L.A. Times Op-Ed, Mar 29, 2005 Robert Scheer:
A Con Job by Pakistan's Pal, George Bush Trying to follow the U.S. policy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons is like watching a three-card monte game on a city street corner. Except the stakes are higher. The announcement Friday that the United States is authorizing the sale to Pakistan of F-16 fighter jets capable of delivering nuclear warheads - and thereby escalating the region's nuclear arms race - is the latest example of how the most important issue on the planet is being bungled by the Bush administration. Consider this dizzying series of Bush II-era actions: We have thrown away thousands of Iraqi and American lives and billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars after crying wolf on Iraq's long-defunct nuclear weapons program and now expect the world to believe similar scary stories about neighboring Iran. We have cozied up to Pakistan for more than three years as it freely allowed the operation of the most extravagantly irresponsible nuclear arms bazaar the world has ever seen. We sabotaged negotiations with North Korea by telling allies that Pyongyang had supplied nuclear material to Libya, even though the Bush administration knew that the country of origin of those shipments was our "ally," Pakistan. Now, Lockheed Martin has been saved from closing its F-16 production line by the White House decision to lift the arms embargo on Pakistan and allow the sale. The decision, which ends a 1990 embargo put in place by the president's father in reprisal for Pakistan's development of a nuclear arsenal, is especially odd at a time when we are berating European nations for considering lifting their arms embargo on China. The White House says the F-16s are a reward to Islamabad for its help in disrupting terrorism networks, despite a decade of Pakistan's strong support of Al Qaeda and the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Yet Pakistan's ruling generals could be excused for believing that Washington is not seriously concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. How else to explain invading a country - Iraq - that didn't possess nukes, didn't sell nuclear technology to unstable nations and didn't maintain an unholy alliance with Al Qaeda - and then turning around and giving the plum prizes of U.S. military ingenuity to the country that did? Even as the Bush administration continues to confront Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, Islamabad has admitted that Pakistani nuclear weapons trafficker Abdul Qadeer Khan - the father of his nation's nuclear bomb - provided Iran with the centrifuges essential to such a program. Further, new evidence reveals that Khan marketed to Iran and Libya not only the materials needed for a nuclear bomb but the engineering competence to actually make one. Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf insists Khan was running his nuclear smuggling operation under the radar of the military government that brought Musharraf to power. And although this is a highly implausible claim given the reach of the military's power and the scope of the operation, the White House has found it convenient to buy it hook, line and sinker - all the better to remarket Pakistan to the American people as a war-on-terrorism ally. While Pakistan was receiving such heaping helpings of benefit of the doubt, North Korea became the Bush administration's scapegoat for the rapid nuclear proliferation happening on its watch, according to the Washington Post. "In an effort to increase pressure on North Korea, the Bush administration told its Asian allies in briefings earlier this year that Pyongyang had exported nuclear material to Libya," wrote the Post. "But that is not what U.S. intelligence reported, according to two officials with detailed knowledge of the transaction." Sources told the paper that "Pakistan's role as both the buyer and the seller [of uranium hexafluoride] was concealed to cover up the part played by Washington's partner." One result of the United States shortsightedly pulling this fast one has been the collapse of multilateral nonproliferation talks with Pyongyang. Yet in the long term, the cost is much greater: a dramatic erosion of trust in U.S. statements on nuclear proliferation. >From Iraq to Iran, North Korea to Pakistan, the Bush administration has pulled >so many con jobs that it is difficult for anybody to take it seriously. >Unfortunately, though, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is as serious as >it gets. *** Please Forward You, Your Family, or Someone You Know Will be Impacted by Gov. Schwarzenegger's Proposed 2005-2006 Budget! Assemblymembers Jackie Goldberg, Karen Bass, Mervyn Dymally, Judy Chu, Mark Ridley-Thomas and others will hear testimony on the Governor's Budget at the People's Budget Hearing! SEIU Local 434B, CA ACORN, CA Nurses Association, Center for Prophetic Renewal, Democracy for America - L.A., California Partnership, Local Firefighter Unions, Progressive Christians Uniting, Say Yes to Children Network, L.A. County Federation of Labor, LA Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, Children's Defense Fund, and CHIRLA