The Bush St. Louis Speech, Scott Manesso

Opinion, August 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

The Bush St. Louis Speech

Scott Manesso

8/31/03

In a recent speech to a politically friendly gathering of war veterans in St. Louis, Missouri, President Bush said he would never retreat from Iraq because it is part of the war on terror. In what was apparently an attempt to sound like Winston Churchill, Bush said “Retreat in the face of terror would only invite further and bolder attacks. There will be no retreat.” I think regardless of what he does there will be more and bolder attacks on occupying troops.

Under increasing pressure from Congress and people within his administration Bush has called upon Americans vivid memories of 911 to bolster support and financing for his occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. "Our military is confronting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other places so our people will not have to confront terrorist violence in New York or St Louis or Los Angeles ," Bush stated to the military crowd. In other words he’s telling the American people that if they don’t support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that terrorists will bring the war to them.

Certainly Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney are digging deep into their bag of fear mongering tactics.

On Monday Rumsfeld was delivering a conflicting message, saying that most of the attacks were coming from Saddam loyalists in his stronghold in the “Sunni Triangle”. With the Iraqi peoples seized assets of almost 1 billion already spent by the occupation force there is no more money to pay pensions and salaries in this war torn country. Bush had hoped that oil revenues would cover the reconstruction efforts that are necessary because of the 2 Bush administrations. Is the Bush government just playing hardball on the negotiations to allow U.N troops into Iraq or are they really that oil greedy? Apparently Bush will be seeking 2-3 billion to shore up extra costs in Iraq, this is on top of the billions needed to keep occupying troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In other developments America has asked Israel to explore re-opening a pre 1948 Oil pipeline from Mosul, Iraq through Jordan to the port city of Haifa in Israel. After the creation of Israel Iraq cut off the supply, Jordan would be paid a transfer fee for allowing the pipeline to run through it. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called the pipeline a “bonus” for Israel's support of the war in Iraq. Whether the U.S is using this as a bargaining ploy in ongoing negotiations with Turkey or if it was a pre-war plan remains to be seen.

Israel imports 12 million tonnes of oil yearly but is hurt from an embargo by oil rich Arab countries. Eighty percent of Israel's oil is from the former Soviet Union, with the remainder coming from international markets and Egypt. Joseph Paritzky the spokesman for Israels infrastructure Minister said the Minister will visit Washington in 2 weeks to “discuss energy issues”. Paritzky also said Israel ordered a feasability study done in April for the use of the pre-Israel pipeline.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).