tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post8487064259752137003..comments2023-11-05T01:50:47.040-07:00Comments on Bike Commute Tips Blog: Bicycling against oil war insanityPaul Dornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03893190816290007375noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post-10055384562646356422012-03-17T11:04:22.342-07:002012-03-17T11:04:22.342-07:00I just picked up my "Bicycling against Oil Wa...I just picked up my "Bicycling against Oil Wars" plate and attached to my mountain bike here in NY. Now what?Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post-22557293238132709372008-08-18T09:12:00.000-07:002008-08-18T09:12:00.000-07:00@ Cheng:Thanks for your message. Did the surge wor...@ Cheng:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your message. Did the surge work? Well, someone once asked Zhou Enlai if he thought the French Revolution was a positive development. His response: "<A HREF="http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2007/05/30/in-the-philippines-may-14th-elections-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Ctoo-soon-to-tell%E2%80%9D/" REL="nofollow">It's too soon to tell</A>."<BR/><BR/>Yes, violence is down--<I>slightly</I>--in Iraq this year (it remains a very violent place from what I can tell.) And that moderation in violence is apparently due to a number of factors: sectarian cleansing of neighborhoods (self-segregation), power shifts in Sunni leadership, consolidation of power by Shiites, Iranian influence, strengthening of local militias, etc. <BR/><BR/>As more sober analysts (<A HREF="http://www.juancole.com/2008/07/social-history-of-surge.html" REL="nofollow">Juan Cole</A>, <A HREF="http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick08022008.html" REL="nofollow">Patrick Cockburn</A>, etc.) suggest: It's too soon too tell if the surge has "worked." In any event, it's a modest <I>tactical</I> fix for a major <I>strategic</I> blunder. I continue to believe the war, better, invasion was wrong, immoral, excessively costly (money, lives) and unnecessary. And so does most of the country and most of the world. <BR/><BR/>I believe historians will look at this strategic blunder as the turning point in the unhappy demise of the American empire. (And, no, the "Iraq War" was not just or all about oil, but about Great Power imperial power maneuvers.)<BR/><BR/>So, no, not ready to say I was "wrong." I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. But thanks for asking! Happy bicycle commuting!Paul Dornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03893190816290007375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post-52936670398692399582008-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:002008-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:00Hey, Paul! I too love to commute to work on my bik...Hey, Paul! I too love to commute to work on my bike. But I wouldn't be caught dead trying to make some kind of grand political statment with my bicycle.<BR/>But since you have made such a statement, are you ready to now admit you were wrong, and that the surge strategy in Iraq didn't "prolong the killing" but has instead turned the fratricidal trend around among Iraqui arabs?<BR/>And...if the war in Iraq was all about oil, how come oil prices continue to rise on limited supply and skyrocketing demand?<BR/>Hope you'll be intellectually honest enough to admit you were wrong.<BR/>Keep pedaling dude. See you out there.Chenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16097880064643327677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post-78437744597773519332008-05-13T22:21:00.000-07:002008-05-13T22:21:00.000-07:00Hey, where can i get one sticker like that one?Hey, where can i get one sticker like that one?Rubenesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04999413891318892079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250316.post-90691075160805540972007-01-10T16:37:00.000-08:002007-01-10T16:37:00.000-08:00The headline in the Chronicle was so misleading. B...The headline in the Chronicle was so misleading. Bush too admit mistakes -- which sounds good on the surface, but then we read this his <br />mistake was to not commit more ground troops *sigh*.Yokota Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808661100114872654noreply@blogger.com