The Core and the Non-Integrating Gap

I just finished reading "The Pentagon's New Map" by Thomas Barnett. I had ankle surgery two weeks ago so I have been hanging around my parents' house not working but reading.

He lays out a map of the world and puts dots in every location America has sent troops since 1990 (roughly the end of the Cold War). He draws a line around these countries and calls them the Non-Integrating Gap. The Gap is all the countries that have not participated in globalization. The Core is all the countries that are participants in the global economy. Everywhere America goes is a place that is cut off from the outside world, often done intentionally by their leader.

If you ever talk international politics or international security you have probably heard someone say "America will never go to war with China because we are both so economically interdependent! They need us and we need them!" Oddly enough, the Pentagon and the DOD spent much of the 90s preparing for some huge war with China. 9/11 changed all that. Barnett basically takes the quoted argument and expands on it for 300+ pages.

I tend to agree with him. America basically ended any future conflict with Germany and Japan right after WWII through the Marshall Plan. Since then these two countries have contributed a lot to globalization, and because of that we will never have another war with these two previously hated enemies.

The Middle East is one of the most disconnected regions in the world. Sure, they have oil money coming in, but that mostly just benefits the ruling elites. There is not the kind of trade going on that occurs within the Core (North America, Western Europe, and some Asian countries like Japan, China, and India).

This is my hope for Iraq. I want Iraq to become integrated within the global economy enough to where the peoples' lives improve and they no longer have a reason for civil unrest or state on state war.

Can you imagine if Iraq's economy booms and the people there actually have jobs?

America is winning Operation Iraqi Freedom. The government will soon be able to protect itself from foreign terrorists from Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iran. This government will survive and Iraq will become a player in the global economy. The global economy basically shut out Iraq because of Saddam Hussein, but that is changing.

I'm hopeful for the future.

Iraq For Sale The War Profiteers

I just watched the documentary "Iraq For Sale The War Profiteers."

It is about the private contractors in Iraq. It is biased, anti-Operation Iraqi Freedom, and actively attempts to undermine American Foreign Policy.

After watching the movie I want to go to work for Halliburton or KBR. If I weren't in the middle of an undergraduate degree I would volunteer to go to Iraq and work for one of these private contractors. It makes me so mad to see families of people who worked for these companies bashing these companies. These companies offered an opportunity for Americans to serve their country, rebuild Iraq, and make six figures doing it! America is the land of opportunity and free will.

Cindy Sheehan embarrassed and dishonored her patriotic son and if he knew what his mom did I bet he would be ashamed. The same can be said for all the people and families in this movie.

I want my readers to know that I look at both sides of all issues. I watch movies and read articles that are directly contradictory to my opinion. It was painful to watch this movie just like it was painful to watch every Michael Moore film. I do it in the name of education and free speech. I do it in an attempt to understand my opposition. I do it to arm myself against people who would quote a movie like this.

"Iraq For Sale The War Profiteers" is completely biased and only presents one side of the story and attempts to completely undermine the American reconstruction effort in Iraq. The producers and anybody who worked on this film should be ashamed of themselves and might want to start asking "not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country."

Second Republican Presidential Debate

I have compiled a list of quotes from the second Republican candidates presidential debate of 2007. I think these quotes clearly define their position and I personally agree with all of them. These are quotes about issues that I regularly write about such as Iraq and the Fairtax, immigration and terrorism. I read through 21 pages of NYT transcripts to garner these quotes. I plan on analyzing each debate that happens and breaking each one down into the issues and stances.

The talking heads say that these early debates are all about the short sound bite. Well here are some short write bites for you.

“It is critical for us to remember that Iraq has to be considered in the context of what's happening in the Middle East and throughout the world. There is a global jihadist effort. Violent, radical jihadists want to replace all the governments of the moderate Islamic states, replace them with a caliphate. And to do that, they also want to bring down the West, in particular us. And they've come together as Shi'a and Sunni and Hezbollah and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda with that intent. We have to recognize that what we're doing in Iraq has enormous impact on what's going to happen in this global struggle, and that's why it's important for us to understand that if we were to just walk out precipitously, we could conceivably see the border with Turkey be destabilized by virtue of the Kurdish effort, we could have the Iranians take over the Shi'a south, and perhaps most frightening, you could have al Qaeda play a dominant role among the Sunnis and then have a setting where you'd have something far worse than Afghanistan on their hands. And so we recognize that it's critical for us to provide the stability to allow a central government to survive and thrive.”

