As the Dominos Fall
It was inevitable I suppose. The Bush Administration has a new rationale for the war in Iraq: the consequences of failure are disastrous. In recent speeches President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other senior officials have been making a case for the Domino Theory of Iraq. If we fail in Iraq, than the terrorists will take over Saudi Arabia, the rest of the mideast, and then Pakistan.
This was the theory behind the Vietnam War, and it proved wrong there too. But the dominos are falling, just the same:
The first domino was the complaint that Hussein wasn't cooperating with UN Inspectors (it's true that initially he was uncooperative, but he had agreed to provide everything requested by the Inspectors by the time Bush pressed the button).
The next domino was Hussein's possession of WMD's, including so called mobile biological labs and uranium yellowcake from Nigeria (more about that in another post).
The next dominos that Hussein was somehow involved with al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, or linked to 9/11 or other terrorist activity.
The next dominos, that we would be greeted with flowers, the cost of the war would be minimal,
and that it would be paid for out of increased oil revenues.
Another domino, "Victory Accomplished", complete with GWB playing Michael Dukakis while riding in a jet fighter.
Then there was the "last throes" of the insurgency domino.
Last November's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" has gone by the wayside.
More dominos: the capture of Saddaam, the killing of Zakir al-Musawri,
Most recently it is: "When the Iraqi army stands up, then ours will stand down."
Today's domino is "we broke it, we better fix it before mom & dad find out."
The administration has NEVER understood what is going on in the mideast. This president makes decisions based on his gut - a lot of good that does when he started a war at a time he didn't even know there WAS a distinction between shia and sunni muslims. Even if I trusted his gut to make wise decisions, I can not expect it to do so if it doesn't have adequate information.
Every day the administration seems to be more and more like a headless chicken, running around Iraq without a clue. I think they are terrified of the mess they have created and not only are they unable to admit it, they are institutionally incapable of seeking fresh ideas from the outside. They simply do not trust anyone who dares suggest they may be wrong.
And that is why we keep getting slogans from them and not Plans.
The Administration has no plan in Iraq. It doesn't have one because it thought it would not need one. It went into this venture so unprepared that it should be a criminal offense. They've already managed to kill as many good soldiers as good people who died in the Twin Towers. Yet the situation has only gone from bad to worse, with no sign of improvement. And Iraqi citizens are being executed in the streets now at a rate well over 1,000 per month.
But here's the thing, I believe that Bush means it when he says things like this "Advancing the cause of freedom and democracy in the Middle East begins with ensuring the success of a free Iraq. . . . Freedom’s victory in that country will inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran,” he said, “and spread hope across a troubled region.” From a speech to midshipmen at Annapolis, Md., reported at Bush’s Shift of Tone on Iraq: The Grim Cost of Losing, NY Times, Sept. 2, 2006.
I believe Bush means it. I don't necessarily think he's correct, though he might be. But that's not the reason that America went to war. I believe that it is Bush's reason for having gone to war (see the 10 Downing Street Memo - just google it). But regime change is NOT an acceptable reason to begin a war under international law. It is a WAR CRIME.
America wasn't asked to do this. America was given a set of dominos, tile by tile, WMD's, Terror, 9/11, Yellowcake, Mobile Biological weapons labs, etc., all demonstrably false at the time they were given to us. But the President said we must go to war for these things and, regrettably, more people believed him than were willing to question what, in hindsight, were glaring holes in every story.
So we agreed to let Bush have his war, to save us from WMD's and terror and all the rest.
But all the time Bush and his cronies knew that the real reason was their belief that "Freedom’s victory in [Iraq] will inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran."
In other words: Regime change. Something Bush had expressly condemned as a reason for war when he ran for election in 2000.
How different would the country be today if in his campaign speeches in 2000 Bush had elected to be honest about his plans for Iraq - that he intended to bring a war to change the form of government of Iraq, at a staggering cost, in terms of US prestige, safety, money, and most importantly human life, over an unknown period of time.
Did the Bushies really believe the rhetoric about our being greeted with flowers?
Yes, the Dominos are falling all right, and each one of them is another lie being exposed.
