A PRESIDENTIAL GHOST STORY

[jacdon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The following article appears in the October 15, 2002 email edition of
the Mid-Hudson Activist Newsletter, published by the Mid-Hudson National
People's Campaign/IAC in New Paltz, NY, via jacdon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A PRESIDENTIAL GHOST STORY

President Bush's speech Oct. 8 defending his intention to launch a
"preemptive" war with Iraq sounded like a Holloween ghost story
calculated to scare the daylights out of guileless children. 

The term "terror" or "terrorist" was employed 35 times; "weapons" ? for
use against the United States ? 33 times; "threat," to America, 17
times.  Weak and wounded Iraq was virtually portrayed as a military
superpower about to conquer the world.

Among the missing words was any mention of Osama bin Laden and Mullah
Omar, who have evaded capture along with most leading operatives of Al
Qaeda and the Taliban, much to  embarrassment of the White House war
room.   As a consequence, the two leaders -- identified by Bush as
enemies number one and two just a few months ago -- have evidently been
metamorphosed  by the White House propaganda apparatus into Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein, who Bush assured the world was also "a student of
Stalin."  Al Qaeda itself was mentioned seven times, but only in
reference to the Iraqi leader, not to the former "Evil One," bin Laden. 

Reduced to its simplistic scare-story essentials, the following excerpts
from Bush's speech tell his version the age-old story of good against
evil -- the Crusading Avenger Vs. the Bogeyman of Baghdad.  It's a great
tale to tell the kids on Holloween in a couple of weeks.  Douse the
lights, ignite a single candle, sit in the shadows, and begin:

"I want to take a few minutes to discuss a grave threat to peace and
America's determination to lead the world in confronting that threat....
[Iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is
seeking nuclear weapons. It
has given shelter and support to terrorism and practices terror against
its own people....

"We are resolved today to confront every threat from any source that
could bring sudden terror and suffering to America.... [The] Iraqi
dictator must not be permitted to threaten America and the world with
horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons.... Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction are controlled by a murderous tyrant.... The
same tyrant has tried to dominate the Middle East...and holds an
unrelenting hostility toward the United States....

"Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of
mass destruction.... If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons
today, and we do, does it make any sense for the world to wait to
confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous
weapons? .... We're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using
[aerial vehicles] for missions targeting the United States.

"Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical
weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists.  Alliances with
terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without
leaving any fingerprints....  Confronting the threat posed by Iraq is
crucial to winning the war on terror.

"If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy or steal an amount of
highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could
have a nuclear weapon in less than a year. And if we allow that to
happen, a terrible line would be crossed. Saddam Hussein would be in a
position to blackmail anyone who opposes his aggression. He would be in
a position to dominate the Middle East. He would be in a position to
threaten America and Saddam Hussein would be in a position to pass
nuclear technology to terrorists.

"Our enemies would be no less willing, in fact they would be eager, to
use biological or chemical or a nuclear weapons. Knowing these
realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us.
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the
smoking gun, that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.... We have
every reason to assume the worst and we have an urgent duty to prevent
the worst from occurring.

"Some have argued we should wait, and that's an option. In my view it's
the riskiest of all options because the longer we wait, the stronger and
bolder Saddam Hussein will become.... There can be no peace if our
security depends on the will and whims of a ruthless and aggressive
dictator.... Failure to act would embolden other tyrants, allow
terrorists access to new weapons and new resources, and make blackmail a
permanent feature of world events. The situation could hardly get
worse...."

At this point the kids at your Holloween gathering should be scared
stiff.   Then put on your Saddam Hussein mask, walk into the light, and
shout "Boooooo."  After the children run home in panic, put on your
George Bush mask and start shooting.


~~~~~~~
PLEASE clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.