Mitt Romney

“Well, the simplest way is an active fair tax. That's the first thing I'd love to do as president, put a "Going Out of Business" sign on the Internal Revenue Service and stop the $10 billion a year that it costs just for them to operate. If we had a fair tax, it would eliminate not just the alternative minimum tax, personal income tax, corporate tax, it would eliminate all the various taxes that are hidden in our system and Americans don't realize what they're paying. It wouldn't be a revenue increase or a revenue decrease, revenue neutral. But it also enables people at the lowest end of the economic spectrum to have a chance to reach the next rung on the ladder. It's the best proposal that we ought to have, because its flatter, it's fairer, it's finite, it's family-friendly. And instead what we've done is what Senator McCain has suggested. We've had Congress that's spent money like Edwards at a beauty shop. (Laughter.) And it's high time that we have a different kind of tax structure, and the fair tax would get us there. “

Mike Huckabee

“McCain-Kennedy, what it did is said that people who are here illegally get a special pathway. They're not like all the other immigrants in the world that want to come to this great country; they get a special pathway. That's what's wrong about it. If you're here illegally, you should not have a special pathway to become a permanent resident.”

Mitt Romney

“So we need a fence. We need a technological fence; we need a tamper-proof ID card. And we need a way that people who are working in this country can come forward, sign up for the tamper-proof ID card, get in the database and start paying their way.”

Rudy Giuliani

“Yeah, and I want to get into this, Chris, because you know, I built the border fence in San Diego. When I built that fence, we had massive illegal immigration across the border. We built the border fence; we reduced illegal immigration and smuggling of narcotics by more than 90 percent. And the crime rate in the city of San Diego fell by 50 percent. I wrote the bill that the president signed in October that takes the San Diego fence 854 miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and it's mandatory. I called up the other day, and they've done two miles of border fence.”

Duncan Hunter

“George Bush won the election in the year 2000 campaigning on a humble foreign policy -- no nation-building, no policing of the world. Republicans were elected to end the Korean War. The Republicans were elected to end the Vietnam War. There's a strong tradition of being anti-war in the Republican Party. It is the constitutional position. It is the advice of the Founders to follow a non-interventionist foreign policy, stay out of entangling alliances, be friends with countries, negotiate and talk with them and trade with them.”

Ron Paul

MR. GIULIANI: Can I have 30 seconds, please?

MR.: No, no, no, wait a second. Let's -- we'll all get 30 seconds.

(Cross talk.)

MR. GIULIANI: They are coming --

(Cross talk.)

MR.: We all want 30 seconds of time --

MR. HUME: We'll -- Wendell, go ahead.

What you get by missing the debate and reading the transcript.

“Okay. First of all, the whole issue of global warming, for every single scientist that tells you its happening and that it's our fault -- and they'll stack up to here in this reports -- I can stack up another group of reports that say just the opposite. I don't believe that -- well, I'll tell you this, I don't know whether or not we are responsible, we the human race, are responsible for global warming. It certainly could be happening; it certainly could be a natural phenomenon. If it's the latter, of course there isn't much we can do about that. If it's the former, there is something that we can do about it, and I'm all for it, and that is of course to reduce our dependence on petroleum products. If we do that, we automatically reduce the carbon emissions that people claim are causing global warming. And I'm all for doing that, because -- I'll tell you why. It's a national security issue. It just isn't an issue of fight over the science of global warming; it's a national security issue for us to move away from the use of petroleum products when they're coming from countries that want to kill us.”

Tom Tancredo

“The use of torture -- we could never gain as much we would gain from that torture as we lose in world opinion. We do not torture people. When I was in Vietnam, one of the things that sustained us, as we went -- underwent torture ourselves, is the knowledge that if we had our positions reversed and we were the captors, we would not impose that kind of treatment on them.”

John McCain

MR. GIULIANI: In the hypothetical that you gave me, which assumes that we know there's going to be another attack and these people know about it, I would tell the people who had to do the interrogation to use every method they could think of. It shouldn't be torture, but every method they can think of --

MR. HUME: Water-boarding?

MR. GIULIANI: -- and I would -- and I would -- well, I'd say every method they could think of, and I would support them in doing that because I've seen what -- (interrupted by applause) -- I've seen what can happen when you make a mistake about this, and I don't want to see another 3,000 people dead in New York or any place else.

