductions came to less than 50 percent of donors' adjusted gross income, which is the limit for charitable deductions.)

Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow

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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

James Clear: How to Become a Billionaire: Lessons Learned From Meeting Richard Branson

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In 1966, a dyslexic 16-year-old boy dropped out of school. With the help of a friend, he started a magazine for students and made money by selling advertisements to local businesses. With only a little bit of money to get started, he ran the operation out of the crypt inside a local church.

Four years later, he was looking for ways to grow his small magazine and started selling mail order records to the students who bought the magazine. The records sold well enough that he built his first record store the next year. After two years of selling records, he decided to open his own record label and recording studio.

He rented the recording studio out to local artists, including one named Mike Oldfield. In that small recording studio, Oldfield created his hit song, Tubular Bells, which became the record label's first release. The song went on to sell over five million copies.

Over the next decade, the young boy grew his record label by adding bands like the Sex Pistols, Culture Club, and the Rolling Stones. Along the way, he continued starting companies: an airline business, then trains, then mobile phones, and on and on. Almost 50 years later, there were over 400 companies under his direction.

Today, that young boy who dropped out of school and kept starting things despite his inexperience and lack of knowledge is a billionaire. His name is Sir Richard Branson.

How I Met Sir Richard Branson

A few months ago, I walked into a conference room in Moscow, Russia and sat down 10 feet from Branson. There were 100 other people around us, but it felt like we were having a conversation in my living room. He was smiling and laughing. His answers seemed unrehearsed and genuine.

At one point, he told the story of how he started Virgin Airlines, a tale that seems to capture his entire approach to business and life. Here's the version he told us, as best I can remember it:

I was in my late twenties, so I had a business, but nobody knew who I was at the time. I was headed to the Virgin Islands and I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was, umm, determined to get there on time.
At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do.
Then, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote "Virgin Airlines. $29." on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.

A few moments after hearing that story, I stood shoulder–to–shoulder with him (he's about six feet tall) and thanked him for sharing some time with us.

The Habits of Successful People: What Makes the Difference?

After speaking with our group, Branson sat on a panel with industry experts to talk about the future of business. As everyone around him was filling the air with business buzzwords and talking about complex ideas for mapping out our future, Branson was saying things like: "Screw it, just get on and do it." Which was closely followed by: "Why can't we mine asteroids?"

As I looked up at that panel, I realized that the person who sounded the most simplistic was also the only one who was a billionaire. Which prompted me to wonder, "What's the difference between Branson and everyone else in the room?"

Here's what I think makes all the difference:

Branson doesn't merely say things like, "Screw it, just get on and do it." He actually lives his life that way. He drops out of school and starts a business. He signs the Sex Pistols to his record label when everyone else says they are too controversial. He charters a plane when he doesn't have the money.

When everyone else balks or comes up with a good reason for why the time isn't right, Branson gets started.

Start Now

If you want to summarize the habits of successful people into one phrase, it's this: successful people start before they feel ready.

If there was ever someone who embodied the idea of starting before they felt ready to do so, it's Branson. The very name of his business empire, Virgin, was chosen because when Branson and his partners started they were "virgins" when it came to business.

Branson has started so many businesses, ventures, charities, and expeditions that it's simply not possible for him to have felt prepared, qualified, and ready to start all of them. In fact, it's unlikely that he was qualified or prepared to start any of them. He had never flown a plane and didn't know anything about the engineering of planes, but he started an airline company anyway.

If you're working on something important, then you'll never feel ready. A side effect of doing challenging work is that you're pulled by excitement and pushed by confusion at the same time.

You're bound to feel uncertain, unprepared, and unqualified. But let me assure you of this: what you have right now is enough. You can plan, delay, and revise all you want, but trust me, what you have now is enough to start. Who you are right now is good enough to get going.

We all start in the same place: no money, no resources, no contacts, no experience. The difference is that some people — the winners — choose to start anyway.

If you're having trouble getting started, then read this.

No matter where you are in the world and regardless of what you're working on, I hope you'll start before you feel ready.

James Clear is an entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer in 18 countries. He writes at JamesClear.com, where he shares strategies that make it easier to live a healthy life (both mentally and physically). You can get free ideas on how to live healthy by signing up for his free newsletter.

