On Wednesday, January 10th, Bully Boy announced his 'new' 'plan' for Iraq -- escalation. He tries to sell it as a 'surge.' 'Escalation' conjures how the same failed 'plan' never worked in Vietnam and, most importantly, 'surge' implies that additional troops sent to Iraq to 'secure' the capitol and Al-Anbar Province will only be in Iraq for a short time. As the 'crackdown' in Baghdad, which started in June and continues, demonstrates this is not a short-term plan.
If you waited for a serious discussion of the Bully Boy's so-called new, so-called plan from the mainstream media, you largely waited in vain. Even the PBS hold outs among our readers e-mailed to complain about The NewsHour coverage. To those readers, we ask, "Did you really expect any different?" We mean, come on, in the same week, on air, a PBS host bragged about not paying minimum wage at their own small business, did you really think you could get a serious examination? (You certainly didn't get a serious examination of raising the minimum wage -- though you did understand why the host kept tossing the Heritage Foundation after the on air revelation that minimum wage wasn't being paid at her own small business with four employees.)
Maybe you thought TV 'journalism' might explore the money issue involved in the war? Forget about it. But Joel Havemann (Los Angeles Times) reports today that the "price tag is beginning to reach historic proportions" and that continuing "on the current scale, the funding for the Iraq war -- combined with the conflict in Afghanistan and other foreign fronts in the war on terrorism -- is projected to surpass this country's Vietnam spending next year" ("$660 billion in today's dollars"). Havemann reports that the White House says the escalation will add $5.6 billion in military expenses and $1 billion in reconstruction and other civilian costs" to Bully Boy's running tab that tax payers will have to close out.
Last Monday, WBAI presented a two hour special, THAW ON THE AIR, "Member theater companies of THAW (Theatres Against War) perform an evening of dramatic readings curated by Cynthia Croot." (Those who missed the broadcast, should check the WBAI archives for January 8th and will currently find the special listed under Home Fries which is the program it aired in place of. WBAI does not keep its archives up indefinately. Those reading 90s days after it aired won't be able to listen but can read Rebecca's post on the special.) During the two-hour special, the Guerilla Grrls noted the costs of the illegal war and that many other things could have been done with the money -- for instance, buying 183 million Apple computers, brand new, for public schools or providing mammograms to every woman in the United States (and man too) or even just buying tickets for Bully Boy and his entire administration to travel into outer space.
Money is also going to build the US embassy/fortress within the Green Zone, a great deal of money. On the January 4, 2007 broadcast of KPFA's Flashpoints, Dahr Jamail discussed the embassy/fortress with Nora Barrows-Friedman and noted that, "This was a $572 million contract that was awarded to a very corrupt . . . Kuwaiti construction firm with very direct ties to the Bush administration and this is an embassy that's going to have room for between 3 and 8,000 government employees, it has its own school . . . I don't think we should expect any Iraqi kids at this school, it has the largest swimming pool in the country, yoga studios, barbershops, beauty shops, its own water plant, its own electricity plant, it has apartment buildings. And when it's complete, it will be, it's 21 buildings and the area will be the size of the Vatican City. So that's the so-called embassy that's being built in Iraq so if we talk about when are we going to withdraw troops and why aren't the Democrats talking about withdrawal, this sort of thing, instead why is there talk of a 'surge'? It's because we . . . just need look no further than the physical evidence on the ground, augmented by the US policy like the National Security Strategy and the Quadrennial Defense Review Report -- all of these signs point towards permanent occupation of Iraq just like we have in Germany."