“Now we're going to -- you said the person's going to be in Guantanamo. I'm glad they're at Guantanamo. I don't want them on our soil. I want them on Guantanamo, where they don't get the access to lawyers they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there. Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is we ought to double Guantanamo. We ought to make sure that the terrorists -- (applause) -- and there's no question but that in a setting like that where you have a ticking bomb that the president of the United States -- not the CIA interrogator, the president of the United States -- has to make the call. And enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used -- not torture but enhanced interrogation techniques, yes.”

Mitt Romney

“I would not go to the United Nations in the situation you've described. You've described a situation where American lives have been lost and we think more are pending to lose. And I think your real question you have to have here as the chief executive, as the leader of the country, what are you measuring here? Is your primary concern U.S. lives or is it how you're going to be perceived in the world? And my standard is U.S. lives, and I'm going to do everything within my power to protect U.S. lives, period.”

Sam Brownback

Ron Paul had a great quote and he is ultimately right, but I think the current situation requires a certain amount of intervention. He later goes on to blame 9/11 on American interventionist policies. I disagree. I think the radicals would still want to kill us even if we were not involved in the Middle East. I guess that is the main difference here; Ron Paul believes radicals are rational, I do not.

If Ron Paul wins the Republican nomination, I could very well see myself voting for a Democrat in 2008 because there are Democrats like Bill Richardson who actually understand the current international system.

Mitt Romney had the best sound bites I think. A month ago I was a Rudy Giuliani man but now I’m split over Mitt and Rudy. I also like Huckabee, Tancredo, Brownback, and Hunter. I'm not a huge John McCain fan, but I do agree with him on some issues.

Mother's Day

I'm so grateful for the mother I have. I'm amazed at the motherly love she has. I'll admit it right now I have no clue about a mother's love for her child, but it seems to transcend and supersede almost anything else in this world. The only reason I can string together a coherent sentence right now, and maybe even a sentence that breaks new ground, is because my mom quit smoking and drinking when she got pregnant, read to me as a child, didn't let me watch TV, held flashcards of the English alphabet when I was on the verge of failing second grade, and just generally bestowed upon me the kind of love and respect a growing boy needs to succeed in life.

For Mother's Day my mother told me she didn't want a present, she just wanted my time (thank goodness because my balance sheet is in the red). I thought she made perfect sense; I was so glad to have a mom that understands the important things in life. This day and age, and possibly in any age, my time is far more important than any monetary gift I could give her. If there is a truly meaningful gift, then it is a gift that takes a lot of time.

So today all five members of my family got together and were going to float the Missouri River from its headwaters to Clarkston. Yes it is the middle of May in Montana, which means the weather is completely unpredictable and the rivers are in their flood stage because of spring run off.

My mom was the original advocate; my dad was predicting bad weather. All three kids were all about it. Once we got on the mighty Missouri River, we realized our raft (loaded with life vests, sweaters (I only brought mine because my mom said so), fishing poles, egg-salad sandwiches, and Miller Genuine Drafts) was not going downriver despite the quick current. The wind was strong enough to hold us at a dead stand still. We couldn't see it at the time, but massive thunderstorm clouds were forming just south of us.

My mom was the main advocate of pulling ashore and canceling, my brother and I were pretty serious about finishing the project, my sister didn't argue either way, and my dad was the decision maker, naturally.

Obviously with my mom suggesting we quit and my dad making decisions, we quit. We were lucky too because we were nary an hour away from rain, lightening, and thunder.

We came home and my dad did some classic home cooking and my sister and I cleaned up the kitchen.

The reason I write this is because today it manifested itself to me that the reason I've made so many decisions is because of my parents. You say of course your parents influence your decisions, but I've never seen myself so much in parents as I did today.

I traveled to Canada my senior year without any knowledge or planning, I camped without my parents early on, I went to the University of Montana instead of Montana State University, I did Semester at Sea, I moved in with people I've never met, I'm going to travel in Costa Rica by myself for two weeks, and I'm going to spend a semester at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.

The reason I do the things I've listed is because my parents have taught me how to make rewarding decisions. They taught me how to take risks, succeed when its possible, but also when to bail. My mom today made a great decision to get the family together for quality time and she made a great decision to cancel it.

Thank you Mom.

George W. Bush

First, in case you haven't noticed, my new blog address is http://www.davidknobel.com because my Business Law professor told the entire class to go out and buy their own domain. He said, "Can you imagine if I owned http://www.barackobama.com?" He could sell it for hundreds of thousands of dollars possibly. Anyway, there is a large market for domain names and it only costs me about $8 a year to have this one, and Google hosts my blog for free. And I know there are you scheming businessmen out there who would buy the domain I just bought and hold on to it until 2050 or whenever the presidential election is and try to sell it to me for millions of dollars.

