Oliver Stone is a retard.
An Associated Pres article reads as follows:
Oliver Stone: 'I'm ashamed for my country'
POSTED: 9:52 a.m. EDT, September 29, 2006
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP) -- Filmmaker Oliver Stone blasted President George W. Bush Thursday, saying he has "set America back 10 years."
Stone added that he is "ashamed for my country" over the war in Iraq and the U.S. policies in response to the attacks of September 11.
"We have destroyed the world in the name of security," Stone told journalists at the San Sebastian International Film Festival prior to a screening of his latest movie, "World Trade Center." The film tells the true story of the survival and rescue of two policemen who were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, after they went to help people escape.
"From September 12 on, the incident (the attacks) was politicized and it has polarized the entire world," said Stone. "It is a shame because it is a waste of energy to see that the entire world five years later is still convulsed in the grip of 9/11.
"It's a waste of energy away from things that do matter which is poverty, death, disease, the planet itself and fixing things in our own homes rather than fighting wars with others. Mr. Bush has set America back 10 years, maybe more."
The director of blockbusters such as "Platoon," and "JFK" said the U.S. reaction to the attacks was out of proportion.
"If there had been a better sense of preparation, if we had a leadership that was more mature," he said. "We did not fight back in the same way that the British fought the IRA or the Spanish government fought the Basques here. Terrorism is a manageable action. It can be lived with," said Stone.
Stone rejected allegations that U.S. authorities may have known about the attacks in advance and said the real conspiracy came after.
"I think that conspiracy-mongering on 9/11 is a waste of time," he said. "The far greater conspiracy occurred after 9/11 when basically a neo-cabal inside our government hijacked policy and went to war. That was as broad a conspiracy as we can get and it was about 20, 30 people. That's all, they took over and all these books are coming out and they are pointing it out," said Stone.
"This war on Iraq is a disaster. I'm disgraced. I'm ashamed for my country," he said. "I'm also ashamed that America has attacked itself with its constitutional breakdowns. I'm deeply ashamed."
In the United States' favor, Stone posited that it's not responsible for all the world's problems.
"You can't see that the United States is responsible for all the evil in the world because you can see so many dictators and so many bestial acts all over the world now. .... There is something in the human heart, the international human heart, that is evil," said Stone.
"That's the evil that turns its mind and ears on humanity and is able to say 'I can kill a person in the name of God or religion.' This is not a human being, this a fanatic. And I fear that fanaticism is the result of our overreaction to 9/11," said Stone.
MY critque reads as follows:
First off, Oliver Stone, kiss my ass. You're a class-A idiot. Seriously. Leave my country now and go live amongst the Afgan hills with your peeps.
I am no George Bush fan by any means. People who know me know I'm hardly in love with the guy. Do I think he could have done some things differently with regard to the war? Yes. Do I think he could have had a better overall strategy? Absolutely. Do I think he also had some pretty decent ideas? Sure. Do I think somebody out there could have done better? Not Sen. Kerry--but yes, I think there are people more qualified to have gotten the job done in a more efficient manner.
But if you'll notice the first paragraph I have highlighted in blue text, you'll notice a lovely quote by Mr. Stone where he says, "...Terrorism is a manageable action. It can be lived with."
Oh, really? Because last time I checked, people really didn't want to fucking LIVE with terrorism. I was under the impression that we wanted terrorism to actually...like....GO AWAY.
And if terrorism, especially to the unlimited extent that Muslim Extremists are willing to go, is SO MANAGEABLE, why the FUCK did we have 9/11 in the first place? Obviously it ISN'T manageable if we have people who fucking HATE US flying into our buildings on purpose and murdering thousands of completely innocent people!
People like you, Mr. Stone, make me sick. You come out with your bullshit notions on how terrorism can be so easily managed. Really? How would YOU have handled 9/11? Through "diplomatic talks?" I'm personally all set with the notion of sitting down with Islamic extremists and trying to be nice. But Mr. Stone, hey--if you're cool with the idea on a personal level, you can fly your fat, hypocritcal ass out to the Middle East and give it a shot. I'll bet that they'd give you a shot, too--right to the forehead with an M-9, you toolbag.
Terrorism, specifically Islamic-rooted terrorism, can only be managed in one way:fighting fire with fire. We do not have to simply tolerate the horrors of living in a world where you step on an airplane and instead of being excited for you and your children and their first trip to Disney World, you have to worry about which building your Boeing could fly into. We have to do out damndest to FIGHT terrorism, not "live with it." I may not agree with the overall strategy President Bush has taken with the War on Terror, but I simply have to give the guy props for stepping in and doing something--unlike Mr. Stone, who has no REAL answers for dealing with these extremist savages--just constant, un-educated criticism.
And yes, they are fucking savages. I don't give a damn if people think that's politically incorrect. I regard it as FACT. Islamic extremist terrorists are people with no regard for innocent life whatsoever. Did these people ever make an attempt to sit down and converse with America in a civilized manner? No, because if I recall correctly, they just decided to fly planes into buildings here on our soil. They strap bombs to their own bodies and blow up their own fucking people--their own country-mates--simply because they are of a different branch of their own religion, or of a different region of the same country. Their leaders are DICTATORS, their women are oppressed, their children are killed--all in the name of Allah. There is NO REASONING with these non-humans.
And now, our government and our president decides to take action and actually do this innovative thing called DEFENSE, instead of waiting for them to just fly some more planes into some more buildings and killing thousands more innocent men, women and children. WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH THAT?
