<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-aid15jan15,0,1402940.story?coll=la-home-headlines" source="LA Times">'Marshall Plan' for Iraq Fades</a> hove its bedraggled carcass into view, reared its ugly head and expired with a wheeze that sounded like: "the America we learned about is dead and probably never existed". The story interviews several American officials whose crassness is beyond caricature---previously found only in the diseased imaginings of a died-in-the-wool marxist. And yet, quotes from these people are sprinkled throughout a story that shows no sense of outrage whatsoever. As far as the LA Times can tell, these people are sincerely interested in <iq>help[ing] Americans do business in Iraq</iq>. In that light, they have nothing but friendly advice for Iraqis---offering such pithy nuggets as: <bq>The world is a competitive place ... You have to convince the investor that it is worth his while to put his money in your community.</bq> from one <iq>Tom Delare, economics counselor at the U.S. Embassy</iq> or this pearl from Andy Wylegala, also at the embassy: <bq>No pain, no gain.</bq> <img src="{att_link}gywo.ayn_rand_books.png" align="center" caption="MNFTIU asks if Ayn Rand could help the Iraqis?"> The story not only scrapes these dregs of humanity to the surface, but also characterizes Iraq as a nation whose honeymoon is over and which will unfortunately have to fend for itself in the future without the generous benevolence the U.S. has to date showered upon it. <bq>After more than 2 1/2 years of sputtering reconstruction work, the United States' "Marshall Plan" to rebuild this war-torn country is drawing to a close this year with much of its promise unmet and no plans to extend its funding.</bq> It's truly refreshing to see the Marshall Plan's memory live on as an act of purest altruism---which will unfortunately not be matched in Iraq. This is not due to the U.S. having lost its way since WWII, but because it seems Arabs aren't made of the same stern stuff as Europeans. They just don't know how to say thank you when showered with American gifts. The Marshall Plan was, in fact, a cold-eyed approach to maintaining open markets in Europe, something an America that had boomed economically during the war was very interested in. It was also the purest economic imperialism, dangling baubles to destroyed societies provided they elected the right people. If they failed to do so, they got no help from the Marshall Plan and/or had their government reset for them by the ascendant U.S. military. Ask Greece and Italy (circa 1948) what happened when they tried to elect socialist governments (a natural reaction to two wars incited by fascists). The Greeks, at least, ended up with a smiling America installing a whole government full of Nazi sympathizers for them. The Marshall Plan is the name given to the final phase of European capitulation, in which America prevented Hitler from taking over Europe geographically (which, don't get me wrong, was awesome) and finished off a weakened Europe by ensuring its subservience economically for decades to come. The generous bastards helping Iraq onto its feet with "tough love" aren't alone. While we're on the subject of jerks, it's hard to stay away from cracking GWB in the jaw, with his brazen lies about spying on Americans. I'll just let MNFTIU take this one too*: <img src="{att_link}gywo.no_more_911s.png" align="center" caption="MNFTIU thinks Bush should wait for more attacks."> <n>* I wouldn't mind Bush breaking all kinds of laws, authorizing illegal wiretaps and running secret prisons ... <i>if terrorists were attacking us every goddamn day</i>. Like, if al-Qaeda was flying planes into buildings every twenty minutes, or if Iraq's army was in the U.S., massacring the shit out of people, I'd understand. But right now it just seems a little much, you know? ... What part of "No more 9/11s" don't you understand, Constitution Boy?</n>