Iraq as the Central Front of the War on Terror

For a long time, it puzzled and infuriated me that the president and vice-president would continue to link the war in Iraq to the "War on Terror." After all, none of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqi, Hussein had no working relationship with Islamicist terrorists threatening the US, etc. - the usual rebuttals. There didn't even seem to be such a thing as the War on Terror (except as a rhetorical tool to bash domestic political "opposition"), just a bunch of separate conflicts only distantly related.

But after reading John Perkins' books Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and Secret History of the American Empire (actually, I'm in the middle of the latter), I think I'm beginning to understand stories like this. A central aim of US foreign policy has been to secure natural resources from other countries as cheaply as possible, using extortion, bribery, covert operations to overthrow or assassinate uncooperative foreign leaders, funding opposition forces, and, as a last resort, sending in US armed forces. These efforts naturally inspire some resistance from people whom we label "terrorists" and whom we fight under the rubric "War on Terror." They all have their own political, cultural and religious contexts and reasons for using terrorism, the tactic of the weak, but to us they're all the same: people who try to stand in the way of our taking their property.

Thus when GWB talks of Iraq as the "central front of the war on terror," he is actually speaking truthfully. The most important resource to control is oil. Iraq is central territory in oil country; if you control Iraq, you can project power throughout the region. Thus, Iraq is the central front of the US battle to maintain control over other people's resources, i.e., the War on Terror.

A couple travel blogs

A German friend of L's who happened to be in town for our wedding is now traveling around the world with her husband. They have a blog. (I have linked the English version.)

Another couple, Canadians who lived near us in North Beach, departed recently to travel the Silk Road. Their blog is here.

Clipless Bike Pedals and Fountain Pens

For my commute down to Silicon Valley, I bought a new bicycle. It's a lower mid-range road bike. Last weekend, I got clipless pedals and bike shoes - the kind that snap into and out of the pedals. They have taken a little getting used to in terms of snapping in and out of the pedals, but I love them! I get more power out of each stroke, and I feel so much more connected to the bike. (Yes, I know that's because I am so much more connected to the bike, literally.) The sensation of riding with them reminds me of the smoothness and connection to the paper and process of writing one gets with a good fountain pen.