Mother Lode: Bush lied. He stole. He murdered. In broad daylight. And he got awa

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Mother Lode: Bush lied. He stole. He murdered. In broad daylight. And

he got away with it.,

by Chris Floyd

 

 

Mother Lode

 

By Chris Floyd

Published: February 11, 2005

 

The hoary adage that " there are none so blind as those who will not

see " should be carved in stone at the National Press Club in

Washington. Surely there can be no better motto for the cozy clubhouse

of America's media mavens, who seem preternaturally incapable of

recognizing the truth -- even when it stands before them, monstrous

and unavoidable, like a giant Cyclops smeared with blood.

 

For just as they botched the most important story of our time -- the

Bush Administration's transparently deceptive campaign to launch a war

of aggression against Iraq -- the clubby mavens are now missing the

crowning achievement of this vast crime: the mother of all backroom

deals, a cynical pact sealed by murder, unfolding before our eyes.

 

The Administration's true objective in Iraq is brutally simple: U.S.

domination of Middle East oil. This is no secret. Dick Cheney and Paul

Wolfowitz began writing about this " strategic necessity " in 1992, as

Alternet reminds us; and in September 2000, a group led by Cheney and

Donald Rumsfeld openly called for a U.S. military takeover of Iraq --

even if the regime of Saddam Hussein was no longer in power. At every

point in their savaging of Iraq, the Bushists have pressed

relentlessly toward this oily goal.

 

The objective was revealed -- yet again -- in a recent Washington

appearance by Iraqi Finance Minister Adil Abdel-Mahdi. Standing

alongside a top State Department official, Abdel-Mahdi announced that

Iraq's government wants to open the nation's oil fields to foreign

investment -- not only the pumped product flowing through the pipes,

but the very oil in the ground, the common patrimony of the Iraqi

people. The minister said plainly that this sweet deal -- placing the

world's second-largest oil reserves in a few private hands -- would be

" very promising to the American investors and to American enterprise,

certainly to oil companies, " InterPress reports. These are the spoils

for which George W. Bush has killed more than 100,000 human beings.

 

The American media completely ignored Abdel-Mahdi's declaration, but

this is not surprising. After all, it occurred in the most obscure

venue imaginable: an appearance before oil barons and journalists at

the, er, National Press Club. Where better to hide open confessions of

war crimes than in the very midst of the Washington hack pack? Yet

here was a story of immense importance. For Abdel-Mahdi is not only a

functionary in the discredited collaborationist government now in its

last days. He is also one of the leading figures in the United Iraqi

Alliance (UIA), the Shiite faction that has been swept to somewhat

more legitimate power by the national election that was forced on

George W. Bush by Islamic fundamentalist Grand Ayatollah Ali

al-Sistani. In fact, Abdel-Mahdi is frequently mentioned as a leading

choice for prime minister in the new government; whatever happens, he

will certainly play a primary role.

 

So we have a top official -- perhaps the top official -- in the

incoming government offering American oilmen ownership rights in Iraqi

oil. We have top American officials -- such as Cheney and Rumsfeld

this week -- taking a benign view of the UIA's demand that the new

Iraqi state be based solely on Islamic law, with crippling

restrictions on women's rights, free expression, free association,

plus, if Sistani has his way, Talibanic bans on music, dancing and

even playing chess, Newsweek reports.

 

What we have, in other words, is the making of a monstrous, Cyclopean

deal: not just " Blood for Oil, " as the anti-war critics have said all

along, but also " God for Oil. " The Shiite clerics -- who eschew direct

control but whose precepts can be translated into state power by

secular representatives like Abdel-Mahdi -- seem willing to trade a

goodly portion of Iraq's oil wealth in exchange for establishing a de

facto " Islamic Republic " in the conquered land, with tacit American

approval.

 

Sistani's word could move millions into the street to hamstring U.S.

forces; but despite his notional disapproval of the occupation, he has

stayed his hand, waiting for power to fall like a ripe fruit into the

Shiite basket. Like Bush, he is apparently willing to countenance mass

slaughter by the U.S.-led " Coalition " to achieve his objectives; but

then, like Bush, Sistani is not an Iraqi either: He's an Iranian. Now

these two foreigners are rolling dice to settle the nation's fate.

