From: Gene McAloon 

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 13:19:44 -0500, "Mark Hessey"
 wrote:

>"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>news:4031042a$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> I agree about it not being about oil. The proposed justifications seem
>like
>> incomprehensible works-in-progress. That the intelligent people in power
>> could embark on this lunacy boggles my mind
>
>It boggles my mind that the "intelligent" people in power let
it go as long
>as they did, as Bush noted in November: "Sixty years of Western nations
>excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did
>nothing to make us safe."
>
>That was the true lunacy, to continue it now in the wake of 9/11 would be
>certifiable.
>
In that case, Bush is certifiable. Ben Ali of Tunisia will be in Washington this
week for talks with Bush. Tunisia is Bush's latest ally in the
"war" on terrorism. Powell was in Tunisia not too long ago and
praised its president, Ben
Ali, to the high heavens for his cooperation in the war on terrorism and
Bush has announced that Tunisia will be the regional headquarters for his
"Middle East Partnership Initiative," to promote democracy in the
Middle East.

Yet, Tunisia is one of the most repressive countries in North Africa. It is
the kind of country in which the last election racked up a 99% vote for Ben
Ali. The
opposition is routinely terrorized, locked up and elections stolen. Ben Ali
excuses it all by claiming it is necessary to keep Islamic elements from
taking control.

Just as in the past we supported repressive, even murderous regimes, in the name
of anti-Communism, Bush II now supports such regimes in the name of the war
on terrorism. So, what is the difference between what was done in the past
and what
Bush is now doing?  None.

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