Bush Isn't Leveling

Martin Griffin

04/19/04 "ICH" -- George Bush isn't leveling with the American people. Our armed forces are woefully understaffed yet no one is saying the "D" word out loud. Yet the nations selective service system was given an additional $28 million dollars this year to aid it in fully staffing draft boards. around the nation. 

There are two bills in Congress that if they stay on schedule will re-institute the draft in the spring or summer of 2005. House bill HR-163 and Senate Bill S-89 are ready to go after the elections, when no ones vote will cost them their job. Another thing that we aren't being leveled with about is that it is now estimated by many experts in Washington that the war effort in Iraq will cost us an additional $40 to $60 billion dollars than was originally stated. As it stands now the war is costing $4 billion daily. 

We still have not been leveled with about the weapons of mass destruction. It seems that George Bush himself was not impressed with what little intelligence was available as he constantly prodded CIA Director George Tenet to come up with more precise information. With the passage of each month it seems that more source's are coming to the fore and claiming that George Bush had designs on Iraq from the earliest days of his administration. Bob Woodward's book promises to add more fuel to that fire as well as some corroborating of previous authors. 

Even while the Bush administration was making a case before the world they set in motion preparations that show they never intended on a diplomatic solution. Bob Woodward states in his forthcoming book "In the summer of 2002, Bush approved $700 million worth of 'preparatory tasks' in the Persian Gulf region such as upgrading airfields, bases, fuel pipelines and munitions storage depots to accommodate a massive US troop deployment. The Bush administration funded the projects from a supplemental appropriations bill for the war in Afghanistan and old appropriations, keeping Congress unaware of the reprogramming of money and the eventual cost." 

The reasons we attacked Iraq have also undergone revision. We are now told it was because of Saddam's desire to acquire weapons of mass destruction; or, defying UN resolutions and killing those within his own borders. This week however Mr. Bush stood side by side with the UN's biggest resolution violator and mid east hoarder of weapons of mass destruction, Israel. A country that often kills civilians with America supplied armaments, Israel now reportedly has a submarine based capability to deploy their nuclear weapons. 

America has supported Israeli violations of international law; and, are now depriving the Palestinians of any chance of settling with the present Israeli government. I believe that Israel has a right to exist as do the Palestinians. When we lean so far to one side we deprive moderates of any chance of winning the hearts and minds of the average Muslim from the men of the guns. At the present time there are too many pro Israeli advisors getting "the Presidents ear".They even managed to put Elliot Abrams back in the State Department in spite of his conviction for lying to Congress over Iran-Contra. He was recently involved in the discussions leading up to the recent bilateral agreements between Bush and Sharon. Abrams was pardoned in the last day's of Bush Sr.'s Presidency. 

It's strange that all anyone is talking about is how this might play to Florida's Jewish voters. No one is leveling with us about how all these policies only put America in more danger by giving the world an impression of arrogance.and bias I am starting to think that the only leveling that Bush is capable of involves foreign cities. 

Copyright: Martin Griffin <SirGriffletNY@aol.com>