"A wake up call"
Printed on Saturday, April 05, 2003 {at} 12:32:38 CST

By Doreen Miller

YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States) 

(YellowTimes.org) - Now that the United States, in full defiance of the 
U.N. Security Council and the opinion of the greater majority of people 
around the world, has begun its war against Iraq, it is imperative that 
we not be bedazzled by the image of the great and powerful Oz spouting 
promises of liberation and democracy. Rather, we must tear away the 
curtain and expose the man, or in this case, the group of men operating 
the controls behind this cloak of deceit.  

The invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam's regime has been in 
the works for a decade now, but especially since the spring of 1997 
when the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was 
established. The group of men involved in this project wrote and 
published in 1998 a lengthy and detailed document called "Rebuilding 
America's Defenses," which was modeled after the defense strategy 
outlined by the Cheney Defense Department in early 1992. Those 
directly involved in the creation of this document include, among 
others, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Elliot Abrams, I. Lewis Libby, 
Peter Rodman, and Gov. Jeb Bush, all now in policy-shaping positions 
of tremendous influence and power within the U.S. government.  

"Rebuilding America's Defenses" directly mentions as a goal the 
removal of the regime of Saddam Hussein: "...the need for a substantial 
American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime 
of Saddam Hussein." Saddam was slated to go to create the necessary 
circumstances for a permanent U.S. presence in Iraq.  

It also explicitly names Kim Jong-il of North Korea and the need to 
remove him from power as well. They ambitiously project "unquestioned 
[global] U.S. military preeminence" and the shaping of "the international 
security order [to be] in line with American principles and interests." 
These men have plotted to "preserve American geopolitical leadership" 
via "U.S. power projection around the world" in places like Europe, 
the Middle East and East Asia, for the latter most notably the Korean 
peninsula and the Philippines. Indeed, the current build-up of U.S. 
troops in the Philippines and in areas of East Asia substantiates the 
beginning stages of the implementation of U.S. imperialism as outlined 
in this document.  

To oversee this mission of world dominance, the plan calls for the 
establishment of permanent aircraft bases in Italy, South East Europe, 
Central and Eastern Turkey, the Persian Gulf and South East Asia. It is 
recommended that the number of U.S. Air Forces in Europe be increased 
by "one to two and a half wing equivalents, " its forces in East Asia 
doubled, and a wing stationed in the Philippines and Australia for 
the purpose of "sustained global reach." It is emphasized throughout, 
"American forces must remain employed abroad in large numbers."  

Fearing a strong, united Europe, these men declare: "It is important 
that NATO not be replaced by the European Union, leaving the U.S. without 
a voice in the European security affairs." They point out the opportunity 
to exploit the weak alliances between the Arab nations in order to 
invade and secure that region for U.S interests when they state, "the 
actions of our adversaries in these regions [of the Middle East] bear 
no more than a tangential [meaning barely or loosely connected] 
relationship to one anothera."  

Iraq is just the first step in a much greater plan to reconfigure 
and dominate the Middle East to control its resources. In "Rebuilding 
America's Defenses," Iran is directly mentioned as being as large a 
threat as Iraq to U.S. interests. Indeed, this document places great 
emphasis on "fighting and winning multiple simultaneous large-scale 
wars" whenever and wherever we need to secure American interests.  

There is one particular sentence in "Rebuilding America's Defenses" 
that I found to be especially troubling, given that it was written 
some 5-6 years ago: "The process of transformation a is likely to be 
a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a 
new Pearl Harbor." The events of 9-11 gave these same men who drafted 
this plan for the new American century of world dominance exactly the 
pretext and catalyst they needed to forge ahead more aggressively to 
realize their dreams to reshape the world as they see fit. Now everything 
they undertake militarily can be justified by the war on terrorism.  

For the United States to secure its global military preeminence 
and position of sole superpower, it will continue to demand that 
its adversaries unilaterally disarm. Revealingly, the document states, 
"When their missiles are tipped with warheads carrying nuclear, 
biological or chemical weapons, even weak regional powers have a 
credible deterrenta"  

Is it any wonder then that the United States demanded that Saddam 
destroy his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, knowing full 
well it was planning, from as far back as six years ago, to invade his 
country and overthrow his regime? The only reason we are invading Iraq 
today is that we rest fairly assured that the vast majority of Saddam's 
weapons of mass destruction have been eliminated by U.N. inspections 
over the years, virtually guaranteeing our chances of a swift military 
victory.  

If there is a warning to be heeded here, then it is imperative that the 
countries in the Middle East, if they wish to survive as sovereign 
nations, must immediately commence to create strong economic, political 
and, above all, military alliances with one another in order to present 
a unified front and deterrence to the United States and its hegemonic 
ambitions. As Dreyfuss states, the threat is great that whole regions 
of the Middle East will "end up as dismantled, unstable shards in the 
form of mini-states that resemble Yugoslavia's piecemeal wreckage."  

I sound the clarion call, not only to the Middle Eastern nations, but 
to nations all around the globe. Awaken, before it is too late, to the 
realization of the unstated goals and secret ambitions of the current 
U.S. leaders hiding behind the curtain that camouflages their true 
intentions couching them in pleasant-sounding yet for them vacuous 
terms of liberty, democracy and freedom.  

As a united front, all nations must rein in this administration that 
has been unleashed upon the world. If you wish your lives and your 
resources to truly be your own, then the time to organize and forge 
strong alliances with other nations against the imperialistic march 
of the United States is now.  

[Doreen Miller lived, studied, worked and traveled abroad for several 
years, and is currently a Senior Lecturer and educator of international 
students. She dedicates part of her time to serving the elderly and 
Alzheimer patients. Mother, musician and poet, she pursues an avid 
interest in Buddhist and Eastern philosophy. She advocates human 
rights, social justice, fair trade, and environmental protection. 
Doreen lives in the United States.]  

Doreen Miller encourages your comments: dmiller{at}YellowTimes.org

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Source: YellowTimes.org
http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1210&mode=thread&order=0


Cheers, Steve..

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