Here's a couple rich ones--plucked from hundreds-- to savor before you file them under Exactly-what-it-looks-like.

The scene? The recently-concluded NATO meeting in Prague.

The news item: "U.S. war planes circled the city throughout the two-day gathering."

Yes, the President of the United States showed up at an international meeting with the ability to obliterate the gathering (not to mention the city) at a moment's notice. Just a little accompanying luggage, that's all.

Imagine if the news were "Iraqi war planes circle New York throughout the two-day UN debate." No big deal, right?

By the way, good luck finding the citation (deliberately not given here) on the genuine story from Prague. Seems that the newsminders finally realized that this was (duh) something not to publicize, even deeply buried in reports on the NATO meeting. A six-pack of Leinenkugel for anyone who can unearth the original in less than 15 minutes.

Next, please.

News item: "President Bush declared that 'we face a threat more dangerous than any we've ever faced before'."

Ding! --first place in the they'll-say-anything-to-justify-imperialist-war category.

Apparently having warplanes circling overhead removed all restraint from the leader of the Empire's rhetoric. Seems that German fascism --which set out to conquer at least all of Europe, built industrial death camps that killed 11 million people, and brought about a war costing more than 100 million lives-- PALES before the members of the stateless al Qaeda organization, once numbered by the FBI at some 200.

Whatever you say, George.

But of course the story far bigger than these news items is Washington's drive to conquer Iraq and its oilfields, not to mention the rest of the Middle East.

Yes, it's exactly what it looks like, all the talk of the horrible "threat" posed by Saddam Hussein notwithstanding.

In fact, the arch-villain Saddam was Washington's most important Arab operative in the Middle East for years. He dutifully launched a horribly bloody war against Iran when it dared to revolt against U.S. rule. And when he used chemical weapons against revolution-minded populations in both Iran and Kurdistan, Washington pulled out all the stops to deny it. Indeed, the U.S. used its satellites to pinpoint Iranian troop concentrations so that Saddam could gas them. Cost? Some 50,000 dead.

And later --this one gets First Prize in exactly-what-it-looks-like-- Washington appealed to all rebels to rise against Saddam in the aftermath of its half-war against his occupation of Kuwait ... then sat back smiling while Saddam slaughtered them all.

Takes care of that, thank you very much.

But now, of course, the U.S. ruling class is no longer satisfied by dallying with its old whore --it wants all the concubines, bevies of daughters, and more.

Target? Control of the second-largest oil reserves in the world.

(And don't think that the largest reserves --found in Saudi Arabia-- aren't in the gunsights as well. There's one tottering set of rulers whose usefulness Washington has about written off.)

Why buy milk when you can own the cow --or hell, seize the whole damn farm?

But perhaps the biggest exactly-what-it-looks-like lies back in Prague with NATO and its new eastern members. Just do a freeze-frame progression on the expansion of both NATO and U.S. military bases in the region. What do you see? A blatant creep/creep/creep towards seizure of the world's last imperial prize -- the conquering of the vast territory of the still-not-capitalist former Soviet Union and its allies.

So here's a final thought to ponder as we head towards the next year: might we be about to experience something entirely new --and dreadfully old? How about worldwide economic depression and a third world war?

That's exactly what it looks like.

But count on stiff resistance --already begun-- from masses of people in the Middle East and Latin America, just for starters.

Haven't heard?

Well, that's exactly what it looks like, too.

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Steve Eckardt (seckardt@aol.com) welcomes comments and criticisms.

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