Excerpts from Randy’s column today:
If there’s one place that’s synonymous with family fun, it’s Baghdad. So it didn’t surprise me to hear that American developers are planning to build a Disney-style amusement park in downtown Baghdad. Right next to the Green Zone.
I’m not kidding. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s too crazy.
According to news reports, the Pentagon has given the green light to the attraction, which will include a cultural center, condos, shopping malls and restaurants around a lagoon, amusement rides and a giant skateboard park.
Thrill-seekers will love it. Talk about white-knuckle excitement — imagine being on the top of a giant Ferris wheel when the city’s electricity goes out! And the mortar rounds start coming in.
Those screams you hear? Just people having fun.
Baghdad residents, especially the children, need ‘normal’ experiences and outlets for fun. But are we really the ones to organize the good times?
My guess is that Iraqis don’t want a Cheesecake Factory. They just want us to leave.
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42 Comments
I cannot even comment I’m so dumbfounded. Is this going to be paid for with our tax dollars?
Maybe the Shrub can mange this after his exit. He’s certainly more than qualified with his vast experience in La-La land these last 8 years.!
Get that boy a cape!
Make that manage , or perhaps mangle.
How many check points will the kids have to go through for entry? That may well be the most dangerous adrenalin charging part of the Disney experience!
Jeez, you try to bring in a little fun and everybody gets all offended. Just think of some of the original theme rides they coulf have.
The IED Explosion
The Shock Wave
Torture Tunnel
And for a small fee, you could harass and hang an effigy of Saddam.
Or pile up naked Iraqis.
Call it GOP land - the Land of make-believe.
Note not a neocon one has remarked about this yet.
I wonder if our soldiers will be on guard there.
I agree. Make bush a carny barker at this shindig.
And oh the fun takes on American fun we can bring!
Shooting galleries….for real.
Guess the yield of the car bomb!
Find the WMDs in the ball pit!
Islamic extremists now dress up as Mickey Mouse and make a kid’s video.
“Phantom” offers –
“That may well be the most dangerous adrenalin charging part of the Disney experience!”
“At the top of the Ferris wheel, you’ll be a clear target for rocket-launched grenades!!!”
That will draw in the crowds!
“This loony project is perhaps a fitting capstone to our national fantasy in Iraq. The idea that we would remake the Middle East in our image was at the heart of Bush & Co.’ s arrogant and culturally naive vision for the region.”
-Randy
I have to agree with Randy here.
This comes very close to correctly explaning why the decision to invade was made. It was not to give contracts to Halliburton to make Dick Cheney rich. I agree and always have that the attempt to make Iraq into our own image is an effort in futility, a waste of resources, and the wrong strategy to fight the war on terror.
It shows that sincere intentions intended to help people in this case has resulted in more harm then good.
But then there is the issue with Al Qaeda showing up now that we are there. You know the same folks we intended to fight all along?
Well gee, who do you think is going to profit from our companies being there RFL?
And are you going to finally own up to the fact that your policies and ideals hurt our country?
But then there is the issue with Al Qaeda showing up now that we are there. You know the same folks we intended to fight all along?
Actually it is not alQuada. What we are seeing is a new ‘home-grown’ copy-cat if alQuada. So, instead of being able to eliminate alQuada we have helped multiply them!
All the policies that have hurt our country are bad policies.
Which one(s) are you attributing to me personally?
Too many weird jokes popped into my head to even make a reasonable comment on this topic.
I can just picture the Shrub, as the Manager of LaLa Land Baghdad , wearing a turban with mouse ears.
“Actually it is not alQuada. What we are seeing is a new ‘home-grown’ copy-cat if alQuada. So, instead of being able to eliminate alQuada we have helped multiply them!”
Ben, I guess we have to believe what we believe based on the credibility we assign our sources of information. I tend to view the fact that numerous terrorist attacks against the US prior to the Iraq invasion by AQ as evidence that AQ was alive and well before the March 2003 Iraq invasion. (Reference post above where mention unequivocally that the decision to invade Iraq was a bad strategy). Nevertheless we are currently engaged in Iraq wether it was a good idea or not (which it wasn’t).
However, based on the list which I have included below, the 2003 Iraq invasion can NOT be used to explain the existence of the AQ led insurrgency which aims to prevent the US led effort to stabilize Iraq. I also tend to believe the US generals in Iraq who testify that AQ (that same AQ who performed all the attacks listed below and more) is a threat the the stability of Iraq (and the world).
I tend to belive that AQ is a threat to this world (911 helps convince me of this) and that turning our back on them in battlefield is the wrong strategy for future maintenance of world peace.
But I could be wrong. But based on the evidence, I believe my belief is well supported.
I agree that the presence of American soldiers in Iraq gives those in the Iraqi vicinity a more convenient battlefield to attack American interests. My response is: Fight them and win.
Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda
Before the March 2003 Iraq invasion.
1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); 6 killed.
1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia.
1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.
1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.
1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.
2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.
2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.
2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.
2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 11 German tourists.
2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.
2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.
2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing 1.
