Pretext for war with Iraq was threatened...Remember Jose Bustani?

I thought it was fitting to remind everyone of what Bush did to derail Jose Bustani and his efforts to rid not only Iraq, but the world of chemical weapons. This is yet another example of the outrageous steps the Bush cabal took to get their war on in Iraq. I challenge anyone to explain how ruining the man who's destroyed more chemical weapons in the past 20 years than anyone else on earth, has somehow made us a more secure nation.

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Pretext for war with Iraq threatened
Chemical coup d'etat
The US wants to depose the diplomat who could take away its pretext for war with Iraq

George Monbiot Tuesday April 16, 2002

The Guardian, London, United Kingdom On Sunday, the US government will launch an international coup. It has been planned for a month. It will be executed quietly, and most of us won't know what is happening until it's too late. It is seeking to overthrow 60 years of multilateralism in favour of a global regime built on force.

The coup begins with its attempt, in five days' time, to unseat the man in charge of ridding the world of chemical weapons. If it succeeds, this will be the first time that the head of a multilateral agency will have been deposed in this manner. Every other international body will then become vulnerable to attack. The coup will also shut down the peaceful options for dealing with the chemical weapons Iraq may possess, helping to ensure that war then becomes the only means of destroying them.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) enforces the chemical weapons convention. It inspects labs and factories and arsenals and oversees the destruction of the weapons they contain. Its director-general is a workaholic Brazilian diplomat called Jose Bustani. He has, arguably, done more in the past five years to promote world peace than anyone else on earth. His inspectors have overseen the destruction of 2 million chemical weapons and two-thirds of the world's chemical weapon facilities. He has so successfully cajoled reluctant nations that the number of signatories to the convention has risen from 87 to 145 in the past five years: the fastest growth rate of any multilateral body in recent times. In May 2000, as a tribute to his extraordinary record, Bustani was re-elected unanimously by the member states for a second five-year term, even though he had yet to complete his first one. Last year Colin Powell wrote to him to thank him for his "very impressive" work.

But now everything has changed. The man celebrated for his achievements has been denounced as an enemy of the people. In January, with no prior warning or explanation, the US state department asked the Brazilian government to recall him, on the grounds that it did not like his "management style". This request directly contravenes the chemical weapons convention, which states "the director-general ... shall not seek or receive instructions from any government". Brazil refused. In March the US government accused Bustani of "financial mismanagement", "demoralisation" of his staff, "bias" and "ill-considered initiatives". It warned that if he wanted to avoid damage to his reputation, he must resign. Again, the US was trampling the convention, which insists that member states shall "not seek to influence" the staff. He refused to go.

On March 19 the US proposed a vote of no confidence in Bustani. It lost. So it then did something unprecedented in the history of multi lateral diplomacy. It called a "special session" of the member states to oust him. The session begins on Sunday. And this time the US is likely to get what it wants. Since losing the vote last month, the United States, which is supposed to be the organisation's biggest donor, has been twisting the arms of weaker nations, refusing to pay its dues unless they support it, with the result that the OPCW could go under.

http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/9-11/pretext.htm

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George Monbiot Tuesday April 16, 2002

April of Twenty Oh Fucking TWO!

The date caught my eye as well. This story also reminds me of Bush cutting funds to help Russia disarm many of their nuclear weapons. It certainly leaves one to question why this administration has worked so diligently to keep these weapons available for possible theft by our enemies.

Is anyone constructing a timeline to include events leading up to war, like this one?

http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/cra0426.htm

This administration has no regard for anyone or anything that would hinder its lust for power.

I remember reading about this as it happened but with these guys you need a full time staff just to keep up, much less integrate all their evil ways!

I'd say this about the time when GWB told us UBL was no longer his most important target. The invasion was well into the planning stages at this point, I think.