Idaho's Forgotten War

Oregon man gets two years
for surreptitiously snipping
hair of female bus riders.

Karzai has apparently said he has lost faith in the ability of the U.S. (and NATO) to defeat the Taliban. General Petraeous has now said that we cannot succeed without the help of the United Kingdom (which is having serious economic problems and may not wish to continue much longer). This “war” is now the longest one in U.S. history (can you believe it). It appears to have accomplished nothing whatsoever. The Taliban we are now fighting were not our enemies in the first place and are now stronger than ever, al-Quaida, that was/is our enemy, no longer exists in any significant way in Afghanistan, it is pretty much common knowledge (and has been from the beginning) that we cannot “win” militarily in Afghanistan, nor can I see what it would be if we were to “succeed.” As far as I can see there is no acceptable explanation for why we are continuing this unnecessary “war” unless it is merely another “business” - that is, as part of our desire for endless “wars” to insure the continuing profits for the military/industrial/political complex and war profiteers. I am beginning to think that Obama would just be too embarrassed to end it even if he were allowed to do so.

I have just returned from watching an interesting movie, “Idaho’s Forgotten War,” at our local Museum. This is a documentary of when the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (all 68 of them) declared war on the United States and began collecting tolls on the highway and issuing bonds to raise the money to continue their “war.” This came about because the Kootenai had never signed an agreement with the Government and were never given a reservation. They had fallen into such abject poverty and misery they had nothing to lose by this dramatic action. And they did win, at least something (12.5 acres, I believe), so they now number 141 members and control over 2,000 acres they have managed to purchase with funds from the Casino they now own and operate, quite a success story, but certainly a far cry from what was stolen from them. The Klallam on the Olympic Peninsula are another somewhat similar story and also now own a Casino that has changed their situation importantly. But of course no amount of money can ever compensate for what these tribes lost when overrun by Europeans during the Colonial Period.

And speaking of loss, it is not going to be possible for the people of the Gulf to ever be compensated for their loss. While BP must be held accountable for their reckless greed, in terms of money, there is no way the lives of the fishermen, shrimpers, and others can ever be replaced. It will never be possible to return to the pre-spill culture that had existed for so many hundreds of years. It is far worse, I think, than anyone can imagine. It’s like what we have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan (sorry we killed your entire family, here’s a couple of hundred bucks) multiplied a trillion times over, an ecological disaster so great it can never be corrected (contrary to their ridiculous claims of paying for it all). I guess we cannot conclude that BP actually planned to commit ecocide, and in a sense it was an accident, but it was an accident that could have been foreseen and prevented had not unfettered greed been their primary motive. If ever there was a case of criminal negligence this is it, and they should be held fully accountable and not just financially. Had this happened in China they would all be dead by now, I don’t think some lengthy prison terms would be at all out of place.

LKBIQ:
Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.
Howard Scott

TILT:
It’s true, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.