perspectives

IRAQ:BUSH's "LAST CHANCE" - QUESTIONS TO ASK ??

It must be difficult to wake up in the morning and read headlines in news reports worldwide that chill the soul, knowing the catastrophes overnight are a direct implication of six years of your personal failed policy, decision-making and leadership. This assumes you feel a sense of personal accountability for your actions, behavior and decisions---not just in your rhetoric, but in the heart and in your subsequent demonstration through your action and behavior.

Below are two examples from today's headlines that must leave all of us questioning even more deeply the audacity of BUSH and his administration requesting the American people support a "LAST CHANCE" to succeed, when we've witnessed six years a proven failed policy, failed decisions, amidst a sea of half-truths and worse:

Five girls killed in Iraq school attack
"Five girls have been killed in a mortar attack on a secondary school in a Sunni area of western Baghdad. The mortar attack occurred about 11am. at the Kholoud Secondary School in the Adil neighborhood of western Baghdad. Several projectiles exploded in the courtyard of the school, shattering windows in the classrooms and spraying pupils with shards of glass. Blood smeared the stone steps and walkways. ...Hours after the attack, grieving parents wept as the bodies of the victims were placed inside wooden coffins. Police said four girls were killed instantly and a fifth died later." The IRISH Times

U.S. helicopter shot down near Najaf
"...The [news] correspondent observed the helicopter shot down about 1:35 p.m. Iraqi time Sunday (5:35 a.m. EST). ...No information on U.S. casualties was available. Military public affairs officials in Baghdad said Sunday afternoon they were unaware of the helicopter downing. What?
The Mercury News

LAST CHANCE without Consequences for ALL
What haunts me is that this LAST CHANCE request from failed leadership has no direct consequences in the lives of those making such a request --- oh, perhaps a "self-made legacy of failure" to live with for the rest of your life on a generous pension the American people will fund, but I don't find this a compelling consequence, do YOU?  [Photo: Associated Press ]

This morning as the BUSH pundits hit the talk shows, I didn't hear one of them say their son or daughter ---- or any of them --- were suiting up for this LAST CHANCE noble cause. BUSH also has not "bellied up to the bar" on the LAST CHANCE request himself. Where are his family members that are willing to sign up for his "one-man strategy" that the most qualified experts have gravely questioned and rejected?  Why aren't we seeing the Commander-in-Chief making a field trip to get a "real feel" for his REQUEST in the neighborhoods with our soldiers? Sounds crazy, I know, but haven't past leaders made such sacrifices, never asking others to go where they were unwilling to go themselves?

General Petraeus said in his confirmation hearing this week that when "our men and women are putting themselves in harm's way," he owed it to them to tell the President if the strategy was wrong. Excuse me! Our men and women are BEING PUT in harm's way by BUSH. He owns this action, not the men and women who are following his orders.

It seems WE, the AMERICAN PEOPLE, own this mess too, as we sit, many of us feeling helpless, indifferent and silent. We have watched, hoped, blindly supported and now sit before an even more broken system --- and lack of involvement has upped the ante and left us in a dangerous place. Are we willing to risk everything on incompetent leadership? The LAST CHANCE will have CONSEQUENCES, but BUSH will not be bearing them, YOU and me and our children and grandchildren and our global family worldwide will bear the ever-rising consequences unless we can own up to it all ---- collectively shift our consciousness ---- thinking, questioning and letting our VOICES BE HEARD to stop the madness.

NEW QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES Do we have a dictator???
When I looked up this word, I was stunned by its definition that I knew but didn't want to say out loud:

DICTATOR:
a person granted absolute emergency power; especially  (one appointed by the senate of ancient Rome) [remember, what happened to them?] b : one holding complete autocratic control; one ruling absolutely and often oppressively.

Can the world accept two more years of failed policy?
Can we, the American people, accept two more years of failed policy?

As I ponder these questions, I am reminded of futurist, Joel Barker's compelling call-to-action:
"You can and should shape your own future, because if you don't someone else surely will."

BIG QUESTION: If we don't shape the future at this LAST CHANCE junction, who will it be that chooses to liberate us from our dictator?

I ask you these new questions, trembling --- in disbelief that my optimistic mind is typing such words --- all the while praying to be bold enough to see the TRUTH and the CHOICE that sits before each of us.

