http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-scheer5jul05,0,5176601.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary
Robert Scheer has got it half right. Iraq II is warmed over, but it's not the cold war, it's Vietnam redux. And not just because the US is going to lose to the indigenous population. Indeed, I've finally come to understand what Vietnam was all about--not about stopping communism, the official line, but about stopping China from becoming the dominant power in that part of the Globe. The goal has been the same for decades--to establish a permanent US military presence in the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean region.
After the possibility of doing that in Vietnam was lost, the effort turned to bribing Saddam Hussein and making nice with the sheiks of Arabi. Saudi Arabia didn't work out either. Bahrain and Qatar are too small. Saddam Hussein had his own agenda, increasing the influence of Iraq by extending its borders, but because he had already proved unreliable, the US found it necessary to teach him a lesson about who was boss and launched Gulf War I. Unfortunately, Saddam is a recalcitrant learner and even a decade of bombardment and economic isolation didn't bring him to agreeing to a permanent US presence. Ergo, a new crew of rulers was to be brought in who would acquiesce in this long-term scheme which, for some reason both Democratic and Republican administrations have been unwilling to share with the American public.
For a short time it looked like the tsunami would provide an opportunity to find a new location for our military assets. But then, the governments of the affection region wouldn't even let our warships dock to deliver relief aid. Clinton and Bush are still making an effort. But the people of southeast Asia still don't want a permanent American presence. Indeed, the residents that were displaced from the island of Diego Garcia are looking forward to returning when the British lease, and the American sub-let, runs out in 2010.
Posted by Hannah at July 5, 2005 05:36 AM