Neo-Conned! Again: Hypocrisy, Lawlessness, and the Rape of Iraq

By Joseph Cirincione

The moral, political, and legal problems surrounding the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq are addressed with uncommon frankness in this collection of essays by some of the world's most influential academics, lawyers, journalists, politicians, and military, intelligence, and media experts. Contributions include academics such as Noam Chomsk

• Language: English
• Publisher: IHS Press
• Release date: Oct 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9781605700106

Book preview

WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING …

                        ABOUT NEOCONNED AGAIN

Deconstructs the war on Iraq as part of the neocon blueprint for consolidating the American Empire.

—Marjorie Cohn, J.D.

Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law; Executive

Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild; and U.S.

representative to the executive committee of the American

Association of Jurists

Much more than just a critique of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, this volume effectively dissects broad aspects of U.S. foreign policy – both of the current Bush Administration and those administrations that preceded it. Contributions by academics and political figures, by former military and other U.S. security personnel and others document the increasingly imperial thrust of U.S. policy and the corrupting influence of that policy from Abu Ghraib in Iraq to the corruption of the media. The overall message of the book, however, goes beyond a concern about U.S. foreign and security policy. It also raises the fundamental question of the possibility of maintaining democratic institutions in the United States itself in the face of the lying, misrepresenting, and fear-mongering that has characterized U.S. policy.

—Roger E. Kanet, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science and Political Developments in

Central & Eastern Europe, University of Miami

"In the wake of re-election the Bush administration is busy rewriting history to suggest that any problems connected with the Iraq war are unavoidable by-products of U.S. willingness to employ its limited resources in the service of freeing an oppressed people and ridding the world of terrorism. The publication of Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again is perfectly timed to arrest this attempt to transform moral blindness and strategic incompetence into a fable of excessive self-sacrifice. This remarkable two-volume collection of essays and interviews provides the most comprehensive coverage of the war and its aftermath available anywhere. These books make it abidingly clear that divorcing power from accountability is an invitation to tragedy."

—George W. Downs, Ph.D.

Dean of Social Science and Professor of Politics, New York

University

"Neo-CONNED! Again has appeared not a moment too soon. The Bush administration has become ever bolder in its efforts to invent a depraved and hostile world that needs liberation. It succeeds in its deceptions and cover-ups to the American people about the war in Iraq because contrary voices are silent, intimidated, or out-shouted. The superb essays in Neo-CONNED! Again by a stellar cast of scholars and policy intellectuals can help turn the tide against the Bush administration's crusade to help make the world safe for freedom."

—Lloyd Rudolph, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of Chicago

"Neo-CONNED! Again contains many arguments against the war in Iraq, including that it has caused needless suffering and that it has worsened, not reduced, threats to U.S. and international security. Contributors include theologians, reporters, lawyers, military and intelligence personnel, and diplomats. Their aim is to frighten us awake, and they succeed."

—Jessica Stern, Ph.D.

John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard

University; Lecturer in Public Policy with the Belfer Center

for Science and International Affairs; and author of Terror in

the Name of God

The contrast between the richness and depth of these discussions and the coverage given to the Iraq war debate in our leading national media is especially striking.

—Hayward R. Alker, Ph.D.

John A. McCone Professor of International Relations,

University of Southern California

"Neo-CONNED! Again is an important collection of articles converging from all over the political spectrum. Collectively they make a powerful case that neoconservative delusions of world domination are bad for Iraq, bad for Israel, bad for peace and prosperity, bad for our secular ideals and institutions, bad for the basic spiritual principles of love and justice, and therefore bad for America. It is particularly effective in undermining the immoral arguments they and their supporters have made justifying our violent and deadly intrusion into the lives of so many who have never done anything to harm us."

—Gus diZerega, Ph.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Government,

St. Lawrence University

Thank goodness somebody has the courage to publish such a collection of intelligent and truly patriotic condemnations of the insanity of the United States' criminal onslaught against Iraq. From the criminality of the onslaught itself, may as many minds as possible be further opened to the wickedness of the global plan behind it: the agents of the Antichrist are instrumentalizing the United States of America!

—Richard Williamson

Catholic Bishop and Director, Seminario Nuestra Señora,

Corredentora, Argentina

"Neo-CONNED! Again looks behind the mask of lies and propaganda to reveal to Americans a clearer picture of what has truly gone on in befuddled and invasive Iraqi wars."

—Mgr. Raymond Ruscitto

Catholic Priest, Kingsburg, CA

These two volumes, this compendium, is of enormous value, indispensable. No Catholic school, college or university library should be without it, nor anyone engaged in teaching the traditional Catholic faith and its doctrines on justice and peace. They bring together sound theology and trustworthy observation of fact from many sources not usually found in Catholic publications, like Naomi Klein, Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky, and Michael Ratner. When the Catholic Church in the U.S. catches up with the worldwide Church, Light in the Darkness Publications will deserve an important share of the credit.

—Tom Cornell

Editor, The Catholic Worker

An incisive series of critical interventions into the dreadfully misguided conflict in Iraq.

—Simon Critchley, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy, Department of the Graduate Faculty,

New School Universiity

"In the two volumes of Neo-CONNED!, editors Sharpe and O'Huallachain have pulled off a tour de force: they have brought together a dazzling compilation of essays and essayists in which the whole is actually greater than the sum of the parts. The first volume, Just War Principles: A Condemnation of War in Iraq, provides a thoughtful assessment of the U.S. invasion of Iraq by eminent scholars and practitioners of religion, philosophy, and ethics. With authors drawn from all parts of the political map, this volume explores the 'just war' tradition and its interpretation and application in the case of Iraq. The second volume, Hypocrisy, Lawlessness, and the Rape of Iraq, looks at the war in Iraq from myriad political viewpoints, including but not limited to the clash between modern international law and outdated policies of empire, the role of economics, the military campaign, the intelligence failures, and the question of how to meet the new danger of terrorism. Combined, the two volumes provide food for the mind, the heart, the soul, and the day-to-day political activity of any responsible citizen. A must-read for just about everyone – educators and academics, journalists and political wonks, and people of faith."

—Randall Caroline Forsberg, Ph.D.