What about YOU?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

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The Secret History of the American Empire  Learn more...

US-WORLD QUESTIONS: Who is terrorizing whom?

I've lived through some dangerous times in history, but I don't remember one where, as American people, we seem so absolutely helpless to stop what every day seems more and more not just failed policy, but a presidency gone mad. In fact, the one-man-war-machine is so far from our basic belief system that we grew up on and the rhetoric so cunningly scattered that I dare say the average American doesn't even see it what is taking place and its far-reaching implications for the world, its people and the generations to come.

Maybe it has been this way for a long time. There is certainly evidence that the US actions and behavior with other nations is not quite what I thought for years. The Internet has made it possible to see a much more comprehensive picture of reality of US actions and their implications than we can pick up from our beholding media here in the US --- the world is telling us and experiencing our wrath. Are you listening? ...and if so, is it sinking in?

I work at be well-informed, but I realize that some of what is taking place is so unbelievable that even I have my means of denial and disbelief. The other night when BUSH accused IRAN and SYRIA of being supporting elements intent on attacking US troops. He also clearly left open the possibility for US attacks on both these countries too ---- this is while IRAQ is a war out of control. We've been hearing the heartbeat of the building momentum on attacking IRAN and SYRIA in recent months. However, I admit when I heard his threat in his "new IRAQ strategy" speech, I thought I had heard him wrong . Yesterday, a brief report flashed by saying the US had raided the Iranian Embassy. Nothing more came afterward, but the world is responding to his threats and unilateral actions loud and clear. Here are a few examples in just the last few days:

The Australian - January 12, 2007: US Raids Iran Consulate After Bush Warning.
GEORGE W. Bush has defied popular opinion, top generals and Congress with a plan to escalate US military involvement in the Middle East by sending more troops into Iraq and threatening attacks against terror cells in Iran and Syria. The US appears to have already moved to carry out its threat, with American troops yesterday raiding the Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, detaining five staff.

The Toronto Star - January 11, 2007 War's Highest Price Paid by Civilians
But those who monitor the ongoing violence in Iraq say the civilians who are dying in unprecedented numbers in the traumatized country will receive little or no benefit from the troop-boosting exercise – it may even increase their suffering. ...Allan Rock, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, said, "civilians are being treated as though they are entirely expendable in Bush's war, and by the warring factions bent on destroying each other. It is civilians that pay the ultimate price for this failed war."

Reuters - January 9, 2007 - US Strikes at al Qaeda in Somalia, "many dead"
MOGADISHU --- A U.S. attack plane killed many people with barrages of gunfire in a remote Somali village occupied by Islamists thought to be hiding at least one al Qaeda suspect, a Somali government source said on Tuesday. ...In the first known direct U.S. military intervention in Somalia since a failed peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994, an AC-130 plane rained gunfire on the desolate southern village of Hayo near the Kenyan border late on Monday. ... "I understand there are so many dead bodies and animals in the village," the senior source told Reuters.

The Washington Post reports about the US air strikes in Somalia, "no one can confirm a high-value target" among the dead, said one U.S. source, who spoke on condition of anonymity." Apparently, it means that didn't kill al Qaeda (high value), just people and animals (low value).

QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES ABOUT THE US ROLE IN TERRORISM
We need to be asking ourselves some serious questions. BUSH has us bombing and raiding and killing and destroying all over the world. We are hated and his escalating policies of war, death and violence are drawing more hatred.  By definition, terrorism is a term used to describe certain violent or otherwise harmful acts or threats of such acts.

When is it that we admit that the US has crossed the line ourselves?

Why are our bombs and threats and fear tactics any different than those we accuse every day?

I leave you, sadly, pondering these questions myself.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

BUSH-IRAQ: Leading a NOBLE CAUSE by Example???

I made a wholehearted attempt to listen to President BUSH's "new strategy" for Iraq with a beginner's mind. This is not easy in this case, because I am not an advocate of killing, but with the importance of HIS decisions for the United States and also for the world, I wanted to be responsible in at least listening to see what I could learn.

