GETTING AWAY SCOT FREE

GETTING AWAY - SCOT FREE

By Peter Fredson

There is an apocryphal story, which I invented, about an arrogant bank robber. During a bank hold-up he struck the security guard, raped a cashier, spat on the floor, and took all the cash in the vault. Then he had the bank president, vice president and chief cashier sign a statement granting him absolute immunity from any and all crimes he had committed in their bank.

An analogous situation has taken place with invading a country by using false statements, killing its inhabitants, taking all the money in its banks, seizing control of all of its oil, destroying large parts of the infrastructure, and turning control of the country over to Far Right Christians and corporate executives to ravage and loot for fun and profit.

After all the illegalities, lies, deaths, destruction, and corruption committed by George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, et al, they have the chutzpah to make a puppet government sign agreements to immunize themselves against the crimes they had committed. Greater arrogance had only the most noxious emperors of history.

George W. Bush had the conquered Iraqis, (under duress of 140,000 soldiers, thousands of “contractors”, amid all the torture and abuse,) sign this statement of immunity.

According to the May 28, 2003 Federal Register, G.W. Bush signed Executive Order 13303 which states:
"I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that the threat of attachment or other judicial process against the Development Fund for Iraq, Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein, and proceeds, obligations, or any financial instruments of any nature whatsoever arising from or related to the sale or marketing thereof, and interests therein, obstructs the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq. This situation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.
"I hereby order:
"Section 1. Unless licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to this order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited, and shall be deemed null and void, with respect to the following:
(a) the Development Fund for Iraq, and
(b) all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products [...]"

The wording seems to indicate that all Iraqi oil revenues would go into a Development Fund for the sole benefit of Iraq. Yet Items (a) and (b) are completely independent. If a Bush associate begins pumping Iraqi oil, no one can sue to have the oil revenue go to any Development Fund. Any Bush oil company can steal Iraqi oil without worrying about lawsuits or paying other debts.

What if oil production is delayed but you need cash now? Well, just issue bonds against future oil delivery. With US soldiers backing up oil rights, bankers can use future Iraq oil production as collateral for cash “loans.” To deflect criticism about US unilateral actions, the loans will be opened to international bankers in collusion with the Bush administration.

A Reuter’s article datelined Washington, June 25, 2003:
"Edmund Rice, president of the Coalition for Employment Through Exports, said his group was lobbying a proposal to use oil revenues amounting to about $3 billion a year as security to borrow money from commercial banks for projects in Iraq. ’We have received strong support from the administration (for this proposal),’ said Rice, whose group has among its members some of the key players doing work in Iraq, such as oil giant Halliburton HAL.N and engineering firm Bechtel."
"Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman wrote to the military this week demanding information over possible plans to mortgage Iraq’s oil to pay for contracts with Bechtel and Halliburton, which was once led by Vice President Dick Cheney. Waxman said such a move would ’conflict fundamentally’ with the claim that Iraq’s oil belonged to the Iraqi people."

Halliburton’s role in rebuilding Iraq and pumping its oil has been under repeated political scrutiny as it was once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. But the Bush administration, and Corps of Engineers overseeing the Iraqi oil reconstruction effort, say that Halliburton has no inside track. Sure, you bet, and Bush never lies, never made a mistake, and is in Iraq just to give the Iraqis the blessings of neoconservative freedom, democracy, and liberty. That is, to those Iraqis he left alive.

That is not the only intolerably arrogant imperialist statement alleging immunity from Bush crimes. Here is a news report:

From: IPS news via intl-news.com:
"[US] forces have, by an eleventh hour edict of Paul Bremer (head of the former U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority), complete immunity from Iraqi law and Iraqi courts." An edict signed by Bremer gives U.S. and Western defense contractors complete immunity from Iraqi law. Additionally, Bremer created and appointed an electoral commission that can ban political parties; gave five-year terms to the new hand-picked national security adviser and national intelligence chief; and appointed inspectors-general with five-year terms over every one of the 26 Iraqi government ministries... [*]

(Note: American troops are sovereign in someone else’s country. They can knock down any door, destroy any house, bomb and strafe anyplace, arrest and shoot any Iraqi at any time, day or night, hold them without warrant or explanation for any length of time that they choose, and investigations have shown can torture, abuse, shame, humiliate their captives.)

Bush, in other words, will perhaps some day generously grant the Iraqis freedom from his interference, from his tanks, guns, plans and 120,000 troops patrolling the streets of Iraq, weapons at the ready, ceaselessly pointing them at anyone who approaches, with helicopters just a phone call away ready to launch bombs and rockets on anyone and anyplace in Iraq, without any hindrance or responsibility.

Order 17 of Paul Bremer, Bush procounsul, provides immunity from Iraqi laws for U.S. forces and officials as well as contractors and their employees. The legal status of this order is unclear after the CPA is dissolved and absorbed into the U.S. Embassy on July 1. The U.S. might need to negotiate a new status-of-forces agreement.

If American soldiers commit a crime they cannot be tried in Iraqi courts, but will be generously deal with by their own military commanders. Order #17 also grants foreign contractors, including private security firms, full immunity from Iraqi’s laws and from any form of arrest or detention other than by Bush personnel. Even if they injure or kill someone or cause environmental damage an Iraqi cannot turn to the Iraqi legal system of justice, but must bring charges to U.S. courts, with True Believer Patriot judges under U.S. laws.

We have all seen how Bush handles complaints like those.

Bush slogans of “sovereignty”, “democracy,” “freedom” are obvious propaganda, like his statements about Weapons of Mass Destruction, and EVIL empires. They are attempts to avoid all responsibility for criminal behaviour in declaring an illegal, immoral, and illicit war against a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with the Bush paranoia about 9/11. He cannot be prosecuted for destroying a country, for stealing billions of dollars, or for torture and abuse or prisoners, or for any crime in Iraq.

And it certainly looks like the Republican senators will give Bush complete immunity in the U.S. as well. In fact, the great majority applaud Bush leadership in granting fake sovereignty to his puppet government under his guns, tanks, planes, soldiers and contractors.

Bush, like Hobbes’ LEVIATHAN, is above the law, above accountability, and may disregard any contractual obligations to any country he invades. He is unlimited, seemingly, by any law, natural, divine, or from his own activist judges, but may make any laws he pleases. He may cause terror, destruction and death without any responsibility, not to mention any remorse. And his True Believer followers will say, “Thank you sir, may we have another.”

There seems to be no way Bush will be charged or impeached. There seems to be no way to prevent Bush and his War Hawks from starting other wars, even though we know that the Neocons planned to seize Iran and Syria.

The rhetoric of Bush and his entire Neocon cabinet, that Iraqis now enjoy "full sovereignty", is nullified by looking down any street of any town, which starkly shows the terrorizing of Bush over the destiny of Iraq. He has terrorized all of Iraq. He has no intention of giving up that control, as shown by the construction of several huge permanent airbases and the seizure of one of Saddam’s palaces to house one of the largest U.S. embassies in the world from which to control the entire Middle East.

Anyone who believes that all of the Bush contractors, all of the soldiers and military "advisors" and that all of the Bush corporations, like Millennium, will pack up, turn over all papers and resources to Iraqis, and leave peacefully, should really consult a psychiatrist.