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But Bush and his friends overlooked one
detail -- that the people of Iraq might not go along with their plans!
Bush declared that he had "liberated" the people of Iraq and that he
would bring them democracy. The Iraqis, quite naturally, were
suspicious.
We know what happened after the British "liberated" our grandparents.
And we know what happened the last time the U.S. brought us "regime
change" -- we ended up with Saddam Hussein!
If the past is any indication, the prospects for democracy in Iraq under
U.S. tutelage are not good. The U.S. has overthrown many governments
around the world, but the result has rarely been any kind of democracy.
Instead, the result has almost always been a brutal dictatorship.
It soon became clear that American "liberation" of Iraq came with
strings attached.
"We didn't take on this huge burden not to have significant, dominating
control." -- U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, April 2003 [87]
Bush appointed Paul Bremer III, a "counterterrorism" expert trained by
Henry Kissinger, to head up the U.S. occupation of Iraq. U.S. oil
company executives and bankers were assigned to look after the Iraqi oil
industry and central bank. U.S. military officers were placed in charge
of Iraqi cities.
We call it the corporate-military model of government. [88]
Bush promised to give "sovereignty" back to Iraqis, but he also made it
clear that only a pro-American government would be acceptable.
George W. Bush: Of course! If you're not with us, you're with the
terrorists!
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