GARETH PORTER
Author, most recently, of the book Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, Porter said today: “If Bush were really focused on the problem of worsening sectarian violence in Iraq, he would have learned that continuing to make war against Sunni insurgents while supporting a largely Shiite security structure which is only interested in targeting Sunnis — and not just al-Qaeda — is the worst option he could pursue.” Porter has also written extensively about U.S. policy toward Iran.
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STEVE KRETZMANN
Executive director of Oil Change International, Kretzmann said today: “You don’t stop climate change by waging more war for oil. The irony that George Bush will talk about his supposed commitments to combating climate change and increasing energy security while surging 20,000 more troops into Iraq is hard to miss. The administration’s ongoing efforts to ensure an Iraqi oil law that allows American oil companies into Iraq continue to reveal that this war, and even this surge, is about oil. George Bush’s inaction on climate will have us dying from oil, while in Iraq people continue to die for oil.

“When the environment is on the line, we hear a lot of talk about market forces and voluntary action. What about letting market forces (the last election, polls) determine our course in Iraq? And how about a clean energy surge to end oil addiction and stop global warming?”
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DON McCANNE, M.D.
Senior health policy fellow with the group Physicians for a National Health Program, McCanne writes a daily health policy update.

He said today: “Bush’s health care proposal opens the door to decreasing the role of employer-sponsored coverage — which should not be done until we can replace private plans with national health insurance. Bush’s plan is part of his agenda to shift more of the responsibility of paying for care to individuals with health care needs. A few higher-income people with no insurance might benefit; many average-income people, especially those with union-negotiated coverage, will be hurt.”
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DIANA ZUCKERMAN
President of the National Research Center for Women & Families, Zuckerman said today: “President Bush’s healthcare proposals remind me of a shell game — moving money and tax breaks from one place to another. Like most gambles, some people will benefit, many will be harmed, and the most vulnerable won’t be helped at all.”
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ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ
Rodriguez writes the syndicated Column of the Americas with Patrisia Gonzales. He said today: “Bush’s immigration stance is portrayed as moderate since there are such extreme positions like building a 2,000-mile wall. But he is opposed to amnesty and ultimately his policy is a form of indentured servitude for Mexican workers in the U.S. There is a reasonable alternative, but it is rarely raised: the way in which the European Union members deal with each other.”
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HENRY GIROUX
Giroux is author of the book The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear. He said today: “Bush’s educational policy is misnamed. It really should be called ‘Leaving most children behind.’ Rather than focus on real education reform that would point to smaller classrooms, increasing Head Start, coupling matters of excellence with equity, building the infrastructure of our nation’s schools, providing incentives for college graduates to join the ranks of teachers, especially in poor areas, the Bush program is really about testing, memorization, enforcing discriminatory zero tolerance policies and in the end, destroying public education as a democratic public sphere.

“Bush’s policies are at odds with any viable notion of critical learning, teacher autonomy, and professionalization. All in all, his program is geared to both bleeding public schools of resources, turning them into dreary drill and test centers, and eventually turning them over to privatizing and corporate interests.” Giroux holds a chair at McMaster University in Ontario.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167