A permanent fortress/'embassy' in Iraq along with permanent bases. Unless the peace movement is going to say "NO" to this nonsense. Thursday, January 10th, on KPFA's Living Room, Antonia Juhasz addressed this topic noting:
This is . . . the critical moment to make our demands very, very clear to the Democrats and one of those demands has to explicity be that this is a war for oil that cannot be allowed to continue and that what the administration is hoping for is that it will suceed in its economic transformation of Iraq which at this point has nearly reached fruition -- which is a new law developed way before the war in the US State Department, then pushed by US corporations, pushed by the successive appointed governments of Iraq by the US government following the invasion -- for a new law that is now, the al-Maliki govenrmenet has now said that it will put this new law forward to the Iraqi parliament that creates an unprecedented oil victory in Iraq. So what it does is give the government of Iraq nominal control and ownership of their oil but every function of the oil industry would then be privatized and turned over to foreign companies and the foreign companies would get a form of contract called a Production Sharing Agreement which is not used anywhere in the Middle East not used anywhere in oil rich countries in fact that gives first 30 years, 30 year contract, and then according to the UK Independent, that the intial contract would give 75% of initial profits to the private companies leaving only 25% for the Iraqis. [. . .] Iraq can best be understood as a pimple of oil that has yet to be plucked. It has certainly the second largest oil reserves in the world possibly larger. It has 80 known oil fields but only 17 have even begun to be developed. It is those undeveloped oil fields which are all completely within the realm of the new law and then the debate, that the president mentioned in his speech, is over a constitutional amendment to address the existing fields, which are now divided between the Shia and the Kurds in the north and the south, and to bring the control of the existing fields back into the central gover of al-Maliki. And what I believe is that the Bush administration is going to hold onto the occupation and make it larger and make it as big as he can until the law passes and US companies sign contracts and then they have to get work. And they need a security force to do that and that is our troops.
No blood for oil, as Howard Zinn noted on Friday, January's 12th's broadcast of KPFA's The Morning Show, remains a very concise rallying cry. The Bully Boy's 'plan' is an attempt to string the war along long enough to allow big business to sign the oil production contracts they want. Though some may see that as something that Iraqis can live with for a 'couple of years,' as C.I. wrote:
Oh, how nice for you -- if not for Iraqis. In a few years (5? 10? 15? . . .), when another government is in place, you believe that the Iraqi people may get some sort of break. In the meantime we're talking about a nation that's lived under sanctions throughout the 90s and is now a war zone. We're talking about a country where the UN estimates 100 die each day. We're talking about a country where malnutrition is a serious issue for children.
The contracts matter, Juhasz is correct, and it's rather sad to hear them dismissed as an issue that can be ignored by someone speaking out against the Iraq war. For all the reasons noted, the refugee crisis, the rising rates of malnutrition, the war torn country and just simple justice, the contracts matter.
So should the will of the people (whom the Bully Boy is supposed to be working for). Friday, CNN reported: "Two out of three Americans oppose President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday indicates. Nearly two-thirds of those polled also say Bush has no clear plan for Iraq." As for the 32% who supported it in the CNN poll, as Wally and Cedric pointed out, with 1/4 of all Americans meeting the criteria for mental illness, Bully Boy's true base may have finally been discovered. A Washington Post - ABC News poll found 61% of respondents are opposed to Bully Boy's planned escalation. A CBS News poll found 53% of respondents opposed and 37% in support of the escalation.
The American people sends a thumbs down to the Bully Boy's plan. What of US troops serving in Iraq? One of the few to speak to them, Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reported
that "to many of the U.S. soldiers who already are struggling to prepare Iraqi troops in Diyala province say that more Americans won't solve Iraq's problems." The Iraqi people? CBS News' Lara Logan reported: ""Iraqis have been talking about nothing else all day, and most of the people we've spoken to say they do not want more U.S. troops here. They don't believe this is going to help." On Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman interviewed Sami Rasouli from Najaf and tied the conditions he was experiencing to the 'plan': "Actually, Amy, for the last four days, I couldn't get a shower -- because there is no electricity, there is no heating, so water's so cold in this harsh winter in Iraq -- because Iraq has a continental climate that's very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. So, as I speak to you, I really stink -- and, as the increasing prices in the economy that's collapsing stink and the Iraq government policy stinks, even the American policy, that so-called surge in Iraq, stinks too because, as you know, and Iraqis know and the others, that the occupation is a form of war. So any escalation in this type of war, the resistance is going to escalate too."
The puppet government? Sabrina Tavernise and John F. Burns (New York Times) reported
that Nouri al-Maliki and his aides were "wary" and "fear that an increased American troop presence" that will undercut Iraq's own efforts at stability. And Michael Abramowitz, Robin Wright and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reported that in the infamous Jordan meeting (preceeded by the snub) al-Maliki "did not ask for more American troops" and he actually wanted "to lower the U.S. profile, not raise it."
Who is in favor of sending nearly 22,000 more US troops into Iraq? US Senator and presumed presidential candidate for 2008 John McCain, of course. (He'll slam the escalation within a year -- faulting it for not sending in more US troops, our prediction.) Tony Blair, prime minister -- for now -- of England favors it -- this as British troops prepare to draw down their number of troops stationed in Iraq. John Howard, prime minister of Australia, favors it as well -- not enough to send any more Australian troops to Iraq, but in 'theory,' if not in 'practice,' he favors the 'plan.'
