Front Line
Once I was a lot like you.
I was a single parent trying to earn the dual-income our families need all by myself, raising my children best I could, watching my savings go down and down while prices kept going up and up. Health insurance -got more expensive than the mortgage and it took almost as much to buy gas every week as it did to buy our groceries. The end of each month kept getting here faster and faster. One day the scales fell off my eyes and I saw what the greedy corporations and their paid-for politicians were doing to us . . . and I got mad! I started speaking out and was viciously attacked by the same government that I once served with. Since then, I’ve learned how to make good money trading anything that can be charted and I try to tell everyone else what’s going on so they can get involved . . . before it’s too late.
WHY THE HELL ARE WE IN IRAQ?
Saddam Offered To Surrender . . .
A MONTH Before Bush Invaded
This is worse than the Downing Street Memo . . .
On February 22, 2003, there was a meeting at the Bush Compound in Crawford, Texas between George W. Bush, Condeleeza Rice and Jose Maria Aznar, President of Spain.
A top-secret tape recording was made by Spanish security and has been “leaked” to and printed by El Pais, the highest-circulation daily in Spain.
The White House did not challenge the accuracy of the transcript, with national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe declining to comment.
It shows the whole Iraq War has been orchestrated by a treasonous, power-grabbing United States President that should be immediately removed from office and put on trial for war crimes.
Oh yeah . . . now that it’s out there, the neo-con talking heads will go beserk trying to muddy the water.
First, please remember that Bush’s own Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil, said:
“From the start, we were building the case against Hussein and looking at how we could take him out and change Iraq into a new country. And, if we did that, it would solve everything. It was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The President saying, ‘Fine. Go find me a way to do this.’ “ The Price Of Loyalty, page 86.
Now, about that secret tape . . .
In it, Bush is typically impatient, bullying, arrogant, poorly-informed and pathologically over-optimistic. The transcript shows, without question, the true evil nature of this man.
It’s all just a game to him, and he’ll play “good cop” or “bad cop” — as long as he gets what he wants.
The transcript shows that Bush absolutely insisted on going to war without any United Nations Security Council Resolution, if he couldn’t get it, and by threatening all other countries of the world – like a spoiled brat – anything necessary to get his way.
Iraq was going to be invaded — no other option would be considered by The Decider.
Bush rejected outright a deal brokered by Egypt that would have avoided a war altogether by allowing Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq with a billion dollars (less than what this war costs us each and every 12-hours). It wasn’t even the United States’ money but clearly NOTHING was going to derail Bush’s blood-thirst.
The War President said, “Hell no!”
And don’t forget that fighter jets were scrambled, just in case, to shoot-down any plane that Saddam tried to “flee” on.
All that time we, the American people, were constantly being told by Bush and his co-conspirators that Saddam Hussein refused to talk, he refused to allow weapons inspectors to look for the non-existent weapons of mass destruction, and he openly defied the United Nations.
BUT YOU’VE BEEN LIED TO ALL ALONG BY “THE DECIDER.”
In other words, the entire Iraq War cold have been completely avoided by sending Saddam off to exile in some other Muslim country but Bush refused to do so – and worse, lied his ass off to the American public – all to further some his private agenda in Iraq and the middle east. If things were resolved peacefully, Bush’s hell-bent-for-invasion plans would all be worthless.
Remember the Time magazine story in from March 2003, where Bush is quoted as saying, “Fuck Saddam! We’re taking him out!”
All the pieces are there for anyone to see.
Now the last smoking gun — proof that Bush callously denied Saddam’s offer to surrender and walk away well before any invasion.
What could have been saved by avoiding this invasion? Over a million lives? Tens of thousands of American casualties and deaths? Over $1-Trillion Dollars re-distributed to Bush/Cheney’s private corporations from the American taxpayers/suckers? Regional instability for years, maybe forever, and a civil war everyone could see coming from a mile away that our brave young troops are stuck in the middle of now?
But, no, the President who covets being a dictator himself, planned to attack Iraq from before he was ever in the White House. He even moved-in there with special maps and photos and a written war plan.
He just needed time to con the American people and strong-arm other countries of the world.
Now he should be removed from the office he stole and put on trial for his premeditated war crimes.
Let’s watch how the corporate propaganda media spins this one . . .
Here’s part of the translation from the Reuters story:
‘The Egyptians are speaking to Saddam Hussein. It seems he’s indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he’s allowed to take $1 billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction,” Bush was quoted as saying at the meeting one month before the U.S.-led invasion.’ The transcript in Spanish then says (according to my translation):
‘Aznar: Is it certain that any possibility exists that Saddam Hussein will go into exile? Bush: The possibility exists, including that he will be assassinated. Aznar: Exile with a guarantee? Bush: No guarantee! He is a thug, a terrorist, a war criminal.
And here’s a partial translation of the rest, courtesy of Harper’s Magazine:
Bush to American Allies: support the war or starve [Condoleezza Rice has just described the diplomatic situation to Bush and Aznar, explaining that Iraq is continuing to insist that it has no weapons of mass destruction.]
Bush: This is like Chinese water torture. We have to put an end to it.
Aznar: I agree, but it would be best to have as much support as possible. Have a little patience.
