Editorial:

Dangerous madmen in the White House

Nothing could more starkly indicate the aggressive, arrogant and 
warmongering mindset of the present US leadership than the publication of a 
document prepared by an analyst of the Rand Corporation and presented to 
the US Defence Policy Board in July.

The document declares that Saudi Arabia is "the kernel of evil, the prime 
mover, the most dangerous opponent" of the US in the Middle East. It goes 
on to propose that unless the Saudi authorities stop all anti-US and anti-
Israel statements the Saudi oil fields and overseas financial assets should 
be "targeted". What being "targeted" means is not made explicit but given 
the preparedness of the US to bomb any country that dares to disagree with 
and stand up to the US leadership, it is not hard to imagine what the 
author of the statement is actually proposing.

Although the US Government has been quick to distance itself from the 
embarrassing statement, the fact that it reached the table of the Defence 
Policy Board, which is chaired by one of the most rabid of the US hawks — 
Richard Perle — is an indication that it is not just the ravings of some 
nutter.

Commenting on the document The Washington Post says that it 
"represents a view that has growing currency within the Bush 
Administration, especially on the staff of Vice-President Dick Cheney..."

The fact that the statement not only takes issue with anti-US but also 
anti-Israel attitudes of the Saudis again shows the hand-in-glove 
relationship between the US and the war that Israel is waging against the 
Palestinian people.

Some months ago the Saudi Crown Prince put forward a reasonable peace 
proposal for settlement of the Palestine-Israel conflict which was similar 
to the repeated demands of the United Nations. However, the Saudi proposal 
has been successfully drowned by the combined efforts of the Israeli 
Government and the US administration.

It does not suit these two partners in crime to have a settlement of the 
conflict that must result in the creation of an independent Palestinian 
state. This would necessitate the withdrawal of all Israeli military forces 
to their former borders.

There is now almost total unanimity among the Arab states in support of the 
demand for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestine conflict and in opposition 
to an invasion of Iraq.

The emerging American attitude to Saudi Arabia is yet another indication 
that an invasion of Iraq is not going to end there. The US has already 
listed Iran, Syria, Lebanon and it now appears that Saudi Arabia will also 
soon join those named as part of the "axis of evil".

An invasion of Iraq (and that is what it would be — aggression and 
invasion) would probably create a popular explosion in a number of Middle 
Eastern countries, from Libya, to Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

This is the madmen's nightmare that the Howard Government is irresponsibly 
pledging Australia to join.

Opposition to war against Iraq is not limited to the Arab and Muslim 
countries. In both Britain and Germany polls indicate that upwards of 80 
per cent of the people are opposed.

More and more the US alliance is turning into an alliance limited to other 
Anglo-Saxon countries. The US war plans cannot succeed in the long run and 
will eventually end in a disaster for the United States and its allies.

* * *

Andrew Murray

Andrew Murray's statement of demands to the Australian Democrats is an 
agenda to embroil the Party in endless internal acrimony.and divert it from 
much more important policy questions, including the privatisation of 
Telstra, the question of cross-media ownership, refugees, education and the 
Government's commitment to war in Iraq.

This, and Andrew Murray's attempt to remain in the Party but not of it, are 
the classic actions of an agent provocateur, of someone out to do as much 
damage to the Party as possible. It remains to be seen the conditions under 
which Andrew Murray has rejoined the Party room. He owes his seat to the 
Party. He has no right to a seat in the Senate other than as a member of 
the Australian Democrats.