Our Heroic Soldiers' Selfless Sacrifice
The wages of Bush's Iraq War can be found not only in grieving hearts and cemeteries, but also in the wards of Walter Reed and other U.S. military hospitals. There, thousands of wounded American soldiers from Iraq pass through for a respite on their way back to civilian life. But, it can't be normal life as affirmed by the all the terribly broken bodies with stumps, missing limbs and mangled faces. Soldiers wrapped in blood soaked bandages keep their eyes covered in agony, soldiers who will never walk again are frustrated with their state of constant dependence and soldiers with leg braces and neck supports struggle to take a few stumbling steps. They have just cheated death, but many will never be done fighting Bush's war because their situation will be for a lifetime.
This degree of sacrifice is only justified in the defense of country and not for any other presidential agenda. Unfortunately, that is not the case here considering that Bush used fabricated, bogus "intelligence" to make his case for war.
Thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians also have been hit with the same carnage, as they became collateral damage in Bush's war to topple one man. But, unlike the American wounded, Iraqis can find little care from their war-torn hospitals because they have no medicines, no services, no sheets or pillows, no beds, no nurses and no ambulances. Life in Iraq is dire with its ravaged infrastructure and ruined social system. Citizens cannot walk freely in the streets, food rations are essential and unemployment is at 70 percent. In this land drenched in oil, fuel shortages have raised the cost of food. Restaurant owner, Qassim Abdul Hamed, said that there is no recourse to the law anymore. He cannot say a word as he is forced to serve free meals to the Iraqi police because they have guns. His 22-year-old waitress, Munaim Abid Hassan, said she is working her one job here to feed 12 people in her family. Hassan went on to say, "We used to love the American people, but not any more. Hatred is spreading all over now, and everyone wants revenge on them. Bush is bringing disasters to the people of your own country, not only to Iraqis."
Entrenched Encampment
Despite the fact our presence in Iraq is a source of instability and anger of the Iraqi people and a powerful recruitment tool for the Iraqi insurgency, Bush is digging in for the long haul. Giant defense contractor KBR has been granted various Pentagon contracts, the latest of which worth $8.5 Billion, and is everywhere transforming decrepit Iraqi military bases into fortified American enclaves, complete with Pizza Huts, Burger Kings and DVD stores. KBR has extended runways, built hangers and erected a permanent military microwave and fiber-optic communication system. Also, reportedly they have been constructing up to 14 enduring bases that represent long-term encampments, or small American cities, that could house as many as 100,000 troops indefinitely.
In May 2005 the Washington Post reported that eventually American troops in Iraq would be consolidated into four large air bases. Plans are to construct long-lasting facilities with concrete block that can withstand direct mortar attack. These bases would act as fortified strategic hubs from which logistical support and emergency combat assistance could be launched.
So, how long will we be mired in Iraq? Rumsfeld said four more years. Retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni said at least ten more years. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski said the neoconservative architects of the Iraq invasion definitely foresaw a permanent large-scale presence for protecting Israel and as launch pads for operations in Syria and Iran. In other words, the real agenda here is to turn Iraq into a permanent base of operations in the Middle East.
The "Long War" Declared
Back in February of this year, the Bush administration renamed its "GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR" to the "LONG WAR". In its quadrennial defense review to Congress, the Pentagon claimed the threat from worldwide Islamic militancy has escalated to a "generational" time frame requiring a large-scale war of long duration fought on many fronts, hence the name change. However, the Bush administration failed to admit that it was they themselves who started this thing they cannot finish with their preemptive invasion and unrelenting occupation of Iraq, which has proven to be a catalyst for terrorist acts and recruitment.
Gone is talk of swift victories. Rumsfeld suggested that western democracies should envision themselves embroiled in a life or death struggle comparable to those against fascism and communism. And, of course, the Pentagon proposed a whopping 2007-defense budget of more than $550 Billion to equip the U.S. military and its allies for Bush's "LONG WAR".
Conditioning America with Fabricated Fear
Bush's biggest battle will be how to make the case that his "LONG WAR" is necessary and how to get Americans used to the idea of fighting a war that won't end in their lifetimes. He usually presses his agenda with fear mongering. For example, when he starts to get some serious flack, Bush will air an audiotape purportedly of Osama bin Laden threatening some new act of terrorism in order to line up the public in his direction. However, America's top bin Laden expert, Professor Bruce Lawrence who is head of Duke University's Religious Studies department and who recently published a book of translations of bin Laden speeches, says these tapes are bogus even though they are regularly certified by the CIA, the probable producer. Lawrence said the last we seen of the real bin Laden came in his 2001 post-9/11 statements to Pakistani journalists in which he insisted that he had no involvement in the U.S. attacks. The next video was of an obvious bin Laden imitator, 50 pounds too heavy with different features, claiming responsibility for 9/11 this time. The biased U.S. press gave it a pass even though it evoked widespread hilarity, which is probably why only audiotape has been used since and no new image of bin Laden has ever surfaced again. In fact, Professor Lawrence believes that bin Laden has been dead since 2001, but is still used as a boogieman in Bush's phony war on terror.
The Real Terror - Disappearing Oil and the Worthless Dollar
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