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Away from Problems at Home Kentucky's LBGT Newspaper Editor says: 'It's the Oil, Stupid!' Sen. Robert C. Byrd says U.S. Constitution is Irrelevant to Bush
"Don't tell me that things suddenly went wrong. Back in August, the president had no plans.... Then all of a sudden this country is going to war… "Are politicians talking about the domestic situation, the stock market, weaknesses in the economy, jobs that are being lost, housing problems? No." Byrd recalled the folly of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by the U.S. Congress in 1964 and which gave Lyndon Johnson the broad powers he used to widen the Vietnamese war. This folly cost 58,202 American lives and contributed to the murder millions of foreign citizens. If such a war resolution is passed today, Senator Byrd warned his Senate colleagues: "Congress will be putting itself on the sidelines… Nothing would please this president more than having such a blank check handed to him. "Before the nation is committed to war, before we send our sons and daughters to battle in faraway lands, there are critical questions that must be asked. To date, the answers from the administration have been less than satisfying…
"Could it be…oil? "According to John K. Cooley, writing on July 20 for ABCNews.com, there's such a demand for Iraq's low-sulfur oil that Saddam Hussein is counting on it to thwart the Bush administration's attempts at toppling him. "Currently, 90% of Iraq's oil is going to refineries in Texas and Louisiana, which prize it because the sulfur is much easier to eliminate. Demand for Iraqi oil has become even more urgent since last March when nine refineries struck a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Dept. to clean up their act. They're now planning to spend about $400 million to install pollution controls, including special equipment to remove sulfur from crude oil. The less sulfur to deal with, the less expense. "Another factor: middlemen. Currently U.S. refiners buy most of their Iraqi oil through Russian firms or middlemen working with Russian firms. Because it's a quicker route, American refineries are getting most of their Iraqi oil from Ceyhan, Turkey, terminus of a pipeline from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. That restive capital of a Turkish speaking region has suffered culturally under Saddam's brutal rule. "According to Martin Seif, writing for The Globalist on Sept. 12, internal Turkish politics-which no one has ever understood, not even the Turks-may also come into play. With more wealth coming into their country, Turkey's leaders could feel more secure against a potential surge of Islamic fundamentalism. That would suit the Pentagon, which considers Turkey potentially the region's most formidable-and friendliest-Islamic power in the coming years. "If Saddam were to fall, the Russians could end up being the big losers as Americans draw up more favorable contracts with Iraq's new leaders. On the other hand, they could come out winners if Kirkuk were liberated. The Russians-always nervous about the Muslim populations on its southern borders-might breathe more easily if Kirkuk's Turkmenestans feel freer. "Finally, there's those wealthy US Gulf Coast oil men: friends of the president's from way back. What's good for them is good for Bush's campaign coffers and the continuation of Republican domination of the country for some time to come. "Less sulfur, fewer middlemen, greater profits, more campaign funds, happier Turks, happier Russians, happier Republicans. Those may be the real reasons George W. Bush -- the country's most famous AWOL National Guardsman --wants to plunge this country into a war that few want -- and even fewer will profit from. "Cooley's report is located at http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/iraq010720_cooley.html." |
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Sen. Robert Byrd: Bush war is a distraction from 'sadly deteriorating conditions on the homefront' 
The Letter Editor David Williams