Why aren't the permanent bases in Iraq being addressed?

construction on the permanent bases began almost immediately after the invasion which says that the plans almost certainly existed well prior to march 2003... some serious investigative journalism (HA!) could turn up when those plans were created, and would add a significant piece to the national debate... i won't hold my breath...

a guest post on juan cole's site...

Gerald B. Helman "was United States Ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations from 1979 through 1981" and was among the coiners of the phrase "failed states."

[T]here remains the question of the permanent bases, a concept now being floated by the Administration but one which must have been in the minds of the White House and our military planners from the time when these massive installations were first projected. Congress should probe this one very carefully and insist that the Administration' s plans should be on the public record. Whatever their purposes, and certainly there has been little candor on the part of the Administration as to what these are, the bases will never be accepted either by the Iraqi people, of whatever faction (except the Kurds). It will violate every concept of independence, national pride and Arab identity that have been the hallmarks of the post-colonial period. Any Iraqi government that supported it would not only fail, but would be despised. Such bases might have the dubious benefit of uniting all Iraqis in opposition. Only a US Administration that expected to be greeted with flowers by the Iraqis could convince itself that those same Iraqis will tolerate such bases and that such bases could survive in hostile territory, with long and endangered supply lines.

you know, i know, we ALL know that those bases are intended to REMAIN in iraq, and WERE intended to remain in iraq from day one... both the bases and the over-the-top embassy complex clearly demonstrate that, if the u.s. has its way, iraq is and will remain a puppet state... why this issue has not figured more prominently in national discussion is a mystery to me...

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