Ameriški predsednik George Bush je sinoči, med obiskom v Kolumbiji, menda prvič uradno potrdil, da v Irak ne pošilja ‘samo‘ 21.500 novih vojakov.

Bush said Sunday that his Jan. 10 announcement that he was committing 21,500 more troops were to Iraq referred only to combat forces. “Those combat troops are going to need some support,” he said. Bush said he hopes the Democratic-controlled Congress will fund their mission “without any strings attached.” Some of the deployments can be financed by cutting “lower priority federal programs,” according to a document issued March 9 by the Office of Management and Budget. Most affected by the cuts are the departments of Education, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

Na drugi strani v Pentagonu že pripravljajo načrte za (postopni) umik ameriških zasedbenih sil iz Iraka.  Šlo naj bi za model umika in prenosa ‘pristojnosti’ na ‘lokalno’ vojsko v slogu ameriške politike do Salvadorja v začetku osemdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja. To še ni priznanje, da je najnovejša strategija ‘čiščenja Bagdada’ oziroma ‘dokončne’ pacifikacije Iraka spodletela, vsekakor pa se zdi, da so stvari generalom in Pentagonu bolj jasne kot Beli hiši in da hkrati nemara tudi bolj resno od Bele hiše računajo z možnostjo, da se bo kongres zoperstavil predsednikovim predlogom.

“This part of the world has an allergy against foreign presence,” said a senior Pentagon official, adding that chances of success with a large U.S. force may be diminishing. “You have a window of opportunity that is relatively short. Your ability to influence this with a large U.S. force eventually gets to the point that it is self-defeating.”

Sinoči pa je Halliburton, po hudo dvomljivih poslih (tudi v Iraku) znana družba, napovedala selitev svojega sedeža iz Houstona v - Dubai. Davčno prijazno okolje.

Halliburton CEO David Lesar said, “Growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton’s portfolio.” More balance, and thanks to a friendly tax environment, hopefully more profits. Last year, Halliburton earned $2.3 billion in profits. Senator Patrick Leahy called the company’s move corporate greed at its worst.

Prejšnji mesec so ameriški preiskovalci Halliburtonu pripisali, da je v Iraku po nepotrebnem zapravil 2,7 milijarde dolarjev davkoplačevalskega denarja.

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