In These Times
by US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

09/29/05

No one disputes that the military bases are of a physically permanent character. The only question is whether Iraq will be under permanent U.S. military occupation. If you are inclined to believe the president, we will be in Iraq, in his words 'as long as necessary, and not a day longer.' Members of the Bush administration, including the president, have been at pains to dispel any notion that they have plans for a permanent military presence in Iraq. On April 13, 2004, President Bush said, 'As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation and neither does America.' On February 17, 2005, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, testifying before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, said, 'We have no intention, at the present time, of putting permanent bases in Iraq.' The circumstances on the ground, however, tell another story...

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2323/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp