March 23, 2006
For those of you who have doubted the intentions of the Bush
administration and the US military in Iraq, recent testimonials have
uncovered that Iraq is now an American colony with a permanent military
presence.
When Iraqis protested at the illegal invasion and
occupation of their country, we were told that the US military would
remove itself once requested to do so by the Iraqi people.
This
was accepted by a few Iraqis who believed that the US campaigns in Iraq
were to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein, instill democracy, and
leave the sovereign, independent notion.
However, this was the furthest possible from the truth.
When
the tragedy of the Askariya bombings moved Iraqis to imagine a civil
war in their steets and neighborhoods, US military planners and
Pentagon strategists gave press released to the media that the recent
violence could derail US plans to begin withdrawing by the end of 2006.
Convenient.
I
have heard from many a pro-war pundit that the US will leave as soon as
it is asked to by the Iraqi government. Missing from this and related
arguments is that the politicians in the Iraqi government came in
riding US tanks and were endorsed by the US as part of Bremer's Iraq
Governing Council in 2003.
Same names, same tactics, same allegiances, and same backers (US on the one side, Iran on the other).
Is it believable to entertain the idea that US-appointed Iraqi leaders would ask the US to leave?
Erm ... no.
Therefore,
it is no surprise to read that the US has not only built huge military
complexes for its troops in Iraq, but started to expand on them as well.
Take the account of embed Charles J. Hanley, writing for the Associated Press: The
concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 56,000
cubic metres of it, a slab a kilometre and a half long that's now the
home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters — a "heli-park" as good as any back
in the United States.
At another giant base, Al-Asad in Iraq's
western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of
bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car
dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging
the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they're planning a
new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for
chow.
Are the Americans in Iraq to stay? Air force mechanic Josh Remy is sure of it as he looks around Balad.
He is sure of it, but some either delude themselves, maintain some
ego-driven hope that Iraq will be free, or are paid to lie to their
readers by the US military.
Reading further, we find:Al-Asad
will become even more isolated. The proposed 2006 supplemental budget
for Iraq operations would provide $7.4 million to extend the
no-man's-land and build new security fencing around the base, which at
49 square kilometres is so large that many assigned there take the
Yellow or Blue bus routes to get around the base, or buy bicycles at a
PX jammed with customers.
The latest budget also allots $39
million for new airfield lighting, air traffic control systems and
upgrades allowing Al-Asad to plug into the Iraqi electricity grid — a
typical sign of a long-term base.
At Tallil, besides the new $14
million dining facility, Ali Air Base is to get, for $22 million, a
double perimeter security fence with high-tech gate controls, guard
towers and a moat — in military parlance, a "vehicle entrapment ditch
with berm."
Here at Balad, the former Iraqi air force academy 60
kilometres north of Baghdad, the two 3,600-metre runways have become
the logistics hub for all U.S. military operations in Iraq, and major
upgrades began last year.
Army engineers say 31,000 truckloads
of sand and gravel fed nine concrete-mixing plants on Balad, as
contractors laid a $16 million ramp to park the air force's huge C-5
cargo planes; an $18 million ramp for workhorse C-130 transports; and
the vast, $28 million main helicopter ramp, the length of 13 football
fields, filled with attack, transport and reconnaissance helicopters.
Turkish
builders are pouring tonnes more concrete for a fourth ramp beside the
runways, for medical-evacuation and other aircraft on alert. And $25
million was approved for other "pavement projects," from a special road
for munitions trucks to a compound for special forces.
The chief
air force engineer here, Lt.-Col. Scott Hoover, is also overseeing two
crucial projects to add to Balad's longevity: equipping the two runways
with new permanent lighting, and replacing a weak one-kilometre-long
section of one runway.
Once that's fixed, "we're good for as long as we need to run it," Hoover said. Ten years? he was asked. "I'd say so."
Away
from the flight lines, among traffic jams and freshly planted palms,
life improves on 36-square-kilometre Balad for its estimated 25,000
personnel, including several thousand American and other civilians.
They've
inherited an Olympic-sized pool and a chandeliered cinema from the
Iraqis. They can order their favourite Baskin-Robbins flavour at ice
cream counters in five dining halls, and cut-rate Fords, Chevys or
Harley-Davidsons, for delivery at home, at a PX-run "dealership."
On
one recent evening, not far from a big 24-hour gym, airmen hustled up
and down two full-length basketball courts as F-16 fighters thundered
home overhead. CD stores, slush puppies stand, a car
dealership, gyms, basketball courts, American ice cream, Burger King,
Pizza Hut - doesn't this sound like a colony to you?
And what's
more. These bases are prototypes for other bases which may be used to
install US missile defence systems to counter Iran's ballistic missiles
programs.
Very, very interesting.
But wait, there is more.
Taking
questions from reporters on Tuesday, US President George Bush said any
decision to withdraw from Iraq would be made "by future presidents and
future governments of Iraq."
Notice the plural. And isn't it
appropriate that Bush decides for the Iraqis when they can "ask" for US
troops to leave the country.
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Twisting the facts
There
have been many wondering about recent polls which show many in the US
military in Iraq believe they are there as payback for what Iraq did in
9-11. Of course, time and history have shown us Iraq had nothing to do
with 9-11 but ignorance (and arrogance) is a staple among the US public.
Therefore
it is not surprising when a Gallup Poll taken on March 12 reveals that
39% of Americans still believe Iraq was responsible for the tragic
events of 9-11. A further 57% believe that Iraq had WMDs immediately
prior to the invasion.
Toronto Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias writes about how the public could be so ignorant.
Perhaps, the answer lies in the lies and manipulations spoken by the president:
Helen Thomas asks Bush: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President,
your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of
Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime.
Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true.
My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment
you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet
officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real
reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been
Israel, or anything else. What was it?
THE PRESIDENT: I think
your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a
lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted
war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --
Q Everything --
THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.
Q -- everything I've heard --
THE
PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you
may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude
about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We --
when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my
disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on
that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of
oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th,
2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to
forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American
people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.
Part
of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe
haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a
second --
Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.
THE
PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a
second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's
where al Qaeda trained --
Q I'm talking about Iraq --
THE
PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe
haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they
plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of
innocent Americans.
I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping
to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security
Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was
unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face
serious consequences --
Q -- go to war --
THE
PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to
make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when
he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had
the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world
is safer for it.
Why talk about Al-Qaida in the context of Iraq, Mr. President? Why bring up September 11, Mr. President?
Mr. President, did resolution 1441 authorize an invasion and regime change in Iraq, or did it warn of serious consequences?
Mr.
President when you say Saddam chose to deny inspectors, was it before
or after both ElBaradei and Hanx Blix said they were receiving
unimpeded access and had concluded none of the US assertions were
proven true? When you say Saddam did not disclose, was this after or
before Iraq handed over its final report on its WMD files?
Where are the WMDs, Mr. President?
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Postscript:
There are some who insist Iraq will be a model. I say, indeed, Iraq
will be a model for how colonialism and imperialism works in the 21st
century.
Enjoy.
Be sure to check the right-column for updated pictures, links, quotes and Iraqi Truismsem>
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