Read
Why It Happened!
Dime's
Worth of Difference:
Beyond the
Lesser of Two Evils
Order Here!
Today's
Stories
December
4 / 6, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Politicize the CIA? You've Got to
be Kidding
December
3, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Lie Then Escalate
Ben
Tripp
Fun With Boycotts: How to Shop in a
Time of Crisis
Joe
Allen
Murder in El Salvador: the Assassination of Teamster Organizer
Gilberto Soto
Matthew
B. Riley
Human Rights Court Fails Lori Berenson
Meir
Shalev
In the End, It is the Violin that Wins
Bob
Wing
The White Elephant in the Room: Race and Election 2004
Christopher
Brauchli
When McCain Bit His Tongue
Sasan
Fayazmanesh
The EU, the US, Israel and Iran
December
2, 2004
Tito
Tricot
No Justice in Chile: I'm a Torture
Survivor in a Country Where Torturers Still Run Free
Behzad
Yaghmaian
The Murder of Theo Van Gogh and Muslim Migration
Dr.
Susan Block
Lana and Me: Meetings with Remarkable Apes
Frank
/ Chowkwanyun
Liberalism and Its Bounds
Lee
Sustar
Standoff in Ukraine: the Bad v. the Corrupt
Patrick
Cockburn
Another Grim Record in Iraq
Mark
Engler
Seattle at Five
Michael
Donnelly
Something Stinks in South Bend: the Firing of Tyrone Willingham
Nate
Collins
The Bay Area Mall on an Ohlone Burial Grounds
Saul
Landau
The Assassination of Danilo Anderson
December
1, 2004
Phillip
Cryan
Associated with Whom? Rightist Bias
in Wire Coverage of Colombia
Dave
Zirin
What's the Matter with "Leon"?:
Budweiser's Racist Commercial
Ghali
Hassan
Iraq's Health Care Under the Occupation:
200 Children Die Every Day
Donna
J. Volatile
Beware Western Nations Threatening "Democracy"
Patrick
Cockburn
How Saddam Tried to Arm the Insurgency
Nick
Meo
Chemical War Over Afghanistan
Mike
Ferner
The Battle of Toledo
Mokhiber
/ Weissman
Shame and Determination on Global AIDS Day: 40 Million and Rising
Kathy
Kelly
Looking the Other Way: the Real Crimes
of the UN in Iraq
November
30, 2004
Jennifer
Van Bergen
The Veil of Secrecy
Toni
Nelson Herrera
Meeting Kurtz: When Art is a Crime
Paul
Craig Roberts
The Bush Delusions: Successful at Incompetence
Patrick
Cockburn
The Insurgency Strikes Back: There Are No Safe Havens in Iraq
Chuck
Munson
WTO Protests Five Years Later: Seattle Weekly Trashes Anti-Globalization
Movement
Adam
Williams
Citizenship Sold: Back to Business in Indiana
Gregory
Elich
A Dangerous Turn in the US Plans for
North Korea
Website
of the Day
Read Lynne Cheney's Lesbian Novel Online!
November
29, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Blowback in Ukraine: The Hand of
the CIA?
Omar
Barghouti
"The Pianist" of Palestine:
Roadblock Concerto at Gunpoint
Mike
Whitney
The US Media and Fallujah: How to
Market a Siege
Uri
Avnery
The Abu Mazen Style: "Give Me
Some Credit!"
Matt
Vidal
Globalization and Economic Inequality: a Look at the Numbers
Patrick
Cockburn
An Interview with Iraq's Foreign
Minister
Alan
Farago
Sex Change and Salvation: God, Girly Men and Endocrine Disrupters
Justin
Huggler
Bhopal 20 Years Later
Antony
Loewenstein
How Australia Reported Arafat's Death and Legacy
Gary
Leupp
Ukraine: Poll Results Aren't the Real
Issue
Website
of the Day
Mosul: Images from a Kill Zone
November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
November
26, 2004
Peter
Feng
Gavin Newsom: Man or Machine?
Greg
Moses
It's the White Vote, Stupid
Liaquat
Ali Khan
The Devil's Work: Bush's Minority Appointments
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should Be Banned from Canada: a Memo to the Ministry
of Immigration
Dave
Lindorff
Nation of Sheep, Turkey of an Election: Urkrainians Show the
Way
Gary
Corseri
When Black Friday Comes...
Paul
Craig Roberts
Whatever Happened to Conservatives?
Website
of the Day
Iraq Pipeline Watch
November
25, 2004
Willliam
Loren Katz
Giving Thanks to Whom?: "Thanks
to God We Sent 600 Heathen Souls to Hell Today"
Mitchel
Cohen
Why I Hate Thanksgiving
Mike
Ferner
An Uncommon Mom
November
24, 2004
Gila
Svirsky
License to Kill: the Example of Violence
is Set by the State
Winslow
T. Wheeler
The
Other Mess in Congress
Christopher
Brauchli
The Company He Keeps: the Syndicate of Tom Delay
Dave
Lindorff
Double Standards on Exit Polls: Hypocrisy Sans Irony
Ron
Jacobs
The Occupation of Iraq is the Root of t he Problem
Ken
Sengupta
Witnesses: War Crimes in Fallujah
Diana
Barahona
The Final Holocaust or Why I Voted for Ralph Nader
John
L. Hess
Safire the Shameless
Jason
Leopold
Did Harvard Hire (Another) War Criminal?
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The Mark of McCain: the Senator Most Likely to Start a Nuclear
War
Map
of the Day
Now and Then: 2004 v. 1860
November
23, 2004
Forrest
Hylton
Bush and Uribe at the Beach
November
22, 2004
Dave
Zirin
Fight Night in the NBA: Selective Outrage
in Detroit
Paul
Craig Roberts
On to Iran: We Won't Get Fooled Again?
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should be Banned from Canada
Kathie
Helmkamp
Our Son: a Marine Who Won't Kill
Ken
Sengupta
The Triangle of Death: "This is Now the Most Dangerous Place
in Iraq"
Mike
Whitney
Greenspan's Hammer
Roger
Burbach
Why They Hate Bush in Chile
Website
of the Day
Fed Up with Government Lies and Corporate Spin?
November
20 / 21, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
The Poisoned Chalice
Todd
May
Religion, the Election and the Politics of Fear
Abbas
Ahmed Ibrahim
The Horrors of Fallujah: a First-Hand Account
Kevin
Zeese
Mishandling Nader
Landau
/ Hassen
After Arafat
Tom
Barry
The Vulcans Consolidate Power: The Rise of Stephen Hadley
Fred
Gardner
Pot Shots: Ask Dr. Todd
Justin
E.H. Smith
Triumph of the Will: the Sequel
Carl
Estabrook
Where We Are Now
Gary
Leupp
Imperial History-Making vs. Reality-Based Thought: a Dialogue
Dave
Lindorff
Apocalypse Soon
Jenna
Michelle Liut
Plans Colombia and Patriota: Wanton Wastes of Money, Manpower
and Lives
Mickey
Z.
The Granma Moses of Radical Writing: an Interview with William
Blum
Greg
Moses
The Same Old Struggle Against Imperial America
Sharon
Smith
Abortion Rights and the Election: What Now?
Ron
Jacobs
Sandwiches and Car Bombs
Ben
Tripp
Raising d'Etre: Finding Money in Hollywood These Days
Richard
Oxman
Basketbrawl Two Pointer: Iraq Rules!
Gilad
Atzmon
Politics and Jazz
Poets'
Basement
LaMorticella, Albert, Ford, & Anon.
Website
of the Day
Voice of the Forest
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante
Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click
Here for More Stories.
|
Weekend Edition
December 4 / 6, 2004
A Pathetic Charade
Democracy,
Bush-style, in the Gulf
By
BRIAN CLOUGHLEY
Please prepare for a laugh. Here is
Bush on an electioneering junket talking to US soldiers about
Iraq on June 5, 2003: "Criminal courts are now reopening.
Day by day, the United States and our coalition partners are
making the streets safer for Iraqi citizens. We also understand
that a more just political system will develop when people have
food in their stomachs, and their lights work, and they can turn
on a faucet and they can find some clean water - things that
Saddam did not do for them . . . We recently found two mobile
biological weapons facilities which were capable of producing
biological agents. [Saddam Hussein] spent decades hiding tools
of mass murder. He knew the inspectors were looking for them.
