President Bush continues to lay blame for the mess in Iraq on events beyond his control. During the course of his July 12th press conference, Bush managed to reach a new level of absurdity defending his decision to continue his troop-surge policy. He wants Congress to hold off judgment until September. Of course, Bush was dishonest about his original justifications for the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq: the grave threat posed by Saddam's chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons program, and Iraq's involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Of course it's understandable why he ignores his old propaganda since few people believe it anymore. For Bush, the very fact that Saddam Hussein was a dictator is enough to justify having destroyed the political, economic and social infrastructure of a modern Arab state -- which, ironically, was the most secular in the region.
The first phase was the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussein. The second phase was the return of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and the holding of free elections. The third phase was the tragic escalation of sectarian violence, sparked by the bombing of the golden mosque in Samarra.
I won't even go into the idea that a country can be considered "sovereign" when its government depends upon the United States for protection from its citizens and neighbors. Elections are all well and good, but when there's a raging civil war and a growing anti-American insurgency, it brings into question the viability of foreign occupation as a tool for defeating terrorists who want to kill us. It's rather absurd to blame the current situation in Iraq on a single bombing of a mosque in Samarra when the seeds of the insurgency were sown the moment our troops crossed over the Kuwaiti border and on to Iraqi soil.
Bush has returned once again to his relentless mantra of al Qaeda in Iraq -- who might not be there at all if his brilliant team hadn't decided to deband the Iraqi army and allow the boarder security to be compromised. It is obvious that our presence continues to exacerbate tensions in the region, and has contributed to the radicalization of more and more educated Muslims in Western countries.
All these extremist groups would be emboldened by a precipitous American withdrawal, which would confuse and frighten friends and allies in the region.
It was our invasion of Iraq which has "emboldened" terrorists. An American withdrawal from Iraq would be a blow to the al Qaeda propaganda department. Of course, that sort of logic takes an honest intellect and I am afraid that those who support the war think we really live in "24" reality where CIA agents must torture suspects in order to prevent the destruction of Western civilization. It's a macho world Bush inhabits, one with wanted posters and "bring it on" bravado. But, ironically, it's also a world where "the decider" is forced into making bad decisions. This opening exchange between Bush and Helen Thomas demonstrates his contempt for all of us. The very fact that he can claim with a straight face that he really tried to prevent the war, is proof enough that this man is just addicted to power.
QUESTION: Don't you accept -- don't you understand, we brought the al Qaeda into Iraq?
BUSH: Actually, I was hoping to solve the Iraqi issue diplomatically. That's why I went to the United Nations and worked with the United Nations Security Council, which unanimously passed a resolution that said, Disclose, disarm or face serious consequences.
Bush wants us to beleive that Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein. The question is: who would rather live in a state of chaos, where one could be killed or kidnapped at any time? Not many. As bad as Saddam's Iraq was, it had a secure and functional infrastructure -- one that took decades to build. It's quite amazing that it only took a few months for the United States military to undo all that history. Make no mistake, this is President Bush's war, and no matter how hard he may try, he cannot wash all that blood from his hands.
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