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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

A Messianic Bush is Building Permanent U.S. Bases in Iraq
(Maureen Farrell, BuzzFlash, April 24, 2006)
And though Bush promised troops would not remain in Iraq "for one day longer than is necessary," within weeks, officials began talking about "maintaining perhaps four bases in Iraq." . . . At the time, Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, scoffed at Mr. Bush's promise. "This idea that we will be in just as long as we need to and not a day more -- we've got to get over that rhetoric," he said. "It is rubbish. We're going to be there a long time. We must reorganize our military to be there a long time." . . . Sadly, military families who thought "Mission Accomplished" meant troops would come home paid the ultimate price. "What are we getting into here?" one sergeant asked in June, 2003. "The war is supposed to be over, but every day we hear of another soldier getting killed. Is it worth it? Saddam isn't in power anymore. The locals want us to leave. Why are we still here?" . . . "Having conquered Iraq, the United States will create permanent military bases in that country from which to dominate the Middle East, including neighboring Iran," Bookman wrote in Sept. 2002, well before journalists uncovered possible plans for Tehran. . . . Others are now sounding similar alarms. "Anyone thinking we are entering the end-game better wake up," Sen. Gary Hart recently wrote. "Our neoconservative [COMMENT by Lorenzo: A more accurate term for these screwheads is Neo-Fascists.] policy makers are still willing to risk the U.S. Army in a mad Middle East imperial scheme that composed the real reason for the Iraq war in the first place." . . . the Pentagon has long been interested in "shifting and reshaping our global military footprint" into strategically advantageous Iraq. "We've built very massive mega-bases. . . These are permanent military bases in Iraq. We've done that in other places, as well, in the Middle East. . . I think that's a big part of it, shifting our footprint. . . we've built the bases, and we're not leaving Iraq," Some U.S. bases are so large, in fact, that they're being likened to small American towns. Camp Anaconda, near Balad, for example, encompasses 15 square miles, and features a miniature golf course, two swimming pools, and a first-run movie theater. The base at al-Asad also boasts a movie theater and swimming pool, as well as a Subway restaurant, a coffee shop, and a Hertz rent-a-car facility. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, which is currently under construction, reportedly boasts 21 buildings (including a food court, swimming poll and gym) and spans 104 acres, as opposed to the customary 10. "The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water, and a precarious perch at the heart of Iraq's turbulent future," the Associated Press reported. . . . "After every US military intervention since 1990 the Pentagon has left behind clusters of new bases in areas where it never before had a foothold," Zoltan Grossman of Evergreen State College recently explained, adding that, "The only two obstacles to a geographically contiguous US sphere of influence are Iran and Syria." And with wars in Iran and Syria reportedly unofficially underway, promises of a withdrawal ring decidedly untrue. . . . Which brings us back to the elephant in the war room -- the notion that getting bogged down in Iraq was actually part of the plan. "Today, however, the great majority of the American people have no concept of what kind of conflict the president is leading them into," Josh Marshall wrote in March, 2003, saying that "the White House really has in mind an enterprise of a scale, cost, and scope that would be almost impossible to sell to the American public." . . . In short, Americans bought this war without fully knowing what they were paying for, and most are still not certain why we're in Iraq or how long we're staying. . . . While Americans have been left in the dark and lied to before, this time the stakes are higher than ever. "Something bad is going to happen," one "wise man" told Seymour Hersh regarding plans for the use of nuclear weapons in Iran, an option which could instantly kill a million or more. . . . To make matters more surreal, former GOP strategist Kevin Phillips has underscored the role End Times theology plays in all of this, as the White House caters to those "for whom the Holy Lands are a battleground of Christian destiny." This biblically charged powder keg is made even more explosive by rumors that President Bush sees himself as a crusader, of sorts. "The word I hear is messianic," Hersh told CNN. "[Blair] and Bush both have this sense, this messianic sense, I believe, about what they've done and what's needed to be done in the Middle East," Hersh told Democracy Now, adding, "I think [Blair] is every bit as committed into this world of rapture, as is the president." [COMMENT by Lorenzo: And the poor, loyal, unsuspecting troops Bush has sent in harms way are the ones who will suffer and die for this insane man in the White House. The U.S. military high command may be the world's last hope of avoiding a global nuclear war. Let us hope that there are still a few true patriots left in the military. Otherwise we are all doomed.]

posted by LoZo 5:26 AM