A Must Read: Bush's Bubble

A very well-written, thoughtful and timely piece from Tom Engelhardt: Potemkin World or the President in the Zone.

Engelhardt assembles a great range of links, stories and quotes to illustrate the unreal world within which Bush now moves, even on his latest trip abroad. Bush "passes through the empty cities of the world and, even when in filled auditoriums, through a world emptied of all reality but his."

The article includes two powerful letters, one from a German desribing how the entire city of Mainz was shut down for Bush's visit, at considerable cost to German taxpayers (not to mention the cost to their civil liberties)...

Many citizens of Mainz weren't even able to drive their cars. They were forced to park kilometres away from their homes, simply because they lived near one of the maybe-routes the President's convoy might conceivably have taken. Using the railway system might have seemed a solution, but unfortunately over 100 trains were also cancelled (and a similar number of flights at the airport in Frankfurt during the time that Air Force One arrived).

One could imagine George Bush sitting in a car, but in a train? If you smiled at that, you'll laugh when I mention the Rhine River. The route of the President crossed the Rhine and so the whole river was closed to shipping. (Estimated losses in profits only for this: 500,000 euros.)

... People were told to stay away from their windows and they were forbidden to step out on their balconies! And the Secret Service that protects your President even had plans to shut down the mobile phone communication system.

... plus another painfully direct letter from an Iraqi engineer "who had criticized Saddam Hussein in his time as a "ruthless dictator" and had no intention of holding his tongue now."

I am sure, Mr. President, that our traumatized kids will never forget what was done to their future by your "liberation." I am sure that your kids will have to deal in the future with our traumatized kids. I am also sure that your kids will have to repay for all the damages and the stolen money. I can see that the price will be very high.

I do not want to be like the rest of your advisors giving you the rosy picture. They have told you about the WMD, the Al-Qaeda link, the 9/11 link, the Iraqis welcoming your troops as "liberators"… and it is proved that they were not telling you the truth. It is about time that you listen to other people.

We do not hate America for its "freedom or democracy." We don't hate America. We hate the crimes, the destruction, and the devastation committed by America against the innocent people in our country.

Respectfully,

Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar Baghdad,
Occupied Iraq

Read the full story at TomDispatch.