Great summary. Love your description of Howard's Australia as a fawning satellite state. Excellent.

Timor. Was Howard's "help" anything other than stealing natural resources (Ring a bell)?
You've missed a few wars Howard is involved in on our behalf. NOT.

War on drugs of course. Total failure so he's consistent.

Second and this is the big one. Bigger than Iraq. It's his war against the Australian worker and the poorer rungs of our rather lop sided wealth ladder. Plenty of people at the bottom and in the middle. Just a few at the top. That's his biggest war and he nearly won it too. Except he went too far with No Work Choices. That broke the camel's back.

Third. The war on crime. Again, failure. Perhaps if they removed criminals from the Parliament we'd have a chance on that one.

As usual barrackers try and raise Labor's faults, of which there are many, just like the Coalition.

Why do they do that? Why can't they just read what is written and consider that? Instead they automatically reach for their anti whichever Party clipboard and cut and paste. What's wrong with these people? Don't they have a brain? Any independent thought?

These people dummies both sides of politics count on. They are stuck in their mindless barracking. Waving flags and cheering everything one side does.

BBoy and Grey ignore the obvious re "intelligence". That is the reports provided to prove Iraq had WMD were doctored, particlarly by Bush and Blair. Don't tell me Howard didn't know that as our intelligence services did also tell him. But they too were told to rewrite those reports. Remember?

Yes the bulk of us thought there were WMD pre invasion. But certainly not Bush, Blair or Howard? If Howard didn't know he's a fool as he was given that advice. Remember those many countries who wanted to wait and check for WMD befoe deciding that were there? Too logical?

Regardles of the first excuse for going there though, Howard lied at every change of "excuse" for remaining. And still does.

Pete, you will (I hope) love this. It's conjectural, but it sure does join some dots:

http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Iraq%20and%20Saudi%20Arabia.html

I always thought the 911-Saudi connection hung out there on a limb, as it were. We know about the very strong Saudi connections to the Bush cabal, the plane "hijackers" and so-on. But there the trail seems to go cold.

We now know, thanks to Matt Simmons, that all has not been well (no pun) with the world's biggest oil patch - and maybe for some time (shhhhh!).

So the theory is that huge quantities of un-metered Iraqi oil are going to supplement Saudi oil in some way, and help to hide the real state of the world's most important swing-producer. That's not so easy, because oils have a fingerprint, or genetic code that can be used to reveal their origins. But put that on the back-burner for now. Let's just say it's a possibility.

The means is the Iraq-Saudi high capacity pipeline which runs from Basra, around the Kuwaiti border to join the huge Saudi complex. It was completed before Gulf War 1, reported to be ready for re-use in 2003, then buried in the news as being "unserviceable". Google "IPSA pipeline" for heaps of info, including from the belly of the beast - the Baker Institute itself.

I used Google Earth to find the Basra end, where it passes through Rumayla South, then followed it through to it's juncture with the Saudi system (near 25 10' N, 47 30' E). It's there all right. I spent the rest of last night following the Saudi pipelines east to the gulf, and west all the way out to the Red Sea facilities. Along the way, the pumping stations are clearly visible. The pipes are buried for protection, but their footprint is clear. The possibilities are endless.

Mate, I was fairly parched from spending all that time in the desert.

Means, method and motive, Pete. Means, method and motive.

Check it out. If you need a tinfoil hat, you can have one from my extensive winter collection.

Cheers -

Thanks Chris ,

Come to think of it isn't there a Doctor in Howard's Government that agreed with you for one of those rare special moments of genuine Honesty, before he was told to shut up about oil .

Chris

Thats quite a find. Your efforts deserve a late night knock on the door from DIGO ( http://www.defence.gov.au/digo/ ) with an offer you can't refuse ;)

The info you've located responds to the question why would the US be in Iraq if its costing them so much? Answer - the Saudis and the US are splitting the proceeds of the stolen Iraqi oil which offsets some off the cost. This would also help maintain the stability not only of the Saudi regime but also neigbouring oil rich UAE and Kuwait.

Naturally much more checking needs to be done to validate the theory. But America is certainly in Iraq for more than just building democracy and keeping a country articificially created around 1920 together.

Regards

Pete

CHRIS and PLANTA :)

... and the alternative is..... ?

yep..that's right. There would be equally diabolical consequences from any government of any flavor in the US.. they would be different...but just as diabolical.

and you blokes wonder why I continually chirp out my 'religious nutter' stuff :)

The thing I find surprising with you blokes is that you find all this stuff so "SHOCKING" assss if it has not been 'par for the course' of all secular and even 'religious' government since Adam was a pup...

Its all about shifting alliances, mutual deterrance, balances of power.. becoming filthy rich...'national' interest...etc

AAAh..the freedom of these words "My kingdom is not of this world" and.."Upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" and "If the Lord does not build the house, those who build it, labor in vain"...

As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes. "Nothing is new, what is now has already been, and will be again tomorrow its all chasing the wind...futility"

But the best is:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7)

Boaz , You continually take us back to darker times where we could always have an excuse for going to war .

If you want to foist religion on us - why not use the the Lord's Commandment that "thou should not Kill" in your posts a bit more .

We may then all see a bit more to cheer about .