Original article: Habits of Successful People

Follow James Clear on Twitter:www.twitter.com/james_clear

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HUFFPOST SUPER USERCarl CaroliI just don't understand people2007 Fans 26 minutes ago (10:15 PM)Lots of people do that and fail. Statistically, it's like saying that people that use a system to pick lottery numbers and occasionally win were destined to win. No way. It's more luck than anything else. Again, statistically, there will always be a winner but being at the right place at the right time is really the determining factor.Carl_Caroli: Lots of people do that and fail. Statistically, it's likehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Carl_Caroli/how-to-become-a-billionaire_b_2941528_239632819.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Richard A. Clarke: Never Forget: Our Invasion of Iraq Was a Breach of Trust

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Richard A. ClarkeFormer Advisor to the President on Cyber Security

GET UPDATES FROM Richard A. Clarke Like 3 Never Forget: Our Invasion of Iraq Was a Breach of Trust Posted: 03/19/2013 7:00 am Follow

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On Tuesday, at this 10th anniversary of the American Invasion of Iraq, we would do well to remind ourselves about some painful facts.

Keeping those facts in our collective memory may make it easier for us as a nation to prevent future mistakes. So, let us recall five unfortunate facts about the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

First, the leaders of the Bush administration were intent on invading from the beginning of their time in the White House. When the 9-11 attacks occurred, Bush cabinet members immediately discussed how that tragedy could be used to justify an invasion.

Bush himself asked me to try to pin the blame for 9-11 on Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney propagated a myth that a hijacker had met with Iraqi intelligence officials in Prague, even though we knew at the time Cheney said it that the report was false and that the hijacker was in Virginia at the time of the alleged meeting.

Second, the Bush-Cheney team settled on the excuse for invading that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. They trotted out to Congress, the American people and the United Nations a series of fabricated intelligence reports.

Iraq was allegedly buying "yellow cake" uranium from Niger. The documentary proof used turns out to have been a forgery. Iraq had mobile biological-weapons labs. The eyewitness has been shown to be a liar. Iraq was allegedly training al Qaida. The only evidence of that were the ravings of a terrorist under extreme torture.

The proof that these and other fabricated intelligence reports were erroneous was available well before we invaded.

Third, the mismanagement of the war cost thousands of American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and disfigured, dismembered or traumatized tens of thousands of Americans. The financial and human cost of those casualties will be felt for decades.

The Bush administration had no real plan for occupying Iraq, but it dismissed the Iraqi army, despite the fact that the army had access to a trove of arms. An insurgency immediately followed, and for months thereafter, the secretary of defense not only refused to admit it, he banned the use of the word insurgency.

Fourth, those who profited most were Iran and al Qaeda. For years, Iran's aggression in the region was held in check by the Baghdad government. Since the U.S. invasion, Iran has gained greater influence throughout the area, undermining the U.S. and its allies.

Because we were busy in Iraq, U.S. military and intelligence assets were not available to end quickly the al Qaeda and Taliban presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thus, the people who actually attacked us on Sept. 11 were free for years to regain their strength.

Fifth, the invasion and occupation of Iraq added between one trillion and two trillion dollars to our long-term debt, depending upon what costs are considered (replacing equipment, caring for veterans).

Defense contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater made huge profits. Those expenses were initiated at the same time as the Bush administration began a tax cut. The financial difficulties our government and economy face today are in large part driven by those twin decisions.

It is appropriate that we thank our veteran soldiers and civilians for their service in Iraq, for they did what was asked of them. It is, however, inappropriate that we thank for their service the senior officials who concocted this debacle.

We may have as a nation implicitly decided that we would be better off without trials or even without a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but we should not forget what those officials did to us as a nation, to our soldiers, to our finances, to our moral standing in the world. For to do that, to welcome them back as elder statesmen, would be to offend our fallen and our wounded, and to reward duplicity by those who swore a public trust.

One of America's great strengths is that it looks to the future, not the past. It may also be one of our greatest weaknesses. We often pay a price for our collective amnesia or ignorance of our own history. Instead, we must remember, we must teach the history, not cover it up, and never forget it.

Richard A. Clarke, the counterterrorism coordinator at the National Security Council from 1993 to 2001, is chairman of Good Harbor Consulting and the author of "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror."

First published in the Orlando Sentinel.

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How is it that there is no palpable sense of soul searching associated with the 10th anniversary of a war based on officially concocted lies and a policy of torture? It is because the presumption of a unique American claim to an original and enduring innocence perseveres, no matter the death and destruction.

