Bush speech readies America for war

George W. Bush's State of the Union address today gave a greater insight into the President's contempt for world opinion than it did about Iraq's alleged weapons capability, Green Foreign Affairs spokesperson Keith Locke said.

"When Mr Bush asserted that Saddam 'would not be allowed to dominate a vital region' he was directly alluding to the real war-aim of the White House: control over the Middle East's oil reserves.

"Instead of taking this opportunity to set out proof that Iraq really does have weapons of mass destruction, the President signalled that his regime is a law unto itself," said Mr Locke.

"His most chilling phrase was: 'the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others.'

"What he means is that the US is not willing to wait for UN Security Council decisions and that it will not listen to world opinion.

"There was no new evidence presented," said Keith Locke. "The speech rehashed uncorroborated assertions, such as a terrorist conspiracy between Iraq and al Qaeda.

"War is now imminent and there is no time left for Helen Clark to prevaricate. This speech is additional evidence that New Zealand needs to clearly distance itself from Bush's immoral and unjustifiable war."

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