OT: Saddam Hussein Arrested

[dogscoff]

But the fact that Haliburton is benefitting from the war does not by itself prove that the war was started to benefit Haliburton.

That's true, but you have to admit it doesn't look good. However, even if you give him the benefit of doubt it still looks like blatant corruption and war-profiteering- an impression any honest politician would surely go out of his way to avoid giving. I mean they didn't even allow open bidding on the contracts, it was just handed to Halliburton on a plate.

On it's own, I might be prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on this issue, but it's not the first time Bush's integrity has been called convincingly into question- that affair a while back with the deregulation of power companies for example. Without wanting to open certain cans of worms again, I would also point to the Kyoto (non)treaty, and of course you have the 'irregularities' concerning his election in the first place.

Again, it all might just be a coincidence, after all if the evidence was sufficient he'd be impeached or locked up or shot or something. However the problem is that a corrupt politician won't generally leave easy-to-follow paper trails. Crooks hide the proof as best they can, and the more powerful the crook the more effectively they can hide it. So when it comes to heads of state and other figures like that, a big pile of circumstantial evidence is sometimes all we have to go on. Add to that my (initially reluctant- ah, to be young and naive again) belief that 95% of all politicians are corrupt, soulless, self-serving reptilian arsewipes anyway and you can see why I don't trust Bush. Sure, it's not fair and it wouldn't hold up in court, but it's what my gut says and in the end that's what I go with. If I believed he'd at least done what he'd done in the interests of his country, I could give him some small measure of credit, but I just can't believe it, there are too many coincidences.

Anyway, if Bush ever comes to my little town I've got some out-of-date eggs at home with his name on them.