Bush - the real world appears before him

The White House have just snook out a massive and major change in biltaral relations in a Press release yesterday.


Consistent with the authority vested in him by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,the President / Commander in Chief has determined that ..

"it is important to the national interest of the United States to waive the prohibition of section 2007(a) of the 2002 Act with respect to Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay with respect to military assistance provided under the International Military Education and Training program, chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.); and he waives prohibition of section 2007(a) with respect to the military assistance described above with respect to these countries.

What this means is that the nations named, who have refused to sign an Article 98 agreement in which they bilaterally agreed not to bring "the other’s current or former government officials, military or other personnel before the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court", protecting US military personnel from prosecution for War Crimes, can now receive US "military aid".

Informed readers will remember how Doug Feith scuttled around the failed Soviet States getting them to sign such bilateral agreements before handing out massive aid for military bases, hardware etc.,

Sharp eyed readers will note how a mass of states in South America and Caribbean, impenetrable to the blandishments of Bantz Craddock and SOUTHCOM can now expect lavish amounts of military aid, and general interference with their defence affairs, Ditto the Balkan states of Croatia and Serbia and a clutch of Central African States.

So that's more good news for the Military Industrial complex... just ahead of an election that needs some serious money spending to preserve Republican vigour.

Real politik.