Bush recruits Saddam’s thugs
Now we learn that the Bush administration plans to recruit former agents of Saddam’s internal security apparatus to help the precarious U.S. occupation defend itself against a growing Iraqi insurgency. Freedom loving Iraqis will spit at this cynical maneuver. It’s difficult to imagine how the White House will get out of the Iraqi vortex in any decent political shape for next year’s election. Bush is quickly losing the public’s confidence. There’s already a widespread sentiment in favor of bringing the troops home now. Democrats and the press smell blood.
A mere four months after the supposed end of the war, more than two-thirds of Americans polled think the U.S. has entered a “quagmire” in Iraq, one that will last for many years and be very expensive in dollars and lives. The people are beginning to understand how monstrously we’ve been misled into an unnecessary and counter productive war. Unless America is subject to another terrorist attack, Bush will probably be thrown out of office by the voters next year, if he hasn’t already been impeached. Until that time, Iraqis will have to deal with a U.S. occupation that will be abetted by some of Saddam’s most fearsome thugs.
Cord MacGuire
Boulder CO
Military-industrial-complex
I read your article titled “White House and Wall Street treason” (8/23), in which you mention the Bush administration’s personal and financial links to companies that have profited from the war in Iraq.
One additional corporation that never gets mentioned is Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). They are a San Diego corporation that receives two-thirds of its operating budget from the feds, mainly the Pentagon.
SAIC is heavily involved in Iraq. They also are the second biggest donor to the UC San Diego Engineering Department and have endowed two faculty chairs there. The military/corporate axis needs to be understood as the military/corporate/university axis much more clearly because the privatization of public universities is just about complete.
Rosalio Munoz
via e-mail
PWW/NM a high priority
I was a professional computer programmer until May 2001 when my company closed. After 24 years of work, the field is deceased. I went into real estate last year, so technically I’m unemployed. I guess something will sell eventually. But I wouldn’t give up the PWW for anything! Enclosed is my check for a two-year renewal.
Bruce Rifkin
Wanaque NJ
Bush photo-ops in Africa
Your report on the Bush visit to Africa mentioned his realized need to gain more of the African American vote in 2004. That was behind many of his tactics during the tour and it had nothing to do with reaching out to that beleaguered continent. In that light, very little was made in the U.S. press that, when Bush’s party reached South Africa, former president Nelson Mandela just happened to be out of town and was therefore not available for Bush’s planned photo-ops. Mandela’s colleagues said he did not want to give the upcoming Bush campaign the opportunities to brandish the photos to manipulate the U.S. voters with such a charade. We can expect, however, many more shenanigans by the Bush people. Our only weapon is to stay alert and remind our neighbors and friends to be on their toes.
Don Sloan
New York NY
Communism and religion
I wish to correct a common misconception that all those who believe in the principles of Communism are atheists. This is simply untrue – I happen to believe in a Creator and the doctrines of Communism. I hold an M.A. in Biblical Studies. When Moses was given the Law, he was instructed to have special care for the average worker and the poor. Gleaning, the gathering of the grain, was done to a point of leaving a good proportion for the needy. Christ in his teachings stressed that: “A worker is deserving of his wages.” And that “You will always have the poor among you.” If we truly analyze the “Sermon on the Mount,” we will see that care for the common people and love for the common poor was strongly encouraged. The religious leaders accused him of “sitting with sinners.”
Would we rather have a cruel tyranny or a system of having property for all and in common? All that is needed is the use of common sense.
Jad A. Ghanem
Tucson AZ
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