Anyway, I wanted to talk a little bit about President George W. Bush. It may seem like I agree with him on everything, but that is far from the truth. I think he has done a million things wrong; Prescription Drug Benefit, No Child Left Behind, not admitting mistakes, making mistakes in handling the war, not explaining himself fully, being a lousy speaker, not connecting to the American people, not cutting spending, not making government smaller, not making an effort to explain his foreign policy, and just generally making everybody uncomfortable with a Christian Republican running the country. I think he has been "incompetent" in handling Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I think there was a lack of information in the run-up to the war, and the Bush Administration absolutely failed to see what kind of insurgency we would face.

I think everyone would agree that knowing what we know now, we either would never have invaded Iraq or done it completely differently.

However big a mistake it was to go in the first place, I'm glad that George W. Bush and many of the Republican candidates understand that we have to finish the job.

Iraq's Foreign Minister recently came to Washington D.C. and pleaded with lawmakers to continue supporting the Iraqis because they need us. I think we ought to listen to the sovereign, democratic government of Iraq and support them. I keep reading articles in the paper about people in Iraq who are counting on their government and the Americans to provide security for them and their family. If we don't protect them they will be exposed to an increased sectarian civil war that would likely bring in all the other regional powers and possibly most world powers.

However, I do think the national debate we are having right now about what to do in Iraq is a good thing. We must constantly debate the issues. Just the fact that we are debating whether to stay or leave Iraq is putting political pressure on the government and all moderate humans in Iraq, which is a good thing.

What prompted this post is a recent conversation I had with a coworker. She told me that she didn't think George W. Bush has ever done anything right (she took it back later), and she told me that she thought George W. Bush invaded Iraq for personal financial reasons.

George W. Bush has a serious group of people that hate him. Hate is a strong word, I know, but many people hate him. I can not have a serious conversation about Bush with anybody anymore. Many people, if asked, could not cite a single thing they think Bush did right.

If you think President Bush has never done a decent thing in his whole career as President of the United States, then I would consider you blinded by hatred.

I also trust President Bush. I think he invaded Iraq because he thought it was the best thing for the American people. He might have been wrong, but I do think he has the right motivations. I'm not willing to completely vouch for his character, but I wouldn't vouch for any politician's character in Washington D.C.

I don't think Bush perpetrated 9/11 or invaded Iraq for financial reasons. I also don't think Democrats hate America, like many conservatives. I think Democrats and Republicans alike both want what is best for America.

They agree on principles, not on policies.

We agree on principles, don’t we?

Do we agree on policies?

Thank You President Bush

"Here's why the bill Congress passed is unacceptable. First, the bill would mandate a rigid and artificial deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq. That withdrawal could start as early as July 1st, and it would have to start no later than October 1st regardless of the situation on the ground.

It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing. All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq. I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments. Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure, and that would be irresponsible.

Second, the bill would impose impossible conditions on our commanders in combat. After forcing most of our troops to withdraw, the bill would dictate the terms under which the remaining commanders and troops could engage the enemy. That means America's commanders in the middle of a combat zone would have to take fighting directions from politicians 6,000 miles away in Washington, D.C. This is a prescription for chaos and confusion, and we must not impose it on our troops.

Third, the bill is loaded with billions of dollars in non- emergency spending that has nothing to do with fighting the war on terror. Congress should debate these spending measures on their own merits and not as a part of an emergency funding bill for our troops.

In Washington last week, General Petraeus explained it this way, "Iraq is, in fact, the central front of all al Qaeda's global campaign." Al Qaeda -- al Qaeda's role makes it -- the conflict in Iraq far more complex than a simple fight between Iraqis. It's true that not everyone taking innocent life in Iraq wants to attack America here at home, but many do. Many also belong to the same terrorist network that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001 and wants to attack us here at home again. We saw the death and destruction al Qaeda inflicted on our people when they were permitted a safe haven in Afghanistan. For the security of the American people, we must not allow al Qaeda to establish a new safe haven in Iraq."

-United States President George W. Bush


I'm so thankful that George W. Bush has such a clear understanding of the situation. Few people understand the full scope of what is going on.

Thank you President Bush for doing your best to protect me, my family, my friends, and my country.