Director, Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies

(idds.org), specialist on alternative security policies, former

adviser to Presidents Bush (41) and Clinton, and co-founder

of the Nuclear Weapon Freeze Campaign

"This fascinating two-volume work presents a comprehensive, highly informative critique of the background and motivation of the U.S.-sponsored war on Iraq. The coverage is broad, ranging from detailed refutation of the administration's rationale for war, to evaluation of the war from a just war perspective, to reactions from military participants and intelligence specialists, and to an evaluation of the influence of Leo Strauss, eminence grise of the neoconservatives. Future historians will frequently consult this important book; thinking Americans should read it now."

—Ambassador Jonathan Dean (ret.)

Former Ambassador heading U.S. Delegation to NATO

Warsaw Pact Negotiations on Mutual and Balanced Force

Reductions; and adviser on International Security Issues,

Union of Concerned Scientists

The war in Iraq was a very unnecessary war falsely sold to the American people by a small minority called neoconservatives, who really are not conservative at all. This war has led to massive foreign aid, contributed to huge deficit spending, placed almost the entire burden of enforcing UN resolutions on our taxpayers and military, and has greatly expanded federal power. Worst of all, it has caused death or very serious injury to thousands of young Americans. These books hopefully will be read by many thousands and play an important role in helping make sure that our nation is never again so eager to go to war.

—John Duncan

U.S. Congressman (R-Tenn., 2nd district)

"Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again are two books that are a must read for anyone that wants to gain a deeper understanding of just what this nation is currently faced with under the leadership of the Bush Administration and its bevy of advisors. Light in the Darkness Publications has brought together a diverse group of some of the nation's best and brightest thinkers, representing just about every political and ideological background one can think of. The end results are two of the best books I have seen disseminating how this nation was neoconned into invading and occupying Iraq. It is the diversity of writers, from Republicans on the right, to liberal Democrats on the left that gives Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again their force and power. Both are essential for any and all who want to gain a better understanding of just what has been done in our names."

—Jack Dalton

Co-editor, Project for the Old American Century

(www.oldamericancentury.org)

"Careful study of the essays collected in Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again will deter the phony use of traditional Catholic Social Teaching to excuse modern warmongering."

—Kathy Kelly

Authoress, producer, and Secretary, Voices in the Wilderness

Why the war on Iraq is wrong and how we got into it is described from many points of reference in this fascinating, readable and useful collection. One group of contributions, 'The Professionals Speak,' should be read by all interested persons, whether for or against the war. The contribution to this segment from Col. W. Patrick Lang, USA (ret.), is mandatory reading for its convincing evidence of impeachable offenses.

—Howard N. Meyer

Civil rights and peace historian, and author of The World

Court in Action

"As a wife and mother, I was one of only two deputies in the Berlusconi government to vote against the deployment of Italian troops to Iraq. The extensive documentation provided in these two volumes, along with the tremendous misery conferred unjustly upon too many Iraqi, Italian and American families since – especially the women and children – confirms daily my belief that my vote was the correct one. Unjust war never leads to freedom and justice, but rather to dead, wounded and orphaned – and huge profits for the weapons industries."

—Alessandra Mussolini

Member of the Italian Parliament (1993-2004) from Naples

for Alleanza Nazionale; Member of the European Parliament

(2004) from Central Italy for Alternativa Sociale; and

member of the European Parliament's Freedom and Justice

Committee

Despite having several Jewish contributors, Noam Chomsky, Immanuel Waller-stein, Jeff Steinberg, and others, these two books will no doubt attract the toxic smear of 'anti-Semitism' – a smear which as Pat Buchanan reminds us, as have many others, is designed to nullify public discourse by smearing and intimidating foes and censuring and blacklisting them and any who publish them. For that very reason, Light in the Darkness Publications is to be commended, as are their contributors, for bearing witness to the grave crimes committed in our name. Americans, particularly those who claim to be Catholic or Christian, who truly claim to love their country owe it to themselves and their children to read these books. If they do so with an open mind, they will be disinclined to align their patriotism and religion with the designs of the neocon establishment.

—Anthony S. Fraser

Editor, Apropos, Scotland

"I am in total agreement with the contents of Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again. Since 1982 I have been trying to warn people about what goes on behind the scenes in the quest for a New World Order dictatorship. Wherever there is war, the participants are merely pawns acting out their planned part in this programme. I hope and pray that these books will be the instruments, therefore, that will save at least some lives from the slaughter that is coming. At Fatima in 1917, the Mother of God prophesized everything that would happen if people did not turn away from sin – and the countless wars that have taken place since are the result. Let every man and woman who reads these books do whatever is possible so that Good may triumph and Evil be overcome.

—Deirdre Manifold

Irish Catholic authoress, lecturer, publisher, and radio

personality

Clarification and de-mystification about Iraq and U.S. foreign policy come together in these two volumes. Whoever reads this collection of papers will get a compelling picture about one of the great tragedies of our time.

—Hans von Sponeck

Former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq

The United States began by creating a new enemy: Islam. Then, they initiated campaigns against both Arabs and Muslims based on the excuse of 'Islamic terror.' They claimed that Islam was at the root of terrorism. They humiliated millions of men and women using the weapons of propaganda, psychological warfare and manipulation. The primary beneficiary, Israel, applauded all this. In the evolution of its foreign policy – and in spite of the opposition expressed by several governments – the United States has benefited greatly from the complicity of what may be conveniently called 'the international community.' Huge numbers of servile news media have carefully hidden from sight all the lies. Today what makes this illegal war even more appalling is to watch the U.S. shamelessly use for its own ends an election held under duress being presented as a step towards democracy. The only possible response is that numerous voices are raised – like those in these volumes – which denounce the cowardice of those who govern us, protest against these crimes, and break the silence. The time has come for people throughout the world, who overwhelmingly opposed this war, to insist that accounts be settled with these criminals and their allies.

—Silvia Cattori

Independent journalist, Switzerland

"American foreign policy is forced to conform to Zionist pressure-group ideology, which dictates to politicians and policymakers to further Israeli imperialism in the Middle East. Nowhere is this more evident than in the current Iraq war and no better illustration of this ideology is presented than the two volumes, Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED!Again. The Iraq war should be viewed not as a singular event, but as a greater and expansive Israeli-Palestinian crisis. President Bush has the power to end the reign of terror right now if he is willing to break clean from the stranglehold of the Zionist lobby. Politically, it is a hard choice, but ultimately a sensible and realistic one that would bring about true peace and justice in the Middle East."

—Brig. Gen James J. David, USANG (ret.)

