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WORD
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297
JUNE 4, 2008
GOOFY
ON BAGHDAD — by Jim Hightower
It’s
now official: Goofy is in charge of the Bush regime’s Iraq occupation.
Even as
violence has ramped up again in Iraq, and even as the administration
continues to insist that its war must go on for years, the Pentagon is
working to bring Disneyland to Baghdad. Well, not literally Disneyland,
but a massive, Disney-like amusement park to be named the Baghdad Zoo
and Entertainment Experience (BZEE), featuring hotels, lagoons, rides,
skateboarding, animals, and Mickey Mouse.
The
BZEE is the brainchild of Llewellyn Werner, head of a Los Angeles-based
private equity outfit called C3. Investors will put up $500 million to
build the enterprise on a 50-acre plot adjacent to Baghdad’s heavily
fortified Green Zone. Werner himself informed the Iraqi people last
month about the splendiferous playground he’s planning to bring to them.
“It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,” Werner said with
grandiose Western confidence.
Oh,
right, an American corporation bringing American culture to Iraq’s
capital to generate profit for wealthy American investors. That’s sure
to win the hearts of the locals! And if they were unclear about Werner’s
motives, he bluntly told them: “I’m a businessman. I’m not here because
I think you’re nice people. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t making
money." Attaboy, Llewellyn, make 'em love you!
The
Pentagon, "which of course will deploy our soldiers to defend this
private venture from suicide bombings and other attacks," is on board
with the BZEE. President Bush’s deputy undersecretary of defense for
business transformation is even promoting the nation-building aspect of
Werner’s amusement park. “Half the Iraqi population is under the age of
15,” he says. “These kids really need something to do.”
Hey,
Goofy, thousands of those kids are homeless, impoverished, and don’t go
to school. How about working on that?
--
For
more information on Jim Hightower’s work – and to subscribe to his
award-winning monthly newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown, visit
www.jimhightower.com -- A
photo of Jim Hightower is available at:
www.minutemanmedia.org
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