The Voice of the People
... or at least my own
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... or at least my own | | ||||
March 6, 2003
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I do not believe GW Bush is doing our nation a service at this time in the light of our nation's problems. I think he is pursuing a political agenda. For instance: Why is he appointing political operatives like Tom Ridge and Thomas White to the positions of Homeland Security and Army Operations ? Mr. Ridge has been implicated in a number of political scandals involving use of public funds and contracts to insiders in his home state of Pennsylvania. He has no experience whatsoever in the operations we need to defend our nation from further terrorist attacks. Mr. Bush appointed Mr. Ridge because Mr. Ridge pulled levers in order to win the state of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Ridge tapped a reservoir of campaign fund raising for the Presidency run. Is that a qualification for this position? The man spends more money on advertising campaigns than "homeland security." We don't need more commercials and false color alarms. How many times do we have to hear him "say code" yellow or orange? Mr. White was an ex-Enron executive who was head of a department that conducted asset swaps with dummy corporations created by Enron to manipulate the accounting spreadsheets. I repeat Mr. White was the executive in charge. Is it wise to have this sort of man at the helm of the Army contract process? The defense department is already unable to account for 25% of its spending, according to both the GAO and Donald Rumsfeld. There is already an existing revolving door between ex-pentagon generals and consulting positions at defense contractor firms. Mr. Bush recently appointed one such ex-general turned defense contractor consultant to the position of post-Iraq operations officer, which means a man with no experience in organizing the post-war needs of supplies and reconstruction is appointed because he has connections with military contractors. I'm sorry but this is corruption. I don't believe bombing and plundering the fucked up country of Iraq will make our nation any safer, especially when we have a president who appoints political hacks to positions of grave responsibility. He is destroying the Republican party, he is destroying the fabric of the nation. The WTC event is not at all related to this ploy that Mr. Bush is fomenting against Iraq. Mr. Bush is willing to lie to the United Nations, willing to spy on United Nations members, willing to alienated our allies, willing to pay 27 billion to Turkey but nothing to help the states afford the costs of security measures to protect us from terrorism, willing to abrogate the ABM treaty which was meant to protect us against these nuclear disasters, willing to ignore what is now happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan, willing to ignore the effect of spending 100 plus billion on a war that has a potential likelihood of lasting 2 or 3 years, even though the budget deficit which will result has a good chance to ruin the financial markets. But Mr. Bush is isolated from this reality. He's been a spoiled rotten brat his entire life. Unlike you or me, he hasn't had to work his way up; all was given to him. He was appointed to boards of directors by friends of his dad, and given shares of stock to sell for a profit. He is a man in pursuit of power, and he will not listen to anyone, nor will he compromise. To me, that is truly dangerous. And once the Iraq dictatorship crumbles there is no guarantee that the US military will be able to contain the spillovers into the nearby region. If you recall,the military pulled out of the last Persian Gulf war because of the chaos of the uprisings which occurred. The same chaos will happen now. Turkey is going to slaughter the Kurds in the North who form 80% of Eastern Turkey and will no doubt try to form an autonomous state. That "terrorist camp" Mr. Colin Powell pointed to at the UN was a Kurd training ground, and was not at all related to Saddam Hussein's supposed links to terror (one of the many lies.) The Southern Shiites will want to merge with Iran. What will the US do when this happens? Will we then attack Iran? What will happen if Pakistan then becomes involved? And if Pakistan becomes involved, will India stay neutral ? If you recall, Pakistan and India were on the brink of nuclear war one year ago. We haven't even considered that Saudi Arabia might kick out the US troops if the people there rise up against the United States, which is quite possible if the situation gets out of hand. Currently, the oil rich sheikdoms deposit their cash in New York banks. What would happen if they shifted their deposits elsewhere? All of these reasons were the very same reasons why the last war in Iraq ended in a quick US pullout... and then when we pull out of Iraq hastily again, will Iraq become a democracy or haven of freedom ... or just another place of warlords that are manipulated by the executives of the oil cartel ? I could go on and on ... but I want you to understand that my reasons have nothing to do with being against war per se. What I am saying is no different then many in the military and the foreign services are also saying. Some people in the military and foreign services have not been corrupted by the revolving door to consultant positions with private defense contractors. Those who have been so corrupted are all for this war, because they smell a whole lot of money. Getting appointed to consulting positions results in 400,000 dollar salaries and retirement bonuses that are in the millions. And that's the bottom line my friend. It has nothing to do with a war on terrorism or revenge for the bastards who smoked the WTC. That's what I'd like to help you understand. I know this is tough for those of you who have a sense of justifiable grief related to this new world of terrorism and who feel patriotic. But remember, President Bush promised the firefighters of new york city financial assistance when he made a speech and got some photo-ops and air time. But when the time came to put-up, he gave them nothing at all. GW Bush is a politician. He is not a man of integrity. He makes speeches and then plays games so that he only helps his clique of favored contractors and political operatives. He ignored the terrorist threat when he got to office, and then he manipulates the issue when it crashes into his presidency. I don't trust a liar and a political manipulator, especially one who will be sending other people's sons to die in a war that will do us no good.
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