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This week marks ten years since the launch of the war in Iraq. I was a young Captain at the time, and part of the...

foxnewsradio Pres Obama on 10th Iraq War Anniversary: "The last of our troops left Iraq with their heads held high in 2011." (@Majchrowitz) 9 minutes ago from GroupTweet

lynnsweet Sweet blog Rep. Tammy Duckworth, wounded vet on Iraq War 10th anniversary http://t.co/BJ6K3HlyeY 24 minutes ago from twitterfeed

AP Iraq attacks kill dozens on 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War: http://t.co/hqG5lLyPl9 -AB 50 minutes ago from SocialFlow

AP Iraq attacks kill dozens on 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War: http://t.co/BQ8Fonsnsm -AB 50 minutes ago from SocialFlow

Repent11 On the 10th anniversary of Iraq War; I share my book Baghdad Bound published in 2004. From war's front line. http://t.co/ssc51am2uw #Iraq 1 hour ago from Twitter for BlackBerry®

BobBrigham #MTleg House Dems rolling over instead of standing up today happened on 10th anniversary of Iraq War, which occurred due to same mistake. 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

ComedyCentral It's the 10th anniversary of the #Iraq War. Which means it's probably going to be re-released in 3D this summer. 1 hour ago from web

RepMikeCoffman My statement on the 10 year anniversary of the Iraq War: http://t.co/NJhl8Z2sgH 1 hour ago from web

CostsOfWar Gallup: On 10th Anniversary, 53% in U.S. See Iraq War as Mistake http://t.co/gp7OowDb2l 2 hours ago from Tweet Button

NishaChittal RT @thinkprogress: Today is the 10 year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. http://t.co/fiK9Vk557s 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

justimage On 10th anniversary of US-led war, Iraq still being "liberated" with car bombs: 56 killed today http://t.co/PPpyDMnySo 2 hours ago from Tweet Button

TP_Security RT @thinkprogress Today is the 10 year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. This is the COMPREHENSIVE TIMELINE. http://t.co/AmpWrDahEC 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

thinkprogress Today is the 10 year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. This is the COMPREHENSIVE TIMELINE. http://t.co/D9bUY45ftq #neverforget 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

Heritage NOW @Istook: @PeteHegseth, CEO of Concerned Vets for America. Listen to him talk on10th anniversary of #Iraq War: http://t.co/e7Fs1YHt8C! 2 hours ago from web

GettyImagesNews Slideshow: 10th anniversary of the start of the #Iraq War http://t.co/qOvcNVYpNs ... @SFGate 2 hours ago from SocialEngage

davidsirota On the 10-yr anniversary of the invasion, here's why America seems destined to repeat the mistakes of the Iraq War: http://t.co/pjaS1wa6AV 3 hours ago from Twitter for iPad

HotlineJosh And as poll released, Cotton shows up on @dailyrundown to talk about the 10th anniversary of Iraq war 3 hours ago from web

thejointstaff GEN @Martin_Dempsey at @CSIS on 10-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War & future of the region: http://t.co/9VEkOj1Bag 3 hours ago from HootSuite

natalieben Looking forward to speaking tonight @STWuk meeting in Brighton marking 10th anniversary of start of the #Iraq War: http://t.co/n6HEsl7U0s 3 hours ago from HootSuite

daveweigel Anniversary of the Iraq War reminds me: Where were the Peterson debt hawks when we were launching wars and cutting taxes? 4 hours ago from TweetDeck Show more results TOP INFLUENCERS ON THIS TOPIC

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Lessons learned from the Iraq War

fHappy Ninth Anniversary Iraq Invasion!

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Iraq War anniversary remembrance with Enemy Kitchen, Tea, and IVAW | Iraq Veterans Against the War

sharing his personal story at the Iraq War Anniversary event at tonight #iraq

start 9th Iraq War Anniversary MARCH

YouTube - ?IRIAF IL-76MD "Simorgh" (Phoenix) AWACS Crash (Sep 22, 2009)??

CODE PINK MIC 9th Iraq War Anniversary MARCH AGAINST THE WARS!

First US Female killed in Iraq War honored on anniversary - Phoenix | Demotix.com

My latest article on the Iraq invasion

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View AllFavorites Recency | Popularity Jay HaneyMy nuclear family imploded when I was 18. I've bee979 Fans 24 minutes ago (12:04 PM)Mr. Clarke, I've always admired you, sir, for being the only visible member of government to do something the entire W administration refused to do: take responsibility for the failures on 9/11. Watching the tragedies that have followed since that grand abdication of what should have been theirs has been a nightmare.

