Bush kidding no one with anti-war front

No one who has kept up with the news over the past few days can
seriously claim a war with Iraq is avoidable at this point, even
though President Bush himself continues to do just that. Who is he
kidding?

During a prime-time press conference Thursday evening, Bush
answered reporters’ questions about the continuing conflict
with Iraq, qualifying his remarks by continuously emphasizing his
“dislike” for war and by saying Saddam Hussein, not he,
is the one choosing armed conflict in failing to fully comply with
disarmament demands.

Bush’s actions are an insult to the global community and
the American public’s intelligence. He tries to maintain a
diplomatic facade, while continuing a behind-the-scenes, albeit
overt, build up for war. Two-hundred thousand troops are already
positioned near Iraq waiting for orders to invade. Many of these
soldiers have already been trained for urban warfare because
Hussein’s soldiers are bunkering around Baghdad to make the
war bloodier by involving civilians. The army has even built the
portable bridges it’s going to use to cross Iraqi rivers.

Additionally, the Bush administration has preemptively started
dividing the sp(oil)s of war. Halliburton Co., for example, has
been contracted to oversee the rebuilding of Iraqi oil fields if
Hussein destroys them like he did Kuwait’s during the Persian
Gulf War. Even if he doesn’t destroy them, the company will
be in charge of general upgrading and supervision. Not
surprisingly, Vice President Dick Cheney served as chair of
Halliburton Co. until he was elected in 2000.

Even the new U.N. resolution sponsored by Great Britain as a
last ditch effort to avoid war is a mere diplomatic ploy ““
it’s a win-win situation for Bush. On the one hand, if the
resolution passes, it will pass under the assumption that Hussein
has nuclear weapons capability and ask for “full”
disarmament ““ without quantifying what “full”
means. Even if Iraq were to present weapons for destruction up
until March 17, Bush could still go to war because being
“fully disarmed” cannot be entirely ascertained until
the country is turned upside-down. On the other hand, if France
vetoes the resolution, which it has indicated it is likely to do,
Bush can still go to war claiming he exhausted his diplomatic
options.

When speaking of the United Nations, Bush attacks its reluctance
to endorse the war by saying he has given it a chance to remain
“relevant” in world affairs. But the United Nations has
remained relevant: it has and continues to inspect Iraq for the
weapons the United States claims it possesses. So when Bush says
the United Nations is not adequately dealing with the
American-Iraqi conflict, he means it’s not acting as a
blindly approving rubber stamp.

Bush conveniently omits talking about the poor economy in
talking about Iraq. Why? Perhaps because if he told the public the
war will cost $60 to 100 billion, those in broke states facing tax
hikes might think twice about going to war during a recession. Bush
says you can’t put a price tag on safety ““ but he
certainly is. Aside from the billions the Iraqi war will cost,
he’s increasing the defense budget to $451.9 billion, higher
than during the Vietnam War.

And that’s only part of his budget.

According to expert analysis, the federal government’s
deficit will climb to nearly 9 percent of the gross domestic
product by 2040 with Bush’s budget, which includes more tax
cuts. Washington will not operate with a surplus for a very long
time. What this means is substantial tax cuts in government
revenue. States, which are even more broke, will be asked to take
on more responsibility for Medicaid, child welfare services,
unemployment compensation, etc. while the feds build up the defense
budget.

And yet, a majority of America still supports Bush’s
effort to “liberate” Iraq.

To a certain extent, one has to admire Bush for his achievement.
For most presidents, either destroying the economy or starting an
unjust war is enough to fill their plate. Our overachieving leader
has managed both in his first term.