IRAQ ET AL

The best available evidence clearly shows that both the Clinton and Bush administrations failed to effectively obtain, disseminate and act upon intelligence data related to terrorist activity and that, had they done so, 9/11 could probably have been stymied. In the case of the Bush administration, this was substantially effected by an obsession with Iraq.

For the President, this was a personal and political matter which perfectly dovetailed with the more sinister aspirations of the Vice President and Secretary of Defense. Their agenda was to make Iraq a nexus of US influence and a staging point for the spread of US hegemony throughout the region. Further, control of Iraqui oil has not only economic, but enormous geo-political consequences.

It is clear that the contracts for Halliburton were negotiated long before the Iraqui incursion. It is also clear that this incursion was venally and imperialistically motivated and, in terms of the post-war reconstruction effort, ineptly planned. For this our armed forces, our national security and our national honor are all paying the price.

And then there is the Patriot Act - as oxymoronic a phrase as has ever been coined. As usual, totalitarianism is sneaking in wearing the cloak of self-righteousness and national defense. It is another horrible irony that this attempt to preserve our nation, and its definitive constitution, subverts that constitution and renders our nation unrecognizable.

Republicans and conservatives of any stripe, claim to be in favor of limited government and individual rights. How damning then that they invariably muliply the federal beaurocracy exponentially, while tromping the Bill Of Rights into the dust. It is quite clear that when conservatives speak of freedom, they mean it to apply only to the rich, white and right-wing. All others need to be carefully controlled.

They believe we are a nation of sheep. All together now. "Baaa..."
- posted by Martin Eagle @ 8:42 AM