Capture of Saddam is More Staged Political Propaganda by the Bushites

Capture of Saddam is More Staged Political Propaganda by the Bushites

     TWO DAYS before the capture of Saddam Hussein story was released just in time to make the Sunday morning talk shows and dominate the week's news coverage in mid-December 2003, George W. Bush did something unusual for him. He took six "impromptu" questions after a short announcement of his nomination for the new HUD secretary at the White House.

     Big mistake.

     In his first three years, Bush's handlers have let him take media questions on his own fewer times than any president in modern history. At this point in his presidency, Bush Sr., Clinton, LBJ, Carter, and Ford had faced the press more than 40 times. Reagan and Nixon had staged solo news conferences more than 20 times.

     Bush Jr. had done so nine times.

     Nine times.

     And for those conferences, Bush Jr. was provided with a list of possible questions by aides, given a few hours to rehearse his answers, and taken into an official, dress rehearsal, with staff members pretending to be reporters and firing questions at him.

     How sad. How pitiful.

     How unpresidential.

     At the conference, reporters asked Bush about Halliburton's no-bid Iraqi contract, Baker's conflict-of-interest position, the dollar, and other topics. Check out Bush’s answers, and you can understand why Bush's handlers hate to let him field questions on his own.

     The first question was whether Bush was concerned that the Halliburton contract, which the pork-laden Pentagon - the agency that has never seen a $200 hammer it cannot buy - was "investigating," gave fuel to his critics that the contract was inappropriate. Bush ignored Cheney's obvious conflict in this matter and sounded like he didn't have any personal interest in the situation. He said he appreciated the Pentagon "looking out after the taxpayers' money. They felt like there was an overcharge issue." 1

     That was a lie right off the bat. The Pentagon didn't feel there was an overcharge issue. That was only brought forth because many other people - not the Pentagon, which awarded the contract in the first place - raised hell about it.

     And what should be done about this no-bid contract, according to Bush? "If there's an overcharge, like we think there is, we expect that money to be repaid," he said.

     Let me get this straight. A unit of the company the vice president made millions off of before he helped steal the White House in 2000 gets a no-bid contract worth millions from this administration and American taxpayers are charged more than $3 for every gallon of gas imported to Iraq, about double most other contractors' charges. And we just make Halliburton pay a few more bucks, then let them go on with their merry ways? We don't put contracts up for competitive bids so the taxpayers can get the best deals?

     Before another reporter named April could follow up with another Halliburton question, Bush tried to divert attention and keep the mood light by asking her if this was her "first Christmas season as a mom." The effect was that reporters laughed and found it hard to be tough on Bush, who acted like a nice, fun guy on the surface but underneath was petty and, to quote him, a major-league asshole. Bush was also good about remembering reporters' names and calling them by that to make them feel special. He even did that to me when I just met him at my first conference with him in Texas on the 2000 campaign trail. The effect was also that reporters didn't really pay attention to the fact that Bush didn't really answer their questions.

     April asked a good question about Bush's response to critics who said he should distance himself from Halliburton and Cheney. He again didn't answer the question and simply repeated that "if anybody is overcharging the government, we expect them to repay that money." April did not get to ask a follow-up question, asking Bush to answer her first question.

     Another reporter named Wendell then started out by saying, "In light of The New York Times editorial today, tell me why....." Then Bush stopped him and said to more laughter, "I don't read those editorials."

     That was another lie. Bush might not have read every Times editorial, but someone on his staff did and he was briefed about them. Bush rarely read anything in detail. He usually lazily relied on staff briefings, which was why his knowledge on issues was so shallow. But sometimes he actually read the Times' editorials. To say he didn't ever read the editorials was misleading.

Bush even contradicts himself

     Bush even contradicted himself and admitted he sometimes read the Times' editorials a few minutes later by saying, "I didn't mean to 'dis' The New York Times’ editorial page, but I just didn't - I'm not reading it a lot these days."

     SO.....was Bush not reading those editorials at all, or was he not reading them "a lot?" No reporter caught the lie to question Bush about it. But to be fair, I doubt I would have had I been there - I'm better at catching things when I go back and read the fine print.

     And how many presidents used the term "dis," especially with an African-American official next to him? Bush was trying to act hip, but it came across staged and even demeaning. Anyway, Wendell's question dealt with why former Secretary of State Baker's ties with the Carlisle Group and Baker Botts, which also won Iraqi contracts, didn't pose a conflict of interest with Baker's new job of restructuring Iraq's debt. Bush again didn't answer the question, saying that Baker - the front man for the election heist in Florida in 2000 - was "a man of high integrity" and other bull.

     The final question concerned the slide in the dollar against the euro and whether Bush planned to intervene to try to stop the dollar's decline. Bush's answer showed that he knew absolutely nothing about economics, despite having an MBA from Harvard. His answer lent more suspicion that Bush cheated on tests and term papers in Harvard by getting his frat buddies to give him answers beforehand and write papers.

