Reply #5: Although I do not have any specific information, I have always believed [View All]

that Bush's mentor on the runup to and the actual war on Iraq was none other than Sharon himself.There are several indicators of this. The first, of course, was the involvement of Perle who was heavily involved in the Israeli elections as a campaign advisor.There are other players on the Likud side notably Feith although I do not know what his exact role was.

When we consider some of the actions Bush has taken prior to 9/11 and after, one can see a pattern emerging that is strikingly similar to what Israel has done over the years with regard to international laws and institutions.The assertion that US troopsand officials will not be bound by any International Crminal Court proceedings is one of them.The second is the wilful violations of the Geneva conventions.
And third, and most importantly, is the wanton destruction of the UN charter.These are the most obvious ones and you can probably dig up more if you research this more thoroughly than I have.

But, of special importance to me and probably to others at DU should be the tortures of prisoners and especially the children at Abu Ghraib.General Karpinski, the Warden at Abu Ghraib , has noted the presence of several Israeli 'interrogators' at that infamous prison.
I can only surmise what they were doing there.Given the intimate knowledge Israelis have of Arab culture, many of the torture procedures, I am sure, have been developed by the Israelis with their characteristic thoroughness.The use of dogs,the use of fecal matter,the sodomization of children in the presence of parents, the rape of women in the presence of their husbands are all part of the torture procedures that have been used by the Israelis over four decades against the Palestinians.I am sure that the Israelis's fluency in Arabic was also put to good use during the so called interrogations.

All of these things would not have been possible without the specila bond shared by Sharon and Bush.I recall that before he announced his candidacy for the presidency, in one of his rare ventures out of the US Bush visited Sharon at the instigation of Wolfowitz.The bonds forged by these two has produced the framework of American policy in the Middle East.The aim of Israel is to eliminate any possibility of the Palestinians forming a State.The aim of the Us is to send a message to the Arabs that either they obey the US or their main resource, oil, will be taken over and they will be put down by armed force.The confluence of these interests is what we see in the Iraq war.

Sorry for this long dissertation.