You know better than me he's got a big country in which to hide
them. We're on the look. We'll reveal the truth."
Here he goes again, on November
6, 2003, saying that "dictators in Iraq and Syria"
have "left a legacy of torture, oppression, misery and ruin
. . . the regime in Tehran must heed the democratic demands
of the Iranian people, or lose its last claim to legitimacy".
But, he said, some governments "in the region" were
"beginning to see the need for change", citing Morocco,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Yemen. (I didn't know Morocco was in
the region of Iraq, as it is a North African country whose capital,
Rabat, is 3000 miles from Baghdad which is the same distance
as is Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, which isn't exactly
"in the region" ; but you learn something new every
day.)
We might as well ignore the
deliberate lie by the President of the United States of America
about the non-existent "mobile biological weapons facilities",
which, with other malicious falsehoods, was brushed aside by
59 million people who voted for this deceitful charlatan, and
also pass over the plain fact that streets in the capital of
Iraq are not "safer for Iraqi citizens" but are deathtraps
for US troops and Iraqi citizens alike, and that clean water
and electricity are like gasoline and justice because they are
almost unobtainable. So let us consider the Bush yearning for
a "just political system" and "democracy"
in Iraq and in the Middle East, where he imagines Morocco to
be.
The only country in the Middle
East that is officially regarded as a democracy is Israel. In
that unhappy land the blood-stained word 'Democracy' disguises
ethnic cleansing and brutal repression to a degree that would
excite the approval of Hitler, Mao and Stalin. In the gallant
Israeli army they shoot kids in the name of freedom. Here is
the transcript of an exchange of evil, as broadcast on Israel's
Channel Two TV: "The observation post replies: "It's
a little girl. She's running defensively eastwards, a girl of
about 10. She's behind the embankment, scared to death."
It was not until four minutes later that it was reported that
the girl had been hit and had fallen. The observation post reports:
"Receive ; I think that one of the positions took her out."
Operations room: "What, she fell?" Observation post:
"She's not moving right now." The tape later records
the commander as telling his men after [himself] unleashing a
burst of automatic gunfire at the corpse of the girl and declaring
he has "confirmed" the killing: "Anyone who's
mobile, moving in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs
to be killed"." A Nazi SS man could not have put
it more despicably. Democracy, anyone?
Most other countries in the
Middle East are absolute autocracies, but to my knowledge their
soldiers haven't actually murdered ten year-old girls as a matter
of state policy. Nevertheless they have no intention whatever
of letting there be anything so quaint (to use a word favored
by the new US Attorney General concerning human rights) as one
man one vote. And as for one woman, one vote: forget it,
for ever.
Let's begin with Qatar, described
in glowing terms by that great supporter and imposer of democracy,
George W Bush, as "a great friend to the United States".
Qatar is the country where
the ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, deposed his father
in a coup in 1995. "Since then", says the State Department,
"the Emir has announced his intention for Qatar to move
toward democracy and has permitted a free and open press and
municipal elections as a precursor to parliamentary elections
expected to occur in 2005."
Excuse me while I fall about
laughing. The man has had ten years to introduce democracy
and has yet to hold elections for a parliament in a country with
744,000 citizens, which is about the same population as Columbus,
Ohio. (And do we imagine that a Qatari parliament, even if elections
are held, will be empowered to make decisions contrary to those
of the supreme ruler? Yes ; I believe in the Tooth Fairy, too.)
In the farcical but extremely
lucrative family arrangement that purports to be a government
in Qatar the supreme authority is Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa Al
Thani. The prime minister, deputy prime minister, first deputy
prime minister, the ministers of communications, defense, foreign
affairs, economy, housing and interior, and six ministers of
state are named Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani,
Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani,
Al Thani, Al Thani, Al Thani and Al Thani. And of course all
of them will give up their massive incomes and trappings of power
to an elected parliament next year, just when the pigs fly past
their gaudy palaces.
Bush demands that Iraq should
be a democracy within two years of his invasion of the country.
He demands that Syria should be a democracy. Why does he not
demand that Qatar should be a democracy?
The answer lies in the oil.
The State Department says that Qatar and the US "enjoy
extensive economic links, especially in the hydrocarbons sector,"
which is Bush propaganda-speak for oil and gas, and tells us
that "Ties between the US and Qatar are excellent and marked
by frequent senior-level consultations in Doha and Washington.
Amir Hamad [Al Thani] visited Washington in May 2003 and President
Bush went to Qatar in June." And of course Mr Al Thani
hosts HQ CENTCOM, a massive offshoot of the Pentagon that controls
US military operations and the rapidly-growing number of military
bases throughout the Middle East and Central Asia that are never
talked about in mainstream US media.
So we have been given the message.
Qatar could have elections in a New York heartbeat if the supreme
ruler wanted them to happen, but he need not fear democracy
in his country because, as Washington so coyly has it, there
are "extensive links in the hydrocarbons sector" and
HQ CENTCOM can't move anywhere else without enormous logistical
problems. Nobody imagines for a moment that Bush is going to
insist on democracy in feudal Qatar. The man is a humbug.
Then there is Kuwait. According
to the State Department : "Political parties: None; formal
political parties are banned, although de facto political blocs
exist . . . There are no executive branch elections; the Amir
is hereditary; [the] prime minister and deputy prime ministers
are appointed by the Amir, His Highness Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad
al-Jabir Al Sabah."
This is the country which the
US went to help in the name of democracy in 1991. Its government,
like that of Qatar, is a family affair. The Crown Prince is
of course an Al Sabah; and the prime minister, first deputy prime
minister and ministers of interior, defense, foreign affairs,
transport, communications, energy and oil, and social affairs
as well as the governor of the central bank and ambassador to
Washington are named Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah,
Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah, Al Sabah and
Al Sabah.
The Amir has had since 1992
to establish democracy, or even a semblance of it. He hasn't
even tried to do so. He never will.
Bush demands that Iraq should
be a democracy within two years of his invasion of the country.
He demands that Iran become a democracy right now. Why does
he not demand that Kuwait become a democracy right now?
The answer lies in oil and
military equipment money: "US military sales to Kuwait
total $6.8 billion since 1992. The United States is currently
Kuwait's largest supplier of goods and services . . . The Kuwaiti
dinar is a strong currency pegged to a basket of currencies in
which the U.S. dollar has the most weight", says State,
and "Kuwait has about 96.5 billion barrels of recoverable
oil; only Saudi Arabia and Iraq have larger proven reserves".
That's why Kuwait's monarch is under no pressure whatever from
Bush to even consider democracy.
Further engagement by Bush
concerning the spread of democracy is evident at the end of the
Gulf where there are the seven mini-states of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) which the State Department informs us ".
. . has no political parties. There is talk of steps toward
democratic government, but nothing concrete has emerged. The
rulers hold power on the basis of their dynastic position and
their legitimacy in a system of tribal consensus." Democracy,
anyone? I won't bore you with the list of the UAE government,
which is divided between the families of Al Nahyan (or Nuhayyan
; Washington can't quite make up its mind about the spelling),
who are the rulers of Abu Dhabi (6 ministers), and Al Maktoum
(or Maktum ; ditto), the rulers of Dubai (4 ministers), with
a few others thrown in to placate the other five Emirates.
The UAE is efficiently run
and seems a happy enough country, providing you are not a Filipino
domestic slave/servant or interested in democracy or the rights
of women or other silly things. Dubai is a rich and thriving
place of outstanding kitsch and vulgarity and is a popular destination
for tourists who like that sort of thing, and I always fly Emirates,
which is one of the world's best airlines, and stop in Dubai
for a day or two en route from New Zealand to Europe or the Sub-continent.
(And enjoy a good bottle of claret while dining in this Islamic
country.)
But don't let's kid ourselves
that there is ever going to be freedom to vote in the UAE. The
last ruler died November 2, and Bush sent this kind message:
"The United States mourns the passing of a great friend
of our country, Shaykh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahayan". [Nahyan?
Nuhayyan? - just when is Washington going to agree on Anglicized
spellings of Arab names? Little wonder they can't trace terrorists
by name when they have at least three different official spellings
for the name of a head of state].
Then Bush informed us that
the dead autocrat was ". . . an elder statesman, and a
close ally. He and his fellow rulers built their federation
into a prosperous, tolerant, and well-governed state."
