Ed’s weblog is a reliable source of political edification and enlightenment. You should go there regularly.
In anycase, a posting he made recently deserves some amplification. Ed cites this Guardian article reporting on Richard Perle’s resignation from his position as chairman of the Pentagon’s Defence Policy Board. This gentleman is also lovingly nicknamed “The Prince of Darkness”.
More importantly however, is the fact that Perle is cited as the principal author of a 1996 report titled “Clean Break”. This report, without so much as a blush, sets out a master plan that is designed to reshape the Middle East to be more compatible with the strategic interests of Israel. The course of action starts out with a violent shake-up of the current regime in Iraq, very similar to what we’re seeing now.
This plan fits in very neatly with yet another dastardly design formulated by some of Dubya’s buddies even before The Eloquent One succeeded in becoming leader of the blind (for the less astute readers: This has been planned before George W. Bush ran for president and before 9/11). To quote from that link:
“The plan shows Bush’s cabinet intended to take military control of the Gulf region whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power. It says: ‘The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.’
The PNAC document supports a ‘blueprint for maintaining global US pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests’.”
I find this almost surreal. Usually, one makes some effort to disguise imperialism…
PNAC is of course the Project for the New American Century. It has a website where you can read what America is planning for you. It mostly comes down to the fact that if you don’t live in a America, your country will be terraformed until you hardly notice the difference!
In short: this war has been planned for a very long time and the Americans are NOT doing it to liberate the Iraqi people. When this war draws to an end, it won’t be long before America goes to work on the next inferior culture, so get ready for a terrible and bumpy ride.