Oil - behind the tough talk on Iraq
afr.com
"Oil - behind the tough talk on Iraq" by Peter Hartcher in Washington
US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had only been speaking to the Congressional committee for a minute or two when his prim schoolmaster's delivery was interrupted by the loud female voice from the back of the room.
Rumsfeld was there to persuade the US Congress to support the Bush Administration's march on Baghdad to forcibly disarm Saddam Hussein.
"Mr Rumsfeld," called the middle-aged woman from the public gallery, "I think we need weapons inspections, not war. Why are you obstructing the inspections? Is this really about oil?"
She and her two companions, after a brief moment of chanting "Inspections, not war!" were quickly led outside by security. Rumsfeld congratulated the US on the precious gift of free speech then proceeded with his testimony.
And in the next three and a half hours' of discussion and argumentation with the committee of legislators on Wednesday, that uncomfortable issue, the small word that describes so vast a subject, was not raised again, except tangentially.
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