|
iraq Weapons of mass destruction: A practical guide Bearing in mind that the president of the most powerful republic on the planet is, in principle, responsible for his actions and knows what he's talking about, despite his eyes (Have you noticed his eyes? Well, take a good look at them!), I, a Brazilian writer earning my living from my daily struggle with words and having no close ties with the secret service, the inspection procedure, confidential files or privileged information, but capable of reading the newspapers with a reasonable degree of intelligence, have come up with the definitive answer to how to locate the weapons of mass destruction being hidden by Iraq. I will, by the way, require payment for this information. All the weapons inspectors currently in Iraq should pack their bags, settle their hotel bills and head for Baghdad airport. There, they should all buy business-class tickets to Washington. I stress business class so that they have time to rest, since the journey will involve a number of stopovers. Upon reaching Washington, they should catch the first bus to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, also known as the CIA. The address can be found in Virginia's telephone directory.
Upon reaching CIA headquarters and armed with the appropriate UN inspection mandate, they should demand to see all the photos, information and documents currently being supplied to George W. Bush. These are the documents pinpointing the precise location of each arms cache and which allow Bush to assure us that Iraq has an arsenal capable of destroying the planet. This is an excellent analysis of the reasons to go to war:
Categories of War
Why is the Bush administration willing to--some people would say wants to--go to war with Iraq? To get at this question, I'd like to put all the possible reasons that seem to me worth talking about into four categories, and then look in some detail at each category. I'd like to list the categories in an order going roughly from least important to most important, and then try to dispense quickly with the reasons for going to war that seem to me the least important, so we'll have more time for the more important ones.
New Iraq Report Behind the Invasion of Iraq, the startling new book-length report authored by the Research Unit for Political Economy (RUPE), synthesizes the seemingly disparate threads of the US war drive in what amounts to a blistering indictment of American foreign policy. The report (available on the Web at www.rupe-india.org) is lavishly documented and jargon-free; the effect, especially for readers with limited understanding of global commerce and finance, is of puzzle pieces clicking decisively into place.
The RUPE report wholly confirms the widely-held view of the coming war as a massive oil grab, "on a scale not witnessed since the days of colonialism." Further, the current debate about arms inspections and alleged links to al-Qaeda is revealed as pure political theater, since the decision to invade Iraq was made months ago. And here is the Rupe report:
“We are about to witness a major new development, with far-reaching consequences: the direct imperialist occupation of the whole of Iraq. Further, it is widely reported in the American press that the United States plans to use the invasion of Iraq as a launching pad for a drastic re-shaping of West Asia.” Scroll down a little bit on the link below to read about how the plans for occupation of Iraq might run into just a few little speed bumps.
SCHOLARS OF THE OCCUPATION
The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has announced plans to occupy Iraq, following “pre-emptive” military strikes, based on the so-called Japanese model—the post-World War II Allied occupation of Japan. As students of the Japanese occupation, we protest this reckless and self-serving misreading of history and strongly urge the U.S.government to reconsider its ill-conceived project of war and occupation. A careful look at the Japanese example suggests many reasons why that experience is inapplicable to U.S. plans for a post-invasion Iraq. Iraq disarmament plan gains support thanks to daily KOS Islamists in Iraq Offer a Tour of 'Poison Factory' Cited by Powell thanks to daily KOS
Powell doesn't know who he is up against |