US Plans for Iraq: 'Democracy' with 'complete, unilateral control'

by redJaDe Sat Feb 22, 2003 14:04

The Middle East Belongs in the World Economy

By Charlene Barshefsky
United States trade representative from 1997 to 2001.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/opinion/22BARS.html

'it is painfully clear that the main roads of international trade have bypassed the Muslim Middle East. As it formulates its strategy, the Bush administration should seize this opportunity to complement its fight against terrorism by bringing trade and economic liberalization to the region.'

....

'The United States should build on this through an integrated, long-term strategy for returning the Middle East to the world economy. The administration's prospective free-trade agreement with Morocco can be a starting point for a far more comprehensive approach to the region, comparable to that which already exists for Latin America and Africa. For example, accelerated W.T.O. membership for Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Yemen — all of which have already applied — is essential. In the interim, bilateral free trade agreements can be part of the solution, as can a regional trade-preference program similar to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.'

by redJaDe Sat Feb 22, 2003 14:11

The Martial Plan
By PAUL KRUGMAN
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/opinion/21KRUG.html

'It's not that the Bush administration is always stingy. In fact, right now it is offering handouts right and left. Most notably, it has offered the Turkish government $26 billion in grants and loans if it ignores popular opposition and supports the war.'

....

'But it's clear that the generosity will end as soon as Baghdad falls.

After all, look at our behavior in Afghanistan. In the beginning, money was no object; victory over the Taliban was as much a matter of bribes to warlords as it was of Special Forces and smart bombs. But President Bush promised that our interest wouldn't end once the war was won; this time we wouldn't forget about Afghanistan, we would stay to help rebuild the country and secure the peace. So how much money for Afghan reconstruction did the administration put in its 2004 budget?

None. The Bush team forgot about it. Embarrassed Congressional staff members had to write in $300 million to cover the lapse.'

by redJaDe Sat Feb 22, 2003 14:21

Inspectors Call U.S. Tips 'Garbage'
Feb. 20, 2003
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/18/iraq/main537096.shtml

'Discovering that the al-Samoud 2 has been flying too far in tests has been one of the inspectors' major successes. But the missile has only been exceeding its 93-mile limit by about 15 miles and that, the Iraqis say, is because it isn't yet loaded down with its guidance system. The al-Samoud 2 is not the 800-mile-plus range missile that Secretary of State Colin Powell insists Iraq is developing.'

....

'U.N. sources have told CBS News that American tips have lead to one dead end after another.

Example: satellite photographs purporting to show new research buildings at Iraqi nuclear sites. When the U.N. went into the new buildings they found "nothing."

Example: Saddam's presidential palaces, where the inspectors went with specific coordinates supplied by the U.S. on where to look for incriminating evidence. Again, they found "nothing."

Example: Interviews with scientists about the aluminum tubes the U.S. says Iraq has imported for enriching uranium, but which the Iraqis say are for making rockets. Given the size and specification of the tubes, the U.N. calls the "Iraqi alibi air tight."

The inspectors do acknowledge, however, that they would not be here at all if not for the threat of U.S. military action.

So frustrated have the inspectors become that one source has referred to the U.S. intelligence they've been getting as "garbage after garbage after garbage." In fact, Phillips says the source used another cruder word. The inspectors find themselves caught between the Iraqis, who are masters at the weapons-hiding shell game, and the United States, whose intelligence they've found to be circumstantial, outdated or just plain wrong.'