don't forget our President said in his speech in March that when we go into Iraq, we are going there because Saddam Hussein has harbored, trained and funded terrorists, including those connected to al-Qaeda. If we are going to attack a nation and occupy it because of a connection to al-Qaeda, which never appeared, then what are we doing with Saudi Arabia? They are effectively occupying us financially. We have become a financial colony of the petro-fanatics.
BUZZFLASH: In the lead-up to Iraq, the Bush administration, primarily through spokespeople, went out of its way to divert attention from the Saudi relationship and to project it on Iraq by claiming Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda. The majority of Americans thought and perhaps still think that the majority of hijackers were Iraqi. And on top of that, [Paul] Wolfowitz, about a month ago or so, admitted in an interview that one of the reasons practically for declaring the war with Iraq a success was it would allow the U.S. to move its Air Force stations from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, which was one of the two main requests of--
PALAST: --Mr. bin Laden.
BUZZFLASH: Mr. bin Laden. So Wolfowitz basically conceded that we conducted a war in part to make a concession to Osama bin Laden and take the heat off of the Saudi Arabia.
PALAST: One of the most stunning things is that while our President did his little Top-Gun, Tom-Cruise number, landing on the ship and running around in that flight suit with his parachute clips around his crotch so he looked like the first chimp in space, at the same time he’s announcing we’re pulling our troops out of Saudi Arabia. And this is stunning – - America doesn't pull its troops out of anywhere. The people of Okinawa have been asking us to leave there for a half a century. World War II is over. We never, ever leave a nation.
The only time we have done it in American history is at the request of Osama bin Laden. In other words, our President got down on his knees and said: Oh, dear Osama, we will do whatever the hell you want.
There is a problem with bargaining with terrorists in that manner. The President can run around in a chimp space suit all he wants, but when he gave into terrorist demands, their answer was pretty clear. They bombed Riyadh a week later. And the reason they did that is that Bush tried to bargain with them indirectly a little bit. Bush said we’re pulling out all our troops, but we’re leaving 500 U.S. specialized troops in Saudi Arabia. And in effect, these 500 troops becomes a Praetorian Guard to protect the royal family.
BUZZFLASH: And so you’re saying the bombing was basically al-Qaeda saying, no, it’s all out.
PALAST: Yeah, they’re saying "that ain't the deal, George." You start bargaining with terrorists, and their method of negotiation is to blow people to pieces. And this is why you don't do it. This is the problem of having a draft dodger as Commander in Chief. |
