QUOTE
In a region awash with arms, in which the United States is forever forcing new and evermore lethal weapons on its erstwhile allies, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel are now becoming the recipients of yet more means to heighten tensions and rattle the hi-tech sabre. What is the point of all this?
In an unnervingly realistic account of a conversation with a friend, the Saudi commentator Tariq Al-Maeena raises these issues on OpenDoor and suggests an explanation: that by fomenting military tension in this already highly unstable region, the Bush Administration is intent upon precipitating a conflagration and even going as far as planning a terrorist attack on US soil - with the aim of declaring a state of emergency that will provide Bush with a pretext for staying in power.
OpenDoor is SaudiDebate's platform for our readers to become writers; if you would like to contribute, write to us at: opendoor@saudidebate.com with a brief description of your idea, and we will get back to you. 5 September 2007
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By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
Do you know what this (expletives deleted) Bush is trying to do now?' growled Mustafa, my walking partner as we made our way around the block one warm evening. ‘He is trying to sell us $20 billion worth of arms that we don't need. And to top it off, he is using his taxpayers' money to fund Israel with $30 billion in the same bill. Now what does this region need with more arms?'
‘Just look around!', continued Mustafa. ‘Everything this (expletive deleted) has involved himself in is in a mess. From Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian situation, nothing has improved since he became president. His war on terror message is beginning to scare me as he is acting more and more like a global dictator, and terror seems to be his means to the end.'
‘It's interesting you say that, Mustafa. Why we need more weaponry in a region adrift with violence is beyond me. We fork out billions in cash, while US taxpayers come up with an amount more than twice as high to keep the Israelis happy. Meanwhile, Bush's most loyal constituency groups, the war profiteers, make out like bandits. You can be assured that lobbyists for a defense industry that stands to make a few billion from the deal will be vigorously wooing Congress to push this deal through.'
‘Bush and his cabinet are robustly promoting this war of aggression between the Arabs and their neighbors. Selling us arms goes along with those themes. But do you think they give a damn? It is those of us who are caught in the line of fire of this weaponry for generations to come who have to shoulder the burden of violence, while Bush and company remain safely ensconced in the safety of the White House.'
‘And you know what else, Mustafa? This dictatorship thing has some substance. As a matter of public knowledge, George W. Bush went on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he could be dictator, subtly underscoring a clear and present policy statement.'
‘And just recently a former Reagan official spoke of his fears in a publicized warning that the current administration was preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack on US soil in order for Mr. Bush to declare a state of national emergency, defer the upcoming Presidential elections, and stage a strike against Iran, settling himself in as President for life in the long haul.'
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury speaking on the Thom Hartmann radio program, stated that "When Bush exercises this authority (under the new Executive Order), there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule. The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," adding that the neo-cons intended to use this staged act of terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party, and by default extending Mr. Bush's tenure..
‘The administration figures themselves and prominent Republican propagandists ... are preparing us for another 9/11 event or series of events," he said. "You have to count on the fact that if Al-Qaeda is not going to do it, it will be orchestrated as such.'
Roberts suggested that in the absence of a massive popular outcry, only the federal bureaucracy and perhaps the military could put constraints on Bush's current drive for a fully-fledged dictatorship. "They may have had enough. They may not go along with it," he said.
‘You know Mustafa; these people are not simple clowns with doomsday predictions or wild erratic theories. They have been close to the seat of power long enough to realize that the recent policies and patterns of the Bush administration have given them cause for alarm. And not only for the American people.'
‘The rest of the world better watch out as well.'
In an unnervingly realistic account of a conversation with a friend, the Saudi commentator Tariq Al-Maeena raises these issues on OpenDoor and suggests an explanation: that by fomenting military tension in this already highly unstable region, the Bush Administration is intent upon precipitating a conflagration and even going as far as planning a terrorist attack on US soil - with the aim of declaring a state of emergency that will provide Bush with a pretext for staying in power.
OpenDoor is SaudiDebate's platform for our readers to become writers; if you would like to contribute, write to us at: opendoor@saudidebate.com with a brief description of your idea, and we will get back to you. 5 September 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
Do you know what this (expletives deleted) Bush is trying to do now?' growled Mustafa, my walking partner as we made our way around the block one warm evening. ‘He is trying to sell us $20 billion worth of arms that we don't need. And to top it off, he is using his taxpayers' money to fund Israel with $30 billion in the same bill. Now what does this region need with more arms?'
‘Just look around!', continued Mustafa. ‘Everything this (expletive deleted) has involved himself in is in a mess. From Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian situation, nothing has improved since he became president. His war on terror message is beginning to scare me as he is acting more and more like a global dictator, and terror seems to be his means to the end.'
‘It's interesting you say that, Mustafa. Why we need more weaponry in a region adrift with violence is beyond me. We fork out billions in cash, while US taxpayers come up with an amount more than twice as high to keep the Israelis happy. Meanwhile, Bush's most loyal constituency groups, the war profiteers, make out like bandits. You can be assured that lobbyists for a defense industry that stands to make a few billion from the deal will be vigorously wooing Congress to push this deal through.'
‘Bush and his cabinet are robustly promoting this war of aggression between the Arabs and their neighbors. Selling us arms goes along with those themes. But do you think they give a damn? It is those of us who are caught in the line of fire of this weaponry for generations to come who have to shoulder the burden of violence, while Bush and company remain safely ensconced in the safety of the White House.'
‘And you know what else, Mustafa? This dictatorship thing has some substance. As a matter of public knowledge, George W. Bush went on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he could be dictator, subtly underscoring a clear and present policy statement.'
‘And just recently a former Reagan official spoke of his fears in a publicized warning that the current administration was preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack on US soil in order for Mr. Bush to declare a state of national emergency, defer the upcoming Presidential elections, and stage a strike against Iran, settling himself in as President for life in the long haul.'
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury speaking on the Thom Hartmann radio program, stated that "When Bush exercises this authority (under the new Executive Order), there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule. The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," adding that the neo-cons intended to use this staged act of terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party, and by default extending Mr. Bush's tenure..
‘The administration figures themselves and prominent Republican propagandists ... are preparing us for another 9/11 event or series of events," he said. "You have to count on the fact that if Al-Qaeda is not going to do it, it will be orchestrated as such.'
Roberts suggested that in the absence of a massive popular outcry, only the federal bureaucracy and perhaps the military could put constraints on Bush's current drive for a fully-fledged dictatorship. "They may have had enough. They may not go along with it," he said.
‘You know Mustafa; these people are not simple clowns with doomsday predictions or wild erratic theories. They have been close to the seat of power long enough to realize that the recent policies and patterns of the Bush administration have given them cause for alarm. And not only for the American people.'
‘The rest of the world better watch out as well.'