Loose Cannons

The people in Baghdad don't count

"I concluded that to step back from the fight in Baghdad would have disastrous consequences for people in America." — Emperor George Bush II, February 14, defending his decision to send an extra 21,500 US combat troops to Iraq, of which 17,500 will be stationed in the Iraqi capital.

Bushwacked I

"A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population — the highest percentage in the developed world ... Under President George W Bush an extra 5.4 million have slipped below the poverty line ... Faced with rising poverty rates, Bush's trillion-dollar federal budget recently raised massive amounts of defence spending for the war in Iraq and slashed billions from welfare programmes." — London Observer, February 19.

Bushwacked II

"One-third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a new study released under UN auspices Sunday, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed widespread prosperity less than three decades ago... It found that by 2004, Iraqi living standards had deteriorated considerably compared with the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the area of access to, and quality of, water, electricity and sanitation, as well as employment, income and asset ownership." — Los Angeles Times, February 19.

From GLW issue 700