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War and 'Cash for Trash'
Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 4
Gareth Porter discusses US hawkishness in the Caucasus with Real News Network senior editor Paul Jay. As the US and NATO pursue their containment policy, the threat of a new cold war emerges.
Gareth Porter is a historian and investigative journalist on US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89336287_bush_doctrine_at_the_...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89339379_the_state_of_the_empi...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89351820_provoking_russian_nat...
See Part 5 at: http://current.com/items/89373473_will_a_new_us_preside... Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 4 ... more -
Internazionale: Tutti ipocriti sul Caucaso.
Dopo aver letto questo articolo di Noam Chomsky (che sarà presente al prossimo festival a Ferrara) su "Internazionale" n. 762 del 19/25 settembre 2008 non potevo fare a meno di riportarlo qui per dare anche a voi la possibilità di avere una visione più ampia della questione "Caucaso" da me affrontata nel post "La fredda vendetta di Putin" http://www.bloginternazionale.com/2008/08/la-fredda-ven.... Buona lettura. Dopo aver letto questo articolo di Noam Chomsky (che sarà presente al prossimo festival a Ferrara) su "Internazionale" n. 76... more
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Bush-Cheney-NeoCons Iran -- Professor Chomsky
MIT professor, Noam Chomsky observed on August 1, 2008:
"Bush-Cheney might decide to go down in a blaze of glory or the fires of Hell -- bombing Iran if Obama wins the election, a proposal now circulating in radical nationalist circles (called "neoconservative'). In June, Congress came close to passing a resolution, strongly supported by the Israeli lobby, virtually calling for a blockade of Iran Ð an act of war that could have set off the conflagration that is greatly feared in the region and around the world. Pressures from the anti-war movement appear to have beaten back this particular effort, but others are likely to follow."
(Geesh! Is Chomsky depressing or what??)
Does anyone have any follow-up info on this?
Let's chill out. MIT professor, Noam Chomsky observed on August 1, 2008: ... more -
Reported US attack pushes Afghanistan war into Pakistan
The war in Afghanistan spilled over into Pakistani territory for the first time today when heavily armed commandoes, believed to be US special forces, landed by helicopter and attacked three houses in a village close to a known Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold.
The early morning attack on Jala Khel killed between seven and 20 people, according to a range of reports from the remote Angoor Adda region of South Waziristan. The village is situated less than a mile from the Afghanistan border.
Local residents were quoted as saying most of the dead were civilians and included women and children. It was not known whether any Taliban or al-Qaida militants or western forces were among the dead.
Major-General Athar Abbas, a spokesman for the Pakistan army, said Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) had carried out the raid. "Two helicopters of Isaf landed very early in the morning and conducted a raid on a compound there. As per our report, seven civilians were killed in this raid."
But a Nato spokesman denied involvement. "There has been no Nato or Isaf involvement crossing the border into Pakistan," the Nato spokesman James Appathurai said.
There were unconfirmed reports that the incursion was carried out by US special forces, which are not under Isaf command and can operate independently. A US military spokesman at the Bagram base near Kabul did not deny an attack had occurred but declined to comment.
Official Pakistani condemnation swiftly followed the attack amid growing concern that the Nato-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan could spread to Pakistan, sparking a region-wide conflagration.
Owais Ahmed Ghanisaid, the governor of North-West Frontier province, which adjoins South Waziristan, said 20 people had died and called for retaliation by the Pakistani army. "This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan expect that the armed forces ... would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply," he said.
The foreign ministry in Islamabad said the incursion was "a gross violation of Pakistan's territory" and a "grave provocation" that had resulted in "immense" loss of civilian life.
Continues The war in Afghanistan spilled over into Pakistani territory for the first time today when heavily armed commandoes, believed to be US... more -
The coming transatlantic crisis
Russia's resurgence as a world power and America's decline mean that US and European interests are on a collision course
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Russia remains a Black Sea power
by M K Bhadrakumar
If the struggle in the Caucasus was ever over oil and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) agenda towards Central Asia, the United States suffered a colossal setback this week. Kazakhstan, the Caspian energy powerhouse and a key Central Asian player, has decided to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia over the conflict with Georgia, and Russia's de facto control over two major Black Sea ports has been consolidated.
At a meeting in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Thursday on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Kazakh President Nurusultan Nazarbayev told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Moscow could count on Astana's support in the present crisis.