Georgia Army National Guard and graduate, U.S. Army's

Command and General Staff College

Truly a unique contribution in intellectual diversity and critical thinking that gives full meaning to the patriotic tradition. Together the two volumes constitute a direct challenge to the jingoists who seek to monopolize the discourse on violence, in particular war and terrorism. The breadth and depth of the analysis puts its value far beyond the Iraq situation.

—Beau Grosscup

Public speaker on terrorism and author,

The Newest Explosions in Terrorism

These two volumes carry with them both breadth and depth. At the heart of the chapters lies a concern for the justice (or want of it) of wars. I have nowhere come across a finer set of analyses of theories of just war from which scholars and activists might quarry useful material for dealing with war and its old and new weapons in our time. Alongside the central concern there are fine individual studies: Robert Fisk's historical piece on the original putting together of Iraq in the wake of the break-up of the Ottoman Empire offers almost incredible parallels with the present war; Stephen Sniegoski's linking of the neoconservatives, Israel, and 9/11 is carefully chronicled; several chapters take up the issue of Christian Zionism as well as the tensions between conservatives and liberals within the American Catholic Church. Several authors demystify the 'war on terror' construct, and they show that the issue of weapons of mass destruction was dishonestly and carelessly used. Overall, these volumes deal thoroughly with the impact of the neoconservatives on American and global politics but they also provide reflections that transcend those immediate concerns.

—James M. O'Connell, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies, University of Bradford,

England

"That a Catholic press is publishing this compendium of arguments against the unjust war against Iraq is an indication of the power of the current hegemonic order where too many mainstream presses continue to roll over. With contributions from left and right, religious and secular, military, and civilian, Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again are more than valuable resources, they are valuable weapons for fighting against the neoconservative drive for empire."

—Jodi Dean, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Political Science, Hobart-William

Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y., and author, Publicity's Secret:

How Technoculture Capitalizes on Democracy

"If you've been looking for intellectual and political support for your worries about American involvement in Iraq and beyond, look no further. In Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again, you will find two ample volumes of essays that dissect and unmask the underlying neoconservative political and rhetorical machinations behind the War on Iraq. This approach is augmented by a thorough study of Catholic just-war theory, from its earliest roots to the present day. Authors range from big names like Patrick Buchanan and Noam Chomsky to a wide and multi-faceted range of voices from the military, political, and intelligence establishments. Western involvement in Iraq is analyzed from World War I to the present. The vast array of information and perspective would challenge anyone who glibly supports our war efforts as just and noble."

—John Norris, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Theology, University of Dallas

"In the face of continuing administration denials of reality and morality, Neo-CONNED! and its companion volume Neo-CONNED! Again are essential reading on law, just war theory and the catastrophe in Iraq. Current international law on war divides into jus ad bellum and jus in bello and these books show how virtually every aspect of both sets of laws were and are being violated. More important, the critiques from the perspective of just war theory developed through sixteen centuries of Church teaching illuminate what leaders should have known and considered before entering into this tragically misguided enterprise. As is forcefully argued, the Iraq war is both imprudent and immoral. These books are must reading for anyone teaching or writing about the world we live in and moral choice."

—Michael T. Corgan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies,

Department of International Relations, Boston University

These two crackling volumes will speak to general readers, students, and academics alike. They provide a source of extraordinary scope on the invasion of Iraq, by writers of varied backgrounds ranging from theologians and political analysts to investigative reporters and military experts. Re-examining the facts surrounding the decision to invade and its aftermath is only part of the coverage, which ranges from the war-makers' neoconservatism and other motivations, to just-war critiques, history, the issues of pre-emptive attacks, and reflections on both Christian Zionism and Muslim fundamentalism.

—Peter Juviler, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus and Special Lecturer, Barnard College of

Political Science, Columbia University

These two volumes don't just make a compelling argument against the morality of the U.S.'s war on Iraq, the essays herein make a convincing one. It's too bad that the men and women in power in D.C. and London don't care for moral arguments that come to conclusions other than their own, especially when those arguments (such as those inside these volumes) include facts the rulers prefer to ignore. Any world citizen who has questions about the justice of the Iraq war should read this collection.

—Ron Jacobs

Member, Burlington Anti-war Coalition, University of

Vermont; public speaker, Movement History, Civil Liberties,

U.S. Foreign Policy; and author, The Way the Wind Blew:

A History of the Weather Underground

"Neo-CONNED! shocks and awes the sentient reader with Volume I's devastating moral and ethical critiques of the current war in Iraq and Volume II's armor-piercing political and ideological analyses. Books not bombs, indeed."

—Wally Goldfrank, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz

It's all right here. Future historians, seeking to untangle the spaghetti plate of deceit, machinations, and bungling that led to this needless war, will find their work has already been done. It's all right here.

—Charles Goyett

KXXT talk show host, Phoenix, Arizona

The two volumes that Light in the Darkness Publications has prepared on the just war and the war in Iraq clearly express that, throughout its long history, the Church has always been aware of the challenge which the world presents. The work of Light in the Darkness Publications is a testimony to this awareness, and it also makes us aware of the necessity to reflect on the reality of world affairs.

—Daniela Parisi

Professor of History of Economic Thought, Faculty of

Economics

Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy

"For those who believe in the sacredness of the universal human family, in international law, in means being consistent with ends, in justice, and only in just wars, Neo-CONNED! and Neo-CONNED! Again are must reads. The neocons conned us once. These volumes will help to ensure they don't get away with it a second time."

—Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

U.S. Congressman (D-Ill., 2nd district)

Light in the Darkness Publications has assembled the most critical collection of Iraq war commentary to date. Clearly assembled and comprehensive, the volume is a central reading for all those who seek to understand the role played by neocon-servatives in rallying the war engines. With hard-hitting contributions from former military officers, scientists, diplomats, journalists, lawyers and other Middle East experts, this book offers something new for all readers. Above all, this provocative collection reminds us of the need to continue to think critically in these deeply troubled times.

—Julie Mertus, Ph.D.

Author of Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign

Policy; and Professor of International Relations and Ethics,

American University

The American Congress and people have been 'neoconned' by a group of ideologues who seek to remake the world through the use of force. Though they may masquerade as 'conservatives,' there is nothing conservative about ignoring our Founding Fathers' admonitions against meddling in the affairs of foreign countries and going abroad seeking monsters to slay. This book does a valuable service in reminding American citizens that, if we want to retain our way of life, we must study history and we must repudiate those who seek to destroy our Republic.

—Ron Paul, M.D.

