Former Argentine president says Bush told him ‘the best way to revitalize the economy is war.’

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress

Former Argentine president says Bush told him ‘the best way to revitalize the economy is war.’

Oliver Stone’s new documentary South of the Border, which interviews several left-wing leaders of Latin American countries, has unearthed a startling new allegation from Argentina’s former president Néstor Kirchner. During his interview with Stone, Kirchner said he once discussed global economic problems with former President George W. Bush. The former Argentine president says that when he suggested a new Marshall Plan, referring to the WW II-era European reconstruction plan, Bush “got angry” and suggested that “the Marshall Plan is a crazy idea of the Democrats.” Instead, Kirchner says, Bush suggested that “the best way to revitalize the economy is war”:

KIRCHNER: I said that a solution for the problems right now, I told Bush, is a Marshall Plan. And he got angry. He said the Marshall Plan is a crazy idea of the Democrats. He said the best way to revitalize the economy is war. And that the United States has grown stronger with war.

STONE: War, he said that?

KIRCHNER: He said that. Those were his exact words.

STONE: Is he suggesting that South America go to war?

KIRCHNER: Well, he was talking about the United States: ‘The Democrats had been wrong. All of the economic growth of the United States has been encouraged by wars.’ He said it very clearly.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/28/argentine-prime-bush-war/

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VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI446mXonu0&feature=player_embedded

[Divine Discontent]

1. oh my God... thanks for posting.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. hmmmm, not this time

funny how wrong ** could be, huh?

[bluestateguy]

3. In 1941 that was probably true

and if Bush had brought back the draft (I mean a universal draft, no exceptions for his rich friends sons), we would have had full employment and far fewer people without health insurance.

[Warpy]

7. Check out what Congress did in 1936 and 1937

Conservatives insisted on a balanced budget which caused a premature end to many of the programs that had been working to get us out of the Depression. That precipitated the great recession of 1937-1938 and that is what took gearing up for a world war to end.

Conservatives are wrong about everything, especially that it took a war to end the Depression. If they had let FDRs programs continue, the Depression would have been ended with or without the war.

[Kolesar]

26. Britain buying war materials brought back the US economy

Our economy was recovering well before December 2, 1941

[ixion]

4. No big shock there: Bush Doctrine = Endless War

'nuff said.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. Thank goodness he's gone and we can have peace.

[No Elephants]

30. Oh, beehayyyvvve!

[MrCoffee]

5. Honestly, who is surprised by this?

[Warpy]

6. What did you expect?

This is from a joker who was raised by pinchbeck aristocrats to believe a lot of nonsense like the poor are lazy and FDR prolonged the Depression (it had nothing at all to do with conservatives in Congress insisting he balance the budget as soon as his programs really started to work) and only ended it by starting a war.

I heard the same bullshit line from part of my family and had the good sense to reject it in favor of my own study. Stupid was never given a reason to do so and every reason to keep repeating it as though it were carved into stone.

This is why we need to keep these people out of office. Our survival depends upon it.

[Unvanguard]

8. Well, that's a pretty bankrupt economic policy

and it's quite possible that that will become literally true...

[Ruby the Liberal]

9. Oh FFS

How did this idiot get elected the second time?

[Blue_Tires]

19. because it was un-american to change presidents in a time of war

:sarcasm:

[No Elephants]

29. He was never elected,

[Stuart G]

10. K and R

[global1]

11. This Info Needs To Make It Into The MSM And Vocalized Over & Over.....

so the American people understand the mentality of Bush/Cheney and the Repug party - because if they get back in power they will do the same thing again.

[femrap]

13. That's what is worrying

me right now.

[thelordofhell]

14. Why not? His entire family wealth is from war.

It started back in the day when Prescott helped arm the Nazi regime. The only reason the middle east is fucked up is so that the Bush family can make money off of it by stealing the oil and arming Arabs and Jews.

[AsahinaKimi]

15. I am sure he didn't come up with that by himself.

He probably heard it enough from Dick Cheney and Karl Rove.

[superconnected]

16. My that did wonders for the economy, not. How does Bush sleep with all that blood on his hands? EOM

[dgibby]

22. He's a sociopathic little prick with no conscience (imo).

Since he has no empathy and feels no guilt,I'm sure he sleeps quite well.

[Frank Cannon]

27. Oh, I don't think that's only your opinion

I think the sick little bastard has objectively demonstrated it quite well.

[dgibby]

28. I always throw in "IMO" to avoid legal action.

My understanding of the law is that if you are stating something as "fact", you open yourself up for a slander suit, but stating something as an opinion offers some protection. Can't be too careful these days!:evilgrin:

[Historic NY]

17. Republican believe in endless war...(see bomb, bomb, bomb Iran)...

the Bush doctrine of preemption sure leave the door open...watch out Canada were still wanting that 14th colony.

[Mimosa]

18. As much as I liked Roosevelt I fear he did the same.

All 'great leader' have engaged in warfare. It's a moneymaking enterprise.

Big arms are among the few things still manufactured in the US any more. :-(

Before I get jumped on about the Roosevelt remark, I should make clear I've always been a Gandhi follower.

[Kolesar]

25. Theodore Roosevelt loved war

But he was a conservationist. crazy

[troubledamerican]

20. Kissinger said: Best way to overthrow democracy is "make the economy scream"

Chile 1973

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_intervention_in_Chile#Allende_Presidency

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8i.htm

[Bert]

21. How obvious does it have to be

It is called fascism folks, it did wonders for Germany getting out of the depression, and it helped us too when we got full employment in world war two. However, if you are going to put all of your industry into making weapons you pretty much have to use them, and you need perpetual enemies. This is what we had in the cold war, what orwell showed in 1984, and we still have most of our money going either to war or police or prisons or weapons of some sort. We dont call it war though, we call it the department of defence, and those police arent there to imprison us, they are there to protect and serve us. Truly Orwellian.

[defendandprotect]

23. k

[Kolesar]

24. That was a line by Archie Bunker in All in the Family

He said we should attack a small country, like Mexico. It was intended as a joke.

[No Elephants]

33. So, Norman Lear caused all this? Can we impeach or prosecute him, or is that off the table, too?

[No Elephants]

31. Maybe, if you have no conscience and don't hire contractors, like Bechtel, Halliburton or Blackwater

And don't lose a billions taken from Saddam's palaces, Or allow looting of museums and destruction of oil wells and pipelines.

Did I mention no conscience?

[samsingh]

32. kick this

bush the war monster

[Octafish]

34. ''Money trumps peace.'' -- George Walker Bush, scion of the military-industrial complex.

Know your BFEE: Money Trumps Peace. Always

Know your BFEE: Scions of the Military Industrial Complex

The little turd from Crawford also tried to get ENRON an inroad into Argentina before he was pretzeldent.


Thank Goodness for Oliver Stone and DU.

[Enrique]

35. war! what is it good for!

Bush sang a different version.

[AlphaCentauri]

36. War and an oil delicacy

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=KwyguUeNj_M