By Kenneth J. Theisen, 5/10/07
In the first week of May, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos
Gutierrez sent a memo to all 39,000 Commerce Department employees informing
them of the opportunity to serve a one year tour of duty in Iraq. This was
in response to President Bush’s recent appeal to government civilian employees
to sign up to serve in Iraq
to rebuild the Iraq economy
after the U.S.
destroyed it.
In the memo Gutierrez stated, “I am asking all Commerce
employees to consider supporting this important effort.” He emphasized that
employees may be eligible for “35 percent hardship pay and up to 35 percent pay
differentials” as an incentive to volunteer.
So far, the department has not been overwhelmed with employees seeking
the “opportunity” to serve the Bush regime’s interests in Iraq. There have been only 40 (1 for every 1000
employees) responses to the memo. Not
surprisingly, the Commerce Department refuses to state how many of the
responses, if any, were positive and how many said “screw you Mr. Secretary.”
Maybe the government needs to throw in additional life
insurance benefits as an added incentive. Or maybe even government employees
within a department set up to advance the economic interests of U.S.
imperialism realize that what is best for the Bush regime is not in the
interests of Iraqis or the vast majority of the people of the world.