U.S. Congressman (R-Tex., 14th district)

The unfortunate thing about this collection of important essays – other than the fact that they had to be written at all – is that those who need to read them, those who blindly support everything the Bush administration does out of ideological fervor, will not. People, for the most part today, are not interested in any opinion that does not buttress their own. What's done is done, but hopefully the writing contained herein can help discredit the philosophy that has wrought so much death, destruction and shame on this great, once good, nation and rid us of it for the next generation.

—Andy Prutsok

Publisher, Suffolk News-Herald

The editors of these two volumes have done a prodigious job in collecting essays from a wide range of highly qualified commentators on American policy in Iraq and the Middle East. The essays take us beyond headlines and sound bites, offering thoughtful, thorough and very readable analyses from a variety of points of view. They should be required reading for all Americans.

—Tom Morgan, Ph.D.

Director, Center for the Study of Peace and Justice, College of

St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minn.

Though these books take as their target the neocons, these essays raise issues far more important then whether the neocons are right or wrong about Iraq. Anyone who wants to think seriously about the war on Iraq in terms of the ethical challenge presented by that war needs to read these volumes.

—Stanley Hauerwas, Ph.D.

Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity

School, and TIME Magazine Theologian of the Year, 2001

"If events since 9/11 could be described as globally paradigmatic, this comprehensive, cutting-edge, twin volume captures the moral essence of these times. Especially, the text does an excellent job articulating the sorely needed alternative perspective of the Bush Doctrine and the Bush Wars. Certainly, both volumes of Neo-CONNED! are required reading for the dynamic international relations and comparative politics classroom."

—Rita Kiki Edozie, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Comparative Politics and International

Relations, University of Delaware

The views represented here are the unwanted side of a policy debate that never took place. It is, in effect, a chronicle of things left unsaid. Mainstream media, given its intellectual bias, has proven itself to be the enemy of rational public policy. Attempting to set the record straight, this book demonstrates the need for open discourse, lest our foreign policy be dictated by interests not our own, It is a must read for every honest mind within our policy making ranks.

—Jude P. Dougherty, Ph.D.

Dean of the School of Philosophy, The Catholic University

of America, Washington, DC; Editor, Review of Metaphysics;

and Editor, Studies in Philosophy and History of Philosophy

Founded on moral principle, steeped in fact, argued with force, this remarkable collection presents a forceful condemnation of U.S. policy in Iraq. Every American ought to read it.

—Joshua Cohen, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, and Editor, Boston Review

This lively anthology contains a broad range of criticisms of the Second Gulf War and of the rationales offered by the so-called 'neocon' intellectual movement. These lucid, ideologically diverse, and always passionate essays should provoke fresh thinking in any reader – regardless if a supporter or opponent of the war.

—Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh, Ph.D.

Professor of Comparative Politics and History of Political

Thought, University of Connecticut, and author of Social

Movements in Politics: A Comparative Study

These books are not about anti-Americanism, but about how all true friends of America need to know and disseminate this indictment of a profoundly unjust and mistaken war.

—Anthony Coughlan, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Social Policy, Trinity College,

Dublin, Ireland

This anthology of anti-war materials will quickly become a counterrevolutionary classic. In an age of fifth-rate, pseudo-intellectual resistance literature from self-appointed critics, it is gratifying to see an array of intellectually solid, self-sacrificing idealists set their faces against this rotten System we are all forced to live under. The editors of these volumes deserve the highest intellectual respect and regard for their intuitive good taste. Few who finish these volumes will be able to escape having their political universes reoriented.

—M. Raphael Johnson, Ph.D.

Former lecturer, Political Theory and International Relations,

University of Nebraska, Lincoln; former Editor, The Barnes

Review; and Director of Academics, Government Educational

Foundation

This is an extremely valuable collection of commentaries on the War in Iraq, featuring some of our most astute observers of U.S. foreign policy. I recommend it as a treasure trove of information and ideas.

—Howard Zinn

Historian, playwright, social activist; writer, The Progressive

Magazine; and one-time political scientist and historian,

Boston University, Spelman College

These volumes serve a number of purposes that serve America's national interests. First, the authors included here are among the best in their fields; their essays provide what should be, for Americans, an unnerving dissection of neoconservatism and the dangers towards which it is leading our country. Second, the essays are excellent correctives to the uneducated, distorted, or simply fabricated definitions of the principles of American foreign policy that are offered by the neo-Wilsonian and neoconservative theorists. Third, and most important, the volumes show beyond doubt that a person can question the content and application of contemporary U.S. foreign policy and yet remain a loyal American citizen, faithful to the tenets of the nation's founders, and ready at all times to defend the United States. Well Done.

—Michael Scheuer

Former Chief, Bin Laden Unit, Counterterrorist Center, CIA,

and author (Anonymous) of Imperial Hubris: Why the West

Is Losing the War on Terror and Through Our Enemies' Eyes:

Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America

Experts already consider President Bush's ill-fated invasion of Iraq as one of history's greatest strategic blunders. In these outstanding collections of essays from Light in the Darkness Publications, authors ranging from professors at U.S. war colleges to theologians to journalists to Middle East experts expose the false claims of neoconservatives, who have deceived Americans and, in a gratuitous act of naked aggression, destroyed the reputation of the United States. Reading these valuable essays is the complete antidote to the propagandistic bombast that flows from the Oval Office.

—Paul Craig Roberts

Former Assistant Secretary to the Treasury in the Reagan

administration; syndicated columnist; and former Associate

Editor, Wall Street Journal

The U.S. state has a long history of aggressive war, but the neocons add a strain of lunacy missing since Wilson. Congratulations to Light in the Darkness Publications for defending peace at this dangerous time.

—Lew Rockwell

Director, Ludwig von Mises Institute

This is a very important collection for at least two reasons. First, it shows that there are limits to the propaganda and deception practiced by the Bush administration. You cannot fool all the people all the time. Most of the world was against this war before it started and they are still against it – and this collection tells us why. The second reason that this collection is important is that it helps to distance Christianity from the war crimes of the Bush administration, which pretends that it is fighting a war for God, Truth, and Justice.

—Shadia Drury, Ph.D.

Canada Research Chair in Social Justice, University of

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

These cogent essays constitute a devastating moral, legal, and political case against the war in Iraq – the most catastrophic U.S. foreign policy decision since Vietnam. If I had the power to make members of the Bush administration and of Congress read one thing about this abhorrent war of choice, this would be it.

—Thomas G. Weiss, Ph.D.

