Failure in Iraq
Failure in Iraq
7 December 2005
By any realistic appraisal the war in Iraq is a failure. Even if we are able to avoid an overt civil war the stated outcome as promised at the onset is a complete failure. It has not taken three to six months. The Iraqis did not welcome us with open arms. The Iraqi oil exports have not paid for whole operation. There is certainly not a stable democratic government supported by the majority of the populace in place and operating. And the most troubling thing is that terrorism is not reduced but greatly expanded and is getting more organized with each passing day. To me this means we failed in Iraq even if we somehow manage to avoid a complete collapse of order in the Middle East.
We now are being told that there were indeed mistakes made in the assessed threat that Iraq posed to the United States and the world. Statements are continually made that the world was misled and that everyone made this mistake. That is untrue and nonsense. There were many voices urging us not to invade and to let the United Nations inspection team continue their work. Most of the first world countries opposed out invasion and the governments that supported us did so against the majority will of their people. To say now that the entire world believed the Bush administration propaganda is ridiculous and a self serving falsehood. There is and always has been an active and committed opposition that knew otherwise.
President Bush gave a speech to the Naval Academy on November 30, 2005. I have not heard the news media give the same analysis as the impression I got from that speech. To me it sounded like the Bush Administration was beginning to declare victory so that it can extricate itself from a hopeless situation. Yes, the President said repeatedly that he would stay the course. The commentators said he had the belief he was directed by his God to establish Democracy in Iraq; that he believed he had a religious mission to perform. But to me it sounded like he was saying what he had to say to his supporters and that he would soon begin to declare our victory. Whatever happens after we leave is the fault of inapt and corrupt Iraqis, not the successful American invasion of their country. I remember that the then U.S. Government did not call Viet Nam a defeat when we left. The world knew but the Government would not acknowledge it. Then, just as now, we were told that a defeat would lead to very dire consequences. We must stop communism (terrorists) there before they come here. We lost in Viet Nam. Neither Viet Nam nor the communists invaded the United States. And now the number of terrorists is far greater and their determination more dedicated than they were before our invasion of Iraq. I call that a failure. The death and suffering we have caused will never be justified by a face saving statement of victory.
Also intended by the President’s speech was the preparation to shift the political blame for his disastrous failure in Iraq. By insisting that all it takes to win in Iraq is to continue the war indefinitely he will proclaim that we lost because we didn’t continue fighting long enough. Even though the casualties continue to increase each year and the Army has great difficulty in finding troops to send to Iraq he will state that we could have won by prolonging the failure. Even as the number and strength of the opposition to our occupation increases he will insist that our victory was just around the corner if his political opposition had just had the courage to “stay the course”.
I don’t know if I fear more the thought that the President really believes such a ridiculous position or if he is just lying. Is it worse to be blind to the truth or to intentionally deny it? In either case it will be years before the United States will regain it’s place of respectability in the world of nations as a result of the actions of George W. Bush.
7 December 2005
By any realistic appraisal the war in Iraq is a failure. Even if we are able to avoid an overt civil war the stated outcome as promised at the onset is a complete failure. It has not taken three to six months. The Iraqis did not welcome us with open arms. The Iraqi oil exports have not paid for whole operation. There is certainly not a stable democratic government supported by the majority of the populace in place and operating. And the most troubling thing is that terrorism is not reduced but greatly expanded and is getting more organized with each passing day. To me this means we failed in Iraq even if we somehow manage to avoid a complete collapse of order in the Middle East.
We now are being told that there were indeed mistakes made in the assessed threat that Iraq posed to the United States and the world. Statements are continually made that the world was misled and that everyone made this mistake. That is untrue and nonsense. There were many voices urging us not to invade and to let the United Nations inspection team continue their work. Most of the first world countries opposed out invasion and the governments that supported us did so against the majority will of their people. To say now that the entire world believed the Bush administration propaganda is ridiculous and a self serving falsehood. There is and always has been an active and committed opposition that knew otherwise.
President Bush gave a speech to the Naval Academy on November 30, 2005. I have not heard the news media give the same analysis as the impression I got from that speech. To me it sounded like the Bush Administration was beginning to declare victory so that it can extricate itself from a hopeless situation. Yes, the President said repeatedly that he would stay the course. The commentators said he had the belief he was directed by his God to establish Democracy in Iraq; that he believed he had a religious mission to perform. But to me it sounded like he was saying what he had to say to his supporters and that he would soon begin to declare our victory. Whatever happens after we leave is the fault of inapt and corrupt Iraqis, not the successful American invasion of their country. I remember that the then U.S. Government did not call Viet Nam a defeat when we left. The world knew but the Government would not acknowledge it. Then, just as now, we were told that a defeat would lead to very dire consequences. We must stop communism (terrorists) there before they come here. We lost in Viet Nam. Neither Viet Nam nor the communists invaded the United States. And now the number of terrorists is far greater and their determination more dedicated than they were before our invasion of Iraq. I call that a failure. The death and suffering we have caused will never be justified by a face saving statement of victory.
Also intended by the President’s speech was the preparation to shift the political blame for his disastrous failure in Iraq. By insisting that all it takes to win in Iraq is to continue the war indefinitely he will proclaim that we lost because we didn’t continue fighting long enough. Even though the casualties continue to increase each year and the Army has great difficulty in finding troops to send to Iraq he will state that we could have won by prolonging the failure. Even as the number and strength of the opposition to our occupation increases he will insist that our victory was just around the corner if his political opposition had just had the courage to “stay the course”.
I don’t know if I fear more the thought that the President really believes such a ridiculous position or if he is just lying. Is it worse to be blind to the truth or to intentionally deny it? In either case it will be years before the United States will regain it’s place of respectability in the world of nations as a result of the actions of George W. Bush.
posted by Louis Brossard at 5:06 PM
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