JF Beware: Upinzani si Uadui

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Mzee Es,

Kuhusu ujenzi na ajira. Naomba uangalie Ubalozi wa US bongo ulivyojengwa. asilimia kubwa ya vitu na watu walitoka US. Tanzania ilifaidika kidogo sana.

Angalia mfano wa Shoprite na maduka makubwa ya kigeni bongo, unajua mpaka leo wana Import nyama na bidhaa nyingine? sababu wanasema hatuna vitu vyenye quality nzuri.

Kwahiyo kiuchumi inawezekana hatutafaidika sana.

By the way kweli US wanahitaji kuweka kambi hapa bongo?! dhidi ya nani hasa? mimi naona hawana haja ya kufanya hivyo, bongo imeshajichokea yenyewe kiuchumi kwa kuuza kila kitu, labda tuwe na mafuta.

 

[YNIM]

Je twaweza kujenga Taifa la kisasa la kiafrika bila kuwa la kimagharibi?

MKJJ,
Labda, lakini nahisi opportunity hiyo tumeipoteza!!. Pia hata hizo nchi za Kusini Mashariki na Mashariki ya mbali za Asia pia zimeiga sana toka Magharibi. Ukiangalia sana issue hii inaweza kuwa na long term advantages kwa upande wetu kama tukii-utilize vizuri. Mfano kuna kiwanda cha Nurses Ufilipino kwa ajili ya soko la Marekani(of course local pia). India wanazalisha MD's na technologies nyingine.......hiyo kwa namna moja au nyingine ina punguza strain ktk economies zao. Yote hayo yamekuja kwa kuwepo mahusiano mazuri baina yao, mahusiano mazuri yanakuja vipi?, hapo ndio vitu kama hivi vya kambi vinapokuja!! China na Japan wapo hapo walipo, ukiangalia vizuri kuna factor ya Magharibi hasa USA. Ktk dunia ya leo huwezi kuwakwepa waloshika rungu la global economy, tukikataa hiyo kambi wataipeleka kwingine halafu sisi tutanuniwa. Mara ooooh na sisi tunakuwa kwenye "axis of evil."(joke)

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

What differentiates a nationa from another is the values and principles it stands for. Kigezo pekee anachotumia mwanamke au mwanamume malaya kuchagua mume au mke wa kulala naye ni pesa. Sasa na sisi kama nchi kama itafika mahala tutakaribisha nyumbani kwetu kila takataka kwa madai ya ajira, huo ndio umalaya wenyewe eti! Je, tunataka kujenga taifa la malaya lenye kumtaka kila mtu awe rafiki yake kisa anatupa pesa?

Kila siku Bush akitoa hotuba zake kuhusu foreign policy huwa Britain is our great ally; sijawahi kumsikia hata siku moja akiitaja nchi yeyote ya Afrika kuwa ni great ally. Kwa hiyo pamoja na kujibaragazua kwetu na US, wenyewe hawatuoni kama sisi ni chochote, sana sana wanatuona sisi ni condom tu ya kujikinga na matatizo yao ya kiusalama. Hapa ndipo ilipotufikisha CCM, a valueless and unprincipled nation, very bad indeed.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

Kitila, unachosema ni kuwa urafiki na marekani unatokana na maslahi na si kingine. Kama nchi inalinda maslahi ya Marekani basi itakuwa ni rafiki wa Marekani. Sisi hatuwezi kuwa "great ally" wakati tunajikomba kwa Wairan huku tunawapigia magoti Marekani. Marekani wanaona hayo yote; na sasa wanajaribu kutuvuta karibu yao. Itakuwaje pale Iran itakapotaka tusikubali kambi ya Marekani kwani inatishia maslahi yao? Itakuwaje kwenye hiyo kambi ya Marekani TZ itakapotumika kufanya mashambulizi dhidi ya nchi marafiki zetu (kama Irani?)...

 

[Mwafrika wa Kike]

Wataleta ajira mkuu kwa wananchi, kule Iraq sasa hivi karibu robo ya wananchi kwenye capital yao, huko wanafanya kazi kwenye base za US,

Huu ni uongo mkubwa sana au upotoshaji kuliko mwingi sana uliotolewa na FMES.

Mkuu, are you serious?
Mimi sipingi swala la kuweka base Tanzania lakini pia sitaki lifanywe kwa usiri na uongo kama huu.

Yaani Capital City ya Iraq ina watu karibia milioni tano.
Unaposema kuwa robo yao - yaani watu milioni moja karibu na nusu hivi wanafanya kazi kwenye base ya wamarekani, unaongopa mchana kweupeeeee.

Wanajeshi wa Iraq ambao wako angalau ready hawafiki hata laki 2. Polisi nchi nzima hawafiki hata hiyo number. Hao watu milioni na nusu wa kufanya kazi kwenye base ya Marekani wametoka wapi?

Mkuu hapa umepotoka, au unataka kupotosha, au unadanganya!

na sisi tukipata hiyo itakuwa plus kwa uhcuumi wetu, hakuna vita tena siku hizi watu wote wameshituka mkuu, hakuna madili tena mku sasa ni the rule of law, hakuna kujiuza tena mkuu sasa ni kuwekeza yaaani investment, ndio changes of times hizo mkuu, hao waje tu watuletee ajira kwa wananchi wanyonge, ambao hawawezi kula siasa na maadili, kama wale wanaofanya kazi kwenye US Embassy, sasa hivi sijui kama wanaweza kuelewa haya maadili mnayoyasema sana hapa, acheni wananchi wapate ajira kama kweli wanakuja hao wanyamwezi!

Toa number na uthibitisho wa study kama umeshafanya kuwa ni watu wangapi watapata ajira kwenye kambi ya wamarekani!

Historia inaonyesha kuwa chini ya watu elfu moja tu ndio wanaweza kupata ajira kwenye kambi hizi.

Kama ni ajira hapa si faida sana maana hata jeshi letu likipenda kesho linaweza kuajiri watu elfu moja. Au ndio mambo yale ya kuuza mgodi wa Buzwagi kwa bei ya peremende kwa sababu wataajiri watu mia sita (600)?

Masikini Tanzania,

Nakubaliana na maneno ya Kitila hapa, Nchi yetu imekuwa na sera za umalaya sasa. Tunafanya chochote kwa vipesa tu na sio zaidi!

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Kitila, unachosema ni kuwa urafiki na marekani unatokana na maslahi na si kingine. Kama nchi inalinda maslahi ya Marekani basi itakuwa ni rafiki wa Marekani. Sisi hatuwezi kuwa "great ally" wakati tunajikomba kwa Wairan huku tunawapigia magoti Marekani. Marekani wanaona hayo yote; na sasa wanajaribu kutuvuta karibu yao. Itakuwaje pale Iran itakapotaka tusikubali kambi ya Marekani kwani inatishia maslahi yao? Itakuwaje kwenye hiyo kambi ya Marekani TZ itakapotumika kufanya mashambulizi dhidi ya nchi marafiki zetu (kama Irani?)...

Hapo sasa, labda FMES ana jawabu!

 

[William J. Malecela]

1. What differentiates a nationa from another is the values and principles it stands for.

Mkuu Kitila,

Heshima mbele mkuu, maneno mazito sana haya, lakini haya-apply in our situation, maana tuko masikini mno hatuna kitu kabisa cha kujivunia, hatuna values wala principles, ziliisha na Cold War, kura yetu huko UN haina thamani tena, haihitajiki kama enzi zile za ugomvi baridi kati ya US na USSR, hii ni common sense wala sio lazima uwe Professor wa siasa kulielewa hili! we just do not have it, the fact ni kwamba toka zamani tulikuwa tuna-stand for nothing ndio maana leo imekuwa rahisi kuendelea na tabia hiyo aliyotuachia Mwalimu, ya ku-stand for nothing ila tu kuwa na maneno mengi ya kishujaaa kama yako mkuu,

2. Kigezo pekee anachotumia mwanamke au mwanamume malaya kuchagua mume au mke wa kulala naye ni pesa.

You are damn right, value ya malaya ndio mtaji wa malaya, malaya mzuri kwa maumbile huwa ana value kubwa kipesa kuliko malaya ambaye ni chongo, kwa hiyo value ya malaya ni uzuri wake physically, ndio unao-determine malipo atakayo charge, sisi as a nation tuna nini mkuu cha kutufanya tu-charge hela nyingi kama malaya mwenye value ya uzuri wake mkuu? Are you still suprised kwamba kwanini hatuna principles wala values? Ni kwa sababu hatuna kitu cha kupeleka kwenye meza za negotiations au bargain, just a matter of Fact, sio my opinion mkuu tumejaaa ukurutu mtupu, nani antaka malaya mwenye ukurutu!

3. sasa na sisi kama nchi kama itafika mahala tutakaribisha nyumbani kwetu kila takataka kwa madai ya ajira, huo ndio umalaya wenyewe eti! Je, tunataka kujenga taifa la malaya lenye kumtaka kila mtu awe rafiki yake kisa anatupa pesa?

Tunakuwa na bahati hata kumpata wa kutujali na kututupia vipesa kidogo pamoja na u-valueless wetu, kwa sababu kuna wenzetu kama Rwanda na Burundi, hawana hata huyo wa kuwatupia chochote ndio maana wanauwana kila siku,

Na ukweli ni kwamba tumeshafikia siku nyingi, nashangaa unasema itafikia, no mkuu tulishafikia tayari, hao wanaotupa pesa sio marafiki zetu, huwezi kuwa rafiki na nchi ambazo hufafanani nazo kwa kila kitu, sisi kazi yetu ambayo siku zote huwa ni kazi ya masikini, ni kujikomba tu kwa wakubwa na sisi watutupie makombo, mfano wako wa US na UK, ni out of place kabisa mkuu maana sisi hatuwezi kuwa hata wahudumu wao wa ndani as a nation, licha ya kukaaa nao meza moja, just empty example mkuu, yale mambo ya Azimio La Arusha na kujikweza kweza sasa hayana nafasi tena, tunaishi reality sasa kila kitu ni pesa mkuuu, sio siasa, Hospitalini ni pesa, shule ni pesa, na hata malaya wenyewe mtaaani zamani ungeweza kuwakopa not anymore mkuu,

Hii fact ilikuwepo siku nyingi sana, we had a choice kuikumbatia kwa ustaarabu, lakini tukajifanya maneno mengi ya value na principle, sasa reality imefika tuone tulichonacho! Nothing! hatuna kitu, maana toka tupate uhuru tulikuwa kama Bulicheka, tunajenga nyumba hewani, sasa kimbunga kimekuja tunaanza kulaumu kila mtu mwingine, na hasa waliojenga nyumba zao mwambani, siku moja nilimsikia Donald Trump, akisema kuwa Cash is the king nikadhani ni mwenda wazimu, sasa ninalelewa what he meant, ni kwamba masikini hana value wala principles, yeye anatakiwa kusubiri atupiwe makombo na mwenye uwezo kuliko wake, hata kama ni south Afrika, sio lazima iwe US!

Mkuu Mwafrika Wa Kike,

Heshima mbele mkuuu, lakini So far sijaona hoja ya msingi kwenye post zako kuhusiana na hii ishu,

Wakuu waacheni US walete base, tupate ajira wananchi wafanye kazi hapa hapa bongo, badala ya kwenda kuzamia zamia huko majuu!

 

[Mwafrika wa Kike]

Mkuu Mwafrika Wa Kike,

Heshima mbele mkuuu, lakini So far sijaona hoja ya msingi kwenye post zako kuhusiana na hii ishu,

Wakuu waacheni US walete base, tupate ajira wananchi wafanye kazi hapa hapa bongo, badala ya kwenda kuzamia zamia huko majuu!

Mkuu FMES,

Unadhani hata mie nimeshaona hoja yoyote ya msingi katika post zako zaidi ya uongo uliosema kuwa robo ya population ya baghdad wameajiliwa kwenye base za Iraq?

Of all pple, mie ni mmoja kati ya wasiopinga US kuleta Base Tanzania. Ninachotaka tu ni Kikwete kuwa muwazi na watanzania wote waruhusiwe kujadili hili jambo na sio kuficha ficha kama inavyofanyika sasa hivi.

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Mkuu FMES, napenda sana discussion ya namna hii, issue kwa issue, hakuna unazi. Hii ndio misingi ya JF.

Back to the mada sasa, mkuu mimi siamini kwamba tumekuwa valueless kiasi hicho. Yes, Mkapa ali-erode sana lile taifa kwa tamaa yake ya mapesa na mavitu ya kizungu, lakini bado tuna nafasi ya kuirudisha nchi kwenye mstari pamoja na umaskini wetu. Hii ni kazi moja ambayo Rais anayeelewa maana ya kazi yake ambayo anapaswa kuifanya. Sitaki umaskini utufikishe mahala Rais wangu mbele ya kadamnasi anajisifu kwamba yeye anaitwa na wakubwa "good boy". Kwenye saikolojia kuna terms mbili muhimu sana kuhusu binadamu, jamii na nchi, nazo ni self concept na self esteem. Self concept ni kujitambua, kwa mfano mimi ni mwanamume, ni mrefu, n.k., vivyovivyo kwa nchi inapaswa kujitambua kwamba nchi yangu ni maskini au tajiri n.k. kwa kigezo hiki na kile. Sasa linakuja swala la pili la self esteem. Kujitambua ni one thing, sasa self esteem ni kujiuliza napenda nilivyo? Yaani kama una chongo, unajipenda na chongo lako? Kama ni mwanamke, unajivunia uanamke wako au unatamani kuwa mwanamume? Kama una baba au mama maskini, unajiuliza unampenda baba yako pamoja na umaskini wake au unatamani ungezaliwa na Mengi?

Sasa katika nchi ni hivyohivyo, ok, nchi ni maskini, je unaipenda nchi yako au unatamani ungekuwa mmarekani au ungekuwa Rais wa marekani. Inavyoonekana, ni wazi kwamba kama nchi tunajitambua, lakini hatujithamini jinsi tulivyo na tunatamani tungekuwa waamerika, waingereza, wacanada, n.k. na tunafikiri tunaweza kuukwaa umarekani, ukanada na uingereza kwa kuwaruhusu hawa jamaa kufanya wanavyotaka. kwa hiyo hatuoni shida kuwaruhusu kuweka millitary base yao maana kwa kufanya hivyo nasi tutaanza kuwa waamerika!

We need to go back to the drawing board and ask ourselves what went wrong and what needs to be done to rectify the situation. For sure our problem is not lack of world materials, it is about attitudes towards life; it is about low self esteem, it is about not trusting ourselves, it is about desiring other people's identity, it is about lack of commitment, distorted priorites, selfishness, loving individuals more than institutions, country, etc.

FMES-trust me, nchi yetu (zetu) kamwe haziwezi kujikomboa hapa tulipo kwa kutegemea visenti vidogo kutoka kwa hawa mabeberu, our development is our responsibility, there is no short cut, we have to work hard, have right priorities, be committed, responsible and accountable. Wamerekani hata waweke base 500, hiyo haitatuondole umaskini wetu. The onus is ours, only us-hatujawahi kuwa na mjomba, bado hatuna na kamwe hatutakuwa naye.

Namalizia kwa kukusimlia kisa kimoja cha kusikitisha ambacho nimekumbana nacho leo: Nimehudhuria academic seminar moja leo hapa chuoni kwangu. Kuna mama Profesa alikuwa ana-present research yake ambayo ameifanya TZ kuhusu language and education in TZ. Pamoja na mambo mengine alitusimulia kuwa alipewa access kwenye very sensitive and delicate places mpaka aliogopa, mambo ambayo kamwe hawezi kufikiria kuyapata hapa Uingereza. Akisimulia haya alikuwa mpaka anaogopa. Wakati wa maswali nilinyoosha mkono na kuuliza swali, wakagundua kwamba ninatoka Tanzania, alipigwa butwaa na kuogopa sana. Hiki ni kitu kidogo, lakini kinaonyesha jinsi serikali yetu ilijifikisha. Yaani hizi sehemu alizoenda mzungu yule hakuna researcher wa TZ anayeruhusiwa kwenda, na mimi nimetoka research juzi, hata kupata access mashuleni was not easy. Lakini mzungu ameruhusiwa kwenda kwenye yeye anaita "very delicate ans sensitive places in government. Lazima tujikomboe vichwani mwetu mambo mengine yataongezewa. Tutakapofika mahala tukajua kwamba wazungu ni watu kama sisi na walipata mali walizo nazo kwa kufanya kazi, kujituma, kujithamini, kujiheshimu, kujinyima na kuheshimi public institutions, itakuwa ndio safari ya kuelekea huko tunapotaka kwenda. Hatuwezi kufika tunapotaka kwenda kwa kudandia lift ya wazungu, hawa mara zote watatupa porini! Tuamke.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

1. What differentiates a nationa from another is the values and principles it stands for.

Mkuu Kitila,

.... we just do not have it, the fact ni kwamba toka zamani tulikuwa tuna-stand for nothing ndio maana leo imekuwa rahisi kuendelea na tabia hiyo aliyotuachia Mwalimu, ya ku-stand for nothing ila tu kuwa na maneno mengi ya kishujaaa kama yako mkuu,

Mzee hapa hujasema kweli, na unafanya kosa kubwa dhidi ya historia yetu. Huku nyuma sisi tulikuwa na misimamo ambayo ilijulikana wazi. Tulikuwa tuna kitu cha kusimamia na misimammo hiyo haikutegemea vita baridi bali ukweli wa ndani wa misimamo hiyo. Na leo hii sisi kukosa misimamo inayoeleweka siyo mojawapo ya vitu ambavyo "mwalimu alituachia".

Mzee, tulisimama sisi na kitu kinachoitwa Utu wa kila mtu (the dignity of man). Tuliongozwa na kanuni hiyo kuwa "kila mtu ana haki ya kutambuliwa na kuthaminiwa utu wake". Hatukuwa tayari kuona mtu anamfanya mwingine mtumwa au kumnyanyasa mtu mwingine kwa vile tu mtu huyo kimaisha au kihadhi ni tofauti na mnyanyasaji. Hili lilijulikana wazi. Ndio maana wakati fulani Mwalimu alichelewesha msafara wake ili kuhakikisha dereva wake anakula wakati viongozi wengine wote wa msafara walikuwa wameshashiba. As a matter of fact, tangu siku hiyo Mwalimu alitaka madereva wake wale kwanza ili wasichelewe tena au kuendesha wakiwa na njaa kwa sababu ya haraka za viongozi.

Mzee, sisi tulisimamia uhuru wa watu wote na ya kuwa hakuna mtu ambaye ameumbwa kumtawala mwingine pasipo hiari yake. Kanuni hii ilituongoza kuitambua Biafra kama jamhuri huru. Kanuni ya kuitambua Biafra ni ile ile tuliyotumia kuitambua Israeli, na pia ndiyo tuliyotumia kutambua Polisario na PLO; kwamba watu wana haki ya kujiamulia mambo yao na ya kuwa kila mtu anastahili mahali anapopaita kwa haki ni nyumbani kwake. Hili lilijulikana. Huu ulikuwa ni msimamo. Ndio uliotuchochea kuhakikisha Rhodesia inakuwa huru, Namibia inakuwa huru, Angola inakuwa huru n.k Ni msimamo ambao pia ulitufanya tuwe na ushirikiano na Cyprus pia. Tulitambua kuwa watu wote wanastahili uhuru wao. Leo hii tunashindwa hata kupiga kelele dhidi ya unyama wa Darfur, tunashindwa kuipigia kelele Marekani n.k kwa sababu tunaogopa kuwaudhi rafiki zetu!

Mzee, sisi tulikuwa na msimamo wakati wa Nyerere; tulikataa ubaguzi kwa namna zake zote. Tulitaka kujenga jamii ya watu walio "sawa na huru". Tulikataa ubaguzi wa rangi, dini, jinsia n.k Ni kanuni hiyo iliyotufanya tuikatalie Afrika ya Kusini kuingia kwenye Jumuiya ya madola. Ni kanuni hiyo iliyomfanya Mwalimu atamke yale maneno ya kuthubutu kuwa "to vote South Africa in, is to vote us out". Na msimamo huo ulizuia Afrika Kusini kuingia Jumuiya ya Madola. Kaka, huo ulikuwa ni msimamo. Ndio maana hata lilipotangazwa Azimio la Arusha waathirika hawakuwa wahindi peke yake au wazungu, na kuwa hakikutokea uharibifu wa mali au kisasi dhidi ya wazungu au wahindi kwa sababu ni "wanyonyaji". Kwa sababu Azimio halikutokana na rangi!

Kaka tulikuwa na msimamo wakati wa vita baridi kuwa hatutatumiwa na Mashariki (Urusi) au Magharibi (Marekani). Na mwalimu alisema vizuri kabisa kuwa "hatuwezi kuwaacha rafiki zetu kutuamulia nani ni adui zetu". Hili liliwasumbua Wamarekani na liliwekera Warusi. Wamarekani hawakupata chote walichotaka na Warusi hawakupata chote walichotaka. Tuliamua kwa makusudi kusimamia kanuni zetu za kuwa Taifa huru na linaloamua mambo kwa maslahi yake. Leo hii wanazungumza Ulaya na Marekani kutuamulia maslahi yetu na halafu wanatufanya tuyatangaze kwa watu wetu kana kwamba ni maamuzi yetu.

- Richmond isingechunguzwa bila pressure ya wakubwa
- Sheria ya Constituent Development Fund imetoka kwa wakubwa
- Sheria dhidi ya Rushwa imetokana na shinikizo la wakubwa
- n.k n.k

Hivyo kaka, wakati fulani tulikuwa na msimamo; leo hii hatuna. Hatuna si kwa sababu ya makosa ya Mwalimu; Mwalimu aliacha uongozi karibu miaka 22 iliyopita! Kama leo hatuna msimamo ni makosa ya waliomrithi Mwalimu! Ni makosa ya kina Kikwete, Mkapa, mwinyi, Warioba, Sumaye, Malecela, Kingunge, Msuya, Mramba na nk ! Tusimbebeshe Mwalimu mzigo ambao alishautua. The blame of tha lack of steadfast principles remains squarely on the shoulders of our current leadership.

You are damn right, value ya malaya ndio mtaji wa malaya, malaya mzuri kwa maumbile huwa ana value kubwa kipesa kuliko malaya ambaye ni chongo, kwa hiyo value ya malaya ni uzuri wake physically, ndio unao-determine malipo atakayo charge, sisi as a nation tuna nini mkuu cha kutufanya tu-charge hela nyingi kama malaya mwenye value ya uzuri wake mkuu?

Kaka ingawa mfano wa umalaya unasound vibaya ndani yake kuna ka ukweli fulani. Ambao tumewahi kupitia Las Vegas kwa "semina na mikutano ya kikazi" tumegundua kuwa kuna Malaya wa daraja! (I'm not saying anything here...na nazungumzia malaya wa jinsia zote mbili). Kuna wale wanaoingia jiji hilo likeshalo ili kujipatia kitu kidogo kwa kuranda randa mitaani. Hawa kwa kawaida wanachaji tufweza tudogo kwa "huduma ndogondogo" na hata huduma "kubwa" haizidi dola 50! Hawa mitaa ya Ohio pale Bongo wanajulikana kwa jina la machangudoa! Kwa jinsi tulivyosasa sisi tuko kama hao ma CD! tunatoa huduma "kubwa kubwa" kwa bei ya njugu, na tunajitamba kuwa tumefanya hivyo kwa "maslahi ya Taifa".

Hata hivyo pale Las Vegas kuna malaya wengine ambao ukiwaita malaya wanaweza kukutwanga na pochi! Hawa ni mabinti ambao wana kazi za kawaida, walimu, na wapo wanafunzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Nevada, Las Vegas. Huendesha magari ya kifahari kama Lexus, BMW na ma Cadillac; hutinga pamba za nguvu na wao hawatolei huduma kwenye magari au uchochoroni. Wanazo apartment zao na wakati mwingine wanavyumba katika mahoteli makubwa kwenye jiji hilo la maraha. Ndugu yangu gharama ya huduma ndogo kwa saa haipungui Dola 500! na huduma "kubwa" kwa masaa inazidi dola 500 kwa saa na ukitaka adamkie kwako asubuhi (kama kwenye Pretty Woman) hakikisha una kitita cha karibu dola 1500. Hawa ni malaya, lakini wanajiendesha kama watu wenye ajira za "kulipa". Wenyewe wanajiita "Escort" na ukifika pale utakuta wana hadi maofisi yao na wanakuchaji kuanzia kutoka nao outing hadi anapokuaga and "everything inbetween".

Sasa na sisi kama Taifa tuishi kama malaya wa mitaani au tuishi kama hao maescorts? Kanuni ya huduma ya umalaya ya Mwanakijiji inasema kuwa "bei ya huduma ya malaya inaendana moja kwa moja na thamani aliyojipa malaya yule". Kama malaya huyo hajithamini na anaishi kivaluvalu basi bei yake ni kama ya chee; lakini malaya ambaye anaishi kama binti ya mfalme, atakugharimu. Sasa na sisi tulivyonavyo vyote hivi na thamani yote tuliyonayo kweli tuishi kama Changudoa? Can we even just try to act as if we are "somebody". Can we try to act as if we belong to the higher class?; why should we sell ourselves kwa bei rahisi namna hiyo wakati tunajua tuna gharama?

The way I see it, we got a wrong p.i.m.p! Our Pimp don't give a ... about our welfare as long we bring some "dollar dollar bill". Na

Are you still suprised kwamba kwanini hatuna principles wala values? Ni kwa sababu hatuna kitu cha kupeleka kwenye meza za negotiations au bargain, just a matter of Fact, sio my opinion mkuu tumejaaa ukurutu mtupu, nani antaka malaya mwenye ukurutu!

kaka, almasi, madini, bahari, mito, ardhi, mbuga n.k kweli vyote hivi ni ukurutu? Hivi Uingereza ingekuwa Tanzania au Japani ndio ingekuwa TAnzania si pangekuwa paradiso hapo. Nadhani we got something! Kaka mwanamke matunzo; vinginevyo wengine wakija na kumtunza na kumchukua mtu anabakia anashangaa! Tanzania haijatunzwa kaka, siyo kwa vile haina kitu. Nakumbuka tulipokuwa tunaimba wimbo ule wa "juzi na jana siyo leo, Mwingereza sasa njoo uone". Wenyewe tulidhani tunajipamba, tukadhania watawala wetu wametupaka poda kumbe vumbi, tuliponyosha vidole watukate kucha zipendeze wajanja wakazinyofoa kwa supana!; Tulipobanda midomo yetu watupake rangi, wao wakaishona kwa nyaya; na hata tulinamisha shingo tuvishwe vidani vya dhahabu wajanja wakatuning'iniza kamba za katani zilipakwa rangi ya njano!

Ni wao kaka wametuondolea uzuri wetu, ni wao waliotung'oa meno na kutuacha mapengo, ni wao kaka waliotunyang'anya viatu vyetu vya "kokoko" na kutuachia makubasi; kaka ni wao ambao hawataki tuoneshe uzuri wetu wa "kuzaliwa nao" kama ule wa "Mayasa". Leo wanajaribu kutuuza kwa bei ya chee.

Makuwadi wa utandawazi wanajua thamani yetu; ma Pimp wa kizungu wanajua tumejaliwa nini na mama zetu; wanatununua kwa bei ya chee na kututengeneza (sheraton, movenpick), wanatupamba (barrick gold) na wanatuweka kwenye magari ya kisasa na na kutupangishia majengo ya kisasa. Watalii wanakuja wanatupapatikia. Wanashangaa kwanini mapimp wa kiafrika hawakuona uzuri wetu!?

Tunakuwa na bahati hata kumpata wa kutujali na kututupia vipesa kidogo pamoja na u-valueless wetu, kwa sababu kuna wenzetu kama Rwanda na Burundi, hawana hata huyo wa kuwatupia chochote ndio maana wanauwana kila siku,

Kaka wenzetu Rwanda na Burundi wanajitengeneza wao wenyewe, wameanza kujipamba, na wanajiuza kwa gharama. Tusipoangalia Rwanda itageua the Japan of Afrika mbele ya macho yetu. NI sisi tutataka tuungane nao.

Haya ngoja nimeze mate kidogo nitaendelea baadaye...

 

[YNIM]

Kitila, unachosema ni kuwa urafiki na marekani unatokana na maslahi na si kingine. Kama nchi inalinda maslahi ya Marekani basi itakuwa ni rafiki wa Marekani. Sisi hatuwezi kuwa "great ally" wakati tunajikomba kwa Wairan huku tunawapigia magoti Marekani. Marekani wanaona hayo yote; na sasa wanajaribu kutuvuta karibu yao. Itakuwaje pale Iran itakapotaka tusikubali kambi ya Marekani kwani inatishia maslahi yao? Itakuwaje kwenye hiyo kambi ya Marekani TZ itakapotumika kufanya mashambulizi dhidi ya nchi marafiki zetu (kama Irani?)...

MKJJ,
Hiyo unayoongelea hapo ndio "non alignment" ya karne ya 21. Kila mtu anafanya hivyo, angalia mahusiano ya Pakistan na USA. Pakistan wanacheza kotekote(wanajua move nyingi kama si zote za Qaeda na bado ni ally wa US ktk war on terror). Hiyo Iran yenyewe US wanadai kwamba hawana shida na Iranians bali ni serikali yao, nadhani unaona hapo ka-thin line kanatengenisha yes but no!!!!. Hivi unajua kwamba nchi inayoi-betray US kuliko nyingine yoyote duniani ni Israel, nini kimetokea? je ni greatest ally? you bet!!!!!. Maslahi kwanza......mambo ya kuishi na mtaliki wako nyumba moja iliku-save gharama(nadhani tupo pamoja).

Unafikiri ktk mazingira ya kawaida serikali ya Instabul ingeruhusu majeshi ya marekani ku-operate toka ardhini kwao ktk siku za mwanzo za "shock and awe"? hudhani kwamba kwa kuanguka kwa Saddam wao wamekuwa matatani zaidi na issue ya wa-kurd? lakini faida walizopata ni ngapi?.

 

[William J. Malecela]

1.

Hivyo kaka, wakati fulani tulikuwa na msimamo; leo hii hatuna. Hatuna si kwa sababu ya makosa ya Mwalimu; Mwalimu aliacha uongozi karibu miaka 22 iliyopita! Kama leo hatuna msimamo ni makosa ya waliomrithi Mwalimu! Ni makosa ya kina Kikwete, Mkapa, mwinyi, Warioba, Sumaye, Malecela, Kingunge, Msuya, Mramba na nk ! Tusimbebeshe Mwalimu mzigo ambao alishautua. The blame of tha lack of steadfast principles remains squarely on the shoulders of our current leadership.

Mkuu wangu mwana umleavyo ndivyo akuavyo, hivi tulivyo ndivyo Mwalimu alivyotulea, Wa-China walivyo ndivyo Mwenyekiti Mao, alivyowalea, hao viongozi wote ulitowataja ni wafuasi wa Mwalimu, sasa what this tells you about Mwalimu's character? Si tunaokuwa nao karibu yetu ndio wanaotu-define who we are? Mao aliwaachia wa-china values walizonazo sasa, na sisi tulizonazo ndio hizo hizo tulizoachiwa na Mwalimu, yeye Mwalimu hakuwa nazo, ndio maana na sisi hatuna mkuu, ndio ukweli wenyewe, na the worst of all ni kwamba Mwalimu single handed ndiye aliyemchagua Mwinyi, Mkapa, hku akimuahidi Kikwete asubiri baada ya Mkapa, sitakuja ku-move hata siku moja kwenye hii argument, Mwalimu hakupenda sheria wala wana-sheria, sasa kweli unashangaa kwa nini kina Ditopile wako nje wanatesa? Ni kweli Mwalimu aliacha uongozi miaka 22 iliyopita, so are wazazi wetu, wengi wetu walishafariki miaka mingi iliyop[ita, lakini kutokana na misingi imara waliyoijenga in us tunaendelea kutesa tu bila wasi wasi, na wenzetu ambao wazazi wao walikuwa ni wa hovyo hovyo tunawaona kila siku wanavyochekesha kama taifa letu, lakini ninaheshimu pia hoja yako, ila binafsi I am not ready kumlaumu anybody for our national misery, zaidi ya Mwalimu!


2.

Mzee, sisi tulikuwa na msimamo wakati wa Nyerere; tulikataa ubaguzi kwa namna zake zote. Tulitaka kujenga jamii ya watu walio "sawa na huru". Tulikataa ubaguzi wa rangi, dini, jinsia n.k Ni kanuni hiyo iliyotufanya tuikatalie Afrika ya Kusini kuingia kwenye Jumuiya ya madola. Ni kanuni hiyo iliyomfanya Mwalimu atamke yale maneno ya kuthubutu kuwa "to vote South Africa in, is to vote us out". Na msimamo huo ulizuia Afrika Kusini kuingia Jumuiya ya Madola. Kaka, huo ulikuwa ni msimamo. Ndio maana hata lilipotangazwa Azimio la Arusha waathirika hawakuwa wahindi peke yake au wazungu, na kuwa hakikutokea uharibifu wa mali au kisasi dhidi ya wazungu au wahindi kwa sababu ni "wanyonyaji". Kwa sababu Azimio halikutokana na rangi!