2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.
2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884893.html
P-Mom,
“Note not a neocon one has remarked about this yet.”
The neo-cons aren’t available at the moment; they’re in Washington, bidding for the Iraqi adult video store, strip club and prostitution franchises today. The losers should be back here by Monday.
“….the folks we intended to fight all along.”
Perhaps so.
But
When we fight them in Afghanistan, we win when they lose.
However
When we fight them in Iraq, someone else misbehaves when they lose.
Maybe I oversimplify
“terrorist attacks against the US prior to the Iraq invasion”
When were US forces attacked by alQuada/Iraq?
I never said there was no such thing as alQuada. My point is that this is a new group - mostly Iraqis who had nothing to do with alQ before we invaded Iraq.
It’s too bad that Bush does not consider alQuada OUTSIDE of Iraq to be important.
Ah, I see. Dick Cheney is still trying to create his own reality (why won’t that damn reality cooperate?).
GALLOW: You know, I look at this, and every once in a while, we’ll see a story, Mr. Vice President, things like an amusement park opens in Iraq or in Baghdad, which is totally counter to what we’re hearing over here, as far as the marketplaces being open, the schools, and things such as that. But I saw a story several weeks ago about an amusement center maybe over there, and I’m thinking this is not what you get in today’s media.
CHENEY: No, that’s true. It’s — what gets covered obviously is bad news. That’s — you know, if everything is going swimmingly, then that’s not news, so it doesn’t get the kind of attention.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/09/cheney-amusement-iraq/
Cute. They build an amusement park at taxpayer expense, and then turn to it to point out how great things are going in Baghdad.
“So?”
That laundry list of AlQaida? It’s long, but I also remember folks in Iran having a list just as long. We’re getting it from both sides. So let’s not kid ourselves anymore about being able to just say AlQaida, and we will all just agree with what you say. Unless you got both sides figured out, maybe it’s time for some folks to start listening more.
Ya, boy, the first thing I’m heading for when I vacation in Baghdad is the water boarding ride. Then a stop at the food stand for some scrumptious road camel on a stick. Then the marry-go-round and try tp pull the brass ring from the IED. And how could one pass up the ever popular “smack-da-whore-with-a-rock” game.
tp=to or maybe tp will be needed:=;
But, wait, there’s more!
The Pentagon has put together a $5 billion plan to transform the Green Zone into a shopping mecca complete with luxury hotels and condos.
At the moment, of course, the Green Zone is a walled, heavily fortified, frequently bombarded compound smack in the heart of Baghdad. In five years, though, it could be Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive.
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-raucous0507.artmay07,0,5208632.story
“I never said there was no such thing as alQuada. My point is that this is a new group - mostly Iraqis who had nothing to do with alQ before we invaded Iraq.”
Based on what I have read from independent journalists as well as American and Iraqi leaders who know what is going on in Iraq, that point is just not accurate.
“There was no link between Sadaam and Al Qaeda”
The above statement is often used to undermine the justification for the current war effort.
However, if there was no link between Iraq and Al Qaeda prior to 2003 (which I agree there was not) how then are current Iraqi’s suddenly transformed as Al Qeada fighters (according to Ben’s view) who beforehand had no interest in Al Qaeda?
The evidence points to the fact the Al Qeada fighter is foreign to Iraq. There was no AQ in Iraq prior to 2003 (I think we can all agree). Therefore, the AQ presently in Iraq arrived there AFTER 2003 simply to fight the US led effort to stablize the country. Therefore the AQ fighter is by definition NOT Iraqi.
Ya, baby : Baghdad golf and country club!
EIGHTEEN HOLES OF A GOLF EXPERIENCE YOU WILL NEVER FORGET. EACH PUNCTURED-STEEL-PLATE FAIRWAY IS LINED WITH PRISTINE SAND DUNES. GREENS ARE SUPER FAST, AND VERY MOUNDY (mounds susceptible to sudden movements).
Hole locations on the fused-sand greens change with each rocket attack. looking for golf balls located more than 6″ off the fairway is not advised. IED’s may be present, so look at your own risk. We have no beverage girls, so if you see one, she is probably a suicide bomber, and we advise running like hell. The golf term, “Through the green”, has been suspended here until further notice.
THOSE SURVIVING EIGHTEEN HOLES WILL BE GIVEN A SPECIAL T-SHIRT SAYING, “I SURVIVED THE BAGHDAD GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT.”
RFL that is why you have the military/political people saying Al-Quida in Iraq, because they are a splinter group (think subsidiary) de-centralized from the main group that attacked us. Their reason for existence is we are occupying an Islamic country.
I used to wonder why the ‘in Iraq’ label was used, delve into it you’ll learn.
On the serious side, there are how many displaced Iraqi citizens? They’re going to love watching this freaking amusement park on the lone tv they use in some forgotten camp. Ya, cheney, you are indeed so out of touch with reality, you should be put away, if only to protect the public.
how then are current Iraqi’s suddenly transformed as Al Qeada fighters (according to Ben’s view) who beforehand had no interest in Al Qaeda?