     I mean, read Bush's answer to the question: "My answer to that question about the dollar is that this government is for a strong dollar, and that the dollar's value ought to be set by the market and by the conditions inherent in our respective economies. And our economy is very strong and is getting stronger. But the policy, the stated policy - and not only the stated policy, but the strong belief of this administration is that we have a strong dollar." 2

     Say what?? The question was not: Do you believe we have a strong dollar? The question was: What the hell are you going to do about the dollar's decline?

     And Bush's answer was obvious: Nothing because I don't know what the hell to do. He didn't even know what a declining dollar actually meant.

     And it was another lie that the economy was getting stronger - see a previous chapter on the economy and the phony economic growth numbers we're suddenly seeing during the election year. 3

Dismal performance adds to list

     Anyway, this dismal performance before the press was just another straw to add to a growing list that made Bush's handlers, Cheney, Rumsfeld, & Co. realize they had to divert attention fast. Bush's polling numbers had steadily declined since the spring of 2003. Democratic presidential contenders like John Kerry, Howard Dean, and Wesley Clark were getting more headlines than Bush. So it was time to.....trot out their friend, Saddam.

     Saddam was suddenly "found" just in time for the Sunday morning talk shows so the focus would not be on Halliburton and the declining dollar and other topics about which the Bushites didn't want American voters to know.

     Many people I've talked to, including those who don't read the kind of Web sites I write for, have told me they thought the administration knew where Saddam was months ago, that they were just waiting for the right time to make an example of him. The Bushites can't fool all the people, but they probably can fool enough of them to steal another election.

     According to the pro-Israeli news site Debka.com, Hussein could have been held for up to three weeks in al-Dwar by a Kurdish splinter group while negotiations were ironed out with American officials in return for a $25 million reward. That would at least explain Hussein's disheveled and disorientated appearance. 4

     Another odd part of the situation were photos distributed by the U.S. showing the hideout with a palm tree behind the soldier who uncovered the hole where Saddam was hiding. The palm had a cluster of pre-ripened yellow dates, which might suggest that Hussein was arrested at least three months earlier since dates ripen in the summer when they turn into a black or brown color. British reporter Greg Palast, among others, poked fun at Baker's and other American officials' previous relationship with Hussein, writing that Saddam "asserted that Baker and the prior Bush regime, 'owe me my back pay. After all I did for these guys you'd think they'd have the decency to pay up.'” 5

     Palast got more serious, listing many jobs Hussein did for the Baker-Bush administrations, including the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which was approved by Baker himself through an ambassador. The ties dated at least as far back as 1979, when Hussein seized power in Iraq with U.S. approval and switched the country's Cold War allegiance from the Soviets to the U.S., Palast said.

CIA ties to Hussein date back to 1959

     And according to United Press International, the ties date back to 1959, when the 22-year-old Hussein was part of a CIA-authorized, six-man squad that tried to assassinate then-Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim. Hussein reportedly lost his nerve and began firing too soon, killing Qasim's driver and only wounding Qasim in the shoulder and arm. Saddam, whose calf had been hit by a fellow would-be assassin, escaped to Tikrit with the aid of CIA and Egyptian intelligence agents, according to the article. 6

     Anyway, in 1980, Hussein invaded Iran, with U.S. support, training, and military hardware. Saddam even hosted Rumsfeld in Baghdad in 1983, when more arms trade was ironed out. 7

     Then in 1984, the U.S. Commerce Department issued a license for exporting aflatoxin to Iraq to be used in biological weapons, Palast wrote. Four years later, Hussein gassed Kurds with those weapons. That incident has long been repeated by conservatives to justify the American invasion of Iraq earlier this year, when other excuses like weapons of mass destruction and ties to bin Laden fell apart. 8

     Such Bushite-Hussein ties cause me to remain suspicious of the staged "capture" of Saddam. Some deal has been made with Hussein. He'll be "convicted" and secretly shipped off to some island or obscure place to live out the rest of his life in luxury. Or he'll suddenly get cancer the way mafioso Jack Ruby did after shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.

     The mainstream media coverage of the "capture" was just more election propaganda, the kind Hitler used to overtake Germany and much of Europe in the 1930s. The Bushites want an American empire, just like Hitler almost had. They're making plans to invade Iran, Syria, and other countries after stealing the 2004 election.