You once asked for forgiveness for your and others' part in failing to stop 9/11. By virtue of your actions then and now (now, of course, encompassing this article), you are forgiven. The others...there can be none without them owning what was theirs all along.Jay_Haney: Mr. Clarke, I've always admired you, sir, for being thehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jay_Haney/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238215199.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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MetaMD 84 Fans 27 minutes ago (12:01 PM)We need a Truth Commission with Bush and Cheney testifying under oath. Simple. Let's get to the truth for our country"s sake, the sooner the better. Just look at the damage.MetaMD: We need a Truth Commission with Bush and Cheney testifyinghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/MetaMD/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238214255.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… HUFFPOST SUPER USERyatahayaz 248 Fans 36 minutes ago (11:52 AM)Thank you Mr. Clarke for being one of the few in our government who has the guts to call it like it is. Too bad the neo-conservatives could not view reality through their lens of ideology. Tragic for the lives this experiment has cost, and the treasure it has robbed from the next generation. What swine inhabited the White House for 8 years!yatahayaz: Thank you Mr. Clarke for being one of the fewhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/yatahayaz/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238211873.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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beaver7216 0 Fans 46 minutes ago (11:42 AM)Sad to see a couple of lies still being presented. The Congressional Authorization for War in Iraq listed 23 reasons for the war (in the introductory "Whereas..." paragraphs). Two of those listed WMD leaving 21 other reasons for the war. And as to the Iraqi lost of life one wonders why the death rate dropped from over 8 per 1000 per year to 5 per 1000 per year almost immediately (equal to 75,000 lives saved per year) and the population boomed from 22 million to 31 million during the war.beaver7216: Sad to see a couple of lies still being presented.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/beaver7216/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238209097.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… leopoldbloom16 29 Fans 53 minutes ago (11:35 AM)It would be a lot easier to stomach if we made any effort whatsoever to hold anyone accountable. But Obama decided he didn't want that distraction.leopoldbloom16: It would be a lot easier to stomach if wehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/leopoldbloom16/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238207239.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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love4lifeNunya599 Fans 2 hours ago (10:42 AM)I'm not lying this time. Honest.

~Richard Clarkelove4life: I'm not lying this time. Honest. ~Richard Clarkehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/love4life/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238193784.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program ufopp 3493 Fans 31 minutes ago (11:57 AM)We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

