Jon Chait Never Had It {Control, that is}

http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=69067f1c-d089-474b-a8a0-945d1deb420b&p=3

' Reading Klein, you might almost conclude that Friedman devised the hurricane.'

Yeah you would, Chait you fucking mongoloid. What the Fuck. Oh, Chait you and your hyperboles. You make me want to stick my head in the oven.

' Klein proceeds to interpret most of the events of the last thirty years as repetitions of the same inexorable pattern: elites forcing laissez-faire policies upon unwilling citizens.'

Chait....is Klein the one we should be accusing of 'oversimplifying'...or is it you?


'(Klein assures her readers that economics was not the "sole motivator" for the war, but her analysis makes no room for any such complication.)'

But if she assures her readers just that, then clearly her analysis HAS made room for said complication. Because she mentioned it. In her book. Where she analysed this said topic.

of what political leanings was milosevic? oh yeah, democratic socialist.
'Why didn't Bush do the smart capitalist thing and simply make a deal with Saddam to drop the sanctions and cut American oil companies in on Iraq's oil reserves?'

Because thats not 'the smart capitalist thing'. its only a 'smart capitalist thing' if everyone stands to gain. and she does explain this through the military contractors fyi CHAIT. Oh and how about this one Chait, you ignorant peanut. If America dropped the sanctions, then everyone else would predictably follow. That would open Iraq for foreign investment from 'name your country here, and add 20 more to the list'. The US 'going america on Iraq's ass' gave the USA occupier status, where they could say what comes in and what leaves. Much easier for USA corp's with no bid contracts to go in and work their magic.


'It seems a little ridiculous to have to point out that Iraq is not exactly a new outpost of unfettered capitalism, with McDonald's and Exxon stations beckoning customers on every corner. The American master plan to transform Iraq into an "Arabic Singapore" has not worked out too well.'

Is the term 'resistance' lost on you?
'So Klein makes a big deal about the comic but stillborn efforts by some Republican ideologues to transform Iraq into a flat-tax paradise, but she also notes that very little privatization actually took place in Iraq, and indeed that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) had just three staffers devoted to privatizing Iraqi state industries. You would think this latter fact would undermine her belief that privatizing Iraq's economy was the central goal of the war. Alas, no. She thinks it just goes to show that "the CPA itself was too privatized to privatize Iraq."'


OH YOU TRICKY LITTLE SNOT. Maybe the CPA werent the ones acting on that. Maybe that would be a bit too obvious for the CPA to be doing that. Thats like having a club called 'The Murder Club' that fancy going out for seemingly nondescript nights on the town, only to literally, murder. That would make so much sense.

If the point of the war was to hand control of Iraq's state assets to American corporations, wouldn't American troops be protecting those assets (Iraqi Airlines) instead of destroying them?

No, because then Boeing wouldnt have anything to do. As they shouldnt anyway, cause airbus owns. We love to coerce countries into buying Boeing.

You might wonder why John Kerry did not make this an issue in 2004, or why liberal pundits have not crusaded against Cheney's blatant self-dealing.

Dude, i dunno Chait. Im pretty sure everyone but you has made a point about Cheney and Halliburton.

The answer, of course, is that it is completely untrue. Cheney has signed a legally binding agreement to donate to charity any increase in his Halliburton stock.

wall street DEFINITELY does not have shady book keeping. my accountant told me so.


And the Cato Institute is not neoconservative at all. It was virulently opposed to the Iraq war in particular, and it opposes interventionism in foreign policy in general.

I realise that paragraph was quite long and detailed, and contained many point i should have addressed but, i can counter it, in large part, with this: fukuyama opposed iraq. Neoconservatism is the most ambiguous word ive heard in my life. people like chait only serve to muddy it even more.
What she does not mention--not once, not anywhere, in her book--is that Friedman argued against the Iraq war from the beginning, calling it an act of "aggression."

She caught him lying a few times though. Even so, I highly doubt he was informed of the intricacies, given that he died like a week later or something. Its not like we saw this all fall into place the day of the invasion, or in the months leading up to it.

Corporations, which can relocate nearly anywhere around the world, have used their flexibility....

Fact check on aisle 3.

Alright its 320 in the AM. Ive spent an hour and half banging my head on the wall. and he closes with that paragraph. who is to say who 'all of her adversaries are'. Chait you are the one doing the lumping. you are the one assuming that any mention of a group implies total complicity. god i wish i could write an essay on this instead of these little bits. im tired as hell. unfortunately i was more in the mood for ideological mudslinging than to tear poor chait apart tooo much.


Might as well do some rage. ahh 2 weeks til the battle of chicago. i hope they still incite mayhem. come on the lollapalooza. ill put my schedule up in a few days, still cant get it sorted. too many conflicts meh.