Neocons 'R' Bushed: The Final Days of the PNAC Cabal
by Ingmar Lee*
December 2, 2005
dissidentvoice.org
On November 30, an exhausted looking George Bush, "Commander-in Chief," strutted up to the faux-riveted, banner-emblazoned and Hitleresque war-stump and dictated his latest "Plan for Victory" in Iraq. Apparently, the crotch-strapped President's famous "Mission Accomplished" victory declaration was a little premature because the slaughtering work of spreading freedom in Iraq will not end on his watch without "complete victory." So Bush was back before his favorite audience, this time a fawning full-house of sworn-allegiance, duty-bound, invite-only Naval Academy midshipmen, to explain to the increasingly disgruntled “Land of the Free” how he intends to prosecute his on-going atrocity in Iraq.
In all of America, Bush could not have chosen a less critical, more muzzled and gullible crowd to peddle his pullout from the quagmire. No embarrassing outbursts from this plebeian crowd, only rapturous ovation on every cue. Nevertheless, Bush stumbled immediately by pointing out the military record of his Neocon crony, Rubberstamp Rumsfeld, who was sitting in the audience. This only emphasized to everyone the chickenhawk President's own sorry AWOL military desertion and his "VEEP-for-torture's" five deferments. The cowardly hypocrisy of it all hung in the mind's eye for the duration of the oration. One wonders what went through the minds of the midshipmen, whose "Honor Concept" code of ethics states that "Midshipmen are persons of integrity: who stand for that which is right. They tell the truth and ensure that the full truth is known. They do not lie, cheat or steal." What were they thinking, these future torturers, cluster-bombers, DU and Willy Pete dispensers, as they listened to, and dutifully applauded their Commander-in-Chief?
Here's the nutcase "Plan for Victory" in a nutshell (with emphasis):
1) "... To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge: America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your Commander-in-Chief..." (Applause.)
2) "... We will never back down. We will never give in. And we will never accept anything less than complete victory..." (Applause.)
3) "... And as the Iraqi security forces stand up, coalition forces can stand down -- and when our mission of defeating the terrorists in Iraq is complete, our troops will return home to a proud nation..." (Applause.)
1 and 2 we've already heard ad nauseum, so lets have a look at the standing up and standing down business. Here's a bit of recent history to set the context for Bush's latest brainwave:
Apr. 5, 2004 "... Suddenly the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC), a paramilitary force trained by the Americans, turned on the US soldiers and started to shoot at them instead .The Americans fled their vehicles and began to battle both the Mehdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the ICDC members. Their vehicles were set ablaze..."
Nov. 8, 2004 "... Iraqi battalions fighting alongside Americans during the assault of Fallujah suffered mass desertions. One Iraqi battalion was reduced from 500 men down to 170 -- with 255 members quitting over one weekend..."
Dec. 21, 2004 "... Nineteen US soldiers were killed in a suicide attack inside a massively fortified US military base in Mosul. George W Bush offered his condolences but stressed that troops had a vital mission of peace in Iraq..."
Aug. 8, 2005. "... Iraqi soldiers being trained by US troops inside Taji military base, are afraid to set foot outside.” We’re all afraid. I can't go outside the base wearing these military clothes." "We all know soldiers who notice people photographing them with mobile phones and being followed," said a Shiite Muslim from Amara..."
Sept. 29, 2005 "... The number of Iraqi battalions capable of combat without U.S. support has dropped from three to one, the top American commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, told Congress Thursday, prompting Republicans to question whether U.S. troops will be able to withdraw next year..."
Oct. 03, 2005 "... The Senate heard testimony from America's generals, including top General George Casey, that only 1 out of 119 Iraqi army and security battalions are able to operate in combat situations without U.S. military backup. The generals' testimony meant that after two and a half years of U.S. efforts, only 750 men out of 200,000 can be relied upon to operate and obey orders independently in combat situations..."
But according to Bush's Plan for Victory, just two months later:
"... Now, there are over 120 Iraqi Army and Police combat battalions in the fight against the terrorists -- typically comprised of between 350 and 800 Iraqi forces. Of these, about 80 Iraqi battalions are fighting side by side with coalition forces, and about 40 others are taking the lead in the fight. Most of these 40 battalions are controlling their own battle space, and conducting their own operations against the terrorists with some coalition support -- and they're helping to turn the tide of this struggle in freedom's favor. America and our troops are proud to stand with the brave Iraqi fighters." (Applause.)
Are Americans going to buy this latest Bush bullshit? In Bush's simple mind, Iraqi and American GI's will soon be hobnobbing, chowin' down burgers and sippin’ brewskis like buds as they rampage around Iraq together. Newly befriended freedom-fighting troops will be hangin' poolside down at Saddam's palace and doing some fishing in the custom-built and stocked manmade lakes, before marauding out on patrol to go shoot up some rag-head terrorists. Iraq will then blossom into freedom and democracy, the oil-spigot will be cranked on full bore, the glorious troops will come home and we'll get yet another "Mission Accomplished" extravaganza.
Readers are reminded that America's dreadful blunder into Iraq represents a major plank in the shameless Weltanschauung of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) global-domination scheme. Here are PNAC's guiding principles, set out in 1997:
* we need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future;
* we need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values;
* we need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad;
* we need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.
The Neocons conclude with "Such a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity may not be fashionable today. But it is necessary if the United States is to build on the successes of this past century and to ensure our security and our greatness in the next."
PNAC is comprised of many familiar faces in the Bush regime incuding Elliott Abrams, John Bolton, Jeb Bush, Linda Chavez, Dick Cheney, Zalmay Khalilzad, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol, I. Lewis Libby, Clifford May, Richard Perle, Daniel Pipes, Dan Quayle, Donald Rumsfeld, William Schneider Jr., Paul Wolfowitz and Robert B. Zoellick, to name a few of its brightest lights.
This is the sneering, war-mongering, world-domineering, power-tripping clique of the Neocon cabal, the psychopathic architects and miserable masterminds of the unwinnable Iraq catastrophe. But they've blown it, the naked stupidity of their Commander-in-Chief is exposed and America will pay. The Neocon scheme is exhausted, Bushed.
bushed // adj. 3 Cdn informal (of a person) a living in the bush b crazy; insane (due to isolation ). 4 Austral. & NZ informal lost or confused.
-- The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
*Ingmar Lee is a British Columbia treeplanter and primeval forest-protection activist. He writes from Pondicherry India. He can be reached at: ingmarz@gmail.com. |