invite you to: LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Testify Against the Cuts or Come and Show Support for Those Testifying! CALIFORNIA STATE BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING Saturday April 2, 2005 Patriotic Hall - 1816 South Figueroa - Los Angeles Noon - 2:00 pm This is a rare opportunity to let your legislators know what you think about the Governor's proposed cuts to the 2005 -2006 State Budget! Teachers ~ Parents ~ Students ~ Grassroots Activists Firefighters ~ State Employees ~ Nurses Union Members ~ Religious Leaders ~ Local Elected Officials Public Assistance Recipients ~ Home Healthcare Workers All Concerned Citizens Speak out against the needless cuts to education, children's programs, health care, childcare, pension plans, and public assistance programs for the elderly, the blind, the disabled and more. Some of the Proposed cuts include: - Education - $2.8 Billion for K-14; Structural Reform to Prop 98 - $3.9 Billion - State Employee Pensions and Compensation - $408 Million - The Calworks (Medical, foodstamps, etc.) programs and SSI/SSP - $714 Million - In-Home Supportive Services - $195 Million Organized by: The Center for Prophetic Renewal Please let me know if you plan to testify! For talking points or more information contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** The Glendale Peace Vigil presents: "WHOSE DEMOCRACY IS IT, ANYWAY? HOW CAN AMERICANS CHALLENGE THE WAR ON IRAQ, MEDIA MISINFORMATION, CORPORATE CORRUPTION, AND OUR OWN FEELINGS OF POWERLESSNESS? A Talk By ROBERT JENSEN Professor of Journalism (University of Texas at Austin) and Author of Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 7:00 PM GLENDALE CENTRAL LIBRARY 222 E. Harvard Street, Glendale, CA 91205 DONATIONS WELCOME no one turned away for lack of funds INFORMATION: 818-450-0177 EVENT INCLUDES: -- Speaker, plus audience discussion! -- Informal gathering & refreshments! -- Educational tabling with various community groups! -- Books, films, and other items for sale! ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Robert Jensen spent a decade as a professional journalist before joining the journalism department at the University of Texas, Austin, where he teaches media law, ethics, and politics. He also is a community activist, has authored many books and articles, and was interviewed onscreen in Hijacking Catastrophe, a film on the Bush administration's deceitful and dangerous marketing of the Iraq War in the wake of 9/11. Jensen's recent book, Citizens of the Empire, is a plainspoken, highly personal handbook for those seeking a way to reclaim democracy and fight despair, while confronting the nation's mega-institutions of power and information, which seem to grow more inhumane and unresponsive every day. At the core of all of Robert Jensen's work is a passionate desire to help people generate political, intellectual, and ethical hope, while living in the heart of the world's most powerful, affluent, militarized nation in an era of imperial expansion. "Robert Jensen does more than challenge us to think and feel--he also encourages us to transform our lives.this book will jolt readers into a truer reckoning with their own beliefs and capabilities. Jensen makes a powerful case that we can stop being passive spectators and start being active co-creators of history. Citizens of the Empire is a book of realism and hope -- a strong antidote to the poisons of conformity and despair." - Norman Solomon, Executive Director, Institute for Public Accuracy "That the U.S. today is engaged in a project of empire-building is now beyond doubt. But few have clarified the consequences and the choice facing those of us who are citizens of that empire: to challenge it peacefully, from within, or to watch aghast as others attack it, violently, from without. Among those who would meet that challenge for justice, there is anger and there is hope. Bob Jensen has managed the unusual accomplishment of describing and invoking both." - Foreign policy expert Phyllis Bennis DIRECTIONS: The library is in downtown Glendale, at 222 E. Harvard Street, at the corner of Harvard and Louise. That intersection is just east of Brand Blvd, between Broadway and Colorado. From the 134 Fwy, take the Brand Blvd exit going south, past Broadway to Harvard. Turn left on Harvard, going east, to Louise. From the 5 Fwy, take the Colorado exit, going east to Louise. Turn left on Louise, going north to Harvard. PARKING: There is free street parking after 6pm near the library. You also can get 3 hours free parking, with a Glendale Library validation (obtained at the event) at the Marketplace parking structure across from the library. Enter the structure on Maryland, 1 block east of Brand, just north of Harvard. SPONSOR: This event is sponsored by the GLENDALE PEACE VIGIL. We meet every Friday from 5-7+ pm, at Brand & Broadway in Glendale, to peacefully demonstrate our objections to current U.S. policies, distribute educational materials addressing issues of peace and justice, and talk with community members about current events. Everyone sharing our concerns is welcome to join us! 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