Friday, January 02, 2004

Is Bush serious when he acts like he has some leverage over Iran? What is he promising the Iranian people? The kind of change that he has brought to Iraq: so if the Iranians heed his warnings, and bring him in, they can expect to have: their country bombed and devastated, car bombs every other day, shortages of electricity, water, and gasoline, US corporate takeover of the economy, the installation of pro-US autocrats, the introduction of thuggish exile groups and militias, the shooting at their civilians by jittery US troops at checkpoints, mass arrests of thousands of Iranians, the freedom to praise the US day and night, the promise that elections will only be held when the people "are ready," the imposition of a US colonial adminstrator who issues royal decrees sinpsired from the skies, the instigation of all kinds of ethnic, sectarian, and religious conflicts, the rejuvenation of religious politics, the revival of clan and tribe-based identities, a regression in the status of women, and, of course, a live dental exam for Iran's president. A change indeed--US style. And notice how much the US is interested in getting its hands on Saddam's millions. The US is not interested in learning from Saddam about his human rights violations and his massacres; they just wants the millions. It seems that the Thief of Baghdad has been replaced by another Thief of Baghdad.