Rawstory : CBS: Bush created 'safe haven' for terrorism with Iraq invasion

[wakeme2008]

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CBS_Terror_Expert_Bush_created_safe_0524.html

terrorism with Iraq invasion
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Thursday May 24, 2007



Thursday morning CBS News's Early Show criticized President Bush's latest justification for the Iraq War as being the first line of defense against al Qaeda, by citing an upcoming Senate Intelligence Committee report which states that the administration was warned before the invasion that a US presence in Iraq would actually increase terrorist influence.

Analyst Paul Kurtz expanded on this criticism, saying, "Prior to our invasion of Iraq...Iraq was not a fertile ground for terrorist activity," but that now "we have a safe haven in Iraq for terrorists." The administration, says Kurtz, is trying to have it both ways

more at link.......

[whistle]

1. Does the Bush administration have a plan for total genocide in Iraq?

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Iraqis Resist U.S. Pressure to Enact Oil Law
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2007-05-14 03:14. Media
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD - It has not even reached parliament, but the oil law that U.S. officials call vital to ending Iraq’s civil war is in serious trouble among Iraqi lawmakers, many of whom see it as a sloppy document rushed forward to satisfy Washington’s clock.

Opposition ranges from vehement to measured, but two things are clear: The May deadline that the White House had been banking on is in doubt. And even if the law is passed, it fails to resolve key issues, including how to divide Iraq’s oil revenue among its Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni regions, and how much foreign investment to allow. Those questions would be put off for future debates. 0513 01

The problems of the oil bill bode poorly for the other so-called benchmarks that the Bush administration has been pressuring Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s government to meet. Those include provincial elections, reversing a prohibition against former Baath Party members holding government and military positions and revision of Iraq’s constitution.

Republican leaders in Washington have warned administration officials that if the Iraqi government fails to meet those benchmarks by the end of the summer, remaining congressional support for Bush’s Iraq policies could crumble. Their impatience was underscored Wednesday by Vice President Dick Cheney during a visit here.

“I did make it clear that we believe it’s very important to move on the issues before us in a timely fashion, and that any undue delay would be difficult to explain,” Cheney told reporters.

But Iraqi lawmakers show little sign of bending to accommodate Bush on an issue as crucial as oil.
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