And Colin Powell echoed him: "Sheikh Zayed [or Zayid ;
there we go again] was a friend. He stood both at home and abroad
as a symbol of benevolent and wise leadership characterized by
generosity, tolerance, and avid pursuit of development and modernization."
Modernization, eh? And tolerance as well. Now that is really
amazing, considering that Colin Powell's own State Department
tells us the place "has no political parties. There is
talk of steps toward democratic government, but nothing concrete
has emerged." Does Washington have a different definition
of "tolerance" to the rest of us?
There is not a word about democracy
in the UAE, but who bothers about democracy when "US President
George W Bush received here [Washington] yesterday evening Sheikh
Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan [or Nahayan or Nuhayyan ; whatever],
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs . . . President Bush
hailed UAE-US relations, citing as an example the visit of Sheikh
Hamdan to the US and the subsequent outcome of the meetings of
the joint committees between the two countries." And the
State Department explains all the lovey-dovey stuff by saying:
"The United States has enjoyed friendly relations with
the UAE since 1971. Private commercial ties, especially in petroleum,
have developed into friendly government-to-government ties which
include security assistance . . . The air force is currently
awaiting an expected 2005 delivery of 80 advanced US F-16 multirole
fighter aircraft." Which they need like a hole in the head
; but never mind, it's only US citizens' petroleum taxes that
pay for them.
As long as it has oil for Washington
and buys F-16s the UAE is keeping the world safe for democracy.
It doesn't matter that democracy doesn't exist in the country
itself, because it will continue to receive every bit of support
from Bush no matter what it does. As it happens, I think that
benevolent autocracy as it applies in the UAE is what suits the
country (apart from total lack of women's rights) ; it's better
than rule by a bunch of corrupt and decadent knaves who chop
off people's hands and heads, as happens in Saudi, and much
better than the chaos that would apply if the mullahs got into
power. And the army doesn't shoot ten year-old girls, as in Israel.
But don't let's have all this crap from Bush about democracy.
* *
*
I had to do some fact-checking
about Bahrain, that little island half-way up the Gulf that is
connected to Saudi Arabia by a causeway. It is an Islamic country,
but like many of them in its region is not averse to alcohol
and prostitution. Here is the Washington Post on the subject
of the link between Bahrain and its neighbor. "Saudi Arabia
may consider itself a guardian of the Islamic faith and may officially
adhere to Islam's ban on alcohol, but Saudis aren't necessarily
abstemious. Many rely on their more permissive neighbor [Bahrain]
as their outlet for fun Every year, more than 2.5 million Saudis
cross the 15-mile Causeway that has connected the two countries
since 1987." In fact Bahrain is a large dose of humbug,
just as is the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia whose privileged,
vulgar and debauched princelings are the Islamic world's biggest
consumers of Scotch whisky and vodka.
But the reason I had to do
a bit of checking about Bahrain was that in November 2003 Bush
spoke at the National Endowment for Democracy and "praised
Bahrain's steps towards democracy, saying that Bahrainis last
year elected their own Parliament for the first time in nearly
three decades."
That seemed straightforward,
although a bit puzzling to anyone who knows anything about the
region. The country, according to the President of the United
States, was taking "steps towards democracy" and its
citizens "elected their own parliament" in 2002.
Wonderful. But then I read what the State Department had to
say about Bahrain in November 2004, and it was just a bit different:
"Bahrain: Political parties: None. Formal parties are
banned but political societies have been formally sanctioned
since 2001." Parliament? Democracy? How can the Bush
claim about "steps towards democracy" possibly stand
up against the facts? Is the man insane? Or is it that he
is majestically ignorant of world affairs and just reads out
what his minders give him to spout?
Certainly Bush does not disapprove
in any way of Bahrain, because a White House press release told
us that "President Bush will welcome King Hamad Bin Isa
Bin Salman Al-Khalifa of Bahrain to Washington for a working
visit on November 29, 2004. The meeting marks the continuation
of the long friendship between the United States and Bahrain."
Then it was announced that
"His Majesty King Hamad arrived at Andrews Air Base last
night at the start of a visit to the United States in which he
will become the first Arab leader to meet President George W
Bush since his re-election as US president". You will have
noted that the ruler who does nor permit political parties in
his feudal country is called Al-Khalifa. So are the prime minister,
the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (the crown prince),
the two deputy prime ministers, and the ministers of defense,
foreign affairs, interior, oil (surprise!), justice, electricity
and water, housing and transport, as well as the chairman of
the Bahrain monetary agency, the governor of the Bahrain monetary
agency, and, last but far from least, the ambassador to the
United States.
