Bush Justifies Iraq
From the President’s speech to the nation last night:
There is no doubt that Al Qaeda and Islamist extremists want to harm and defeat the United States and other western democracies. The question is whether our being in Iraq has anything to do with the fight against these enemies. Bush desperately has to believe that it does; if not his entire effort since 2003 has been a waste of US lives and money. None of his current justification has anything to do with the original rationale for disposing Saddam – the presence of weapons of mass destruction or the ties to 9/11. He is now creating a false political dichotomy, stating that withdrawal from Iraq means capitulating to Al Qaeda, and hopes this will serve to scare voters away from Democratic candidates.
The counter argument is that our presence in Iraq is hurting our effort to fight our real enemy. By using our resources in Iraq we are not able to focus on the groups in Pakistan (including Osama bin Laden) and the multitudes of loosely connected terrorists throughout the rest of the world. These are the people we need to overcome. Nor are we able to build adequate defenses in the US against potential disaster (see Katrina). Bush’s belief (too much of what he does is based on belief rather than analysis) is that bringing democracy to the Middle East and everywhere else it does not exist is the best way to safeguard the US.
Looking at Iraq today and seeing the sectarian divisions between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds and imagining a united functioning democracy in the foreseeable future completely ignores the reality on the ground. Victory, defined as a democratic nirvana, looks like a dream of Republican politicians trying to hang on to power. Religious differences, according to today’s Washington Post, have made intermarriage between Sunnis and Shiites impossible, reversing a condition that occurred frequently before our advent. Moqtada Sadr bides his time before unleashing a vicious civil war. The resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is equally depressing. Both countries are filled with people who don’t hate our freedom, but do hate our occupation. The Iraq insurgency certainly has Al Qaeda members but it is more and more evident that the civil war that has begun or is coming has nothing to do with terrorism but is just an old fashioned quest for power between two sects that have hated each other for centuries. The first George Bush understood this and refrained from overthrowing Saddam after liberating Kuwait.
We are now stuck for two plus years with an Administration unable to recognize its mistakes, unable to develop a realistic strategy for addressing our foreign problems, and ready to squander our resources rather than prepare to counter the increasing number of people and countries who see us as the enemy because our actions don’t live up to our ideals. Unfortunately for us thousands of US soldiers, and many thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, are going to pay the ultimate price for this inability to think clearly and act competently.
The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.
Al Qaida and other extremists from across the world have come to Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East. They have joined the remnants of Saddam's regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us out.
Our enemies in Iraq are tough and they are committed, but so are Iraqi and coalition forces. We are adapting to stay ahead of the enemy, and we are carrying out a clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq succeeds. We are training Iraqi troops so they can defend their nation. We are helping Iraq's unity government grow in strength and serve its people. We will not leave until this work is done.
Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad.
Osama bin Laden calls this fight "The Third World War," and he says that victory for the terrorists in Iraq will mean America's defeat and disgrace forever. If we yield Iraq to men like bin Laden, our enemies will be emboldened. They will gain a new safe haven. They will use Iraq's resources to fuel their extremist movement.
We will not allow this to happen. America will stay in the fight. Iraq will be a free nation and a strong ally in the war on terror. We can be confident that our coalition will succeed because the Iraqi people have been steadfast in the face of unspeakable violence. And we can be confident in victory because of the skill and resolve of America's armed forces.
There is no doubt that Al Qaeda and Islamist extremists want to harm and defeat the United States and other western democracies. The question is whether our being in Iraq has anything to do with the fight against these enemies. Bush desperately has to believe that it does; if not his entire effort since 2003 has been a waste of US lives and money. None of his current justification has anything to do with the original rationale for disposing Saddam – the presence of weapons of mass destruction or the ties to 9/11. He is now creating a false political dichotomy, stating that withdrawal from Iraq means capitulating to Al Qaeda, and hopes this will serve to scare voters away from Democratic candidates.
The counter argument is that our presence in Iraq is hurting our effort to fight our real enemy. By using our resources in Iraq we are not able to focus on the groups in Pakistan (including Osama bin Laden) and the multitudes of loosely connected terrorists throughout the rest of the world. These are the people we need to overcome. Nor are we able to build adequate defenses in the US against potential disaster (see Katrina). Bush’s belief (too much of what he does is based on belief rather than analysis) is that bringing democracy to the Middle East and everywhere else it does not exist is the best way to safeguard the US.
Looking at Iraq today and seeing the sectarian divisions between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds and imagining a united functioning democracy in the foreseeable future completely ignores the reality on the ground. Victory, defined as a democratic nirvana, looks like a dream of Republican politicians trying to hang on to power. Religious differences, according to today’s Washington Post, have made intermarriage between Sunnis and Shiites impossible, reversing a condition that occurred frequently before our advent. Moqtada Sadr bides his time before unleashing a vicious civil war. The resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is equally depressing. Both countries are filled with people who don’t hate our freedom, but do hate our occupation. The Iraq insurgency certainly has Al Qaeda members but it is more and more evident that the civil war that has begun or is coming has nothing to do with terrorism but is just an old fashioned quest for power between two sects that have hated each other for centuries. The first George Bush understood this and refrained from overthrowing Saddam after liberating Kuwait.
We are now stuck for two plus years with an Administration unable to recognize its mistakes, unable to develop a realistic strategy for addressing our foreign problems, and ready to squander our resources rather than prepare to counter the increasing number of people and countries who see us as the enemy because our actions don’t live up to our ideals. Unfortunately for us thousands of US soldiers, and many thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, are going to pay the ultimate price for this inability to think clearly and act competently.
posted by John Weiss at 2:12 PM
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