G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher323.html
IRAQIS WANT AMERICANS TO GO HOME; BUSH THE BLOODTHIRSTY PRESSING ON
By Bill Gallagher
DETROIT -- President George W. Bush's contempt for the American and Iraqi
people is boundless. He insists on sending more American troops and Iraqi
civilians to their deaths in his futile war waged only to stroke his
megalomania and try to control Iraq's oil reserves.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki now says flat-out that his army is
capable of handling security in his shattered nation when U.S. troops
withdraw "any time they want."
The prime minister welcomed the U.S. forces to leave two days after a news
conference where Bush ranted like an automaton on speed, defending the
indefensible and demanding that he alone should decide what is the proper
course in Iraq, rejecting any role for Congress.
Only the great "decider," the "commander guy," the "bring 'em on" boy knows
how to extricate America from the fiasco in Iraq his arrogance, incompetence
and intransigence have created. Be patient and wait, he demands -- a command
only soldiers who have no choice and fools will obey.
Now, with the Iraqi leader giving the OK for a U.S. withdrawal and growing
evidence that the surge in U.S. troops is simply repositioning insurgent
violence, the only justification for American military presence in Iraq is
Bush's unspoken agenda, the real reasons for the disastrous invasion and
occupation in the first place.
Bush wants the Iraqi parliament to pass an oil revenue-sharing law, clearing
the way for American and British companies to start pumping crude and
grabbing claims to vast, untapped Iraqi oil resources.
Bush and the neocon nuts he listens to want permanent American military
bases in Iraq to protect the oil, to become the entrenched regional bully,
strategically positioned to launch attacks on other nations in the
neighborhood, notably Iran and Syria.
Bush's incessant claim that we cannot "quit Iraq before the job is done" has
nothing whatsoever to do with the protection and security of the Iraqi
people. It's all about what is under the ground these suffering people walk
on. In a speech before the West Virginia Air National Guard on the Fourth of
July, Bush made a brief but telling mention of the war- for-oil strategy.
But first he had to tell the military volunteers how much he appreciated
their repeated deployments to Iraq.
Bush -- whose own Air National Guard record includes an entire year AWOL and
his failure to take a mandatory flight physical and undergo drug testing --
apparently saw no irony in being there to honor those "who in the face of
danger wear the uniform of the United States of America and step forward in
freedom's defense."
Bush's Air National Guard service was distinguished by his successful quest
not to wear his uniform, to duck danger and step back from even casual duty.
Real danger is not required for the pampered children of the powerful and
the privileged.
Mark my words: No relative of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, supporters of the war in Congress, College Young
Republicans or right-wing pundits who sold the aggression will die in Iraq.
Bush said sacrifice in Iraq is imperative to confront the terrorists,
because if we don't, "they would follow us here." And with a foothold in
Iraq, "they would control a nation with massive oil reserves."
That brief lapse of truth was the most honest utterance Bush has made.
American troops and Iraqi civilians must die indefinitely because "we," not
"they," must control "massive oil reserves."
The Australians are among the few left in the "coalition" occupying Iraq.
Although they only have 1,500 soldiers there, the largely symbolic
contribution is sure to pay off in oil. At least that's why they are there.
The same day Bush spit out the oily truth, Australian Defense Minister
Brendan Nelson offered a candid explanation for continuing the bloodshed.
Nelson told the Australian Broadcasting Company, "Energy security is
extremely important to all nations throughout the world, and of course, in
protecting and securing Australia's interests."
And from deep down under, Nelson blurted out the only real reason for this
horrible war: "Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq, but the
entire region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the
rest of the world. Australians and all of us need to think what would happen
if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq."
At least the Aussies are acknowledging the self-evident truth. Bush is
incapable of admitting why we are waging what he himself now calls "an ugly
war." He is desperately trying to replay the old al-Qaeda tune, and many in
the echo chamber of the mainstream media dutifully plug the recording.
At last week's news conference, Bush mentioned al-Qaeda in Iraq 30 times. In
a shameless lie, absurd rewriting of history and deliberate distortion of
the timeline of the carnage in Iraq, Bush boldly claimed, "The same folks
that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in
America on Sept. 11, and that's why what happens in Iraq matters to the
security here at home."
Leave it to the intrepid Helen Thomas, the gutsiest member of the White
House press corps, to ***** Bush's bubble of deceit. "Mr. President, you
started this war, this war of your choosing, and you can end it alone today,
at this point," she said with righteous indignation for Bush's transparent
lie.
