More for war, less for human needs
President George Bush used both sides of his mouth during his annual State of the Union address on Jan. 23.
On one side, he attempted to assure the ruling class that he had their best interests in mind. On the other, he offered paltry and contradictory promises of “security” to working people in the United States, all in generalities and hyper-patriotic, “us against them” terms. The speech was designed to appear like Bush was conceding to the mass opposition that has been reflected on the streets and in the November elections; however, nothing in the content of his speech indicates that.
What was most obvious was that, despite this posturing, Bush has every intention to continue the hugely unpopular, illegal, and horrific war against the Iraqi people, sending even more troops and spending even more money on the endeavor. In a tired refrain, Bush urged that “America must not fail in Iraq, because ... the consequences of failure would be grievous and far-reaching.”
The first issue in Bush’s address was balancing the federal budget, which he declared would be done “without raising taxes.” No doubt this means what it has meant in the past—that the filthy rich will continue receiving tax breaks while the rest of us have to pay for the war.
Incidentally, no mention was made during the 50-minute speech about the war budget. The next day, the chair of the House Budget Committee, Rep. John Spratt, announced that increasing costs for the Iraq war are likely to nullify improvements in the federal deficit that have been predicted by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO claims that without increased war spending, the budget would reach a surplus by 2012, but only if Bush’s tax cuts—for the rich—are ended by the end of 2010. (Associated Press, Jan. 24)
As for the “war on terror,” Bush announced that “we must take the fight to the enemy.” This unveiled threat was directed at Iran, North Korea and Hezbollah, the leading group in Lebanon’s resistance movement. Bush declared the administration’s intention to “continue to speak out” against Cuba, when in reality the United States has imposed a blockade on the socialist country for the past 46 years and funded outright terrorist activities and organizations against it.
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