On 6 July the SMH reported "Howard ended any suggestion of an Australian troop withdrawal before the election by saying the Government remained committed to the presence in Iraq despite the violence and "our frustration at the rate of political progress". While doing so he introduced securing Iraq's vast oil reserves as the latest reason why success in Iraq was "all the more critical".
When Dr ('I am the best Defence Minister ever') Nelson stuck his bouffant over the trench to reaffirm the bleeding obvious to anyone who makes the slightest effort to really understand what is behind the Iraq fiasco, he has been peppered by friendly fire.
In 2003 The Guardian reported "...US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz - who has already undermined Tony Blair's position over weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by describing them as a "bureaucratic" excuse for war - has now gone further by claiming the real motive was that Iraq is "swimming" in oil.
The latest comments were made by Mr Wolfowitz in an address to delegates at an Asian security summit in Singapore at the weekend, and reported today by German newspapers Der Tagesspiegel and Die Welt.
Asked why a nuclear power such as North Korea was being treated differently from Iraq, where hardly any weapons of mass destruction had been found, the deputy defence minister said: "Let's look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil....
Mr Wolfowitz's frank assessment of the importance of oil could not come at a worse time for the US and UK governments, which are both facing fierce criticism at home and abroad over allegations that they exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in order to justify the war."Crikey, poor Brendie has copped a bucketing for reaffirming what the neocon hawks knew in their collective hearts of darkness from the outset. This was about getting the strategic jump on securing Iraq's oil reserves and positioning the US to bash the next domino, Iran. Meanwhile world peace and Middle Eastern stability has gone to hell in a hand basket.
Methinks Bush and his cronies and his bewildered 'mates', Blair and Howard, are going to have a tad of trouble in securing their legacy when all the grubby facts are known and the bleached bones of the wasted dead are forensically examined for cause and effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment