"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Friday, January 19, 2007

To The Victor Go The Spoils

Recently over at the Second City Cop blog I found myself in the midst of a flame war over, you guessed it, the Team Bush war crimes in Iraq. In this instance the point of contention was whether or not the US occupation of Iraq is imperial in nature. Remarkably there are still at this late stage people who cling to belief that US designs on Iraq were not exploitative from the outset. No evidence appears strong enough to convince these die-hards otherwise.

I know it's useless presenting yet more evidence but I'll make the effort anyway. The following article was written by Antonia Juhasz, visiting scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and chronicles the clear planning and foresight that went into the Team Bush decision to invade Iraq. Juhasz's investigation reveals that the popular perception of the Bush adminstration having occupied Iraq without a plausible plan for success is quite mistaken. Many of the neo-con wet-dreams are rapidly nearing fruition in the region. For example, the Middle East Free Trade Agreement is on fast track and, far more ominously, the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that allows for the virtual theft of Iraq's critical oil resources is firmly in place. I trust you will find The Spoils of War a fascinating read.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You bet. I think it's rather sad when you see how the gung-ho Team Bush supporters who were strutting about and patting each other on the back four years ago when US forces invaded Iraq, are now grasping at any straw they can find which furthers their delusions that the Imbecile-In-Chief still has our nation on the right course--evidence to the contrary be damned.

Stay safe.

PS: I haven't heard from Fillmore lately. I finally got around to responding to him in my "Old Grey Guy" thread (Nov '06) but he hasn't gotten back to me.

Anonymous said...

Talk about an eye-opener! I had a basic idea what Bush & co. were up to,but I had no idea their plan was that diabolical. Corporate greed at it's finest all done with the blessings of Uncle(sugar)Sam. My question is; why haven't any mainstream investigative journalists written any articles about what's happening? Does corporate America have that tight a grip on our media? What about the BBC? I had no idea the oil companies had their hooks that deep in the Iraqi government. It all makes since now. It will take more than a change in the White House to stop what has been put in motion.

Anonymous said...

It's important to remember that the mainstream media companies are for the most part subsidiaries of major corporations and, as a result, will avoid topics that cast a negative light on their patrons.

Major newspapers for example, depend on advertisers for approximately 75% of their revenues and practice a tremendous amount of self-censorship in order to avoid offending them. In no way does this serve the public.

Anonymous said...

Many more to come.