In his press conference in Dushanbe, Medvedev underlined that his SCO counterparts, including China, showed understanding of the Russian position. Moscow appears satisfied that the SCO summit also issued a statement on the Caucasus developments, which, inter alia, said, "The leaders of the SCO member states welcome the signing in Moscow of the six principles for regulating the South Ossetia conflict, and support Russia's active role in assisting peace and cooperation in the region." The SCO comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
There were tell-tale signs that something was afoot when the Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement on August 19 hinting at broad understanding for the Russian position. The statement called for an "unbiased and balanced assessment" of events and pointed out that an "attempt [was made] to resolve a complicated ethno-territorial issue by the use of force", which led to "grave consequences". The statement said Astana supported the "way the Russian leadership proposed to resolve the issue" within the framework of the United Nations charter, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and international law.
The lengthy statement leaned toward the Russian position but offered a labored explanation for doing so.
Kazakhstan has since stepped out into the thick of the diplomatic sweepstakes and whole-heartedly endorsed the Russian position. This has become a turning point for Russian diplomacy in the post-Soviet space. Nazarbayev said: I am amazed that the West simply ignored the fact that Georgian armed forces attacked the peaceful city of Tskhinvali [in South Ossetia]. Therefore, my assessment is as follows: I think that it originally started with this. And Russia's response could either have been to keep silent or to protect their people and so on. I believe that all subsequent steps taken by Russia have been designed to stop bloodshed of ordinary residents of this long-suffering city. Of course, there are many refugees, many homeless.
Guided by out bilateral agreement on friendship and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, we have provided humanitarian aid: 100 tons have already been sent. We will continue to provide assistance together with you.
Of course, there was loss of life on the Georgian side - war is war. The resolution of the conflict with Georgia has now been shifted to some indeterminate time in the future. We have always had good relations with Georgia. Kazakhstan's companies have made substantial investments there. Of course, those that have done this want stability there. The conditions of the plan that you and [President of France Nicolas] Sarkozy drew up must be implemented, but some have begun to disavow certain points in the plan.
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More at link. by M K Bhadrakumar ... more -
The Eurasian Corridor: Pipeline Geopolitics and the New Cold War
By Michel Chossudovsky, author of the international bestseller America’s "War on Terrorism" Global Research, 2005.
A bit long but well worth the read if you are interested in the the geopolitics of the major world powers. By Michel Chossudovsky, author of the international bestseller America’s "War on Terrorism" Global Research, 2005. ... more -
Georgia president denies Israel halted military aid due to war
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili denied on Wednesday night that Israel has suspended its military aid to the country. "I haven't heard anything about that, and I haven't had time to think about that issue for some days," he told Haaretz.
Saakashvili said he is aware of problems with supplying the pilotless drones that his army ordered from Israeli companies, but not of the stopping of any other shipments of military aid.
"The Israeli weapons have proved very effective," he said at a press conference at his office. When asked whether the Israeli arms played a role in the military successes he claimed the Georgian army had achieved, he joked: "Are you asking me as a representative of Elbit or of Israel Aerospace Industries?" To a reporter's question about Jews who have fled the fighting and come to Israel, he said: "We have two Israeli cabinet ministers, one deals with war [Defense Minister David Kezerashvili], and the other with negotiations [State Minister for Territorial Integration Temur Yakobashvili], and that is the Israeli involvement here: Both war and peace are in the hands of Israeli Jews."
Yakobashvili is actually not an Israeli citizen. Saakashvili's statements are part of his government's attempt to bring other countries into its war against Russia. During the briefing, Saakashvili noted that he is in constant contact with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He promised that U.S. warships would be docking in Georgian ports within a few days to make sure they remain open.
Saakashvili tried to project confidence during the interview, but could not completely hide the stress he is under. A few hours earlier, refugees from Gori held a spontaneous demonstration in front of parliament, calling for Saakashvili to resign.
"We will fight to the death until the last Russian soldier leaves Georgian territory," Saakashvili told reporters. "We will never surrender."