~Richard Cheneyufopp: We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. ~Richard Cheneyhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/ufopp/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238213220.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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Loading comments… AuntFaintly 22 Fans 2 hours ago (10:07 AM)"If any question why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied."
Rudyard KiplingAuntFaintly: "If any question why we died, Tell them, because ourhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/AuntFaintly/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238185674.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it Jay HaneyMy nuclear family imploded when I was 18. I've bee979 Fans 23 minutes ago (12:05 PM)One of my favorite Kipling quotes, written in response to another fiasco called the Great War then, World War I now.Jay_Haney: One of my favorite Kipling quotes, written in response tohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jay_Haney/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238215546.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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SunnyDaySamTo Err is Human, to Forgive is Canine1721 Fans 3 hours ago ( 9:02 AM)Excellent article. Thank you Mr. Clarke.SunnyDaySam: Excellent article. Thank you Mr. Clarke.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/SunnyDaySam/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238172800.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… PayingAttentionconsider this77 Fans 4 hours ago ( 8:34 AM)It is hard to fathom how far our nation's esteem in the eyes of the world fell from the Clinton years to the Bush years. Clinton went to our old enemy, Vietnam, and was treated like a rock star. Bush went to our supposed ally, Iraq, and shoes were thrown at him.
For those on the right, the successes of the Clinton governing policies were leading to an intolerable situation, people may come to view government as a helpful presence in their lives and want more of it. This would lead to a national acceptance of higher taxes to pay for it and also a government that might put limits on the Ayn Rand types whose main goal is to swell their wealth and power.
The right came to power not with the idea that they could govern better, but to discredit government in the eyes of the voter so they would want far less of it. The underlying motivation for the tax cuts and the Iraq war was not fiscal stimulus or protecting the country, but was to under mine the peoples confidence in government. They also knew that with the proper song and dance they could convince a significant portion of the population that all this was a good thing.
For that tiny sliver of the population that controls the lion's share of our national wealth, a well run national government that functions for the benefit of all is an enemy that must be destroyed.PayingAttention: It is hard to fathom how far our nation's esteemhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/PayingAttention/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238168119.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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HUFFPOST SUPER USERKatherine GuidryReal Estate Appraiser & Environmental150 Fans 4 hours ago ( 8:22 AM)We can never hope to recover our strong sense of judgement that Americans see as part of our identity until this war is dealt with in a true court of law...hoping the state of Vermont invites Bush and Cheney to their lovely state to begin this processKatherine_Guidry: We can never hope to recover our strong sense ofhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Katherine_Guidry/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238166221.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… VTpat 571 Fans 4 hours ago ( 8:16 AM)A shameful chapter in our history. We must do all we can never to repeat it.VTpat: A shameful chapter in our history. We must do allhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/VTpat/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238165348.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… Countess 1949 Fans 4 hours ago ( 8:07 AM)I agree that the invasion of Iraq was a breach of trust but it will certainly not be the last as we are well on the way to another one as the same neocons in both parties have deliberately made war with Iran almost inevitable and the sheepish public doesn't seem to mind.Countess: I agree that the invasion of Iraq was a breachhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Countess/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238164131.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… Trydecency 250 Fans 5 hours ago ( 7:52 AM)Good summary of the Iraq debacle, but what else is new? Iraq is being swept into the National Memory Hole alongside the massive U.S. war crime of the Vietnam War -- which also was based on lies and distortions -- Panama, Grenada and other unnecessary, politically motivated murder-fests. This keeps happening because the nation's knee-jerk conservative school districts refuse to teach accurate history classes, instead summarizing recent wars with the comfortable myths spread by the media. (The Iraq invasion was a response to the "unprovoked" 9-11 attacks, Saddam was responsible or connected to Al Qaeda, etc.) These myths continue now -- that the Afghanistan war is necessary because otherwise AQ would be able to attack America again, and other such nonsense. Any teacher who taught the simple, documented truth about these issues would be fired in most districts, probably for presenting "material not in the curriculum." And so it goes.

By the way, when are we going to stop hand-wringing about our unnecessary wars and actually change our government to provide accountability and more responsiveness to the people's wishes?
Sadly, the answer to that is -- Never. All the hand-wringing is just part of the National Memory Hole sweep-up process and clears the way for the next unnecessary war. That's the American Way.Trydecency: Good summary of the Iraq debacle, but what else ishttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Trydecency/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238162256.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it

beaver7216 0 Fans 32 minutes ago (11:57 AM)Don't leave out the Afghanistan war. I have no idea why were are there, why we escalated, what we have gained from the escalation. It is one thing to remove the Taliban but why all these extra human and financial costs? If it was to find bin Laden, he was in Pakistan.

All US wars have been based on lies, either entirely or in part. We still don't know why we had the War of 1812-was it a British invasion or an attempt to take over the "Northwest Territories and the Indian lands there? Lincoln talked about saving the Union to some, and, later, freeing slaves to others. The Mexican War was based on a fight that may or may not have happened in what may or may not have been the US. (See Spot Resolution). We still don't know about the USS Maine. Wilson lied about captured communications between Mexico and Germany in WW1 and wanted to do a pre-emptive strike against Germany. Pearl Harbor made sense but Roosevelt really wanted war with Germany and used that as an excuse. Korean War was a result of Truman's flip-flop, first declaring Korea was out of the zone of security and outside of US protections. And then there is the Gulf of Tonkin.

One of the lies out of Iraq was that "For the first time, the US went to a pre-emptive war, a war based on lies."beaver7216: Don't leave out the Afghanistan war. I have no ideahttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/beaver7216/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238213126.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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HUFFPOST SUPER USERgreytunesAll shall be punish'ed622 Fans 5 hours ago ( 7:38 AM)Excellent post and critique of our actions in Iraq.greytunes: Excellent post and critique of our actions in Iraq.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/greytunes/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238160691.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… ShakeMyHeadInDisbelief 0 Fans 5 hours ago ( 7:21 AM)Yes absolutely true. Now the push is for an attack on Iran, again much pushed for by different lobbies, interests, the press, again with fabricated and exaggerated reasons, this time by a democratic administration. I wonder if China is going spare us another trillion or two?ShakeMyHeadInDisbelief: Yes absolutely true. Now the push is for an attackhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/ShakeMyHeadInDisbelief/iraq-war-anniversary_b_2904285_238159009.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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