The last refuge (we can only hope) that the scoundrel George W. Bush will be able to take in order to shore up flagging support for his illegal war in Iraq is the one that he has been pursuing for quite some time now, namely, the rational that...(oh, god, do I have to repeat this inane phrase again? I suppose I must)...I say, the rational that "Freedom is on the march!"
This analysis of the new Iraqi Constitution puts the lie to that ridiculous claim:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=6725
A few choice excerpts below the fold...
Ah yes, Iraq the "model" - but what is it a model of? Nazism? Speaking of which, here's an ominous phrase from Article 5:
"The Iraqi people are one people, unified by belief and the unity of the homeland and culture. Anything that exposes this unity to danger is forbidden."
Uh oh. Does any of that sound familiar? Here's a hint for all you history buffs out there: "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer!"
Another key tenet of national socialism - government control of the media - is institutionalized in Article 6. Buried amid a plethora of "democratic"-sounding buzz-words - "freedom of culture," "freedom of opinion," and "freedom of publishing" - is the money quote:
"There is no censorship on newspapers, printing, publishing, advertising, or media except by law."
Translation: They're already putting the nameplates on the doors to the Office of the Chief Censor.
Not even slavery is out of bounds. Article 12 states:
"Compulsory service (the corvee), slavery, the slave trade, forced labor, or any work that is imposed on the Iraq citizen not in accordance with the provisions of the constitution or the law are forbidden."
What if a slave is treated in accordance with the provisions of the Iraqi constitution - what if he or she is provided with cradle-to-grave healthcare, is given the "right" (nay, the duty) "to work" (another "social right" enshrined therein), and treated in accordance with Islamic law, which is the self-proclaimed basis of this document? In the absence of any specific law explicitly forbidding slavery, it is apparently quite legal to own slaves in "liberated" Iraq. Aside from that, the Iraqi government sets aside the possibility of compulsory service to the state. There are many variations of slavery, and all of them are allowed under the terms of this constitution, unless otherwise specified by the enactment of some future law.
One by one, the bogus rationales for this futile and increasingly costly war are abandoned. Weapons of mass destruction - nada. Saddam's alleged links to al-Qaeda - zilch. "Freedom" and "democracy"? Forget it: the new constitution ensures that neither will emerge.
Which raises the question we started out asking: Why are we in Iraq?
Why did 1,700-plus American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis have to die, with many more than that grievously wounded, physically and psychologically? Did all this suffering and death come about due to the moral imperative of setting up an Iranian-style "Islamic Republic of Iraq," as the country will be known henceforth? While some Americans are not-so-subtly encouraged to join the military as a way out of a generations-long cycle of poverty, we're pouring billions down the ratholes of Iraq's emerging state bureaucracy, handing out cash by the barrel to finance the rule of Iraqi mullahs.
And McCain and others say "we must win in Iraq."
We cannot.
Out of Iraq.
Now!