Loose cannons

Liberation I

"You'll be fighting not to conquer anybody but to liberate people." — George "The Crusader" Bush addressing US troops, January 3.

Liberation II

"Under the [Bush administration's] plan a US military governor would rule post-war Iraq for up to a year. The infrastructure of Saddam's ruling Baath party would remain largely intact, with the top two officials in each Iraqi ministry replaced by US military officers." — February 16 British Sunday Observer.

Expert opinion

"We are about to embark on an operation that's going to put us in a colonial position in the Middle East following Britain, following the Ottomans." — Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, February 16, announcing he's considering running against Crusader Bush in the 2004 US presidential election. Clark was commander of NATO's forces in Europe during the 1999 Serbia-Kovosa bombing campaign.

Baghdad to be next Hiroshima?

"It's well-known how the United States conducts itself in military affairs. We are very proud of the fact that any time force is reluctantly used, the force is applied to military targets and innocents are protected." — White House mouthpiece Ari Fleischer, February 19, responding to journalists question about civilian casualties in a US war on Iraq following Pentagon statements that "there will not be a safe place in Baghdad when we attack".

From Green Left Weekly, February 26, 2003.

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From GLW issue 527