Presidential Professor and Director, Ralph Bunche Institute

for International Studies, CUNY Graduate Center

The invasion of Iraq in 2003, without the backing of the United Nations, was a disaster whose consequences we will all have to live with for decades. I have not yet seen a more comprehensive collection of sophisticated and detailed critical perspectives, encompassing a very wide range of authoritative arguments against the war and aspects of its aftermath.

—Ken Booth, Ph.D.

E.H. Carr Professor and Head of Department of International

Politics, University of Wales, and former Chairman and first

President, British International Studies Association

Clearly a monumental but also a timely effort, which must needs be presented to America while the iron is still hot, before events overtake these findings and the guilty are permitted to slide into temporary obscurity.

—Col. J. Richard Niemela, USAF (ret.)

The books are a collection of important articles on the real nature of the Iraq war, from the lies of the Bush administration to the naked violations of international humanitarian law. Highly recommended to every concerned American!

—John H. Kim

UN NGO Representative, International Fellowship of

Reconciliation

NEOCONNED AGAIN

The public was told that Saddam posed an imminent threat. If that claim was fraudulent, the selling of the war is arguably the worst scandal in American political history.

—Paul Krugman

New York Times, June 2003

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

—Major General Smedly D. Butler, USMC

War Is a Racket, 1935

AD DEUM IUSTITIÆ

To the thousands of Iraqi dead and wounded, to their families, and to the entire Nation at the cradle of civilization – all victims of tragic and diabolical Anglo-American aggression.

To the British and American widows and orphans whose dear ones have been sacrificed on the vain altar of cynical statecraft.

And to George Bush, Tony Blair, Dick Cheney, Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and the rest of the ideologues and hypocrites, both famous and obscure, who have orchestrated the unjust and unnecesary war in Iraq. We implore God to have mercy on their souls for the ocean of innocent blood they have spilled in pursuit of their ambitions and nightmares.

TO THE READER

The two volumes of Neo-CONNED! have one purpose: to bring together the best minds on the Iraq War and everything pertaining to it. We have, in consequence, assembled an eclectic group, spanning the political, religious, and professional spectrum. We submit that the result is a tremendous intellectual and analytical dynamic, hitherto unavailable in the vitally important debate over war and peace.

The appearance of a contributor in either of our two volumes implies no endorsement by that contributor of anything beyond the words attributed to him or her; it particularly does not imply endorsement of any other contributor's work, either in these pages or in other fora. Whether the various contributors agree, in whole or part, with any of the pieces contained in this work beyond their own is a matter for each contributor; it should certainly not be assumed. The fact that our authors come from widely divergent philosophical, political, and religious backgrounds ought to make this obvious.

As for our own views, they do not, strictly speaking, appear in this volume. In compiling and editing the Neo-CONNED! texts, we have, of course, sought to produce a coherently integrated whole. Nevertheless, our authors speak for themselves throughout. While most grateful for their participation, and feeling, of course, a general sympathy for what they have contributed, we do not necessarily subscribe to their each and every view as expressed either in these volumes or in their writings in other places, on other subjects. No doubt the contributors would feel the same about our own view of things.

These works are about Iraq, and Iraq alone. We believe that they vindicate the principles of the Catholic just-war tradition, which convict the war in Iraq of manifest injustice. We pray that these volumes serve the cause of Truth, for it is in that spirit that they are presented.

The Editors            

Neo-conned Again.

Copyright © 2007 IHS Press.

All rights reserved.

See the Acknowledgements for any additional copyright information regarding individual contributions.

No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review, or except in cases where rights to content reproduced herein is retained by its original author or other rights holder, and further reproduction is subject to permission otherwise granted thereby. See the Acknowledgements or contact the publisher for more information.

Footnotes to the contributions are their authors' except where indicated. Information from periodicals available through the Internet is referenced as online (or identified by the web-based source title) in lieu of page numbers or URLs. References to scholarly works have been standardized by the editors across contributions.

ISBN-10: 1-932528-42-3

ISBN-13 (eBook): 978-1-932528-42-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Neo-conned! again: hypocrisy, lawlessness, and the rape of Iraq: the illegality and

        the injustice of the Second Gulf War / editors, D.L. O'Huallachain and J. Forrest

        Sharpe; foreword by Joseph Cirincione; introduction by Scott Ritter.

            p. cm.

        ISBN 1-932528-07-5 (alk. paper)

        1. Iraq War, 2003-   --Causes. 2. Iraq War, 2003-   --Public opinion. 3.

    Public opinion—United States. 4. Illegality—Case studies. 5. Hypocrisy—Political

    aspects—United States—Case studies. 6. United States--Military policy. 7.

    Conservatism—United States. 8. War on Terrorism, 2001- . I. O'Huallachain,

    D. L. II. Sharpe, J. Forrest.

      DS79.76.N46 2005

      956.7044'31--dc22

2005016071

Printed in the United States of America.

Light in the Darkness Publications is an imprint of IHS Press.

IHS Press is the only publisher dedicated exclusively to the

Social Teachings of the Catholic Church. For information on

current or future titles, contact IHS Press at:

toll-free phone/fax: [phone] (877-IHS-PRES)

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e-mail: [e-mail]

CONTENTS

Foreword. The Greatest Con of Our History

Joseph Cirincione

Introduction. Oil, War, and Things Worth Fighting For

Scott Ritter

AN EXERCISE IN CRITICAL THINKING: TODAY'S SHARPEST MINDS TACKLE THE WAR AND ITS CONTEXT

1. The Thirteen Years' War

Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair

Postscript. Some Final Thoughts

Alexander Cockburn

2. Iraq, 1917

Robert Fisk

3. Global Democracy … Through Superior Firepower

Maurizio Blondet

Postscript. On Luttwak's Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook

Maurizio Blondet

4. Simple Truths, Hard Problems: Some Thoughts on Terror, Justice, and Self-Defense

Prof. Noam Chomsky, Ph.D.

DRIVING THE RUNAWAY TRAIN: NEOCONS, 9/11, AND THE PRETEXTS FOR WAR

5. The Ideology of American Empire

Prof. Claes G. Ryn, Ph.D.

6. Neoconservatives, Israel, and 9/11: The Origins of the U.S. War on Iraq

Stephen J. Sniegoski, Ph.D.

7. A Real Hijacking: The Neoconservative Fifth Column and the War in Iraq

Justin Raimondo

8. Unjust-War Theory: Christian Zionism and the Road to Jerusalem

Prof. David W. Lutz, Ph.D.