     In a 2002 report, the Bush administration basically said the U.S. had the right to invade any countries it pleased simply by saying they engage in terrorism or MIGHT do so. The chapter on global terrorism was particularly full of football cliches, such as "our best defense is a good offense." 9

     Thankfully, there were still a few prominent U.S. officials like Sen. Robert Byrd [D-West Virginia] who continued to speak out against this disastrous, selfish, and un-American policy. At the 138th anniversary celebration of The Nation magazine on in Dec. 2003 in New York City, Byrd said, "The capture of Saddam Hussein will not be the keystone for peace in that volatile region. This day's news does not lessen the danger that the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strike poses to international peace and stability.... Not only is the doctrine of pre-emption a radical departure from the traditional doctrine of self-defense, but it is also a destabilizing influence on world affairs. The Bush doctrine of pre-emption is a dangerous precedent. The Bush doctrine of pre-emption is a reckless policy. The rising tide of anti-Americanism across the globe is directly attributable to the fear and distrust engendered by this Bush doctrine of pre-emption." 10

     Byrd called the war in Iraq "nothing less than a manufactured war. It was a war served up to a deliberately misled and deluded American public to suit the neoconservative political agenda of the Bush White House."

     And Byrd also criticized his colleagues. "Most disheartening to me, Congress allowed the Constitution to become a casualty of the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes," he said. "Congress allowed its constitutional authority to declare war to fall victim to this irresponsible strategy. Just a little more than a year ago, in October 2002, the Senate obsequiously handed to the president the constitutional authority to declare war. It failed to debate; it failed to question; it failed to live up to the standards established by the framers. Like a whipped dog, the Senate put its tail between its legs and slunk away into the shadows, slunk away from its responsibility."

     To those who say we have a right to invade other countries and impose our brand of democracy on them, consider this: What if Canada suddenly built up militarily, invaded the U.S., and somehow overtook our government, driving the Bushites from power [remember "Canadian Bacon," Michael Moore's 1994 movie on the neocons lying about a potential Canadian invasion to keep the military budget high?].

     While I would be happy about Bush being driven from office, I wouldn't be happy about having some other country force its government down my throat. And if some of my relatives or friends had died because of this invasion, I'd no doubt fight that much harder against the Canadian puppet government, even if it provided free medical care to all.

U.S. deaths rise after capture

     Getting back to Hussein, his "capture" did not stop the violence in Iraq. U.S. combat deaths in Iraq actually rose sharply afterwards, from 24 in December 2003 to 34 in January 2004. The Financial Times calculated the deaths from press releases from the U.S. Central Command in Florida since the Pentagon declined to provide such figures. 11

     U.S. officials claimed that some 300,000 Iraqis were found in mass graves who were "victims of Saddam's regime." But those people could have been killed in the 1990 and 2003 wars or died of natural causes or diseases due to the economic sanctions and couldn't afford proper funerals. 12

     The U.S. had killed so many civilians there that their family members resolved to fight us. They fought back in ways we didn't understand, ways we called terrorism.

     But that was how the Irish resisted the British taking over part of their homeland since the early 19th century. Even the American patriots employed tactics that the British considered unfair and even terrorism during the Revolutionary War of the 18th century. Those tactics included guerilla-style attacks at night and waving white flags at British troops, then shooting them when they put their guns down. You do what you have to do when you're the underdog.

     We're never going to "win" this war until we understand that, just like we will never "win" the war on drugs until we understand how addicted to drugs - from caffeine to alcohol to prescribed drugs to illegal ones - many Americans are and how agencies like the CIA have participated in the drug war.

     In other words, we will never begin to win these wars until we realize what big hypocrites we are and start making some real changes.

     We will sure never win these wars going down the abyss that the Bushites are leading us down. I'm not saying I admire Hussein, as many on the right often lie that I do. I don't admire any dictator and that includes Bush, who didn't really win in 2000 and does whatever he wants like a dictator.

     I'm just calling it like I see it, which is what a true patriot should do in a real republic. I don't trust anything Bush says or does, especially in an election year. I don't buy it that Hussein just now happened to be "captured."

     I await the "capture" of Osama bin Laden, which will probably occur a month or so before the 2004 election.

Footnotes

1. White House news release, Dec. 12, 2003, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031212-1.html
2. Ibid., Dec. 12, 2003, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031212-1.html
3. See Chapter V, http://www.geocities.com/jacksonthor/knowecon.html
4. Debkafile, Dec. 14, 2003, http://debka.com/article.php?aid=743
5. Common Dreams, Dec. 14, 2003, http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1214-08.htm
6. UPI, April 10, 2003, http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030410-070214-6557r
7. Common Dreams, Dec. 14, 2003, http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1214-08.htm
8. Ibid., http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1214-08.htm
9. “National Security Strategy of the United States of America," Chapter III, White House report, Sept. 17, 2002, http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss3.html
10. The Nation, Dec. 15, 2003, http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20031229&s=byrd
11. Financial Times/UK, Jan. 30, 2004, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0130-14.htm
12. War on Terror Timeline, U.S. House Select Commmittee on Homeland Security, Dec. 2003, http://hsc.house.gov/files/timeline.pdf

Go to Table of Contents

© 2004 Jackson Thoreau