THE MISSILES OF AUGUST
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dim if any memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 15 -28, 1962. Just seven years old at the time, she may have learned of this brush with nuclear annihilation from history books, instead. As a politically involved high school senior, those two weeks are burned into my memory as a fortnight of angst, wondering if I was going to have a life with the war games the so-called leaders of the the US and Russia were playing on us.
It seems ours decided that removing provocative missiles Russia was erecting in Cuba, ninety miles from our shores, was worth the risk blowing up the whole world. Military hawks led by Gen. Curtis Lemay, advocated massive bombing of the emerging missile sites, a move that might well have precipitated all out nuclear war with Russia. Cooler heads prevailed and achieved a peaceful settlement, gained in part by a secret US agreement to remove provocative US missiles nearby Russia in Turkey. That deal had to remain secret for awhile, so America could claim Russia backed down simply by our might and right. Later we learned Russia's foolish move was motivated, in part, to secure their client state Cuba's security from repeated criminal attempts to overthrow the Castro regime through both invasion and contract assassination of Castro by the Mafia.
Now, forty-six years later, that former seven year old got to repeat the bizarre and foolhardy act of putting provocative missiles on the doorstep of a large, powerful country that, no surprise, proclaims them an unacceptable threat that will not stand. The agreement that Secretary Rice signed this week with Poland to install ten anti ballistic missiles, is pitched as a defense of Poland and other former Soviet bloc countries, now tilting west, from potential missile attacks from current US "axis of evil" states Iran and North Korea. Rice dismisses Russia's fears that these missiles, which will be 150 miles from Russia, are provocative. "Missile defense is aimed at no one", she said. "It is not aimed in any way at Russia".
Easy for her to say. I'm tired of Rice's endless lies and diplomatic double-talk when it comes to justifying our egregious behavior around the world, whether using pre-emptive war to cause millions of casualties and refugees in the Middle East, encouraging new client state Georgia to level the capitol of breakaway province South Ossetia, or plunking down missiles just seconds away from Russia.
Rice is also a classically trained pianist who abandoned a musical career to eventually pursue international mischief and mayhem in the roles of presidential advisor and diplomat. Unlike Rice's words, with music you can quickly tell if it's truthful.
As Duke Ellington famously said, "If it sounds good...it is good".
Originally published in Daily Herald, August 26, 2008
Also published in Glen Ellyn News, September 3, 2008
It seems ours decided that removing provocative missiles Russia was erecting in Cuba, ninety miles from our shores, was worth the risk blowing up the whole world. Military hawks led by Gen. Curtis Lemay, advocated massive bombing of the emerging missile sites, a move that might well have precipitated all out nuclear war with Russia. Cooler heads prevailed and achieved a peaceful settlement, gained in part by a secret US agreement to remove provocative US missiles nearby Russia in Turkey. That deal had to remain secret for awhile, so America could claim Russia backed down simply by our might and right. Later we learned Russia's foolish move was motivated, in part, to secure their client state Cuba's security from repeated criminal attempts to overthrow the Castro regime through both invasion and contract assassination of Castro by the Mafia.
Now, forty-six years later, that former seven year old got to repeat the bizarre and foolhardy act of putting provocative missiles on the doorstep of a large, powerful country that, no surprise, proclaims them an unacceptable threat that will not stand. The agreement that Secretary Rice signed this week with Poland to install ten anti ballistic missiles, is pitched as a defense of Poland and other former Soviet bloc countries, now tilting west, from potential missile attacks from current US "axis of evil" states Iran and North Korea. Rice dismisses Russia's fears that these missiles, which will be 150 miles from Russia, are provocative. "Missile defense is aimed at no one", she said. "It is not aimed in any way at Russia".
Easy for her to say. I'm tired of Rice's endless lies and diplomatic double-talk when it comes to justifying our egregious behavior around the world, whether using pre-emptive war to cause millions of casualties and refugees in the Middle East, encouraging new client state Georgia to level the capitol of breakaway province South Ossetia, or plunking down missiles just seconds away from Russia.
Rice is also a classically trained pianist who abandoned a musical career to eventually pursue international mischief and mayhem in the roles of presidential advisor and diplomat. Unlike Rice's words, with music you can quickly tell if it's truthful.
As Duke Ellington famously said, "If it sounds good...it is good".
Originally published in Daily Herald, August 26, 2008
Also published in Glen Ellyn News, September 3, 2008
posted by Walt Zlotow at 8:21 PM
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