In a post on
My Left Nutmeg, John Hartwell talks about meeting with Joe Lieberman, with other DFA representatives.
During our meeting it was clear that the Senator and our group were at an impasse over the basic issues surrounding the war, so I asked him if he would be willing to disavow any desire to see the U.S. establish permanent military bases in Iraq, knowing that Madeline Albright had put the same question to Bush several days earlier in their Oval Office meeting.
Lieberman's response on the flip.
I think the question somewhat surprised Lieberman, and he seemed a bit flustered for perhaps the only time during the hour our group spent with him. His first response was that "he hadn't given it much thought," which seemed absurd, but when I pushed some more he mused that he didn't think we intended to have bases there as we had them elsewhere in the Middle East. He finished by saying that before he definitely made any statements he wanted to check with some people (Rummy?) and would get back to us.
I believe that this is an issue we should push on with non-ideological supporters of the war as it unmasks the true intentions of the neo-cons from the beginning.
It's an excellent point and one which can be used effectively as a wedge issue. Many of those who "support" the war have probably given no thought to the larger imperial designs of the Bush administration in the region.
I for one am contacting Senator Lieberman today to request that he take a firm stand against the establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq. Maybe we should contact everyone in Congress with the same demand.