Hiyo misimamo iliwezekana kwa sababu wakubwa wa dunia walikuwa wakihitaji kura zetu huko kwenye jumuiya za kimataifa, kwa hiyo walitusikiliza sana huku wakijua kuwa sisi ni mapuppet tu wa USSR, China, sisi mkuu hatuna tofauti yoyote na Cuba, ambao nao then walikuwa wakiheshimiwa sana duniani, not anymore, leo msimamo wetu no body cares maana hakuna anayehitaji kura zetu tena, ingawa majuzi tuliipata kidogo tulipokuwa wakuu wa baraza la usalama, maana kwa mara nyingine tena wakubwa walihitaji kura zetu, lakini otherwise we are done kaput!

Ninasikia kuzungu zungu ninaposikia Azimio La Arusha, tulilokurupuka tu kulitangaza bila ya kuwa na alternative in place, yaani hatuna tofauti na Idd Amin aliyewafukuza Wahindi ambao wote walisharudi na kurudishiwa mali zao baada ya waa-Afrika kushindwa kuziendesha, na sisi tumefanya vile vile kama Idd Amin, what a shame?

Kama ni msimammo bado tunao ndio maana tunamsaidia Mugabe, that is all we can do for now, mpaka tutakapoweza kuziweka national priority zetu sawa, so far wa kulifanya hilo hayupo bado, labda generation ijayo, hakuna aliyekuwa mnyonyaji ila tulikuwa tunaishi kwa realities of life kwamba binadamu wote hatuko sawa, hatukuumbwa sawa, lakini Mwalimu aakaamini in ujamaa ana miracle ya kuibadilisha hiyo fact of life, matokeo yake ndio haya we are lost out, hayo ya Azimio yalikuwa ni pure nonesense maana yalikuwa ni kujaribu kushindana na nature ya binadamu, jamii inaweza ku-function vizuri kwa 90% ya ile jamii kuwafanyia kazi only 5% ya ile jamii, meaning kwamba 5% ya jamii ndiyo pekee inayoweza kuongoza 90% ya jamii, huku serikali ikisimamia another 5% ya jamii, hii ndio economic functional structure za huko majuu mkuuu, na ndio in brief ndio hasa wa-China walichokifanya huko kwao, sasa hii very simple system ilikataliwa na Mwalimu, na maazimio yake ya kufukuza mwenge, haya ndio matokeo yake mkuu! Nyumba imara hujengwa mwambani sio hewani kama Mwalimu alivyotufundisha!

3.

Sasa na sisi tulivyonavyo vyote hivi na thamani yote tuliyonayo kweli tuishi kama Changudoa? Can we even just try to act as if we are "somebody". Can we try to act as if we belong to the higher class?; why should we sell ourselves kwa bei rahisi namna hiyo wakati tunajua tuna gharama? The way I see it, we got a wrong p.i.m.p! Our Pimp don't give a ... about our welfare as long we bring some "dollar dollar bill". Na

Good point mkuu, lakini umesahau one important thing kuwa bei ya malaya haipangwi na malaya mwenyewe, ila hupangwa na walipaji yaani wanunuzi, malaya anaweza kujipangia bei yoyote anayotaka, lakini muamuzi wa mwisho huwa ni mnunuzi, ukilielewa hili basi utaweza kuelewa kwa urahisi yanayotusibu in our nation!



4.

Ni wao kaka wametuondolea uzuri wetu, ni wao waliotung'oa meno na kutuacha mapengo, ni wao kaka waliotunyang'anya viatu vyetu vya "kokoko" na kutuachia makubasi; kaka ni wao ambao hawataki tuoneshe uzuri wetu wa "kuzaliwa nao" kama ule wa "Mayasa". Leo wanajaribu kutuuza kwa bei ya chee. Makuwadi wa utandawazi wanajua thamani yetu; ma Pimp wa kizungu wanajua tumejaliwa nini na mama zetu; wanatununua kwa bei ya chee na kututengeneza (sheraton, movenpick), wanatupamba (barrick gold) na wanatuweka kwenye magari ya kisasa na na kutupangishia majengo ya kisasa. Watalii wanakuja wanatupapatikia. Wanashangaa kwanini mapimp wa kiafrika hawakuona uzuri wetu!?

Uzuri tumejiondolea wenyewe kwa kutojua kuwa tulikuwa nao toka tupate uhuru, na ni kutokana na kuwa na the wrong national priorities, under Mwalimu, ustaarabu wa kizungu tuliutaka wenyewe, bila ya kuwauliza wazungu wenyewe gharama za kuu-maintain, hakuna nchi duniani ambako kiwanda kama cha bia, na sigara huendeshwa kwa hasara, lakini under Mwalimu, ndio tulichokuwa tukikifanya, leo tumewapa mabepari hatujawahi kusikia hasara kwenye hivyo viwanda, WHY? Hakuna anyejaribu kutuuza ila tunajiuza wenyewe kwa bei poa maana hatuna pa kuangukia, na hatuna subira wala uvumilivu, au uwezo mkubwa wa kufikiri, tungekuwa nao tusingeamuliwa maamuzi ya kitoto kuanzia enzi za Mwalimu, mpaka sasa wafuasi wake wanaendelea kutuamulia maamauzi ya kitoto as if hatuna akili kabisaa! Hayo madini yalikuwa yakichukuliwa bure toka enzi za Mwalimu na bado wanaendelea tu kuchukua bure wazungu, the only tofauti sasa ni kwamba tuna vyama vya siasa vinavyoweza kuipigia serikali kelele enzi zile za Azimio La Arusha, kina Zitto tungekuwa tumeshawsahau siku nyingi sana, sasa mkuu wangu haya ndio matokeo yake!

Hatuwezi kutatua matatizo yetu ya taifa bila kukubali yalianzia wapi kwanza, kwa kifupi ni kwamba tulijenga nyumba hewani, sasa upepo ukija tusilie na kulaumu kila mtu mwingine, tujenge nyumba yetu kwenye mwamba sasa!

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

1.


Hatuwezi kutatua matatizo yetu ya taifa bila kukubali yalianzia wapi kwanza, kwa kifupi ni kwamba tulijenga nyumba hewani, sasa upepo ukija tusilie na kulaumu kila mtu mwingine, tujenge nyumba yetu kwenye mwamba sasa!

Ndio tunasema wazungu hawawezi kuwa mwamba, mwamba ni sisi wenyewe. Soma meneno ya mwanakijiji kuhusu Rwanda. Tena uache kabisa kuwatolea mfano Rwanda, wale wanakwenda mbio mno tena sasa hivi wanatupora wafanyakazi kama hawana akili nzuri. Wameamua kujitegemea tena humsikii Rais wao akitalii na kulilia misaada kama JK wetu. Amekaa, ametulia anajenga nchi na wananchi wetu, sisi tunazunguka dunia na kujitapa kwa kuahidiwa misaada kemukemu na Marekani, Uingereza, Canada n.k. Tumejiteka wenyewe, tunaweza pia kujinasua wenyewe. Tusiwe watumwa wa histora yetu, Nyerere alifanya sehemu yake, nasi tunawajibika kufanya ya kwetu.

 

[William J. Malecela]

1.

Ndio tunasema wazungu hawawezi kuwa mwamba, mwamba ni sisi wenyewe.

Mkuu Kitila,

Heshima mbele mkuu, tatizo la mwamba kuwa sisi wenyewe linatokana na uamuzi wetu kukumbatia maendeleo ya West, sasa tutakuwaje nayo bila kuwakumbatia wenyewe The West? Wazungu wametuzidi ujanja, Europeans walikuja huku kwetu na kujitajirisha sana mpaka wakweza ku-invest kwa wingi sana kule US, utajiri karibu wote wa US ni utajiri wa Europeans, walioutoa hapa kwetu Afrika, lakini US ni wajanja sana waka-regulate hizo investment kwa faida yao, Rockfeller Center leo inamilikiwa na wa-Japan, lakini US wanakula nao meza moja na kuishia kugawana hela 60%, kwa 40%, leo Us wananunua magari Japan kwa wingi sana, lakini na wao in the process wanawalazimisha wa-Jap kunua migari yao mikubwa kama nyumba, wa-Jap hawahitaji magari hayo lakini kwa sababu ni mkataba wao hununua na kuyayeyusha kuwa vyuma huko Jap, na kutengeneza magari mengine na kuiuzia US tena, US hawajali maana migari yao inanunuliwa pia na Wa-Jap, japo kwa nguvu, sasa sisi tutayaweza wapi hayo mkuu? Tutawalaszimisha wazungu kununua nini kwa nguvu kutoka kwetu? Mengine ni kukubali yaishe tu!

2.

Soma meneno ya mwanakijiji kuhusu Rwanda. Tena uache kabisa kuwatolea mfano Rwanda, wale wanakwenda mbio mno tena sasa hivi wanatupora wafanyakazi kama hawana akili nzuri. Wameamua kujitegemea

Ingekuwa kweli mkuu, hao banyamulenge wasinge-cross kila siku kuja kwenye makambi yetu ya wakimbizi huko Ngara, hatuhitaji condition economy kama za South Afrika, nchi tajiri wananchi masikini kwa hiyo hiyo condition uchumi hao wa-Rundi they can have it, maana maendeleo yakutufanya tupoteze wananchi millioni moja waliouliwa na the sitting president kama Kagame, basi Mungu atupishilie mbali mkuu hatuyahitaji hayo hapa bongo, yaani basi tufe tu na umasikini wetu, lakini tupoteze ndugu zetu millioni moja kwa ajili ya tamaaa tu ya kiongozi mmoja, hayo meandeleo waendeleee tu!

Hawatupoti wafanyakazi, isipokuwa ni watu wao wanaorejea huko, baada ya kufadhiliwa hapa kwetu walipokuwa na shida, wakatudanganya kuwa ni wenzetu kwa kutumia rushwa wakaweza kupata uraia wetu kilaini, sasa wanarudi kwao, ila sijui mbongo as mbongo aliyehamia huko, no hao ni banyamulenge wenzao tu mkuu!


3.

a humsikii Rais wao akitalii na kulilia misaada kama JK wetu. Amekaa, ametulia anajenga nchi na wananchi wetu, sisi tunazunguka dunia na kujitapa kwa kuahidiwa misaada kemukemu na Marekani, Uingereza, Canada n.k.

mkuu najua kuwa unaheshimika sana na tunategemea siku moja uwe mwenyekiti wa Chadema, lakini kwenye hili umechanganya madawa, huyo Kagame ni wanted baadhi ya nchi za majuu, yaani arrest warrant iko tayari anasubiri tu kupelekwa the Haque, mara ya mwisho nilikuwa Canada, alipokwenda huko mkuu ilikuwa aibu tupu jinsi wananchi wa nchi yake walivyokuwa wakimzomea, na kumdai ndugu zao aliowaua zaidi ya millioni moja, yaani sema wengine mkuu sio huyo muuaji, hahitajiki kabisa huko nje! sisi Muungwana, anatinga tena huko DC kupewa zawadi na wakubwa kwa kazi njema, ambayo japo ni ndogo kama alivyosifiwa na Ban Ki-Moon katibu wa UN, lakini kumbe sio UN tu walioiona, hata wakubwa wengine wameiona, lakini ni ndogo sana hilo halina ubishi, sasa tutakuwaje na rais anyetafutwa afungwe na wazungu kwa kuua waa-Afrika wenziwe zaidi ya Millioni moja? mkuu tema mate Mungu atupishilie mbali!

4.

Tumejiteka wenyewe, tunaweza pia kujinasua wenyewe. Tusiwe watumwa wa histora yetu, Nyerere alifanya sehemu yake, nasi tunawajibika kufanya ya kwetu.

Mkuu unayosema hapa ni sawa, lakini sio kwa kasi ya Chadema, hapana tuwape nafasi viongozi wetu waturekebishie pole pole, maana mambo ya haraka haraka ya Mwenge na Azimio La Arusha, ndio yametufikisha hapa tulipo, kwa hiyo tuwe na subira wakuu, ndio kuna matatizo njiani, lakini so far tunajaribu jaribu na wakubwa wanatuona huko majuu!

Sasa naona tutaendelea kesho kukata ishu hapa tena kiroho mbaya!

 

[Icadon]

By Chalmers Johnson, Metropolitan Books
Posted on February 19, 2007, Printed on November 29, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/47998/

The following is excerpted from Chalmers Johnson's new book, "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic" (Metropolitan Books).

Once upon a time, you could trace the spread of imperialism by counting up colonies. America's version of the colony is the military base; and by following the changing politics of global basing, one can learn much about our ever more all-encompassing imperial "footprint" and the militarism that grows with it.

It is not easy, however, to assess the size or exact value of our empire of bases. Official records available to the public on these subjects are misleading, although instructive. According to the Defense Department's annual inventories from 2002 to 2005 of real property it owns around the world, the Base Structure Report, there has been an immense churning in the numbers of installations.

The total of America's military bases in other people's countries in 2005, according to official sources, was 737. Reflecting massive deployments to Iraq and the pursuit of President Bush's strategy of preemptive war, the trend line for numbers of overseas bases continues to go up.

Interestingly enough, the thirty-eight large and medium-sized American facilities spread around the globe in 2005 -- mostly air and naval bases for our bombers and fleets -- almost exactly equals Britain's thirty-six naval bases and army garrisons at its imperial zenith in 1898. The Roman Empire at its height in 117 AD required thirty-seven major bases to police its realm from Britannia to Egypt, from Hispania to Armenia. Perhaps the optimum number of major citadels and fortresses for an imperialist aspiring to dominate the world is somewhere between thirty-five and forty.

Using data from fiscal year 2005, the Pentagon bureaucrats calculated that its overseas bases were worth at least $127 billion -- surely far too low a figure but still larger than the gross domestic products of most countries -- and an estimated $658.1 billion for all of them, foreign and domestic (a base's "worth" is based on a Department of Defense estimate of what it would cost to replace it). During fiscal 2005, the military high command deployed to our overseas bases some 196,975 uniformed personnel as well as an equal number of dependents and Department of Defense civilian officials, and employed an additional 81,425 locally hired foreigners.

The worldwide total of U.S. military personnel in 2005, including those based domestically, was 1,840,062 supported by an additional 473,306 Defense Department civil service employees and 203,328 local hires. Its overseas bases, according to the Pentagon, contained 32,327 barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings, which it owns, and 16,527 more that it leased. The size of these holdings was recorded in the inventory as covering 687,347 acres overseas and 29,819,492 acres worldwide, making the Pentagon easily one of the world's largest landlords.

These numbers, although staggeringly big, do not begin to cover all the actual bases we occupy globally. The 2005 Base Structure Report fails, for instance, to mention any garrisons in Kosovo (or Serbia, of which Kosovo is still officially a province) -- even though it is the site of the huge Camp Bondsteel built in 1999 and maintained ever since by the KBR corporation (formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root), a subsidiary of the Halliburton Corporation of Houston.

The report similarly omits bases in Afghanistan, Iraq (106 garrisons as of May 2005), Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan, even though the U.S. military has established colossal base structures in the Persian Gulf and Central Asian areas since 9/11. By way of excuse, a note in the preface says that "facilities provided by other nations at foreign locations" are not included, although this is not strictly true. The report does include twenty sites in Turkey, all owned by the Turkish government and used jointly with the Americans. The Pentagon continues to omit from its accounts most of the $5 billion worth of military and espionage installations in Britain, which have long been conveniently disguised as Royal Air Force bases. If there were an honest count, the actual size of our military empire would probably top 1,000 different bases overseas, but no one -- possibly not even the Pentagon -- knows the exact number for sure.

In some cases, foreign countries themselves have tried to keep their U.S. bases secret, fearing embarrassment if their collusion with American imperialism were revealed. In other instances, the Pentagon seems to want to play down the building of facilities aimed at dominating energy sources, or, in a related situation, retaining a network of bases that would keep Iraq under our hegemony regardless of the wishes of any future Iraqi government. The U.S. government tries not to divulge any information about the bases we use to eavesdrop on global communications, or our nuclear deployments, which, as William Arkin, an authority on the subject, writes, "[have] violated its treaty obligations. The U.S. was lying to many of its closest allies, even in NATO, about its nuclear designs. Tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, hundreds of bases, and dozens of ships and submarines existed in a special secret world of their own with no rational military or even 'deterrence' justification."

