January 21, 2004

Iraq

The President dedicated the majority of his speech to what seemed like a justification of, or at the very least, reflection on, his administration's policy toward Iraq. MPAC found it noteworthy that while President Bush asserted with infamous confidence that Saddam Hussein was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in last year's speech, this year he referred only to "dozens of Weapons of Mass Destruction-related program activities," a severe diminution in rhetoric. Significantly, it seems as if the Bush Administration has made a switch, now claiming that regime eople li ving free from the grip of the Taliban is unfortunately belied by the facts. In reality, arguments have been made by policy makers and others that our engagement in Iraq has detracted our focus dangerously away from Afghanistan. Women are not yet free - outside of Kabul there are widespread reports that women are too afraid to venture outside of their homes, let alone go to school, due to the dominance of clan leaders outside the authority of Hamid Karzai's government. And, of course, in these regions, women are still forced to wear the Burkah. It is dangerous to claim success in this nation while we are unfortunately far from free of our responsibilities there.

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Significantly, Bush avoided the most obvious source of anti-US sentiment in the Arab and Muslim world, not to mention the world at large - US policy toward Israel and the Arab world. Failing to acknowledge the gravity of the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is a si itly tra nsforming a region. How will the US bring about this transformation? Will the US continue to support dictatorships in the region? Will we continue to give Ariel Sharon a free hand to wreak havoc on the Palestinians and the region's stability? Will we respond to the Shii's call in Iraq for direct elections, even if the results do not please Washington? These are the types of essential questions that were left unanswered in last night's speech. Expanding Voice of America programming in Arabic and Farsi and broadcasting our messages on a new satellite television station to the Arab world is fine, but the authors of the recent Public Diplomacy report in the Muslim world themselves acknowledge that such ultimately cosmetic overtures are no substitute for concrete reexaminations of US policy toward the region.

USA PATRIOT Act

President Bush called for a renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act, which MPAC, along with a wide spectrum of Americans, has argued violates civil liber who pas sed it shortly after 9-11.

Tax Cuts

On the domestic front, President Bush offered an agenda that responded to his supporters. He called for his tax cuts to be made permanent and floated the idea of the "personal retirement account" which individuals would invest in with their social security taxes. MPAC opposes these tax cuts, calling them irresponsible, and decries our ever-growing deficit.

Unemployment

The President's solution for the unemployment crisis seemed to be the expansion of free trade, which threatens manufacturing and other jobs here at home. No mention was made of the two million jobs lost during President Bush's term, except for passing reference that "employment is on the rise." MPAC supports the President's proposal for increased training for released prisoners.