Then Thomas threw a bucket of cold truth on a man who bathes in lies, with
the crunch question: "Don't you accept, don't you understand we brought
al-Qaeda to Iraq?"
The smirking, befuddled Bush reached for the only arrow in his quiver -- a
lie. He blamed Saddam Hussein. Saddam "chose the course," Bush claimed, and
the United States was compelled to invade Iraq because Saddam was ignoring
United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Bush's writers twisted the U.N. position into an oft-repeated, cutesy phrase
he brought out of retirement to try to fend off Thomas. Saddam had been
warned, Bush reminded us, to "disclose, disarm or face serious consequences"
Saddam had nothing to disclose or disarm. Bush was simply hell-bent to use
the "serious consequences" part of his pat line. In his delusional world,
Bush now wants us to believe Saddam is responsible for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Even U.S. military intelligence pegs al-Qaeda as representing at most 15
percent of the forces carrying out violent assaults in Iraq. Overwhelmingly,
Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, not al-Qaeda, foster the still largely
sectarian, indigenous violence.
Yes, al-Qaeda is dangerous in Iraq, but Bush is inflating its role there and
again conflating his war of choice with Sept. 11. The New York Times came up
with a couple of crisp declarative sentences capturing the essence of Bush's
distortion: "Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia did not exist before the Sept. 11
attacks. The Sunni group thrived as a magnet for recruiting and a force for
violence largely because of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which
brought an American occupying force of more than 100,000 troops to the heart
of the Middle East and led to a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad."
This week, the Senate will take up another measure aimed at changing the
U.S. role in Iraq. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., and Sen. Richard Lugar,
R-Ind., are looking for bipartisan support for a proposal to require the
president to develop a plan by October that would significantly narrow the
U.S. mission in Iraq.
Other bipartisan plans call for putting into law the recommendations of the
Iraq Study Group, a report Bush has thoroughly rejected. In fact, in many
key areas he has done just the opposite of the strategy outlined by the
panel.
Even with pressure from Congress, Bush will do as he pleases.
He will not hesitate to defy the law, if lawmakers ever do pass a veto-proof
bill with a timetable for withdrawal. Bush is a war president, anointed by
God to transform the Middle East and protect oil.
The American and Iraqi people want U.S. troops out of Iraq. Bush doesn't
give a damn. It's his war and his oil.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
IRAQIS WANT AMERICANS TO GO HOME; BUSH THE BLOODTHIRSTY PRESSING ON
By Bill Gallagher
DETROIT -- President George W. Bush's contempt for the American and Iraqi
people is boundless. He insists on sending more American troops and Iraqi
civilians to their deaths in his futile war waged only to stroke his
megalomania and try to control Iraq's oil reserves.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki now says flat-out that his army is
capable of handling security in his shattered nation when U.S. troops
withdraw "any time they want."
The prime minister welcomed the U.S. forces to leave two days after a news
conference where Bush ranted like an automaton on speed, defending the
indefensible and demanding that he alone should decide what is the proper
course in Iraq, rejecting any role for Congress.
Only the great "decider," the "commander guy," the "bring 'em on" boy knows
how to extricate America from the fiasco in Iraq his arrogance, incompetence
and intransigence have created. Be patient and wait, he demands -- a command
only soldiers who have no choice and fools will obey.
Now, with the Iraqi leader giving the OK for a U.S. withdrawal and growing
evidence that the surge in U.S. troops is simply repositioning insurgent
violence, the only justification for American military presence in Iraq is
Bush's unspoken agenda, the real reasons for the disastrous invasion and
occupation in the first place.
Bush wants the Iraqi parliament to pass an oil revenue-sharing law, clearing
the way for American and British companies to start pumping crude and
grabbing claims to vast, untapped Iraqi oil resources.
Bush and the neocon nuts he listens to want permanent American military
bases in Iraq to protect the oil, to become the entrenched regional bully,
strategically positioned to launch attacks on other nations in the
neighborhood, notably Iran and Syria.
Bush's incessant claim that we cannot "quit Iraq before the job is done" has
nothing whatsoever to do with the protection and security of the Iraqi
people. It's all about what is under the ground these suffering people walk
on. In a speech before the West Virginia Air National Guard on the Fourth of
July, Bush made a brief but telling mention of the war- for-oil strategy.
But first he had to tell the military volunteers how much he appreciated
their repeated deployments to Iraq.
Bush -- whose own Air National Guard record includes an entire year AWOL and
his failure to take a mandatory flight physical and undergo drug testing --
apparently saw no irony in being there to honor those "who in the face of
danger wear the uniform of the United States of America and step forward in
freedom's defense."
Bush's Air National Guard service was distinguished by his successful quest
not to wear his uniform, to duck danger and step back from even casual duty.
Real danger is not required for the pampered children of the powerful and
the privileged.
Mark my words: No relative of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, supporters of the war in Congress, College Young
Republicans or right-wing pundits who sold the aggression will die in Iraq.
Bush said sacrifice in Iraq is imperative to confront the terrorists,
because if we don't, "they would follow us here." And with a foothold in
Iraq, "they would control a nation with massive oil reserves."
That brief lapse of truth was the most honest utterance Bush has made.
American troops and Iraqi civilians must die indefinitely because "we," not
"they," must control "massive oil reserves."
The Australians are among the few left in the "coalition" occupying Iraq.
Although they only have 1,500 soldiers there, the largely symbolic
contribution is sure to pay off in oil. At least that's why they are there.
The same day Bush spit out the oily truth, Australian Defense Minister
Brendan Nelson offered a candid explanation for continuing the bloodshed.
Nelson told the Australian Broadcasting Company, "Energy security is
extremely important to all nations throughout the world, and of course, in
protecting and securing Australia's interests."
And from deep down under, Nelson blurted out the only real reason for this
horrible war: "Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq, but the
entire region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the
rest of the world. Australians and all of us need to think what would happen
if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq."
At least the Aussies are acknowledging the self-evident truth. Bush is
incapable of admitting why we are waging what he himself now calls "an ugly
war." He is desperately trying to replay the old al-Qaeda tune, and many in
the echo chamber of the mainstream media dutifully plug the recording.
At last week's news conference, Bush mentioned al-Qaeda in Iraq 30 times. In
a shameless lie, absurd rewriting of history and deliberate distortion of
the timeline of the carnage in Iraq, Bush boldly claimed, "The same folks
that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in
America on Sept. 11, and that's why what happens in Iraq matters to the
security here at home."
Leave it to the intrepid Helen Thomas, the gutsiest member of the White
House press corps, to ***** Bush's bubble of deceit. "Mr. President, you
started this war, this war of your choosing, and you can end it alone today,
at this point," she said with righteous indignation for Bush's transparent
lie.
Then Thomas threw a bucket of cold truth on a man who bathes in lies, with
the crunch question: "Don't you accept, don't you understand we brought
al-Qaeda to Iraq?"
The smirking, befuddled Bush reached for the only arrow in his quiver -- a
lie. He blamed Saddam Hussein. Saddam "chose the course," Bush claimed, and
the United States was compelled to invade Iraq because Saddam was ignoring
United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Bush's writers twisted the U.N. position into an oft-repeated, cutesy phrase
he brought out of retirement to try to fend off Thomas. Saddam had been
warned, Bush reminded us, to "disclose, disarm or face serious consequences"
Saddam had nothing to disclose or disarm. Bush was simply hell-bent to use
the "serious consequences" part of his pat line. In his delusional world,
Bush now wants us to believe Saddam is responsible for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Even U.S. military intelligence pegs al-Qaeda as representing at most 15
percent of the forces carrying out violent assaults in Iraq. Overwhelmingly,
Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, not al-Qaeda, foster the still largely
sectarian, indigenous violence.
Yes, al-Qaeda is dangerous in Iraq, but Bush is inflating its role there and
again conflating his war of choice with Sept. 11. The New York Times came up
with a couple of crisp declarative sentences capturing the essence of Bush's
distortion: "Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia did not exist before the Sept. 11
attacks. The Sunni group thrived as a magnet for recruiting and a force for
violence largely because of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which
brought an American occupying force of more than 100,000 troops to the heart
of the Middle East and led to a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad."
This week, the Senate will take up another measure aimed at changing the
U.S. role in Iraq. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., and Sen. Richard Lugar,
R-Ind., are looking for bipartisan support for a proposal to require the
president to develop a plan by October that would significantly narrow the
U.S. mission in Iraq.
Other bipartisan plans call for putting into law the recommendations of the
Iraq Study Group, a report Bush has thoroughly rejected. In fact, in many
key areas he has done just the opposite of the strategy outlined by the
panel.
Even with pressure from Congress, Bush will do as he pleases.
He will not hesitate to defy the law, if lawmakers ever do pass a veto-proof
bill with a timetable for withdrawal. Bush is a war president, anointed by
God to transform the Middle East and protect oil.
The American and Iraqi people want U.S. troops out of Iraq. Bush doesn't
give a damn. It's his war and his oil.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
