Time passed. It came out that Iraq hadn't had a functional WMD program in years. Moreover, it turns out that we didn't really have any strong evidence that he had such programs. I don't think the administration _knew_ that there weren't any WMDs, I think they really suspected that they were there. Alas, suspicion ain't proof, and in this case, itwas completely wrong. Those few Iraqis who actually trusted us ceased doing so. None of them want us there anymore, they just think our presence is better than an outright civil war. I sometimes wonder how many of them are even willing to give us that much credit.
The only thing worse than starting an unjustified war is losing it, and we were set up for failure from the day "Mission Accomplished" was declared. With proper planning, this War _could_ have been a success, but right now I don't see any way that it can be. The best case scenario is another third-world autocracy that's not as blatently corrupt as the last one, and a chance for us to withdraw our forces without looking like we're admitting defeat. There's approximately a snowball's chance in Hell that the new government is going to be a functional democracy, but a dictatorship is better than chaos, and a friendly strongman is better than an unfriendly one.
Have you ever seen a four year old whose entire body below the neck is covered by third degree burns? You ever have to tell a son that we're sorry for the rioting that his mother was killed in, but we were too busy to keep order? You ever have to explain to a family that you regret that their son/father/brother was injured/killed in the crossfire, but that the friendly folks at Civil Affairs will help get them compensation? It sucks. But it ALL would have been worth it, if it made America even the tiniest bit safer.
We've alienated our allies. We've shown that our President is willing to lie to the entire world, and that We, the People, are unwilling to hold him accountable. We've emboldened the jihadis, we haven't made America any safer, and we haven't made the Middle East any more democratic. We probably will go down in history, though. Bush Jr. will be remembered as the President who destroyed the Pax Americana.
*SASO = Stabilization and Sustainment Operations. Peacekeeping.
**Contrary to the Party Line, most of the insurgents aren't foreign Jihadis, the vast majority of them are Iraqis. The Jihadis do a disproportianate amount of damage to us, since they're willing to be used as suicide bombers, and don't care about inflicting civilian casualties. The Iraqi insurgents either take care to avoid killing their countrymen, or they get ratted out real quick.
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Continued
Date: 2005-11-12 12:52 am (UTC)The only thing worse than starting an unjustified war is losing it, and we were set up for failure from the day "Mission Accomplished" was declared. With proper planning, this War _could_ have been a success, but right now I don't see any way that it can be. The best case scenario is another third-world autocracy that's not as blatently corrupt as the last one, and a chance for us to withdraw our forces without looking like we're admitting defeat. There's approximately a snowball's chance in Hell that the new government is going to be a functional democracy, but a dictatorship is better than chaos, and a friendly strongman is better than an unfriendly one.
Have you ever seen a four year old whose entire body below the neck is covered by third degree burns? You ever have to tell a son that we're sorry for the rioting that his mother was killed in, but we were too busy to keep order? You ever have to explain to a family that you regret that their son/father/brother was injured/killed in the crossfire, but that the friendly folks at Civil Affairs will help get them compensation? It sucks. But it ALL would have been worth it, if it made America even the tiniest bit safer.
We've alienated our allies. We've shown that our President is willing to lie to the entire world, and that We, the People, are unwilling to hold him accountable. We've emboldened the jihadis, we haven't made America any safer, and we haven't made the Middle East any more democratic. We probably will go down in history, though. Bush Jr. will be remembered as the President who destroyed the Pax Americana.
*SASO = Stabilization and Sustainment Operations. Peacekeeping.
**Contrary to the Party Line, most of the insurgents aren't foreign Jihadis, the vast majority of them are Iraqis. The Jihadis do a disproportianate amount of damage to us, since they're willing to be used as suicide bombers, and don't care about inflicting civilian casualties. The Iraqi insurgents either take care to avoid killing their countrymen, or they get ratted out real quick.