In the chaos of Iraq, one project is on target: a giant US embassy - World - Times Online
(Photo - not the US Embassy in Iraq, but Kew Palace, the Palace of Mad King George III of England.)
The one aspect of the “Iraq Reconstruction” that is on time and under budget is the building of the new 104 acre US Embassy complex in
Bagdad, which the Bagdadi’s refer to as “George W’s Palace”.
The US Embassy in Iraq is nearly as large as Vatican City, and will feature the largest swimming pool in Iraq, as well a movie theatres, a shopping mall and food court, and its own electrical generating plant and water pumping capacity. At 104 acres the US embassy under construction is nearly 6 times the size of the White House complex in Washington DC, and will be the largest embassy in the world.
Despite the political cover about bringing “Freedom” to Iraq, as is so often the case, our commitment to “Freedom” only applies to situations where involvement is conducive to US strategic (read business) interests. Mr. Bush’s commitment to spreading Freedom and Democracy seems to fail him utterly in dealing with the genocide in Darfur. The Bush administration's real aim with this war was to create a thinly veiled US protectorate in the Middle East to ensure the flow of oil into the 21st century.
There will likely be an ongoing series of oil wars in this century as the world competes more and more for finite petroleum resources. China and India’s populations are growing at an exponential rate, and much of the third world is industrializing rapidly as well. All of this will place greater and greater importance on keeping oil flowing to maintain US strategic dominance. (One thing the Bush family understands all too well is ruthlessness in the preservation of empire.)
What is not being adequately addressed is the impact in furthering and fostering terrorism that Bush policy is having. The annual State Department report on Terrorism documents a threefold increase in the number of terrorist incidents worldwide in the past year, with most of the increases related to the war in Iraq. While statistical methods account for some of the difference – it is clear nonetheless that Bush’s war is making the world a far more dangerous place.
The primary reason Osama Bin Laden declared Jihad against the US is the presence of US Troops in Saudi Arabia. Bush has now laid the groundwork for a permanent US base in another Middle Eastern country. (The military is also building extensive “temporary” forward bases in Iraq.) Bear in mind that the “temporary” forward bases built in Europe and the Philippines during reconstruction after WWI are still operating nearly fifty years later.
Bush has also imprisoned and tortured hundreds of Muslims without charges or trial, many of whom the military and state department have now determined are not, nor ever were terrorists. This is breeding growing resentment toward the US worldwide, and assures a constant supply of disaffected people willing to engage in terrorist attacks in desperation.
Imagine if we had a leader of vision, who had the courage to allocate even a portion of the 811 billion this war is costing to development of energy alternatives. Imagine also if the US had spent that money building wells and helping the poor around the world to become self sufficient, rather than propping up vile and corrupt tribal empires who abuse their own people to enrich themselves and their corporate lackeys in the US. We would have been able to retire the terrorists permanently when their funding from oil sales dried up.
The Bush administration speaks of spreading democracy, yet continues to protect, fund and defend some of the vilest oligarchies in the world.
Pope Visits Nazi Death Camp - Los Angeles Times: "'In a place like this, words fail,' Benedict said later at a memorial ceremony in Birkenau. 'In the end, there can only be a dread silence, a silence which is itself a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent?"
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