He characterized the announcements against him by Russia's government, blaming him for the suffering of the Georgian people, as "typical Nazi propaganda." He accused Russia of ethnic cleansing in the Georgian villages in the north of the country. "If Georgia falls, all of the energy supply routes will be blocked," he said. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili denied on Wednesday night that Israel has suspended its military aid to the country. "I ha... more -
Nuclear war by miscalculation
F William Engdahl: The geopolitics of Georgia - Part 2 of 3
Russia went into Georgia to essentially deliver a message. There are more than 1,000 US military special forces in Georgia doing exercising, training Georgian troops, before Georgia launched the attack on Ossetia on 8 August. There are 1,000 Israeli troops at least, private security firms and military advisors, including advisors who are upgrading the Georgian air force in an installation near Tbilisi. That's what the Russian airplanes hit, and they essentially made the military strike on South Ossetia militarily impossible by making incursions inside Georgian territory before they announced that they were calling a halt to their military operations.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89197663_the_geopolitics_of_ge...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89204774_russia_asia_cooperati... F William Engdahl: The geopolitics of Georgia - Part 2 of 3 ... more -
The geopolitics of Georgia
F William Engdahl: There are far bigger stakes being played out in Georgia than a territorial dispute. Part 1 of 3
US attempts to get Georgia into NATO, coupled with its desire to erect an anti-missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech republic would give it first strike capability towards Russia. Moscow sees this as a national security threat against the sovereignty of Russia. Political economist F William Engdahl believes this is the geopolitical endgame being played out in Georgia.
F William Engdahl is an economist and author and the writer of the best selling book "A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order." Mr Engdhahl has written on issues of energy, politics and economics for more than 30 years, beginning with the first oil shock in the early 1970s. Mr. Engdahl contributes regularly to a number of publications including Asia Times Online, Asia, Inc, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Foresight magazine; Freitag and ZeitFragen newspapers in Germany and Switzerland respectively. He is based in Germany.
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89201649_nuclear_war_by_miscal...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89204774_russia_asia_cooperati... F William Engdahl: There are far bigger stakes being played out in Georgia than a territorial dispute. Part 1 of 3 ... more -
Israel backs Georgia in Caspian oil pipeline battle with Russia
DEBKAfile discloses Israel's interest in the conflict from its exclusive military sources:
Jerusalem owns a strong interest in Caspian oil and gas pipelines reach the Turkish terminal port of Ceyhan, rather than the Russian network. Intense negotiations are afoot between Israel, Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan for pipelines to reach Turkey and thence to Israel's oil terminal at Ashkelon and on to its Red Sea port of Eilat. From there, supertankers can carry the gas and oil to the Far East through the Indian Ocean.
Aware of Moscow's sensitivity on the oil question, Israel offered Russia a stake in the project but was rejected.
Last year, the Georgian president commissioned from private Israeli security firms several hundred military advisers, estimated at up to 1,000, to train the Georgian armed forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery combat tactics. They also offer instruction on military intelligence and security for the central regime. Tbilisi also purchased weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems from Israel.
These advisers were undoubtedly deeply involved in the Georgian army's preparations to conquer the South Ossetian capital Friday.
In recent weeks, Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia, finally threatening a crisis in bilateral relations. Israel responded by saying that the only assistance rendered Tbilisi was defensive.
This has not gone down well in the Kremlin. Therefore, as the military crisis intensifies in South Ossetia, Moscow may be expected to punish Israel for its intervention. DEBKAfile discloses Israel's interest in the conflict from its exclusive military sources: ... more -
YouTube - Vincent Bugliosi on Weapons of Mass Destruction
"Responding to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Vincent Bugliosi shows evidence of the administration lying about WMD and has Steve King looking like his head is going to explode trying to get him to stop during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutional limits of executive power. He makes the point very well that a country having WMD's is not a reason to go to war, but instead whether a country is an eminent threat, and that the CIA said that even if he had WMD, Saddam would not have been a threat to the US. " "Responding to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Vincent Bugliosi shows evidence of the administration lying about WMD and has Steve King ... more
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YouTube - Hearing on Limits of Executive Power: Vincent Bugliosi
"Vincent Bugliosi's opening statements during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutional limits of executive power. " "Vincent Bugliosi's opening statements during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutional limits of executiv... more
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Hot Potato Mash: VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: VINCENT BUGLIOSI: The Prosecution of George W. B...
"On Wednesday, famed Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi spoke to a packed and enthusiastic crowd of more than 350 Angelinos about his new book, “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.” While Bugliosi’s talk will eventually appear on C-SPAN, you can view it first in its entirety..." "On Wednesday, famed Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi spoke to a packed and enthusiastic crowd of more than 350 Angelin... more
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History of Palestine in Maps.