9. Manipulating Catholic Support for the War: The Black Operation Known as Conservatism

E. Michael Jones, Ph.D.

10. What the War Is All About

Kirkpatrick Sale

11. Risky Business: The Perils of Profitmongering in Iraq

Naomi Klein

Postscript. The More Things Change

Prof. William O'Rourke

THE PROFESSIONALS SPEAK: MILITARY REACTIONS TO OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

12. An Inside Look at Pentagon Policy-Making in the Run-Up to Gulf War II

Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, USAF (ret.)

13. The Moral Responsibility of the U. S. Military Officer in the Context of the Larger War We Are In

Robert Hickson, USA (ret.), Ph.D.

Introduction to Chapter 14. To War or Not to War, That Is the Question

Jack Dalton

14. Hindsight is 20–20: Iraq and War on Terror Veterans on Gulf War II

A Roundtable with Chris Harrison, former Army 1st Lt.; Jimmy Massey, former Marine Corps Staff Sgt.; Tim Goodrich, former Air Force Sgt.; and Dave Bischel, former Air Force Sgt.

15. Just Following Orders: One Sailor and His Vision of the Higher Law

An Interview with Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes, USN

Introduction to Chapter 16. The Case of Staff Sgt. Al Lorentz

Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, USAF (ret.)

16. Why We Cannot Win

Staff Sgt. Al Lorentz, USAR

THE PROFESSIONALS SPEAK II: THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND THE INTELLIGENCE DEBACLE

17. Drinking the Kool-Aid: Making the Case for War with Compromised Integrity and Intelligence

Col. W. Patrick Lang, USA (ret.)

18. Sham Dunk: Cooking Intelligence for the President

Ray McGovern

THE PROFESSIONALS SPEAK III: WAR COLLEGE PROFESSORS APPLY THEIR EXPERTISE

19. The War on Terror: Ingenious or Incoherent?

An Interview with Prof. Jeffrey Record, Ph.D.

20. A War Crime or an Act of War?

Stephen C. Pelletière, Ph.D.

THE PROFESSIONALS SPEAK IV: A SCIENTIST AND A DIPLOMAT

21. Neocons & Loose Nukes

Gordon Prather, Ph.D.

22. A Call to Conscience

Roger Morris

DEFYING WORLD ORDER: REACTIONS FROM VATICAN AND UN PERSPECTIVES

23. The Iraq War and the Vatican

Mark and Louise Zwick

24. The United Nations Charter and the Invasion of Iraq

John Burroughs, J.D., Ph.D., and Nicole Deller, J.D.

25. Legal Nonsense: The War on Terror and its Grave Implications for National and International Law

An Interview with Prof. Francis Boyle, J.D., Ph.D.

PROPPING UP A DYING GIANT: AMERICAN ECONOMIC AND MILITARY SURVIVAL TACTICS

26. In Her Death Throes: The Neoconservative Attempt to Arrest the Decline of American Hegemony

Prof. Immanuel Wallerstein, Ph.D.

27. A New American Century? Iraq and the Hidden Euro-Dollar Wars

F. William Engdahl

ONE GOOD SCANDAL DESERVES ANOTHER: THE SNOWBALLING OF AMERICAN LAWLESSNESS

28. The Law of Armed Conflict and the War on Terror

Gabor Rona, J.D., Ll.M.

29. A Prison Beyond the Law

Joseph Margulies, Esq.

Postscript. Seeking to Render Rasul Meaningless

Amnesty International

Postscript. An Illusion of Lawful Process

Joseph Margulies, Esq.

30. Far, Far Worse Than Watergate: The Outing of Valerie Plame

Jeffrey Steinberg

Postscript. The Anonymity Trap

Jacob Weisberg

31. A Torture(d) Web

Col. Dan Smith, USA (ret.)

Postscript. A Voice in the Wilderness for the Rule of Law

Rear Adm. John Hutson, USN (ret.), J.D.

SO MUCH FOR THE FOURTH ESTATE: OUR IMPERIAL PRESS

32. Chronicles of Abdication: Press Coverage of the War in Iraq

Tom Engelhardt

1. Yellow Journalism: Anonymous Lives and Thrives in Washington

2. Which War Is This Anyway?

33. Weapons of Mass Deception: The Air War

John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton

34. Truth from These Podia: A Study of Strategic Influence, Perception Management, Information Warfare, and Psychological Operations in Gulf War II

Col. Sam Gardiner, USAF (ret.)

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY: HONEST MEN CONSIDER THE SITUATION OF IRAQ

35. Behind the Smoke Screen: Why We Are in Iraq

An Interview with Prof. Ayad S. Al-Qazzaz

36. A Priest Looks at the Former Regime

An Interview with Fr. Jean-Marie Benjamin

37. Portrait of Noble Resignation: Tariq Aziz and the Last Days of Saddam Hussein

Milton Viorst

ENDURING INJUSTICE: IRAQ AND THE CURRENT POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

38. Nemesis and Name-Calling: Who Are the Iraqi Rebels?

Col. Donn de Grand Pré, USA (ret.)

39. The Politics of Electoral Illusion

Mark Gery

The Context of the Election

The Conduct of the Election

40. A Trial Indeed: The Treatment of Saddam Hussein vs. the Rule of Law

Curtis Doebbler, Esq., Ph.D.

APPENDICES. PERSPECTIVES ON GULF WAR I

Appendix I. Off to a Bad Start: International Law and War Crimes in the Case of Gulf War 1

Michael Ratner, Esq.

Appendix II. The Mother of All Clients: The PR Campaign of Gulf War I

John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton

Index

About the Contributors

Acknowledgements

Further Resources

… the whole world knows by now that Iraq has lost well over a million of its people as a direct result of the sanctions that have been in place for eight years …. Many critics seem to think the government of Iraq is supposed to stand idle while watching a whole generation of its people melt away like snowflakes ….

Iraq will never be able to satisfy UNSCOM because it is being asked to prove the negative: that it does not have any more weapons. There is, of course, no way Iraq can prove that it has nothing if it has nothing. How many more Iraqis will have to die because Richard Butler's team has not yet found another document, which cannot be located because there is no such document in the first place? The inspectors are searching for a black cat in a dark room where the cat does not exist.