Senator Ted Kennedy calls Iraq "George Bush's Vietnam." Senator Chuck Hagel declared, "I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam if it's carried out. . . . I will resist it." Senator Russ Feingold observes that the Bully Boy "ignored the recommendations of members of both parties, military leaders, foreign policy experts, and the will of the American people by announcing that he intends to escalate our involvement in Iraq by sending more troops there. Congress must bring an end to what has been one of the greatest foreign policy mistakes in the history of our nation. The President continues to deny the devastating impact that keeping our brave troops in Iraq is having on our national security. The American people have rejected the Administration's Iraq-centric foreign policy. It is time to bring our troops out of Iraq and refocus on defeating the global terrorist networks that threaten this country."
As always, war pornographer Michael Gordon (New York Times) attempted to tap down on anti-war sentiment (and sanity and intelligence) by declaring (wrongly) that Congress had little power with regards to the illegal war. The following day, Jeff Zelany (New York Times) offered a slap to Gordo's war porn filled head in noting, "By law, Congress can limit the nature of troop deployments, cap the size of military deployments and cut financing for existing or prospective deployments." Tuesday, January 10th, Michael Ratner (president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-host of WBAI's Law and Disorder) offered some specifics on The KPFA Evening News, "Basically we can look at this in a few ways. One is you [Congress] can cut off the funding and that they have a constitutional right to do. Secondly, they could pass a resolution under the war powers resolution that repeals the authorization to use force in Iraq I think [Ted] Kennedy's argument is something. There better argument in Congress is to say 'We repeal the Iraq War Resolution' -- that would take away the president's authority. So Congress has remedies here. The question is are the Democrats going to be willing to stand up and take them or are they just going to talk? Kennedy, obviously, is going to do more than talk."
On the issue of repeatling the Iraq War Resolution, C.I. explained: "What Micheal Ratner was referring when he noted a second option the US Congress had is something that another Michael apparently slept through (Michael Gordon of the New York Times), the reaction to Tricky Dick's announcement that he would bomb Cambodia led to a Senate vote to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which was followed by House of Representatives doing the same."
Those are two of the things Congress can do. What about the American people? A number of things. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) interviewed Leslie Cagan (United for Peace & Justice) last week and Cagan spoke of an upcoming event: "in just a few weeks, on Saturday January 27th, people from every corner of the country are gathering here in Washington, where I am right now, to march around the Capitol, to deliver our message: it is time to end the war. The people spoke. The voters of this country had their opportunity in November to make their voices heard. Now we're saying to Congress, 'You need to act on the will of the people of this country.' So on Saturday January 27th, people will be getting on buses and trains and carpools and every other manner of transportation and gathering here in Washington on the Mall between 3rd Street and 7th Street at 11:00 am in the morning and delivering this message. And on top of that, we're asking people to stay here in Washington for a few more days to do a massive lobby day on Monday the 29th". That is far from the only action. For instance, February 5th, the Occupation Project will commence actions that will run through April where citizens will be present at Congressional offices saying "Do not vote for further funding of the illegal war." The Declaration of Peace is also organizing visits to the offices of Congress members, as well as faxes, phone calls, e-mails and letters to Congress members saying do not approve more funding of the war.
You can contact your Congress members and tell them to oppose the escalation. That's the request of a couple who have five children and grandchildren serving in the military. They made that request on Thursday, January 11th's broadcast of KPFA's Flashpoints -- during which Dennis Bernstein devoted the hour to speaking to the families of military members to get their own take on Bully Boy's plan for escalation. (On the broadcast, Anne Roesler, of Military Families Speak Out, rightly dubbed the January 10th speech by the Bully Boy, "the same-old, same-old.")
If the above gives you a better understanding of the 'plan,' great. But don't think for a minute the mainstream media was pursuing these leads (exceptions are noted above). Danny Schechter surveyed the mainstream televised news 'coverage' of the speech and found: "In the aftermath of President Bush's prime-time war cry for escalation from the White House Library, the network newscasters were skeptical about his chances for success but seemed to be impressed by his willingness to stand up for what they think he believes, like some lone but gutsy hero on the prairie."