Little wonder Bush is so effusive
about the Al-Khalifa mob, because the State Department tells
us: "US-Bahraini economic ties have grown steadily since
1932, when Americans participated in the development of Bahrain's
oil industry. Bahrain is a regional base for numerous American
banks and firms. The U.S. and Bahrain signed a free trade agreement
(FTA) in September 2004." And it so happens that the HQ
of the US Sixth Fleet is in Bahrain, and that this country of
660,000 people (the same number of citizens as Memphis, Tennessee
in an area a quarter the size of Rhode Island), has been designated
a Major Non-Nato Ally, giving it access to all sorts of military
goodies that can be given to them without Congressional oversight,
not that that matters anymore.
So the despot Hamad Al-Khalifa,
this complete autocrat, the ruler who does not permit political
parties to exist in his totally undemocratic country, was the
first Arab leader to meet Bush after the US presidential election.
This mark of favor and approval has been warmly welcomed by
all feudal rulers in the Middle East (and probably elsewhere)
who are now assured that they will be backed to the hilt by Bush,
provided they always back Bush to the hilt. And there wasn't
a peep from the White House about "democracy" during
the visit of a man who has no intention of permitting democracy
in his country. Bush didn't even mention the word. All that
appears on the White House website about the visit is a photograph
of the two grinning potentates captioned "President George
W Bush welcomes His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa [sic: see Isa,
above, from the White House] Al Khalifa of Bahrain". But
confused old Colin Powell told reporters November 29 that he
and Mr Al-Khalifa "talked about the commitment that we
all have to help the Iraqis have their election on the 30th of
January as scheduled. And we're all working toward that end."
Are we on the same planet?
The United States of America is "working toward" holding
an election for Iraqis in January, with the "commitment"
of a total monarch who is about as democratic as King George
the Fourth. The State Department tells us that the king of Bahrain
is the "Executive" who has a "Council of Ministers
(cabinet) appointed by the King and headed by the Prime Minister."
And these are the people who are helping the United States
of America to help the Iraqis have a democratic election. This
is the country about which the State Department informs us:
"Political parties: None. Formal parties are banned
but political societies have been formally sanctioned since 2001."
Stop laughing. Please stop
laughing . . . . .
* *
*
A Pentagon report completed
in September but not released until well after the US presidential
election (and then only after the New York Times published parts
of it) is actually critical of US policy regarding the Bush
Doctrine on Democracy. Its authors can be expected to be consigned
to outer darkness, because nobody, but nobody, can criticize
Bush and expect to stay anywhere near his Administration, but
they observed sagely that:
"when American public
diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies,
this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy . . . In
the eyes of Muslims, [the] American occupation of Afghanistan
and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos
and suffering."
This wise and accurate summation
was by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board, a body that I had
formerly considered a bunch of pro-Bush patsies. (Sorry, people:
I misjudged you terribly. I offer my sincere apologies.)
The killer punch from these
distinguished analysts (or bunch of disloyal creeps, as the Bush
people are saying) is the assessment that Muslim peoples in such
places as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries actually want
"to be liberated perhaps from what they see as apostate
tyrannies that the US so determinedly promotes and defends".
You said it all, Defense Science
Board. You are a bastion of common sense, reality and decency.
You know that the Bush democracy campaign is a cynical swindle,
and that all that Bush and his military-industrial empire care
for is domination. And you are aware that if a country's undemocratic
ruler is happy to provide the US with oil and buy F-16s and host
enormous military bases, it doesn't matter a tinker's curse
if women have no rights and if there isn't a hope of one person
one vote.
"It's time for Iraqi citizens
to go to the polls," Bush pronounced in the Oval Office
on December 2.
If you addressed your demand
about elections to the citizens of your autocratic friends in
the Gulf, little Bush, then we might believe you have a commitment
to world democracy. But you are just indulging yourself in
a pathetic charade.
Brian Cloughley writes on military and political affairs.
He can be reached through his website www.briancloughley.com
Weekend Edition
Features for November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
|