 

But there's yet another glaring truth that's escaped the media mavens,

and most of the war's opponents as well. Even if the grand objective

of oil control slips away somehow -- through a falling-out with

Sistani, say, or civil war -- Bush has already won the game. The war

has transferred billions of dollars from the public treasuries of the

United States and Iraq into the coffers of an elite clique of oilmen,

arms dealers, investment firms, construction giants and political

operatives associated with the Bush family. And this goes beyond the

official, guaranteed-profit contracts to favored firms; Bush's own

inspector general reported this month that $8.8 billion in unaccounted

" reconstruction " funds have simply vanished -- much of it in bribes

for Bush officials and corporate kickbacks, the BBC reported.

 

This blood money will further entrench the Bushist clique in

unassailable power and privilege for decades to come, regardless of

the bloody chaos they cause, or even the occasional loss of political

office. The American power structure has been permanently altered by

the war -- just as American society has been immeasurably corrupted by

Bush's proud embrace of aggression, torture, lawlessness and

militarism as national values.

 

Bush lied. He stole. He murdered. In broad daylight. And he got away

with it. That's the story. But you'll never hear it at the Press Club.

 

Annotations

 

 

 

Of Oil And Elections

AlterNet.com, Jan. 27, 2005

 

US to Take Bigger Slice of Iraq's Economic Pie

InterPress News, January 2005

 

Al-Sistani to Have Detailed Involvement in Iraq's Political Process

Knight-Ridder, Feb. 6, 2005

 

Abdel Mahdi: Maoist Turned Free Marketer Emerges as Consensus Candidate

Agence France Presse, Jan. 29, 2005

 

American Dominance

Bergen Record, Feb. 23, 2003

 

The Republicans' Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iraq

Informed Comment, Feb. 7, 2005

 

What Sistani Wants

Newsweek, Feb. 14, 2005 issue

 

Iraq Shiite leaders demand Islam be the source of law

Agence France Presse, Feb. 6, 2005

 

What They're Not Telling You About the Election

OccupationWatch, Feb. 1, 2005

 

Sistani Begins on His True Agenda

Asia Times, Feb. 8, 2005

 

Fraud and Corruption

The Guardian, Feb. 8, 2005

 

Two Front-Runners Vie for Iraqi PM Post

Knight-Ridder, Jan. 28, 2005

 

Iraq Reconstruction Funds Missing

BBC, Jan. 30, 2005

 

Officials Lose Track of $8.8 Billion in Reconstruction Funds

The Age, Jan. 31, 2005

 

Army Won't Withhold Halliburton Payments Despite Dispute

Reuters, Feb. 3, 2005,

 

Leading Shiite Clerics Push Islamic Constitution in Iraq

New York Times, Feb. 6, 2005

 

United and Divided: Shiites in Power

Salon.com, Feb. 8, 2005

 

Bush Planned Iraq 'Regime Change' Before Becoming President

Glasgow Sunday Herald, Sept. 15, 2002

 

Rebuilding America's Defenses

Project for a New Century, September 2000

 

Statement of Principles

Project for a New American Century, June 3, 1997

 

National Security Strategy of the United States

The White House, September 2002

 

Uncle Sugar: How the WMD Scam Put Money in Bush Family Pockets

CounterPunch, March 5, 2004

 

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/print.php?aid=139988

 

posted Thursday, 10 February 2005

 

A visitor made this comment,

Last April I stood in the National Press Club with Military Families

Speak Out as we presented reporters with stories and photos of our

family members deployed or already dead in Iraq and Afghanistan. My

photo was of my 19 year old nephew who died a year ago today driving

an unarmored Humvee on night patrol in Baghdad. I was so nervous but

encouraged by the nods and understanding comments of the journalists I

met with. They really seemed to know the truth and almost all were

very sympathetic. They laughed with me about the inane State of the

Union address the night before and the Libyan Turkey Farm weapons! I

don't think the truth escapes them, I think it's far more sinister

than that. I think when they get back to their desks and start typing,

they are told just what will be allowed to appear in print and on air.

I don't know how they continue to work and call themselves

journalists, but I suppose some folks will do whatever it takes.

 

Annette Pritchard [harpy]

comment added :: 13th February 2005, 00:00 GMT-07

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