IRAQ TROOP WITHDRAWAL LOOKS FAR OFF

Nick Mottern, Director, Consumers for Peace

The removal of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense is being described in the press as a step planned by President George W. Bush even before the Democrats swept both houses of Congress to clear the way for changes in U.S. policy and action in Iraq. It is a step that has raised hope of less bloodshed and an early return home of U.S. troops. But in spite of Democratic statements calling for quick withdrawal, this hope may not be realized any time soon. This is in large part because the departure of Mr. Rumsfeld may be simply part of an intervention by a group of extremely wealthy players with long-standing oil connections, including George H.W. Bush, the father of the President, aimed at somehow fulfilling pre-invasion plans to give the world’s major private oil companies favorable access to Iraq’s oil. A related goal would be to restore the perception that the U.S. is dominant in the oil-rich Middle East, a perception nearly destroyed by the resistance forces in Iraq...

continua / continued