Pubdate: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL) Copyright: 2002sThe Advertiser Co. Contact: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088 Author: Joe Boyett PRESIDENT LINKS OIL TO DRUGS, TERROR Last year, President Bush wanted to create a private army, without any accountability to Congress, to fight the war on drugs. Recently, he hyped the war on drugs to bring it under the war on terrorism. Last month, Bush deployed U.S. troops to fight the war on terrorism and placed them under the authority of the Philippine chief of staff. Now Bush says the United States may pay ransom to anyone who kidnaps Americans and cited kidnapped oil workers as a successful example. Wherever one finds oil, Bush can find drugs or terrorism. With the linkage and precedents cited above, the United States is a safe haven for multinational oil corporations seeking military protection and the Caribbean Islands provide convenient tax shelters. U.S. taxpayers could pay any ransom for oil company employees. U.S. troops could be deployed and placed under the command of a foreign government and augmented by CIA resources. The National Security Council, experienced in circumventing the Constitution, could function as a secret command center free from congressional oversight. Oil and water might not mix, but Bush has found a recipe mixing terrorism, drugs and oil that could be worth trillions of dollars to multinational oil companies and related businesses. The final ingredient is a dictator, a position for which Bush has frequently volunteered. Joe Boyett, Montgomery - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel