Weekly Warning Words

     This warm warning doesn't deal with the Bremer Stadtmusikanten (city musicians) - an ass, a dog, a cat and a rooster - a quartet of compulsive, compelling critters that screamed for the limelight. But our Bremer, the choice of our owners of Iraq, used the loud policies of those 4 animals, to proclaim his intention to privatize Iraq's government, its business, education, health delivery, along with its police and military enforcement system. Obviously, the trusted American will include water and electric utilities with their oil and gas foundations. Of course, it can be done if our battle-proved Marines kill every Iraqi who opposes this power grab.

     However, the Shariah, Islamic sacred law, prohibits this grand gesture of genial capitalism. Every Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd would rather die than live by the rules of American financiers.

     We remember that Dame Thatcher did just that and got away with it. She forced the sale of the people's sweat and blood at public auctions. Only her richest, most selfish and very conservative friends with insider knowledge had their consortiums ready for the low-price give-away, their cheques (we spell it checks) on the ready for the great blast. The gracious lady received enough cash to pay off part of the over-due national debt. - Wonderful! She had some left-overs and lots of credit with those favorites to enable her to reconquer the Falkland isles from Argentinian soldiers.

     But such sell-outs of public wealth can be only done once. What a pity! And since her now overrich loyals didn't have to pay taxes for the years of their sharing the loot, the dame would have destroyed England more efficiently than Hitler could have dreamed to do it. Believing in miracles, the conservative compassion got one from high up down under: Black gold - oil - was discovered in the German North Sea. (The English and Scots should call it East Sea. To Norwegian partners it should be West Sea.) Now poor Norwegians don't have to be swallowed in their leaky fishing boats by the stormy Arctic Ocean. If they die as rough necks under the stilty oil rigs, their family receives more insurance pay than many years of income from fish catching, drying, baking and selling. Glory be!

     Like in Thatcher England, our beneficiaries of the blood-soaked Iraqian conquest need only a small part of our debt-addition of 87 million dollars, to acquire down-trodden Iraq's oil wells, refineries, pipelines, electric and phone conduits together with the conquered palaces, schools, roads, train and bus systems. Now the families of our dead heroes know why we engaged in this happy little "preventive war" to liberate one wretched nation from their own incompetent executioner. Our executives can do a better job.

     Obviously, the Bush-Cheney-Rice bowl was quickly eaten up by the best-connected Halliburton and Bechtel corporations and their sub-contracted companions, all with the active cooperation of a willing Congress. Only a century ago did Teddy Roosevelt joke about shooting some of those malfeasant monsters of what Ike later called the military-industrial complex in such Fascist corporate state.

     But we are all guilty of collusion with the corrupt practices of our electable warlords and buyers and sellers of high public office. Our manufacturers are paid by Congress to export our industrial jobs along with our former freedoms and security.

     You have to travel abroad to understand why the entire world hates us as corruptors of democracy. Everyone who loved us on 9-11, two years ago, lost faith in the latest phase of American capitalism which dishonors and demeans the patriotism of our Founding Fathers

November 12, 2003 - WEEK 8 - Bremer's Private Parts and Partners

BY DR. BRUNO J. KEITH