… many American officials have stated that even if Iraq complies with the Security Council's resolutions, the United States will not approve the lifting of sanctions. The declared goal of Washington is to remove the current government of Iraq. WE WONDER IF THIS GOAL IS IN LINE WITH THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS. Iraq continues to believe that the resolutions are used by the United States as a cover for an illegal political agenda. The allocation of money to the Central Intelligence Agency for subversion in Iraq is just a unit in this series. One might wonder why Iraq should continue being part of this futile and endless game.

… many high-ranking American officials keep speaking about Iraq as being a threat to American interests and the region. We would like to assure these officials, and through them the American people, that Iraq is eager to live in peace with its neighbors and the world. But Iraq will not submit to intimidation, bullying, and coercion. Peace will come only through dialogue based on mutual respect for the principles of independence, sovereignty, and the observance of international law.

—Nizar Hamdoon, former Iraqi Ambassador

to the UN, A Black Cat in a Dark Room,

New York Times, August 20, 1998

FOREWORD

The Greatest Con of Our History

………

Joseph Cirincione

WITH SO MANY scholars presenting so much material in this book, it would perhaps be impossible to agree with everything the authors say. What is important is that they are saying it. Americans are speaking out against the greatest con in the history of the American presidency. The President, the vice president, and their senior officials willfully and systematically misled the American people and our closest allies on the most crucial question any government faces: Must we go to war?

Not one of the dozens of claims our officials made about Iraq's alleged stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, missiles, unmanned drones, or most importantly, Iraq's nuclear weapons and ties to al-Qaeda, was true. Yet no one in the administration has been held accountable for the hundreds of false statements or – if they made the statements in good faith – for their faulty judgments and incompetence. Almost all the key officials are still in office for the administration's second term. Several have received awards or promotions.

We now know that during the buildup to the 2003 Iraq War, Saddam Hussein did not have any of these weapons, did not have production programs for manufacturing these weapons, and did not have plans to restart programs for these weapons. The most that Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, was able to tell Congress in October 2004 was that Saddam might have had the intention to restart these programs at some point. The evidence for even this claim is largely circumstantial and inferential.

The administration, having extended the search for these weapons past the November 2004 elections, officially ended it in January 2005. The search found no evidence that the weapons were destroyed shortly before the war or moved to Syria, as some still claim. They never existed. As Duelfer reported, the weapons and facilities had been destroyed by the United Nations inspectors and U.S. bombing strikes in the 1990s, and he found no evidence of concerted efforts to restart the program.

There is now a coordinated effort underway to reframe the rationale for the Iraq War, to claim that we went to war to promote democracy, or to save the Iraqi people, or, most recently, as part of the struggle to end tyranny. Weapons, we are told, were just one of the reasons. As Senator Carl Levin of Michigan pointed out on the Senate floor on January 25, 2005, in opposition to the confirmation of Condoleeza Rice as secretary of state, this is an attempt to rewrite history.

The simple fact is that before the war, the administration repeatedly and dramatically made the case for war on the issue of Iraq possessing and continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction, and the likelihood that it would provide those weapons to terrorists like al-Qaeda. For Dr. Rice to suggest that there were many other, equally compelling, reasons to go to war simply does not square with the reality of how the administration persuaded the American people and the Congress of the need for war. Her suggestion is an effort to revise the history of the administration's presentations to the American people.

Indeed, the President's final speech to the American people as the war began was entirely about the urgent need to disarm Saddam. He mentioned human rights and democracy only in passing near the conclusion of his remarks.

The key document in the administration's campaign, the report that convinced many Americans, was the CIA White Paper on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs. The White Paper was hurriedly produced and distributed to the public in October 2002 as an unclassified version of the now-infamous National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that was given to Congress in the same month, just a few days before the vote to authorize the use of force. These two documents convinced the majority of congressional members, experts, and journalists that Saddam had a powerful and growing arsenal.

I have pored over these two deeply flawed documents (for the January 2004 Carnegie study, WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications). There is not one claim in the reports that proved true, except the finding that Saddam was highly unlikely to transfer any weapons to terrorist groups – a finding that the administration ignored and was not included in the public White Paper.

One brief example serves to demonstrate the way the information, faulty to begin with, was shaped to present the worst possible case to the American people. The first paragraph of the White Paper concludes that Iraq probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade. This claim was then repeated endlessly to the public with much talk of mushroom clouds. But the classified NIE only said that Iraq might acquire a bomb some time between 2007 and 2009. A danger, but not a threat that required war in March 2003. The estimate itself was wildly wrong (there was no program, there was no bomb), but by dropping the dates, officials who honestly believed the estimate could be right frightened the public into believing Saddam might already have a bomb. The danger was urgent. We had to act. We had no choice but to terminate the UN inspections and invade.

Officials knew or should have known that this was not true at the time. But dissenters to the worst-case scenarios were ignored. Caveats and qualifications were discarded. Only those who supported the policy were allowed into the decision-making circles, or as Patrick Lang reports later in this book, only those who drank the Kool-Aid got to sit at the table.

Anger over this unnecessary war, of course, is not confined to the authors of this book. The majority of Americans do not believe the war in Iraq has been worth the heavy cost paid. During the debate on the Rice nomination, many respected senators took to the floor to denounce the administration's deceptions. Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota said Rice had briefed him at the White House before the vote to authorize the use of force. He said most of what Rice told him was wrong. I don't like to impugn anyone's integrity, he said, but I really don't like being lied to, repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally. It's wrong. It's undemocratic. It's un-American. And it's dangerous. Senator Carl Levin said, Voting to confirm Dr. Rice as Secretary of State would be a stamp of approval for her participation in the distortions and exaggerations of intelligence that the administration used to initiate the war in Iraq, and the hubris which led to their inexcusable failure to plan and prepare for the aftermath of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein with tragic ongoing consequences.

Rice was confirmed, as the majority of the Senate urged the opposition to look to the future and not to dwell on the past. We ignore the past at our peril, however, for similar methods and warnings are cropping up in the debate over Iran. Those who favor military action are again making the threat appear closer than it is by minimizing the substantial technological and engineering obstacles that Iran must overcome to be able to enrich uranium and manufacture a weapon. Those who favor diplomatic solutions, even our closest allies, are given short shrift. The United States is standing aside from the efforts of the European Union to negotiate an end to Iran's nuclear program and, by this inaction, it will doom the effort. We will undoubtedly hear stories of the brutality of the Iranian regime, coupling the danger of Iran someday getting nuclear weapons with the President's call to end tyranny. There may well be an orchestrated campaign to build support for an attack on Iran that will be as determined as the campaign to build support for the invasion of Iraq.

