On the front line for ExxonMobil
“This looks like a modern-day crusade not to free an oppressed people or to rid the world of a demonic dictator relentless in his pursuit of conquest and domination but a crusade to control another nation’s natural resource. At least for us here, oil seems to be the reason for our presence.” — Letter from a US soldier in Iraq, printed in the September 17 Los Angeles Times.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
“American forces have launched a covert campaign to recruit former officers of the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s infamous secret police, who were responsible for the deaths and torture of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis.” — London Sunday Times, September 21.
Can now be tortured and abused by Uncle Sam
“Those who advocated another course have to accept that if their advice had been followed, Saddam Hussein would still be in power in Iraq with all of the torture and the human rights abuses that is involved in that.” — Prime Menzies John Howard, September 24, justifying his support for the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Sort of like finding the tooth fairy
“The fact that so far it's been difficult to obtain physical evidence [of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction] ... does not mean that the evidence is not there." — British foreign secretary Jack Straw, in radio interview, September 25.
Had overwhelming evidence of ...
“When we decided military action was justified we did so on the basis of overwhelming evidence about unanswered disarmament questions.” — Straw, addressing UN General Assembly, September 25.
Significant distinction
“You'll note that I did not say that he didn't have weapons of mass destruction.” — US Secretary of State Colin Powell, September 25, commenting on revelations that at a Cairo press conference in February 2001 he said Saddam Hussein had “not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction”.
From Green Left Weekly, October 1, 2003.
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