I think that America needs to be more aggressive, if anything. Less American boots on their soil, more bombs and long-range missiles on their soil. If a nuclear bomb is needed, so be it--you won't hear me object. As for the thousands of their "innocent" people getting killed everyday--well, I hate to sound childish here, but you started it. You're the ones who decided to act like savages, don't be surprised when you have to pay the price for your actions. I'm sorry innocents have to die. Really. I get very upset when I hear of children getting blown up. But when you decide you don't want to hide liquid bomb-making materials in Gatorade bottles, then we'll talk. I won't apologize that my first priority is the good ole U.S. of A and our true allies, namely the Brits.
And as for Mr. Stone's final comment, also higlighted in blue, where he feels "...fanaticism is the result of our overreaction to 9/11," I have this to say:
If 9/11 in and of itself wasn't fanaticism, I don't know what is.
If, God forbid, a plane is to purposely fly into another building in this country, I hope it flies straight into your home, Mr. Stone.
posted by Karen the Great @ 10:58 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
My own politics and feelings about Stone aside, I politely suggest that you are taking his comments out of context.
He says absolutely nothing here that isn't in keeping with world opinion and, if we believe recent evidence, the opinion of many in our government. Without question, our government's reaction to the events of 9/11 transformed us from one of the most beloved countries in the world to one of the most hated. For a long time, we have been resented for our power and strength, but this was often offset by admiration. No longer. The world had such good will for us following the attacks: barely a shred of that remains. Blair's insistence on keeping the British an ally in the war has now, we learn, cost him his job, because he has gone from wildly popular to despised.
This is the core of the statement and the highlighted part should be read in this context. He doesn't say terrorism can be *easily* managed. In fact, the line you highlight is vague enough so that it is easy enough to wonder if it is a translation error or a misstatement on his part. The story was filed in Spain -- it is hard to imagine a half-way intelligent person trying to say that "terrorism can be lived with" since this makes no sense.
It is unclear from the line alone what he is talking about. However, context indicates this: that there are other countries who have dealt with a terrorist threat more efficiently. There is a widespread understanding that the war in Iraq, initially and misguidingly started in the name of defeating terrorism, has had quite the opposite effect and created more terrorists than there were to begin with. We have, it seems, fed the beast rather than killed it.
You can make the case that Bush's intentions were good and that this is all an unintended consequence based on best evidence at the time.
It is very hard, however, to make the case that the war wasn't sold to the public on false pretexts or that the results have been mostly positive. If you consider the effects simply in terms of both world opinion (important when you don't want people working against our interests, or even bombing us) AND in squelching terrorism, the whole affair has been an unmitigated disaster.
My reading of his quote is that Stone is simply repeating what most people who study the situation have been saying for some time. Perhaps these experts should be killed, too, but perhaps there is some truth to what they are saying.
Doug,
The right choice isn't necessarily the most popular one--and that's my answer to Mr. Bush's situation and Mr. Blair's situation. Now, I'll TRY to put MY own politics aside here, but my apologies if they come through at all.
I said it before and I'll say it again: I am hardly a huge fan of George Bush. I think we entered this war without being nearly prepared enough. He had virtually no exit strategy and in my opinion, if you're going to enter a war with someone, you should do it hard-core. President Bush went in there somewhat pansy-ass and that is why, in my humble opinion, so many American and allied troops are dead. The intention was good; the strategy sucked. But to say that it was a wrong decision to go to war with countries that had a direct hand in attacking and killing thousands of INNOCENT American citizens is...well, respectfully, wrong.
As for context/translation issues, I don't buy your argument. As a journalist, I know how very "strict" journalism works (military journalism is about as "strict" as it gets). What I mean by "strict" is that your facts are checked over and over again. You check with your sources over and over again. Almost all "important" interviews are recorded electronically and are edited by numerous people. While mistakes are still made, I STRONGLY believe that Mr. Stone's quotes were verified numerous times by numerous people and was checked by native English-speakers. You don't quote people in controversial issues without making damn sure you have it right. This is why I believe Mr. Stone was not mis-quoted. The AP is simply too credible a news source to screw up something like that so easily.
Keep in mind that I am relatively moderate politically when I say the following: what bothers me is that in a world that is mainly controlled by a liberal media, I find it funny that we are supposed to take Mr. Stone's quotes in context. Whenever conservatives say things on their mind, they are "crazy, Bible-thumping bastards." We cannot use the "let's take this quote in context" argument for everything. He said what he said. Period. It's stupid and you're right--it doesn't make sense. But why hasn't he been ripped apart for it like any conservative would if he said something equally controversial? The double-standard in the media kills me everytime.
As for other countries who have dealt with terrorism threats more efficiently--I never said that this was the most efficient way to have waged war. Do I think we needed to wage war on Muslim extremists? ABSOLUTELY. We should have gone in there hell-bent to make these bastards REALLY know how mad America is. There should not be as many dead American troops as there are, because if we had taken a Nagasaki-esque approach with these extremists (after all, 9/11 isn't so different from Pearl Harbor), there wouldn't be the need for nearly as many boots on the ground.
As for other countries and their criticism, I'd like to see France's approach when a plane flies into the Eiffel Tower/heart of Paris and kills a few thousand, God forbid. I'd be curious to see Japan's response to a dirty bomb being released into their metro-transit system, with thousands of civilians being infected with deadly radioactive chemicals, God forbid. Or I'd be interested to see the reaction of Russia when a thousand terrorists strap powerful bombs to their chests, walk amongst the densely-populated streets of Moscow and detonate them, again--God forbid. Until then, they can shut the hell up because they simply HAVEN'T BEEN THERE. Their opinion doesn't weigh more than the defense of America and the safety of the American people.
So, I'd agree with you that obviously things could have and should have been done differently. I don't think anyone with half a brain in their head could argue otherwise. But do I think that Bush's overall idea of going to war to protect America was wrong? No. His overall approach? Yes.
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