Will Bush Really Veto the Iraq Accountability Act?

Bush says he’ll veto the Iraq Accountability Act because it contains a timetable for withdrawal. If this law is passed, American troops will have to be out of Iraq by August 2008.

But will Bush really veto this bill? This is where the War on Terror clashes with Bush’s true goal: the Quest For Oil. Buried deeply in this bill is another item which might be even more important to Bush/Cheney than their rhetorical “War On Terror.” This other item mandates the sharing of oil revenues among all Iraqis. Well, that sounds nice. That’s the large print.

The fine print goes into much more detail. When this law takes effect, about 80% of Iraq’s oil reserves will be controlled by British and American oil companies. These oil reserves are currently controlled by the Iraq government.

THIS is why we invaded Iraq and why we’re still quagmired there four years later. “Support Our Troops!” and “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here” — it’s all window dressing. Control of Iraq’s oil is the underlying purpose of this war, and this control is written into the Iraq Accountability Act.

Bush doesn’t have the stones to veto it.

Good News From Pakistan

The tribal region of Northern Pakistan has long been a sanctuary for Islamic terrorists. This area has been suspected of harboring Osama bin Laden. But lately the local tribesmen have been turning against foreign terrorists operating in their country.

About fifty Islamic militants — mostly from Uzbekistan and Chechnya — were killed earlier today in clashes with native Pakistanis. A Pakistani official said all together about 177 foreign militants have been killed by locals since last week.

The Pakistani government has been unsuccessful in getting rid of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, especially in the tribal regions. But lately the government has been signing treaties with some of the tribes, hoping to drive a wedge between the tribesmen and foreign terrorists. This approach seems to be working.

The latest battle started when a terrorist group tried to forcibly recruit students from a local tribal school.

Now THIS is the way to fight the Global War On Terror. Persuasion. Capturing the hearts and minds of millions of people, village by village, tribe by tribe. It beats the shit out of alienating the rest of the world by bombing, invading and occupying.

Afghanistan and the tribal regions of Pakistan have never been conquered by an outside army. The Soviet Union in the 1980s and England in the early 1900s are the most recent would-be conquerors to get their asses kicked. Now it’s al Qaeda’s turn.