In Jordan, to take but one example, we have secretly deployed up to five thousand troops in bases on the Iraqi and Syrian borders. (Jordan has also cooperated with the CIA in torturing prisoners we deliver to them for "interrogation.") Nonetheless, Jordan continues to stress that it has no special arrangements with the United States, no bases, and no American military presence.

The country is formally sovereign but actually a satellite of the United States and has been so for at least the past ten years. Similarly, before our withdrawal from Saudi Arabia in 2003, we habitually denied that we maintained a fleet of enormous and easily observed B-52 bombers in Jeddah because that was what the Saudi government demanded. So long as military bureaucrats can continue to enforce a culture of secrecy to protect themselves, no one will know the true size of our baseworld, least of all the elected representatives of the American people.

In 2005, deployments at home and abroad were in a state of considerable flux. This was said to be caused both by a long overdue change in the strategy for maintaining our global dominance and by the closing of surplus bases at home. In reality, many of the changes seemed to be determined largely by the Bush administration's urge to punish nations and domestic states that had not supported its efforts in Iraq and to reward those that had. Thus, within the United States, bases were being relocated to the South, to states with cultures, as the Christian Science Monitor put it, "more tied to martial traditions" than the Northeast, the northern Middle West, or the Pacific Coast. According to a North Carolina businessman gloating over his new customers, "The military is going where it is wanted and valued most."

In part, the realignment revolved around the Pentagon's decision to bring home by 2007 or 2008 two army divisions from Germany -- the First Armored Division and the First Infantry Division -- and one brigade (3,500 men) of the Second Infantry Division from South Korea (which, in 2005, was officially rehoused at Fort Carson, Colorado). So long as the Iraq insurgency continues, the forces involved are mostly overseas and the facilities at home are not ready for them (nor is there enough money budgeted to get them ready).

Nonetheless, sooner or later, up to 70,000 troops and 100,000 family members will have to be accommodated within the United States. The attendant 2005 "base closings" in the United States are actually a base consolidation and enlargement program with tremendous infusions of money and customers going to a few selected hub areas. At the same time, what sounds like a retrenchment in the empire abroad is really proving to be an exponential growth in new types of bases -- without dependents and the amenities they would require -- in very remote areas where the U.S. military has never been before.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was obvious to anyone who thought about it that the huge concentrations of American military might in Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea were no longer needed to meet possible military threats. There were not going to be future wars with the Soviet Union or any country connected to any of those places.

In 1991, the first Bush administration should have begun decommissioning or redeploying redundant forces; and, in fact, the Clinton administration did close some bases in Germany, such as those protecting the Fulda Gap, once envisioned as the likeliest route for a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. But nothing was really done in those years to plan for the strategic repositioning of the American military outside the United States.

By the end of the 1990s, the neoconservatives were developing their grandiose theories to promote overt imperialism by the "lone superpower" -- including preventive and preemptive unilateral military action, spreading democracy abroad at the point of a gun, obstructing the rise of any "near-peer" country or bloc of countries that might challenge U.S. military supremacy, and a vision of a "democratic" Middle East that would supply us with all the oil we wanted. A component of their grand design was a redeployment and streamlining of the military. The initial rationale was for a program of transformation that would turn the armed forces into a lighter, more agile, more high-tech military, which, it was imagined, would free up funds that could be invested in imperial policing.

What came to be known as "defense transformation" first began to be publicly bandied about during the 2000 presidential election campaign. Then 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq intervened. In August 2002, when the whole neocon program began to be put into action, it centered above all on a quick, easy war to incorporate Iraq into the empire. By this time, civilian leaders in the Pentagon had become dangerously overconfident because of what they perceived as America's military brilliance and invincibility as demonstrated in its 2001 campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda -- a strategy that involved reigniting the Afghan civil war through huge payoffs to Afghanistan's Northern Alliance warlords and the massive use of American airpower to support their advance on Kabul.

In August 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld unveiled his "1-4-2-1 defense strategy" to replace the Clinton era's plan for having a military capable of fighting two wars -- in the Middle East and Northeast Asia -- simultaneously. Now, war planners were to prepare to defend the United States while building and assembling forces capable of "deterring aggression and coercion" in four "critical regions": Europe, Northeast Asia (South Korea and Japan), East Asia (the Taiwan Strait), and the Middle East, be able to defeat aggression in two of these regions simultaneously, and "win decisively" (in the sense of "regime change" and occupation) in one of those conflicts "at a time and place of our choosing."As the military analyst William M. Arkin commented, "[With] American military forces ... already stretched to the limit, the new strategy goes far beyond preparing for reactive contingencies and reads more like a plan for picking fights in new parts of the world."

A seemingly easy three-week victory over Saddam Hussein's forces in the spring of 2003 only reconfirmed these plans. The U.S. military was now thought to be so magnificent that it could accomplish any task assigned to it. The collapse of the Baathist regime in Baghdad also emboldened Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to use "transformation" to penalize nations that had been, at best, lukewarm about America's unilateralism -- Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey -- and to reward those whose leaders had welcomed Operation Iraqi Freedom, including such old allies as Japan and Italy but also former communist countries such as Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. The result was the Department of Defense's Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy, known informally as the "Global Posture Review."

President Bush first mentioned it in a statement on November 21, 2003, in which he pledged to "realign the global posture" of the United States. He reiterated the phrase and elaborated on it on August 16, 2004, in a speech to the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cincinnati. Because Bush's Cincinnati address was part of the 2004 presidential election campaign, his comments were not taken very seriously at the time. While he did say that the United States would reduce its troop strength in Europe and Asia by 60,000 to 70,000, he assured his listeners that this would take a decade to accomplish -- well beyond his term in office -- and made a series of promises that sounded more like a reenlistment pitch than a statement of strategy.

"Over the coming decade, we'll deploy a more agile and more flexible force, which means that more of our troops will be stationed and deployed from here at home. We'll move some of our troops and capabilities to new locations, so they can surge quickly to deal with unexpected threats. ... It will reduce the stress on our troops and our military families. ... See, our service members will have more time on the home front, and more predictability and fewer moves over a career. Our military spouses will have fewer job changes, greater stability, more time for their kids and to spend with their families at home."

On September 23, 2004, however, Secretary Rumsfeld disclosed the first concrete details of the plan to the Senate Armed Services Committee. With characteristic grandiosity, he described it as "the biggest re-structuring of America's global forces since 1945." Quoting then undersecretary Douglas Feith, he added, "During the Cold War we had a strong sense that we knew where the major risks and fights were going to be, so we could deploy people right there. We're operating now [with] an entirely different concept. We need to be able to do [the] whole range of military operations, from combat to peacekeeping, anywhere in the world pretty quickly."

Though this may sound plausible enough, in basing terms it opens up a vast landscape of diplomatic and bureaucratic minefields that Rumsfeld's militarists surely underestimated. In order to expand into new areas, the Departments of State and Defense must negotiate with the host countries such things as Status of Forces Agreements, or SOFAs, which are discussed in detail in the next chapter. In addition, they must conclude many other required protocols, such as access rights for our aircraft and ships into foreign territory and airspace, and Article 98 Agreements. The latter refer to article 98 of the International Criminal Court's Rome Statute, which allows countries to exempt U.S. citizens on their territory from the ICC's jurisdiction.

Such immunity agreements were congressionally mandated by the American Service-Members' Protection Act of 2002, even though the European Union holds that they are illegal. Still other necessary accords are acquisitions and cross-servicing agreements or ACSAs, which concern the supply and storage of jet fuel, ammunition, and so forth; terms of leases on real property; levels of bilateral political and economic aid to the United States (so-called host-nation support); training and exercise arrangements (Are night landings allowed? Live firing drills?); and environmental pollution liabilities.

When the United States is not present in a country as its conqueror or military savior, as it was in Germany, Japan, and Italy after World War II and in South Korea after the 1953 Korean War armistice, it is much more difficult to secure the kinds of agreements that allow the Pentagon to do anything it wants and that cause a host nation to pick up a large part of the costs of doing so. When not based on conquest, the structure of the American empire of bases comes to look exceedingly fragile.

From the book NEMESIS: The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson. Reprinted by arrangement with Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Copyright (c) 2006 by Chalmers Johnson. All rights reserved.

Chalmers Johnson is president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, a non-profit research and public affairs organization devoted to public education concerning Japan and international relations in the Pacific.
© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/47998/

 

[Icadon]

Hiyo ndio ramani ya nchi zote zenye base na zenye wanajeshi wa US duniani, sijui ata wale Marines wanaolinda embassy nao wanahesabiwa ?