Those who hope not to repeat the mistakes of the past would do well to read the informed accounts of recent history contained in this valuable volume.

Joseph Cirincione

Director for Non-Proliferation

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

January 2005

INTRODUCTION

Oil, War, and Things Worth Fighting For

………

Scott Ritter

ON THE EVE of America's invasion of Iraq, I watched with great interest the debate between arch-hawk Richard Perle and archdove Dennis Kucinich (then a Presidential hopeful) on NBC's Meet the Press (February 23, 2003). One exchange in particular caught my attention. Mr. Kucinich, when asked about the fundamental motivation for the Bush administration's push for war with Iraq, said, … the fact is that, since no other case has been made to go to war against Iraq, for this nation to go to war against Iraq, oil represents the strongest incentive. Then Richard Perle retorted: I find the accusation that this administration has embarked upon this policy for oil to be an outrageous, scurrilous charge for which, when you asked for the evidence, you will note there was none. There was simply the suggestion that, because there is oil in the ground and some administration officials have had connections with the oil industry in the past, therefore, it is the policy of the United States to take control of Iraqi oil. It is a lie, Congressman. It is an out and out lie.

In the past, I used to resist the suggestion that Bush's war with Iraq was about oil. It just didn't seem to make any sense. Oil is about business, and business is about making money. Any oil man worth his salt would know that it makes better business sense to invest $50 billion in Iraqi oilfield refurbishment over five years, raising production rates from the current level of 1.5 million barrels per day to an estimated 7 million, than it would to spend $200 billion – the current low end of the costs of the Iraq war – to invade Iraq, knowing that the end result would likely be the destruction of the Iraqi oil production infrastructure. Yet when I heard Richard Perle making the same argument, I was suddenly suspicious. He is, after all, not just a manipulator of truth, but he is in fact anti-truth – especially when it comes to Iraq. So I decided to reexamine my stance on the war-for-oil thesis, and found that the case for such a link becomes quite clear, once subjected to closer scrutiny.

In 2003, Richard Perle chaired the influential Defense Policy Board (DPB), and used the access to the inner circle of American power that this non-governmental position enjoys to wield considerable influence over senior policy makers both at home and abroad. While this position does have its limits, there is no denying that the former chairman of the DPB serves as the ideological focus for the neoconservatives currently populating the elected and politically-appointed ranks of the Defense Department. As such, Perle was only too aware of the post-war plans for the multi-billion dollar reconstruction bonanza that was to be unleashed once the Pentagon assumed military governorship of occupied – or in Perle-speak, liberated – Iraq.

Those lucrative contracts were to be doled out exclusively to U.S. and U.S.-allied companies. Bids were already accepted, on a no-competition basis, before the war, from companies such as Halliburton. Among those deals were contracts for oil field refurbishment and operations, which meant that for a period of at least two to five years, Iraq's oil would be – as it is today – under the control of American oil companies, operating under the umbrella of a U.S. military government, or a U.S. military-backed government, if one accepts as legitimate the highly questionable elections of January 30, 2005. Given the dearth of national security justifications for the war, how could our war in Iraq be about anything other than oil? The current – and remorselessly rising – $200 billion price tag for war will prove a boon for defense contractors who produce the weapons of war, while the post-war need for reconstruction and refurbishment will provide billions of dollars more in government-funded contracts, assuming that the American military can create sufficient peace to allow any construction to take place. This orgy of war-related spending and profit-taking translates into a massive economic incentive program for defense-and oil-sector businesses (sectors historically close to the Bush-Cheney White House) while the American taxpayer foots the bill.

There is, in fact, a far more substantial case for linking the Bush war with Iraq to oil than there ever was for linking Saddam Hussein to Bin Laden. The Bush-Harkin, Cheney-Halliburton, Condi Rice-Chevron links are beyond dispute, while Secretary Powell's artfully constructed case regarding Saddam-Bin Laden, built around the conveniently shadowy figure of Abu Musab Zarqawi, collapsed like a house of cards when it became known that Powell misrepresented French-supplied intelligence on the subject. Audio tapes from Osama Bin Laden, encouraging the Muslim world to rise up in support of the Iraqi people, also fingered Saddam Hussein as an apostate, someone worthy of being overthrown. The revelations about the Pentagon's post-war plans regarding U.S. control of Iraqi oil reveals the goals of Team Bush to be little more than crude throwbacks to the economically-motivated imperialism of the nineteenth century.

That these are not mere personal sentiments may be gauged from an article by Ray McGovern, posted at Truthout.com on February 14, 2005. Entitled, We Need The Oil, Right? So What's the Problem? his piece deals directly with the oil factor from the perspective of someone with decades of service (in the CIA) to the American national interest.

His argument is worth noting in some detail.

Canadian writer Linda McQuaig, author of It's the Crude, Dude, has noted that decades from now it will all seem a no-brainer. Historians will calmly discuss the war in Iraq and identify oil as one of the key factors in the decision to launch it. They will point to growing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, the competition with China, India, and others for a world oil supply with terminal illness, and the fact that (as former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz has put it) Iraq swims on a sea of oil. It will all seem so obvious as to provoke little more than a yawn.

But that will be then. Now is now. How best to explain the abrupt transition from early-nineties prudence to the present day recklessness of this administration? How to fathom the continued cynicism that trades throwaway soldiers for the chimera of controlling Middle East oil

In August 1992, Dick Cheney, who was then the secretary of defense – Dick Cheney under a very different President Bush – was asked to explain why U.S. tanks did not roll into Baghdad and depose Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War. Cheney said: I don't think you could have done that without significant casualties …. And the question in my mind is how many additional casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is not that damned many …. And we're not going to get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.

Later, then-CEO Dick Cheney of Halliburton found himself focusing on different priorities. In the fall of 1999 he complained: Oil companies are expected to keep developing enough oil to offset oil depletion and also to meet new demand …. So where is this oil going to come from? Governments and national oil companies are obviously in control of 90 percent of the assets …. The Middle East with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost is still where the prize ultimately lies.

McGovern then gets to the heart of the issue by asking this question: What had changed in the seven years between Cheney's two statements? Here's his answer:

The U.S. kept importing more and more oil to meet its energy needs.

Energy shortages drove home the need to ensure/increase energy supply.

Oil specialists