I hope this gives an historical and geopolitical perspective and puts the situation in context. The Arabs and Islam are the oppressors when discussing the problems of the middle east. The tiny nation of Israel just REFUSES to be oppressed any longer by these hostile nations all around them. Israel liberates themselves from 1500 years of Islamic oppression and suddenly they are the oppressors?!!! Man, you got it twisted.... Have you ever taken a look at the map of the middle east? Israel is definitely not the oppressor... I hope this gives an historical and geopolitical perspective and puts the situation in context. The Arabs and Islam are the oppressors... more
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Bush's Blood-Orgy In Somalia
While George Bush was busy railing at Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe at the G-8 summit in Toyako, Japan; his Ethiopian proxy-army in Somalia was grinding out more carnage on the streets of Mogadishu. More than 40 civilians have been killed in the last 48 hours. On Sunday, Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program in Somalia, was shot gangland style as he left a mosque Mogadishu. He died before he reached the hospital with wounds to the head and chest. Ali Ahmed is just the latest of the peace-keepers who have been killed in the ongoing battle between Bush's Ethiopian occupiers and Somali guerrillas.
"I care deeply about the people of Zimbabwe," Bush announced. "And I am extremely disappointed in the election which I labeled a sham election."
Right. Bush's newly-discovered empathy for black people was nowhere in sight during Hurricane Katrina when thousands of African Americans were rounded up at gunpoint and forced into the Superdome without food, water or medical supplies. Nor is it visible in Somalia today where millions of Somalis have been forced to flee their homes and relocate to tent cities in the south because of Bush's support for the Ethiopian army's invasion. The latest surge in violence has been the worst in a decade and the security situation continues to deteriorate despite the arrival of 2,600 troops from the African Union and a tentative truce that was signed in June between some of the warring factions. It should be no great surprize that the western media has stubbornly refused to report on the rising death-toll in Somalia, choosing instead to focus all of their attention on America's "villain du jour", Robert Mugabe. Mugabe is next on the neocon's list for regime change. Neocon Godfather Paul Wolfowitz even composed a postmortem for Zimbabwe's president in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial "How to Put the Heat on Mugabe".
In 2006, the United States supported an alliance of Somali warlords known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) who established a base of operations in the western city of Baidoa. With the help of the US-backed Ethiopian army, western mercenaries, US Navy warships, and AC-130 gunships; the TFG was able capture Mogadishu and force the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and their allies to retreat to the south. But, much like Iraq and Afghanistan, the resistance has coalesced into a tenacious guerrilla army which has returned to the capital and resumed the fight making it impossible for their Ethiopian rivals to govern. As the struggle continues, the humanitarian situation gets worse and worse. At least 2.6 million Somalis are now facing famine due to acute food shortages spurred by a prolonged drought, violence and high inflation. UN monitors have warned that the figure could hit exceed 3.5 million by the end of 2008.
The UN Security Council has played its traditional role as facilitator of American-backed imperial violence by failing to condemn US involvement in Somalia and by promising to send peacekeepers to mop up after violence subsides. The UN has shown no interest in stopping the carnage and have become little more than the glove-hand of the US military; an accomplice to Bush's chronic adventurism. While George Bush was busy railing at Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe at the G-8 summit in Toyako, Japan; his Ethiopian proxy... more -
The rise of food fascism: agrarian elite foment coup in Bolivia
Like many third world countries Bolivia is experiencing food shortages and rising food prices attributable to a global food marketing system driven by multinational agribusiness corporations. With sixty percent of the Bolivian population living in poverty and thirty-three percent in extreme poverty, the price of the basic food canasta--including wheat, rice, corn, soy oil and potatoes, as well as meat—has risen twenty-five percent over the past year with prices gyrating wildly in the local markets.
As in most other countries affected by the food crisis, the overall rise in food prices is attributable to the workings of the free market—when the price of one or several commodities goes up, the consumers turn to other food stuffs, thereby driving up these prices as well. In an effort to halt the effects of this unregulated market, the government has enacted price controls and even prohibited the export of beef, most of which is produced on haciendas. But these measures have been largely ineffective: A black market flourishes as agrarian commercial interests openly flaunt the central government’s price controls, even directly exporting commodities like beef and cooking oil at higher prices to the neighboring countries of Chile and Peru.
This is taking place as Bolivia’s first Indian president, Evo Morales, is facing a sustained challenge by a right wing movement for autonomy that is integrally linked to the very agribusiness corporations that are profiting from the upsurge in food prices. Based in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, a powerful agrarian bourgeoisie is determined to upend the government’s agrarian reform program and to halt Morales’ efforts to more equitably distribute the wealth that flows from Bolivia’s oil and gas fields. Its ultimate goal is to topple Morales and the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) that backs him.
The corporate dominated agro-industrial complex in Santa Cruz is centered on the growing, processing and export of soy beans. Two of the world’s largest agribusiness multinationals, ADM and Cargill, play a major role in the regional economy. They are primarily exporters of Bolivian soybeans and sunflower seeds while ADM co-owns with a Bolivian firm the largest vegetable oil processing plant, Sociedad Aceitera del Oriente. (1) Giant agribusiness corporations like John Deere have commercial outlets in Santa Cruz as Bolivia manufactures no heavy agricultural machinery. Multinational companies supply most of Bolivia’s agrichemicals, while Monsanto and Calgene are promoting genetically modified seeds. Peruvian and Colombian agribusiness interests have also set up processing plants in Santa Cruz, including the Romero Company from Peru which has joint international operations with Cargill, while large soy growers from the neighboring Brazilian state of Mato Grosso have settled on Bolivian lands.
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Multinational agribusiness is desecrating our planet and putting small farmers out of business. It's time for a global boycott of Monsanto, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and all of these companies that have not only practiced food fascism, but also have human rights abuses attached to their resumes in these countries as well. Like many third world countries Bolivia is experiencing food shortages and rising food prices attributable to a global food marketing ... more -
U.S. border agents, lured by the other side
Al otro lado. To the other side. U.S. Customs officers and Border Patrol agents have recently come under the radar of the Department of Homeland Security for accepting financial incentives from smugglers in Mexico. The Homeland Security Department, established in 2003, had dissolved an internal affairs unit at the time, but has since renewed its internal criminal investigation team and is expected to employ 200 investigators by the end of this year in light of recent cases involving customs officers and border agents alleged to have assisted smugglers with illegal immigration trafficking for bribes. In one case, brothers Raul and Fidel Villarreal who worked as U.S. Border Patrol agents have been identified as assisting smugglers help immigrants from Mexico and Brazil enter the United States. Now, the Villarreals have since abandoned their posts and fled to Mexico. Read more in Randal C. Archibold and Andrew Becker's article "U.S. border agents, lured by the other side" (International Herald Tribune, May 27, 2008).
Photo: Customs agents unloading drugs found in Otay Mesa, California. Agents looking the other way instead are an increasing problem. (Sandy Huffaker/The New York Times). Al otro lado. To the other side. U.S. Customs officers and Border Patrol agents have recently come under the radar of the Department o... more -
Bush is trying to impose a colonial status on Iraq
Whatever the Iraq war was about, we were assured, it definitely wasn't about oil. Tony Blair called the idea a "conspiracy theory". It was about democracy and dictatorship, weapons of mass destruction and human rights, anything but oil. Donald Rumsfeld, then US defence secretary, insisted the conflict had "literally nothing to do with oil". When Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, wrote last autumn, "Everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil," he was treated as if he were some senile old gent who'd embarrassingly lost the plot.
That argument is going to be a good deal harder to make from next week, when four of the western world's largest oil corporations are due to sign contracts for the renewed exploitation of Iraq's vast reserves. Initially, these are to be two-year deals to boost production in Iraq's largest oilfields. But not only did the four energy giants - BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total - write their own contracts with the Iraqi government, an unheard-of practice: they have also reportedly secured rights of first refusal on the far more lucrative 30-year production contracts expected once a new US-sponsored oil law is passed, allowing a wholesale western takeover. Big Oil is back with a vengeance.
It's a similar story when it comes to the future of the US occupation itself. The last thing on anyone's mind, we were told when the tanks rolled in, was permanent US control, let alone the recolonisation of Iraq. This was about the Iraqis finally getting a chance to run their own affairs in freedom. But five years on, George Bush and Dick Cheney are putting the screws on their Green Zone government to sign a secret deal for indefinite military occupation, which would effectively reduce Iraq to a long-term vassal state.
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A crime beyond words. Now we will make enemies of the Iraqi people thus prologing this war and the terrorism that goes with it. With a Congress that is totally ineffective in stopping them. So once this is done and should the predicted war in Iran take place, how is any candidate going to promise an end to this by next year? They are already being given more than enough time to make that end impossible. This government has now become the very sort of tyrannical monarchy our forefathers fought to free us from! Benjamin Franklin was quoted as stating, "Now you have a Republic if you can keep it." We are failing those words. These people must be held accountable! Whatever the Iraq war was about, we were assured, it definitely wasn't about oil. Tony Blair called the idea a "conspiracy t... more -
Revealed: secret plan to keep Iraq under US control
Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors.
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Geopolitics