This was the theory behind the Vietnam War, and it proved wrong there too. But the dominos are falling, just the same:
The first domino was the complaint that Hussein wasn't cooperating with UN Inspectors (it's true that initially he was uncooperative, but he had agreed to provide everything requested by the Inspectors by the time Bush pressed the button).
The next domino was Hussein's possession of WMD's, including so called mobile biological labs and uranium yellowcake from Nigeria (more about that in another post).
The next dominos that Hussein was somehow involved with al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, or linked to 9/11 or other terrorist activity.
The next dominos, that we would be greeted with flowers, the cost of the war would be minimal,
and that it would be paid for out of increased oil revenues.
Another domino, "Victory Accomplished", complete with GWB playing Michael Dukakis while riding in a jet fighter.
Then there was the "last throes" of the insurgency domino.
Last November's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" has gone by the wayside.
More dominos: the capture of Saddaam, the killing of Zakir al-Musawri,
Most recently it is: "When the Iraqi army stands up, then ours will stand down."
Today's domino is "we broke it, we better fix it before mom & dad find out."
The administration has NEVER understood what is going on in the mideast. This president makes decisions based on his gut - a lot of good that does when he started a war at a time he didn't even know there WAS a distinction between shia and sunni muslims. Even if I trusted his gut to make wise decisions, I can not expect it to do so if it doesn't have adequate information.
Every day the administration seems to be more and more like a headless chicken, running around Iraq without a clue. I think they are terrified of the mess they have created and not only are they unable to admit it, they are institutionally incapable of seeking fresh ideas from the outside. They simply do not trust anyone who dares suggest they may be wrong.
And that is why we keep getting slogans from them and not Plans.
The Administration has no plan in Iraq. It doesn't have one because it thought it would not need one. It went into this venture so unprepared that it should be a criminal offense. They've already managed to kill as many good soldiers as good people who died in the Twin Towers. Yet the situation has only gone from bad to worse, with no sign of improvement. And Iraqi citizens are being executed in the streets now at a rate well over 1,000 per month.
But here's the thing, I believe that Bush means it when he says things like this "Advancing the cause of freedom and democracy in the Middle East begins with ensuring the success of a free Iraq. . . . Freedom’s victory in that country will inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran,” he said, “and spread hope across a troubled region.” From a speech to midshipmen at Annapolis, Md., reported at Bush’s Shift of Tone on Iraq: The Grim Cost of Losing, NY Times, Sept. 2, 2006.
I believe Bush means it. I don't necessarily think he's correct, though he might be. But that's not the reason that America went to war. I believe that it is Bush's reason for having gone to war (see the 10 Downing Street Memo - just google it). But regime change is NOT an acceptable reason to begin a war under international law. It is a WAR CRIME.
America wasn't asked to do this. America was given a set of dominos, tile by tile, WMD's, Terror, 9/11, Yellowcake, Mobile Biological weapons labs, etc., all demonstrably false at the time they were given to us. But the President said we must go to war for these things and, regrettably, more people believed him than were willing to question what, in hindsight, were glaring holes in every story.
So we agreed to let Bush have his war, to save us from WMD's and terror and all the rest.
But all the time Bush and his cronies knew that the real reason was their belief that "Freedom’s victory in [Iraq] will inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran."
In other words: Regime change. Something Bush had expressly condemned as a reason for war when he ran for election in 2000.
How different would the country be today if in his campaign speeches in 2000 Bush had elected to be honest about his plans for Iraq - that he intended to bring a war to change the form of government of Iraq, at a staggering cost, in terms of US prestige, safety, money, and most importantly human life, over an unknown period of time.
Did the Bushies really believe the rhetoric about our being greeted with flowers?
“The problem with stressing the benefits of democracy is that they take a long time to mature, and it’s no sure bet that it will ever happen,” said a senior official who has participated in formation of the administration’s message since the war’s start. Bush’s Shift of Tone on Iraq: The Grim Cost of Losing, NY Times, Sept. 2, 2006.This should not be news to anyone who has studied history. Was this some recent epiphany for the administration? Proving their incompetence from the start. Or have they known it all along? Proving they were just plain lying about that too.
Yes, the Dominos are falling all right, and each one of them is another lie being exposed.
posted by BuddhistAttorney | 9:32 PM
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