Reply #8: Israelis and many Americans confused strong rhetoric with competence and resolve.

[AdHocSolver]

Bush is a front man, a puppet, for Cheney. Cheney really runs the government as it is coming out now in the "scooter" Libby trial. I concluded several years ago that Bush was bad for U.S. foreign policy as well as for Israel. His push for war with Iraq while ignoring Iran and Syria was proof enough for me that his pro-Israel rhetoric was meaningless. Bush and Cheney's financial and political ties to the Saudi royal family was another reason to conclude Bush/Cheney was not good for Israel. It has only been wishful thinking that led Israelis and Americans to think that Bush/Cheney was good for anything.

It has become clear that the war in Iraq was never to spread democracy, but mainly to secure the Iraqi oil fields for the American oil companies. It is not necessary, and never intended by them, to "win" a war in Iraq: the sole purpose was to secure the oil fields. As long as they maintain control of the oil, the rest of Iraq can have their civil war for as long as they want. Now with Iraq being primed to sign long-term exclusive oil contracts with Big Oil, Bush/Cheney can head into Iran to get that country's oil fields under contract the same way.

The war in Afghanistan was waged in the same way. The Taliban were refusing the building of a gas pipeline through their country so the U.S. sent troops to throw them out and install a U.S.-friendly government in Kabul. As soon as the pipeline deal was assured, Bush/Cheney "forgot" about bin Ladin and started beating the drum against Saddam and his imaginary WMD's.

There is no intention of stopping the fighting in the Middle East and there never was any. In another thread, it was told about a huge arms deal about to be negotiated between the U.S. military industrial complex and several "scared" Arab oil states. Cheney is heavily tied to Halliburton and Daddy Bush is connected to the Carlyle group. These guys aren't going to ignore the huge profits to be made in prolonged Middle East war. This is not good for the U.S. or Israel.