> Hiding Our War Dead. Italy Publicly Honors Its War Dead, America Hides Its Dead
23 March 2005, 17:43
Your response to Ms. Hamburg’s commentary misses the mark all together.
The declaration of war against Iraq was a war of CHOICE and not a war of DEFENSE or NECESSITY. Since you prefer to adopt the moral "high ground", since when it is acceptable to initiaite conflicts and abbrogate international law? Yet, this is exactly what the Bush Administration has done.
The drving force for starting this conflcit was the desire of the Neo-Con’s to sew up control of the vast oil and natural gas reserves within Iraq. This objective was a part of a greater strategy promulgated by this group who understood that for the United States to maintain its economic dominance, the engine had to secure dependable and cheap sources of petroleum. The main upcoming threat to this dominance is China, whose energy demand will eclipse that of the US. The three largest suppliers of oil in the region are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran, with the Gulf States pulling up fourth place. Saudi Arabia’s reserves had maximized earlier and Iraq offered the greatest opportunity for explotation to quench the demand for oil for the coming decades. These people also concluded that Sadaam Hussein would not allow American or Western oil interests into the country to invest more efficient means of production. Hence, the strategy was crafted to forcibly eject Hussein from the country and put in a government that would be fully sympathetic to the needs (directives) of the United States.
It all was to happen just as planned in the minds of Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Bolton, Feith, Rice, and a whole host of operatives behind the curtain. But by not putting sufficient ground troops into Iraq early after toppling Hussein, the United States has lost that initiative. Should the recent elections stabilize the country, the United States still could be a long-term loser since a Shiite dominated parlilament may decide its best interest are to align with Iran. The Kurds in the North have control over large reserves of oil and natural gas that they intend to hold as bargaining chips, as do the Shiites in the south. As is the case with most conflicts, the "Laws of Uninteded Consequences" play out in a perverse sor to f away. And so it could be in Iraq.
Sadaam Hussein was an evil person. No question about it. He killed many of his countrymen. Many of these were killed, as were Iranians, with chemical agents provided by the United States. Many more were executed after the First Gulf War in the aftermath of the encouragement to have the people rise up and revolt against Hussein, all the while United States watching over all of this happening with a blind eye and no intent to step in and halt the slaughter. Orders were given to American fighter planes and gunships circling above NOT to intervene even though the mayhem and death on the ground was being reported to CENCOM. So, if you wish to be a moralist, then it seems you ought to be outraged at Bush ’41 and his Cabinent (which included Cheney and many other prominent Neo-COns who have positions of power with Bush ’43/’44).
What makes this situation even more heinous than Vietnam is the hypocrisy surrounding the pretext for war against a third world nation that was decimated with almost ten years of economic sanctions. The United States knew the real threat Iraq posed to the world and it knew Hussein could easily be toppled in a sort conflict. Americans were sent into battle under fraudulent cover (remember the reasons: possession of WMD’s nuclear threat, imminent threat to US national security and allies...) and their lives were treated as cheap expendible resources by an Administration that has no real desire to see democratic institutions prevail in the region if they don’t wish to be our lap dog for sending their petroleum products to the United States.
If Bush and company truly "support" our troops and believe in the nobleness of the cause, they would have the courtesy and decency to meet the dead and wounded returing from Iraq rather than allowing these souls to be wisked into Dover Air Force Base under the cover of darkness in military transport aircraft every night. The light of truth will expose the Bush Administration for the evilness within. The rest of the world will step aside as our arrogance puses these people onto their own swords in their rush to dominate other people and nations.
Your response to Ms. Hamburg’s commentary misses the mark all together.
The declaration of war against Iraq was a war of CHOICE and not a war of DEFENSE or NECESSITY. Since you prefer to adopt the moral "high ground", since when it is acceptable to initiaite conflicts and abbrogate international law? Yet, this is exactly what the Bush Administration has done.
The drving force for starting this conflcit was the desire of the Neo-Con’s to sew up control of the vast oil and natural gas reserves within Iraq. This objective was a part of a greater strategy promulgated by this group who understood that for the United States to maintain its economic dominance, the engine had to secure dependable and cheap sources of petroleum. The main upcoming threat to this dominance is China, whose energy demand will eclipse that of the US. The three largest suppliers of oil in the region are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran, with the Gulf States pulling up fourth place. Saudi Arabia’s reserves had maximized earlier and Iraq offered the greatest opportunity for explotation to quench the demand for oil for the coming decades. These people also concluded that Sadaam Hussein would not allow American or Western oil interests into the country to invest more efficient means of production. Hence, the strategy was crafted to forcibly eject Hussein from the country and put in a government that would be fully sympathetic to the needs (directives) of the United States.
It all was to happen just as planned in the minds of Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Bolton, Feith, Rice, and a whole host of operatives behind the curtain. But by not putting sufficient ground troops into Iraq early after toppling Hussein, the United States has lost that initiative. Should the recent elections stabilize the country, the United States still could be a long-term loser since a Shiite dominated parlilament may decide its best interest are to align with Iran. The Kurds in the North have control over large reserves of oil and natural gas that they intend to hold as bargaining chips, as do the Shiites in the south. As is the case with most conflicts, the "Laws of Uninteded Consequences" play out in a perverse sor to f away. And so it could be in Iraq.
Sadaam Hussein was an evil person. No question about it. He killed many of his countrymen. Many of these were killed, as were Iranians, with chemical agents provided by the United States. Many more were executed after the First Gulf War in the aftermath of the encouragement to have the people rise up and revolt against Hussein, all the while United States watching over all of this happening with a blind eye and no intent to step in and halt the slaughter. Orders were given to American fighter planes and gunships circling above NOT to intervene even though the mayhem and death on the ground was being reported to CENCOM. So, if you wish to be a moralist, then it seems you ought to be outraged at Bush ’41 and his Cabinent (which included Cheney and many other prominent Neo-COns who have positions of power with Bush ’43/’44).
What makes this situation even more heinous than Vietnam is the hypocrisy surrounding the pretext for war against a third world nation that was decimated with almost ten years of economic sanctions. The United States knew the real threat Iraq posed to the world and it knew Hussein could easily be toppled in a sort conflict. Americans were sent into battle under fraudulent cover (remember the reasons: possession of WMD’s nuclear threat, imminent threat to US national security and allies...) and their lives were treated as cheap expendible resources by an Administration that has no real desire to see democratic institutions prevail in the region if they don’t wish to be our lap dog for sending their petroleum products to the United States.
If Bush and company truly "support" our troops and believe in the nobleness of the cause, they would have the courtesy and decency to meet the dead and wounded returing from Iraq rather than allowing these souls to be wisked into Dover Air Force Base under the cover of darkness in military transport aircraft every night. The light of truth will expose the Bush Administration for the evilness within. The rest of the world will step aside as our arrogance puses these people onto their own swords in their rush to dominate other people and nations.