They choose to call themselves alQuada/Iraq. Yes, they do get some outside help from US allies like Saudi Arabia but they are primarily home-grown resistence to the US occupation of their country.
There WAS a small alQuada presence in Kurdistan operating under our no-fly umbrella against Saddam but that was all there was pre-invasion.
Good Lord!
I’m shaking my head in disbelief.
Al Qeada in Iraq
For clarity, it is common to assign a geographic adjective when referring to a specific group that is located in a region where you would normally not associate them to be.
agreed RFL - but that does not mean they migrated there. It is more accurate to say that it grew there.
Regular
Posted May 9, 2008 at 3:49 pm | Permalink
Too many weird jokes popped into my head to even make a reasonable comment on this topic.
—
No doubt.
Here’s a suggestion. Remove the words “testicle,” “homosexual,” “impotent,” and “flail” from all those “jokes” and I believe you’ll be left with a manageable number.
It may even be a non-zero number.
(sorry to potentially hijack a good discussion, but THIS was just waaay too good to pass up)
Ok, back to the topic.
You gotta give those Bushies credit for Optimism, eh?
Gotta be a connnected Texan developer. Only a politically connected “movement conservative” Texan could dare to dream that there’s dollars to be found in an amusement park where one would retire to a modern, 21st-century rollercoaster to find a bit of relaxation.
Minnie will probably be subjected to a public stoning.
Following up on J R’s comment–
Imagine the millions they could make if they put Bush in a dunk-tank . . .
BTW, Amusing Ourselves to Death is the title of Neil Postman’s best book on the effect of television on our society.
He points out that the central focus of reading in society was supplanted by the visual images of television, with the result that we now spend more time obsessing over who will win the Super Bowl and American Idol than who will win the presidency.
bth,
“It’s too bad that Bush does not consider alQuada OUTSIDE of Iraq to be important.”
No doubt he does! I’m sure he’s quite grateful to Al Qaida for providing just the excuse he needed for invading Iraq, which he had been itching to do since before he was elected.
You really don’t get any factual context from this blog or from Randy Scholfield’s column. You have to go back to the original source to learn about the project, which is evidently NPR.
There already was a zoo and an amusement park at this site, which have reopened. The private entrepreneurs who are interested in expanding the site are out to make a buck. They think there will be a postwar Iraq that has a future (it is an oil producing country after all) and they want to get in and make money. The lead investor is from Los Angeles.
Here’s the link to the NPR story:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90090656
And, another article about the amusement park.
“The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis fearing food shortages.
“The larger entertainment park, designed by Ride and Show Engineering Inc, will follow in phases, part of a strategy launched two years ago by the Iraqi Government and the US to attract private investment into the country’s 192 state-owned factories.
“The factories were closed in 2003 by Paul Bremer, then the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, who believed that private enterprise would take their place. Instead, industries withered and half a million skilled workers were left jobless.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3802051.ece
From Linda’s link:
—
“…Mr Werner, who has been sold a 50-year lease on the site by the Mayor of Baghdad for an undisclosed sum, says that the time is ripe for the amusement park. “I think people will embrace it. They’ll see it as an opportunity for their children regardless if they’re Shia or Sunni. They’ll say their kids deserve a place to play and they’ll leave it alone.”
Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Government, is equally optimistic: “There is a shortage of entertainment in the city. Cinemas can’t open. Playgrounds can’t open. The fun park is badly needed for Baghdad. Children don’t have any opportunities to enjoy their childhood.” Mr al-Dabbagh added that entry to the park would be strictly controlled.
The project will cost $500 million (£250 million) and will be managed by Iraqis. Under the terms of the lease, Mr Werner will retain exclusive rights to housing and hotel developments, which he says will be both culturally sensitive and enormously profitable. …”
—
Like I said, you gotta give these idiots credit for Optimism (with a capital “O”).
Isn’t this the same flavor of optimism that led to Augustus Stupidus’s post-invasion reason for invading Iraq, nation building (the reason they came up with when it became patently obvious there were no WMD and that who cares, US troops weren’t going to control conventional weapon stockpiles anyway)? The same kind of naive dipshittery..er, optimism which led Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith to crow about how Iraq’s oil revenue would pay for it all? That led to “Mission Accomplished?”
And these Iraqis who will “strictly control” entry to the park: aren’t these the same Iraqis who hightail it outta Dodge whenever somebody brandishes a gun their way?
They’ll be providing security?
Ahem. Sorry. Now THAT’s funny.
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[…] WE Blog | The Wichita Eagle Editorial Department Blog wrote an interesting post today on Amusing ourselves to death in BaghdadHere’s a quick excerptAmusing ourselves to death in Baghdad Just now Excerpts from Randy’s column today: If there’s one place that’s synonymous with family fun, it’s Baghdad. So it didn’t surprise me to hear that American developers are planning to build a Disney-style amusement park in downtown Baghdad. Right next to the Green Zone. I’m not kidding. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s too crazy. According to news reports, the Pentagon has given the green light to the attraction, which will include a cultural cen […]