It appeared the reported practice he put into this speech brought a decent delivery of fancy words and a few missing facts and figures to support his arguments. His rationale for escalating the war is not one I can support. I heard one republican official claim yesterday afternoon, when questioned why anyone should put their faith in US leaders and Iraq leaders, whose leadership and policies have failed. His answer was stunning, "This is a last chance..." How careless we are with the lives of others that we would bet their lives on the pattern of leadership failures that reaches far beyond Iraq.

It challenges one's logic to figure out why two leaders, BUSH and Nouri al-Maliki, who bear the responsibility for the current crisis, are deserving "one last chance" with the stakes at an all time high across the world. Have we all lost our minds? Do we realize that the implications of what these leaders have already manifested will last generations? Are we thinking about how their plan will increase in deaths and maimed American and Iraqi soldiers and civilians and it will be because we are handing these lives to them to use and abuse with their proven incompetence. Again, the question is why would any of us buy-in to a "new strategy" led by two leaders, whose hands are already dripping with the blood of thousands of military losses and scores of innocents from previous failures.

THE QUESTION OF A NOBLE CAUSE
I learned in my years of leadership that the most effective leaders do not ask people to go places they are unwilling to go themselves. The QUESTION that haunts me since BUSH's speech last night is that if BUSH, his administration and his followers believe this "new strategy" is so essential to the US and bears the "noble cause" as he defined it in his speech, why didn't he use last night to lead by example ----- perhaps a few of the officials having re-enlisted, there to support the strategy dressed in uniform to lead the charge. Or why didn't BUSH and IRAQ war supporters bring a show of their military uniformed sons, daughters, wives, husbands, grandsons and granddaughters ready to ship off as the first to sign-up to lead the next phase of this NOBLE CAUSE?

What do you think? Is this too much to ask?

THERE IS NO "NOBLE WINNING" IRAQ War
Nobility doesn't emerge from killing and destruction. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left his wisdom with us that is easily applied to our situation today:

"If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survival, then we must find an alternative to war. In a day when vehicles hurtle through outer space and guided ballistic missiles carve highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can claim victory in war."

--- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Words of Martin Luther King Jr.
Selected by Coretta Scott King

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

President FORD: BEING IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD

Today I communicated with many people on this the 2nd day of 2007. I found it surprising --- and also interesting that not one business colleague --- and only one friend made even a mention of today's proclaimed national day of mourning, honoring the 38th President of the United States, Gerald FORD. Only one friend actually watched the service in the National Cathedral. There were many people that paid their respects in Washington, D.C., on the slopes in Vale, Colorado the other night, and in Michigan at his presidential library. But what about the rest of us???

I wonder if its to be expected when someone dies at 93, after a rich and fulfilling life, that their passing doesn't really matter too much to most of us. Or is it that Ford's Presidency was short and so long ago, few even remember him. Or maybe those that do have recall, remember him most for having what many perceived at the time to be too much of a "forgiving heart" that allowed former President Nixon to slip into history without a full accountability for his crimes. Or maybe its just that getting back to work and life today after the holiday season, just didn't allow people to pay much attention.

I've asked myself why I set my alarm clock to get up to see the ceremonies and service in Washington this morning. Truthfully, I was curious and my heart seemed overflowing with compassion for Betty Ford, imagining what it would be like to carry the responsibility of not only being a wife and mother, but also a First Lady, whose grief at losing her long-time love has to be on display for the world. At 88, Betty Ford carried it grace and openness --- to hats or veils or glasses. She appeared to be as open and honest in grief and she did in other poignant moments in life.

HOWEVER, this was not the full reason that I showed up. Over the weekend, I heard a report of a US soldier, lost in the war in Iraq, who had written a personal letter to his seven year old son. He told his young son to always pay respect to those who died in service of our country or in service of mankind. There were lessons to learn. His message moved me.

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
As I listened to various people speak about their experiences of President FORD, there always seemed to be a reference to his honesty, character and values ---- each description seemed to have a common theme of INTEGRITY --- something we've not experienced much modern politics that most of us recall. As I heard these references, I kept thinking about Don Miguel Ruiz bestselling book, THE FOUR AGREEMENTS: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom that is built from Toltec Wisdom. The first agreement is BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD. A few of Don Miguel Ruiz's bits of wisdom seemed to pop into my mind as I watched and listened to President Ford's tribute.