On the January 12th broadcast of KPFA's The Morning Show, Andrea Lewis wondered what about the people who say that withdrawing US troops from Iraq will lead to further chaos and send the country spiraling? Anthony Arnove replied:
I think we have to acknowledge that people who raise that point raise it two different ways. The cynical group of people who make that argument, pundits, politicans, to say we can never pull out, to justify the US remaining as an occupying power in Iraq for years to come, to justify setting up military bases, permanent bases, in Iraq, to justify the role that the United States wants to play in Iraq projecting its power in the entire Middle East and globally, as Howard mentioned. But then there's also decent people who have a concern for the consequences of the Iraqi people. And I think we have to acknowledge their fears and their concerns for what would happen to Iraq? And we're not saying abandon the Iraqi people -- "This is some kind of isolationist position, we don't care what happens to them." We're saying the opposite. Our point is that every day that the United States continues in Iraq as an unwanted, foreign, occupying power, it makes the situation worse for ordinary Iraqis. It's not ending sectarian conflict in Iraq, it's actually fueling sectarian conflict. It's not ending violence, it's actually fueling violence. The United States occupation is the greatest source of instability in the country. And after every benchmark that we've been told would change the situation there --elections, the constitution, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the execution of Saddam Hussein -- things just get worse. Iraq right now is the world's largest refugee crises in the world. Inflation has skyrocketed, unemployment has skyrocketed, there's less electricty, less safe drinking water, less security for Iraqis which is why poll after poll shows that that they say their life is getting worse and they want the United States to leave and so if we claim that we're bringing democracy well democracy would dictate that we let the Iraqi people determine their own future. But we should support them. We should pay reperations. We owe them a tremends debt, not just for the harm caused by the occupation, but all of the years before that the United States imposed sanctions on the country and, before that, supported Saddam Hussein as he carried out his worst crimes.
Also addressing what fuels the resistance in Iraq was professor Natalie Goldring (of Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies) on the January 11th broadcast of
KPFA's The Morning Show: "We can't win in Iraq. I don't think it's possible. President Bush, to my mind, is increasingly isolated in painting this picture of an Iraq that is somehow a democratic presence and a peaceful Middle East is miraculously transformed by the American presence. In reality our presence there is making things worse. The Iraqis are in fact worse off if you look at things like their energy production and other key measures of whether people are comfortable in their homes. They're worse off than they were under Saddam which is a really scary prospect. So I don't think we can win. We do need to get out."
Iraqis don't want more US forces on the ground in Iraq, the puppet government doesn't want it, most Americans don't want it, the leaders of England and Australia want it -- provided they don't have to follow suit themselves, activists, authors and experts say it is a mistake, state governors stand to lose power if escalation is carried out, and the non-plan has been strongly criticized in Congress. The speech gave lip service to 'benchmarks' but did not provide any and Robert Gates revealed to Congress that there was no timetable for achievement. This was emphasized again when Condi Rice began weighing in. As C.I. noted: "And Condi's all over the wires with her 'we won't pull the plug on Iraq.' I guess that means they plan to send in Jeb and sherrif deputies?" [Reference to the GOP's embarrassing response to the Terry Schiavo case.]
In the face of all this and more, Bully Boy wants to play dumb (this time, at least, it is playing) and claim there are no clear alternatives to his plan. There are many. One is Anthony Arnove's
Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal which is newly out in paperback -- worth reading on it's own but possibly you'd like to purchase a copy ($13.00) to send to the White House?
In addition to bookstores, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal can be purchased at:
*Haymarket Books
*Powell's Books
*BookSense.com
*Amazon.com
*Barnes and Noble.com
To promote the new soft cover version of the book, Arnove will be back on the road and some of the upcoming dates include:
*January 17, 7 pm,
New York, NY (with Michael Schwartz)
16 Beaver
http://www.16beavergroup.org/monday/
*January 20, 7 pm,
Chicago, IL (with Jeff Engelhardt)
University of Illinois-Chicago
Contact: Adam Turl, 773-567-0936, adamcturl@yahoo.com
*January 27, 5 pm,
Washington, DC (with Kelly Dougherty)
Busboys and Poets
http://www.busboysandpoets.com/blog_events.htm
*February 1, 7:30 pm, Pasadena, CA
Voices of a People's History of the United States
with Mark Ruffalo, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Benjamin Bratt, Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, and Alfre Woodard.
All Saints Episcopal Church
http://www.icujp.org
We have mentioned Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal here many times (and highly recommend it) but we'll also note it made the community's top ten books for 2006 and you can read Martha and Shirley's report on it and other books that made the list.
