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To Hell and Back
by Bob Zimmerman
November 19, 2003

Thanks to millions of real American patriots (peace, freedom, and environmental activists from every walk of life) the truth about the ugly goals of the murderous Bush regime are being widely recognized.

In the face of the raucous and near-constant barrage of Republican neo-con lies and deceptions, as broadcast to us by the handful of fanatical right-wing billionaires that control our mass media, learning the truth about Bush is perhaps the greatest demonstration that our evolving democracy is still functioning.

Each day, on the Internet, on public radio and television, from the few remaining courageous journalists in the mass media, and from the many in the burgeoning alternative media, we learn more about the deceptions and depravities that are the core of the Bush vision for world domination by economic and military coercion. Recently, we learned that the same Bush that staged a chauffeured landing on an aircraft carrier is really an unprosecuted military deserter and the first president to don a military uniform while holding office. Were any of our troops in Iraq or elsewhere to desert from the military in the same way Bush did, they would face court martial, dishonorable discharge, and a lengthy prison sentence.

Let us examine some brand new Bush war propaganda. In a November 6, 2003 speech to the National Endowment for Democracy, Bush announced the outline of his plan for exporting freedom and democracy to the entire Middle East. Leaving aside the utter lunacy of such a course of action (the War on Terror is now a War of Terror, essentially forcible region-building when even our efforts at forcible nation-building have nearly always failed), Bush justified his overtly aggressive Middle East agenda by espousing his view of the essential principles of successful nations (he called them societies).

(1) Bush said, "successful nations recognize the rights of women." Why then is he actively engaged in repealing a woman's right to choose, and why did he invade Iraq where the rights of women were greater than in any other Arab nation?

(2) Bush said, "successful nations prohibit and punish official corruption, and invest in the health and education of their people." Why then is Bush not cooperating with the various agencies and commissions investigating corruption and criminality within his own administration? Why then does not Bush come clean about his family's ties to the bin-Laden family, to their financing of the Nazi and Stalin dictatorships, and to their continuing involvement in the super-secret Carlyle Group? Why is Bush hiding the truth about 9/11, providing cover for the White House culprit that intentionally "outed" an undercover CIA agent, and why does he not reveal his deep ties to Enron and Kenneth Lay? W! hy does Bush not speak out against the profligate war profiteering within his regime and by his supporters? And why has Bush abandoned investing in the health and education of our people in favor of falsely attempting to export democracy to the Middle East?

(3) Bush said, "successful nations allow room for.independent newspapers and broadcast media." Why then is his administration actively engaged in paving the way for even greater right-wing media consolidation?

(4) Bush said, "successful nations protect freedom with the consistent and impartial rule of law instead of selectively applying the law to punish political opponents." Why then do Bush and Ashcroft use secret courts and prosecutors to punish their political opponents and why are they actively engaged in shredding our Constitution and Bill of Rights? Why then does Bush not speak out against the millions of people incarcerated in America for low-level nonviolent crimes while thousands of high-level corporate crooks remain free and even work within his regime at the highest levels?

(5) Bush said, "successful nations limit the power of the state and the power of the military, so that governments respond to the will of the people, and not the will of the elite." Why then does Bush only respond to the will of the 1% of America that is wealthy? Why then did Bush force the ill-considered USA Patriot Act on Congress just two-days after 9/11? And, perhaps most important, why is Bush pursuing elective foreign wars to export democracy to the Middle East when not one person on earth or in heaven ever voted to give him that power?

Just think about it. Everything Bush says and does is double-speak, bold-faced deceptions and lies that cover-up government behavior more dangerous to our way of life than anything we have previously experienced, and every bit as disgusting as Vietnam, slavery, and the genocide of Native Americans.

In early May 2003, Bush announced victory in Iraq. Is this man to be trusted with anything? In Iraq, our troops are being slaughtered; they want to come home, and they should be brought home. Bush must confess the error of his elective war.

Four more years is simply unthinkable. After defeating Bush, we must set about the serious business of evolving our own democracy, which has nothing to do with the export it as if it were just another commodity. Democracy is an idea for a complex system of government that must spring from the hearts and minds of people who want it and will cherish it. Democracy is not a Big Mac; it is not a Wal-Mart; and it is definitely not anything that Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft/Rumsfeld and the rest of the neo-con war-profiteers know anything about.

Four more years is not just unthinkable, it would be a stain our great nation must not tolerate. Bush has begun his self-propelled descent into Hell. And it is only in completing that journey or resigning from office that we wish him Godspeed.

Bob Zimmerman is author of The American Challenge: Twenty-One Winning Strategies for the 21st Century

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