April 10, 2003
War and Peace and War Again
Of course by now you expect the TV networks to be heiling Bush at every turn, praising his great leadership, but I'm always disappointed when I hear the news on WQXR, the radio voice of the New York Times following the same mindless propaganda formula.This morning's "news" was about 30 seconds and it was mainly about a quote from the great military genius Dick Cheney calling Operation Iraqi Freedom, "one of the greatest military campaigns in history," or something like that. The quote went on to say the great "victory" redeems the great and wise Donald Rumsfeld, who had fallen under a little scrutiny when things didn't work out the way they were planned at first.
Someone said to me, "Bush is turning out to be the greatest wartime president since ... I guess FDR." I was aghast, fumbling for words. "How do you mean that?" I asked. "Are you serious?" Franklin Delano Roosevelt! The US was not out attacking broken-down third world countries in order to seize their resources in World War II. Attacking and defeating poor Iraq -- that makes Bush a war hero? What universe did I fall into?
Now on TV you see the Iraqis waving and cheering at US troops, that is unmistakable. But what do you expect? What would you do? Challenge the US Army with its arsenal of the most horrifying weapons in history? None of this justifies the invasion, the killing of many innocent people, the terrorizing of many more, the annexation of their country, the seizing of their resources, the stealing of American tax dollars to finance the war and to pay to Halliburton and other of the president's friends to "rebuild" Iraq after destroying it.
Now they are already getting us ready for the next military adventures, in Iran, Syria and North Korea, and then ... who knows?
Bodies litter the streets of Baghdad. Operation Iraqi Freedom. Freedom for Halliburton. See Yahoo Walter Cronkite calls Bush "grossly arrogant" for his invasion of Iraq. See Yahoo After Michael Moore denounced Bush at the Oscars attendance to his movie jumped and his book went back to number one on the New York Times Bestsellers List in its 50th week on the chart. The Dixie Chicks are also at the top of the Country chart. Don't believe the media. Dissent is good for you. See voice4change.org What were reported to be Saddam "torture victims" turn out to be soldiers who died in battle during the Iran-Iraq war. See smh.com.au