MONDAY, JANUARY 27 To prepare for Hard News Week, today Last Days devoted ourselves to acquiring a rudimentary understanding of the U.S.-Iraq conflict, primarily by reading the Seattle Times special report "On the Brink: Understanding the U.S.-Iraq Conflict." Here's what we learned: Saddam Hussein is the president of Iraq, a Middle Eastern country home to 24 million people and the world's second-largest oil reserves; Saddam has controlled both since claiming the presidency in 1979. After making an iffy first impression on U.S. diplomats (who regarded him as a sponsor of terrorism and a friend to commies), Saddam gained favor with the U.S. during his eight-year war with Iran, a neighboring country whose militant Islamic extremism made Iraq seem like a bastion of level-headed secularism. The relationship was not without its squabbles, however: The U.S. State Department denounced Iraq's use of nerve gas on Iran-sympathizing Kurds, and Iraq denounced the United States' duplicity in the Iran-contra scandal (in which the U.S. funneled arms to Iran). But things were relatively fine until 1990, when Iraq invaded another neighboring country, Kuwait, declaring it a province of Iraq and igniting the Persian Gulf War, the 43-day battle in which a U.S.-led international coalition quickly routed the Iraqis, then slapped 'em with crippling UN sanctions. But beyond these humiliations, what really makes Iraq hate the United States is our country's unwavering support of Israel, which Saddam has blasted as "the Arabs' most hated enemy." Middle East expert Sandra Mackey says that Iraq considers the United States' relationship with Israel a form of Western imperialism--a view that feeds "a seething Arab anger, more against the United States than the West as a whole."
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 Speaking of the United States: Tonight President George W. Bush delivered his annual State of the Union address. And while Last Days was unable to watch the President deliver the speech live (as the unapologetically uninspired nature of television politics makes us want to die and/or kill), we did read a transcript of the speech--which means we didn't actually get to hear our nation's leader say the word "nucular" 12 times, but we got the general gist of things. Among the highlights: Project Bioshield, a $6 billion plan to make vaccines and antidotes against biological weapons (anthrax, Ebola, plague) readily available; the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, a single location for intelligence gathered by the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense; and a unabashed call for the banning of both partial-birth abortions and human cloning. Bush also pledged $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, and $1.2 billion toward research on hydrogen-powered cars, "to make our air significantly cleaner and our country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy." Speaking of foreign sources of energy: Bush denounced Iraq for its "utter contempt for the United Nations and for the opinion of the world," and revealed that on February 5, Secretary of State Colin Powell would present the United Nations with "information and intelligence about Iraq's illegal weapons programs, its attempts to hide weapons from inspectors, and its links to terrorist groups." "We will consult," said Bush in deference to the UN. "But let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29 Speaking of Iraq's links to terrorist groups: Today Last Days turns to the question lingering in the minds of countless news-averse citizens: What the fuck's up with Iraq? Weren't the towers taken down on the order of freaks in Afghanistan? Yes, they were. However, following September 11, President Bush has steadfastly linked the tower-toppling terrorist group al Qaeda with perennial U.S. enemy Iraq. Critics claim an allegiance between the Allah-loving al Qaeda and the Allah-hating Saddam is highly unlikely, but Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claims the U.S. government has "bulletproof" evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda and "solid evidence" that members of al Qaeda "maintain a presence" in Iraq. However, U.S. leaders have coughed up not a lick of proof, only a tangle of maybes, from the rumored meeting between September 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi minister in Prague, to the belief held by some U.S. officials that Ramzi Yousef, convicted bomber of the World Trade Center in 1993 and proprietor of an Iraqi-issued passport, was an Iraqi intelligence agent. Armed with iffy connections, President Bush hasn't been shy about overriding logic with emotion: "There's no doubt [that Saddam] can't stand us," Bush told a fundraising crowd last fall. "After all, this is the guy that tried to kill my dad"--a reference to the Iraqi-orchestrated 1993 assassination plot against George Bush Sr., for which the U.S. retaliated by launching 23 cruise missiles against Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 Today Last Days turned away from the rigors of world events to attend the changing of the guard at the beloved Capitol Hill bookstore Bailey/Coy Books. Tonight a slew of friends, family, and former employees (yours truly included) gathered at the Broadway store to celebrate the passing of the store's ownership from founder/lesbian extraordinaire Barbara Bailey to longtime store manager Michael Wells. With her rare combination of business savvy, political passion, and good common sense, Barbara Bailey built Bailey/Coy into a model of respectable, responsible capitalism. Plus, she was the world's greatest boss, providing several generations of bookish dorks with a nondegrading way to pay their rents while expanding their minds, and throwing great Christmas parties. Best wishes to Ms. Bailey on her future endeavors, and congrats to Mr. Wells on his killer acquisition.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 Back to Iraq: Key to the Bush administration's threats of war against Iraq are the weapons of mass destruction Iraq may or may not be harboring. Since November, nearly 270 inspectors from 48 countries have been scouring Iraq for biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons the U.N. forbade the country to possess after the Gulf War. So far, the search for nuclear weapons has come up blessedly dry, but U.S. analysts have reportedly found evidence of a stockpile of banned chemical and biological weapons, as well as several empty warheads that could be filled with poison gas or toxins.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1 Today the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated 39 miles over Texas, tragically killing all seven astronauts onboard.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Last Days wraps up with a bouquet of unanswered questions. Why is the U.S. targeting Iraq but not its "axis of evil" mates Iran and North Korea? Should the U.S. follow a man who heisted the presidency and be led into world war? And most importantly, what's on E!?
Confidential to Pepe Quick and Bones Barrone: Call me. Everyone else, send Hot Tips to lastdays@thestranger.com.