Bush: My patience has ended. I’m not thinking of waiting beyond mid-March.
Aznar: I’m not asking that you have endless patience. Simply that everything is done to [have maximum international support].
Bush: Countries like Mexico, Chile, Angola, and Cameroon should know that what’s at stake is the security of the United States . . . [Chilean President Ricardo] Lagos should know that the Free Trade Accord with Chile is awaiting Senate confirmation and a negative attitude about this could put ratification in danger. Angola is receiving Millennium Account funds [to help alleviate poverty] and that could be jeopardized also if he’s not supportive…
Aznar: Tony [Blair] wants to wait until March 14.
Bush: I prefer the 10th. This is like a good cop, bad cop routine. I don’t care if I’m the bad cop and he’s the good cop.
Bush on Iraq: the future is bright “We’re developing a very strong package of humanitarian aid. We can win [the war] without much destruction. We’re planning for a post-Saddam Iraq and believe there is a strong base to build a better future. Iraq has a good bureaucracy and relatively strong civil society.”
Very Rough English Transcript (using Google translator) . . .
The Economic Times Story . . .
How Can Any Sane Person Be “At Peace” Preparing For War?
ENJOY LIVING ON YOUR KNEES YET?
It seems that every week now we see more and more evidence of a drastic change that’s happening in this country . . . and to this country. A change for the worse. A fundamental change for which there is no good reason except the consolidation and increase of power . . . and the psychological conditioning of citizens. We see more and more evidence of what can only be called an emerging police state.As a father, this really bothers me.
And I hope it really bothers you too.
As I have already posted, in the last week or so alone, we’ve seen: A 70-year old lady roughed-up and arrested for failure to water her lawn.
A City Councilman beaten and arrested for speaking-out at a council meeting — just because the police didn’t like what he said.
A University of Florida student tasered and arrested by campus police for “disrupting a public meeting” by asking an uncomfortable question of Senator John Kerry.
A reluctant admission that our government spies on what we read, what we pack, where we stay and who we associate with when we travel.
And it was announced that Americans will have to have permission of the Department of Homeland Security to travel anywhere, including around the United States itself, beginning in February 2008.
All of this is unbelievable . . . and unacceptable!
A few weeks ago, an Ohio man was arrested after he tried to leave a Circuit City store for no other reason than he had the gall to refuse to participate in a mandatory line-up at the exit door requiring him to prove he was not a criminal by showing his receipt for bagged merchandise just purchased. Heck, I’ve done the exact same thing dozens of times at the local WalMart.
He then refused to show his drivers’ license (which it turns out he was specifically exempt from doing under Ohio statutes), and he was duly arrested on the spot for his failure to cooperate and roll-over to authoritarian demands. The story has generated a great deal of comments of various Internet sites with most of the comments from other properly-conditioned (i.e., terrified) citizens echoing the following: “If this person is not cooperating then they have something to hide.” or, “Moral of the story, freakin’ cooperate with the police or you’ll get tasered. Doesn’t matter if you’re guilty or not. Not cooperating makes you look guilty.”
Stop and think for a second if you feel the same way . . . I sure as hell don’t! Either cooperate with the police, regardless of whether they act legally or not, or you get what you deserve. It doesn’t matter if you’re guilty of anything or not, if you don’t just cooperate, you’ve got something to hide. Then please take a second to remember this is the United States of America — or at least it’s supposed to be.
My point is that we should not have to justify ourselves or our legal behavior to anyone . . . period. “Your papers . . . please!” like the Nazis demanded, was once a joke, but it is now becoming reality before our very eyes. The police are not our masters and the government is not our master. THEY BOTH EXIST TO SERVE WE THE PEOPLE.
We are free and enjoy liberty here in the United States . . . or at least we’re supposed to. I find it both sad and disgusting that the American people have become so soft and weak and timid that we allow the government and the police to get away with these kinds of actions . . . arresting you for having the gall to question their almighty authority and, if you’re lucky, the usual group of 5-10 officers just tasering you and, if not, then beating you, before adding the charge of “resisting arrest” or “assaulting an officer.”
With the fabulous gift of liberty we are intended to enjoy in this country, comes the added responsibility to preserve and protect that wonderful gift for our children and grandchildren. That includes protecting our rights from others who would attack them, or usurp them, and no matter if the source of those attacks are foreign or domestic.
If we fail to fight to uphold our rights, we will eventually lose them.
IN FACT, THEY ARE BEING LOST RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES!
Now, in order to hide the fact that they are weak and timid, I know many will resort to the false politician’s argument, “9-11 changed everything.” It only changed everything to the extent we have allowed it to. These same people might even think that having the police “in charge” to rule our lives will make us all safer. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Time and time again, history has shown that when governments obtain absolute sovereignty over their citizens those governments do not remain benign for long. They usually (very quickly) lead to tyranny and abuses far greater than what the people were expecting protection from. Our forefathers all knew this and I find it shocking that we so easily throw-away their collective wisdom.
As for me, I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.
Patrick Henry once said, “I know not what course others make take, but as for me: give me Liberty, or give me death.” Thankfully, we’re not there . . . yet. But we as Americans had better wake up and get involved and put a hard, fast stop to the endless government and police abuses . . . or we very soon will be faced with that same choice again.