Response to: BUSH FAILED POLITICALLY????

Submitted by Roy McIntyre (United States), Sep 24, 2005 at 21:44

Bottom line: yes.

Nations fight wars to acheive political ends. George Bush's stated political end was this: ensuring that Saddam Hussein did not provide WMD to Shi'a terrorists who would use it in America. Has the war in Iraq acheived that end? