Jeslek
Banned
http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/3_12/ricewar.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Responding to mounting criticism from the left, President Bush reassured the American public that any potential war with North Korea "is not about rice."
While the Bush Administration continues to condemn Pyongyang for reactivating its nuclear reactors, expelling U.N. inspectors, and pulling out of a 1994 global nonproliferation treaty, there's no active interest in asserting control over North Korea's rice industry.
"North Korea threatens the very fabric of our American values," a defiant President Bush told reporters Tuesday. "To imply that any military action on the Korean Peninsula is solely to protect our foreign rice interests is ludicrous."
Bush's comments came after hundreds of demonstrators in hemp shirts rallied outside the White House chanting their new battle cry: "Bush-Bush-He's A Phony! We Won't Die for Rice-A-Roni"
North Korea's nuclear ambitions have sparked fears in Washington that dictator Kim Jong II could use his military clout to intimidate the Asian theatre and ultimately threaten the United State's rice-producing allies. Coupled with public concerns about the price fluctuations in the rice market, a war could take on a double meaning.
"I am not sending my husband off to die because Americans want to make Oriental-style dinners or pay a few cents less on Uncle Ben's Mix Bowls, however delicious and convenient they may be," Nancy Carrol of nearby Arlington said. "I'm here to say that a potential war in North Korea is about other stuff —like the fact that they hate our freedom. I just know it's not about rice, okay!"
Bush also took the opportunity to push forward his proposal to create large rice-farming areas in the Alaskan wilderness, a move criticized by environmentalists and questioned by farmers who concluded that rice paddies can't flourish under 12 feet of ice.
"Our reliance on foreign rice must be reduced, and my plan will help accomplish that goal," Bush said. "Besides we'd just be hungry again in an hour."
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Responding to mounting criticism from the left, President Bush reassured the American public that any potential war with North Korea "is not about rice."
While the Bush Administration continues to condemn Pyongyang for reactivating its nuclear reactors, expelling U.N. inspectors, and pulling out of a 1994 global nonproliferation treaty, there's no active interest in asserting control over North Korea's rice industry.
"North Korea threatens the very fabric of our American values," a defiant President Bush told reporters Tuesday. "To imply that any military action on the Korean Peninsula is solely to protect our foreign rice interests is ludicrous."
Bush's comments came after hundreds of demonstrators in hemp shirts rallied outside the White House chanting their new battle cry: "Bush-Bush-He's A Phony! We Won't Die for Rice-A-Roni"
North Korea's nuclear ambitions have sparked fears in Washington that dictator Kim Jong II could use his military clout to intimidate the Asian theatre and ultimately threaten the United State's rice-producing allies. Coupled with public concerns about the price fluctuations in the rice market, a war could take on a double meaning.
"I am not sending my husband off to die because Americans want to make Oriental-style dinners or pay a few cents less on Uncle Ben's Mix Bowls, however delicious and convenient they may be," Nancy Carrol of nearby Arlington said. "I'm here to say that a potential war in North Korea is about other stuff —like the fact that they hate our freedom. I just know it's not about rice, okay!"
Bush also took the opportunity to push forward his proposal to create large rice-farming areas in the Alaskan wilderness, a move criticized by environmentalists and questioned by farmers who concluded that rice paddies can't flourish under 12 feet of ice.
"Our reliance on foreign rice must be reduced, and my plan will help accomplish that goal," Bush said. "Besides we'd just be hungry again in an hour."