In 2001, George W. Bush promised liberation and a better life for people in Afghanistan. In 2003, he pledged the same thing to the people of Iraq. It's 2004 and both nations struggle with daily violence, poverty, extremely high unemployment rates, and a lack of basic health and safety infrastructure. The aftermath of these Bush wars is marked by more suffering and by many unfilled promises. But promises of lucrative rebuilding contracts are a reality for a handful of US-based corporations that have close ties to the White House. The Bush doctrine of preemptive war sits front and center as the hammer of US foreign policy.

Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK. She frequently travels to and documents human rights violations in the Third World. She has lectured and written extensively on international issues and has been to Afghanistan a number of times.