• Impeccability of the word can lead you to personal freedom, success, and abundance.
• Your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you.
• Say only what you mean. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
• Regardless of what language you speak, your intent will manifest through the word. What you dream. What you feel, and what you really are will all be manifested through the word.

I don't think I had any impressions of President FORD that were positive. It was a bad time and my first political experience was Watergate. I was disillusioned by the war in Viet Nam and also about how we treat others. At the time when Ford was president, I was just beginning to lose my innocence about life. So I came to his funeral service with some recollections I tried to just forget. Instead, I challenged myself to listen; to take in what was good. I learned a lot about President Ford's life as others described his contributions, recounted personal experiences and reflections on a life that I didn't know or care much about when he was in his prime.

What I walked away affirming, and having a greater appreciation for, was just how powerful being impeccable with your word is to your ultimate contribution and influence in the world as a person. This was a particularly vivid lesson as I watched the line-up of other living US presidents, imagining how they might fair against the standard of being impeccable with their word. Perhaps, more importantly, I couldn't help pondering the same question and recommitting to sharpen up my awareness and consciousness about being what I say; doing what I say.

So, thank you, President Ford, for living your life as people described today so that it touched mine in an unexpected way. I am grateful for this lesson.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

2007: RISING UP IN A NEW YEAR

The new year always comes to me as a compelling invitation for RENEWAL, which requires the act of RISING UP once again. For many reasons this is more important than ever for each of us at this time in history. 2006 was a year of too much violence, war, destruction and tragedy, much of which might have been avoided or minimized, if we were more engaged and involved in the world around us, don't you think?

It takes conviction to step up and out, choosing to broaden our contributions to the world --- to try LIFE on, living differently --- to ponder anew --- to ask more of ourselves for the good of all --- to BE more. I actually have learned to love this great part of life --- the open invitation we have to discover a meaningful purpose --- to put our fingerprint on history. IMAGINE the power of all of us increasing our contributions even in a few simple ways.

You aren't so sure you have more to contribute?
All around us there are simple examples to encourage us, assuring us that we have the capacity to do more. Here is one example:

Recently, I had to have a large tree removed in my yard. It was in a dangerous place and for the safety of all, it had to be taken down. Watching it reminded me of an unexpected life lesson about rising up that came my way...

RISING UP
by Debbe Kennedy

A few years back, a large pine tree in my yard, beautifully wind-swept into a living sculpture from years of seaside gusts, was taken by a storm of beetles and died. For years, it was the tree that was in view out my window as I’ve worked every day. I won’t be maudlin and say I had a deep emotional attachment to the tree itself, but it had been a welcoming refuge countless times, when I found myself a prisoner of creative block and blank computer screen. To save the other trees, the majestic old pine had to go. Watching it be cut down and chopped up was sad. It left a gaping void in the soul of the neighborhood. Neighbors slowed as they passed in their cars, taking in the unexpected change and loss. Some even stopped by to question why? and what happened?

Six months passed. We planted a new cypress tree in its place. It was hardly a substitute. A short while later, I stopped, before going into the house one evening, to see how the new cypress tree was doing. The real miracle was in discovering that two new little pine trees had sprung up all on their own. They had made their way up through all the might of the rocky soil pressing heavy on them---responding to Life’s Calling to rise up! Today, they are standing two very proud feet high. They made the choice not to give up---to accept personal responsibility for their own destiny---to find their own way to contribute more. The same calling that comes to each of us when we stand at a crossroads that we didn't perhaps expect.*

As we enter the possibilities of a new year, may we all look for opportunities to RISE UP ... to use our voice, our actions, our behavior, our funds, our gifts to help create a more generous, welcoming, peaceful world than we know today.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

INSPIRATIONS FOR YOU:
Personal Responsibility: Your Role in Creating a Better World with John Perkins and BK Authors
Socially Responsible Investing Dialogue
Habitat Jam - Knowledge Gallery Exhibit at the Global Dialogue Center

ORGANIZATIONS NEEDING YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS:
IRAQ Body Count Project
IRAQ Coalition Casualty Count
Interfaith Encounter Association - Creating Middle East Peace Talks
Women's Global Green Action Network
Heifer International --- Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth
Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary
Doctors Without Borders
World Vision

*Excerpt from After a Storm the Birds Sing by Debbe Kennedy