Letter: Bush continuing his mission of draining treasury

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 9:16 a.m.

Once again George Bush has used the terror of 9-11 to push his imperial agenda in Iraq. Just days before the 9-11 anniversary he requested $87 billion more for Iraq. A reported 60 percent of Nevadans say they don't want to pay the $87 billion, much less the future billions Bush will request. I don't blame the opposition; for $87 billion we could solve all the educational problems in the United States. At the very least, we could bail out our states, most of which are on the verge of bankruptcy.

We are told "We must stay the course," but what course is that? There is hardly a map of the problems in both Afghanistan and Iraq, much less a course of action. The purpose of the Bush administration is to advance the military, industrial, and political complex in the world. Afghanistan has not been rebuilt and al-Qaida is coming back. We have only enough troops there to guard our pipelines. Further, most of the $87 billion requested for Iraq goes to maintaining troops and little goes for reconstruction.

There is an answer. Turn the control of Iraq over to a truly independent international organization. This would require cooperation with the rest of the world and abandoning the Bush imperial vision. This president is not ready to do that. It is his domestic and economic policy to defeat "big government" programs such as public education, public health care and Social Security by big-government spending on needless wars and useless weapons, while cutting taxes for the rich. Sacking our treasury is not a problem for Bush; it is his economic plan.

JERRY BITTS