Hii ni ramani ya 2003

 

[Fundi Mchundo]

1. Tatizo? Ni kuwa target wa wasioipenda marekani!! Walishalipua ubalozi wa marekani na wote tunajua ni nani walidhulika zaidi! Kuwepo kwa base kama hii kutatuongezea mzigo wa usalama. Lakini naamini wanayoijadili issue hii ( kama ni ya kweli) wanaangalia pande zote.

Mkuu heshima mbele, tulipolipuliwa ubalozi wa US hapa bongo hatukuwa na base, na si kweli kuwa nchi zote zenye base za hao US zimewahi kulipuliwa, na si kweli kwamba tukiweka base leo basi tutakuwa target, maana kama that is the case basi hata kuwa na ubalozi mkubwa wa US hapa kuliko nchi zote za EAC, inatufanya tuwe target, is that so?

2. Tatizo lingine? Kuporonyoka kwa maadili katika jamii yetu. Kwa bahati mbaya askari wa kimarekani hawana sifa nzuri katika mahusiano yao na jamii inayowahost, kuanzia Vietnam, Okinawa n.k! Imagine hawa mabwana na hizo dola zao watakavyochengua jamii yetu!!

Hivi ni maadili gani tuliyonayo tena kwenye hii jaamii yetu? Hata yale tuliyokuwa nayo huko nyuma mengi yalikuwa built on imaginations na hayakuwa on relistic terms, sasa tuko kwenye realistic political environment, ambayo ina-demand uchumi kuongoza siasa, kama ni askari wa US kule Cuba hawaruhusiwi kutoka nje ya kambi zao, does that make Cuba better country on maadili than us amabao hatuna hiyo base ya US?

Mkuu Kalamu, nitakurudia nimekuona, and I love it yaani hoja iliyokwenda shule!

Nilikuwa nimepumzika lakini naona kuna haja ya kujibu hoja zako:
1. Mwaka 2004, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani alikamatwa Pakistan. Ghailan alikuwa anashukiwa kuhusika katika mabomu yaliyolipuliwa Dar es Salaam na Nairobi na kiongozi katika Al Qaeda. Ni ukweli kwamba Tanzania kuna wengi ambao matendo ya Marekani mashariki ya kati na Afghanistan hayawavutii. Na ni kweli vile vile kuwa pamekuwa na mchipuko wa wale wanaoijiita wenye siasa kali. Uwezekano wa mwenye nia mbaya kuwatumia katika harakati zao dhidi ya marekani upo. Base ni tofauti na ubalozi. Kwa kuweka base unaingia katika ulingo wa mapambano ya kivita na si ya kidiplomasia. Angalia waSaudi wanavyohangaishwa na watu wanaopinga kuwepo kwa askari wa kimarekani pale. Sisi tuna uwezo wa kupambana nao, au tutategemea kuwa mmarekani atatulinda kwenye hili?

2.Huko Okinawa vitendo vya kubaka vya baadhi ya askari wa Marekani(askari 3 waliwahi kumbaka binti wa miaka 12, n.k)vimeongeza kelele za wanachi dhidi ya Base hiyo. Askari wa marekani wanalindwa na sheria ya SOFA inayomzuia prosecutor wa kijapan kumkamata askari wa kimarekani hadi kesi hiyo ifike mahakamani. Huko ni Japan, na hawana imani na vyombo vya sheria vya huko, sembuse kwetu! Si watadai immunity kama ile ambayo ipo Iraq. Mtoto wako akibakwa, wewe ulie tuu! Hali yetu ya umaskini itatupelekea pale panapotokea maonevu, tuvikubali vile visenti tutakavyotupiwa. Angalia matajiri wetu mkweche wanavyotamba na vidola vyao, itakuwa hao wanaotoka zinakotengenezwa?

3.Wafilipino walikataa kuongeza lease ya Base za Subic na Clark kutokana na wamarekani kukataa kusema kama wanahifadhi silaha za nuklia kwenye base hizo au laa! Je sisi tutakuwa na ubavu wa kuuliza hilo? Na je wakiamua kuihamishia Gutanamo hapa ili wawafungie waafrika waliowakamata, tutaweza kuwakatalia?

4.Biashara yeyote ina gharama zake. Hauwezi ukaanzisha na kukuza biashara ya Casino bila kukubali kuwa biashara za umalaya, kusafisha fedha n.k nazo zitaongezekeza. Angalia Jollys na Nevada! Mmoja anamsaidia mwenzie. Vile vile, base hizi ambazo zinakuwa na idadi kubwa ya vijana wa kiume ambao hawajaoa zinavutia biashara za umalaya. Wana kitu kinaitwa Rest and recreation, unadhani wataenda wapi? Mombasa?

5. Tunampigia kelele Karamagi kuwa ametuingiza mkenge katika mradi wa Buzwagi na yeye akituambia kuwa alifanya hivyo ili mteja asitutoke, hatumuelewi! Tunajenga mahoteli Serengeti ati tukiogopa kuwa tusipowaruhusu hao wawekezaji uchwara watakimbilia kungine, bila kujali athari katika mazingira ya mbuga hizo hizo tunazozitegemea kuvutia watalii! Tunawatetea wachimbaji wadogo wadogo wa dhahabu bila kuangalia athari ya mercury wanayoitumia katika mazingira yetu!Tunaendekezeka mashamba ya prawn bila kuangalia athari yake katika mikoko yetu. Tunaendekeza machimbo ya makaa ya mawe na matumizi yake katika kuzalisha nishati bila kuzungumzia athari yake katika miti yetu (angalia mto Kiwira) na mazingira. Leo hii tunachangamkia base kwa ajili ya kazi za kukata nyasi na dada zetu kuwa mahousegirl? Unadhani kazi gai ya maana utaipata kwenye hizo base wewe mtoo wa kidengereko?

6. Mheshimiwa sijakuelewa unataka kusema nini kuhusu Kuba na sisi. Labda tuzungumzie maadili kati ya Dar es salaam na Mombasa ambako kila kukicha meli za kivita za Kimarekani zimekuwa zikienda kwa ajili ya Rest and Recreation? Wewe niambie, ni wapi ambapo maadili yameporoka zaidi?

7. Tujifunze kusema kuwa wakati mwingine the price is not woth paying. Kupenda kwetu dezo kutatupeleka kubaya. Badala ya hivi virahisi rahisi, tujenge uchumi uliokuwa sustainable kwa kuzingatia uwezo wetu wenyewe na si kuwategemea hawa jamaa! Kama wengine walivyosema, hakuna John anayejali yatakayomsibu malaya wake baada ya kutimiza haja yake!

 

[Mugo"The Great"]

Nilikuwa nimepumzika lakini naona kuna haja ya kujibu hoja zako:
2.Huko Okinawa vitendo vya kubaka vya baadhi ya askari wa Marekani(askari 3 waliwahi kumbaka binti wa miaka 12, n.k)vimeongeza kelele za wanachi dhidi ya Base hiyo. Askari wa marekani wanalindwa na sheria ya SOFA inayomzuia prosecutor wa kijapan kumkamata askari wa kimarekani hadi kesi hiyo ifike mahakamani. Huko ni Japan, na hawana imani na vyombo vya sheria vya huko, sembuse kwetu! Si watadai immunity kama ile ambayo ipo Iraq. Mtoto wako akibakwa, wewe ulie tuu! Hali yetu ya umaskini itatupelekea pale panapotokea maonevu, tuvikubali vile visenti tutakavyotupiwa. Angalia matajiri wetu mkweche wanavyotamba na vidola vyao, itakuwa hao wanaotoka zinakotengenezwa?

"Tayari Tanzania ilikwisha sign mkataba na Wamarekani juu ya Askari wao kutoshtakiwa na vyombo vyetu vya kusimamia sheria wanapofanya uhalifu katika Ardhi yetu"

 

[Icadon]

"Tayari Tanzania ilikwisha sign mkataba na Wamarekani juu ya Askari wao kutoshtakiwa na na vyombo vyetu vya kusimamia sheria wanapofanya uhalifu katika Ardhi yetu"[/QUOTE]

Hii ni sawa na ile Article 98 Agreement au hii nayo nyingine?

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Fundi Mchundo-nimekusoma baba, ahsante sana kwa kunipanulia uelewa wa haya mambo. Bora ukweli uwe wazi ili hata kama wataendelea na mission yao, ukweli wawe wanaujua, wafanye tu kwa kiburi alivyofanya mwenzao Mkapa.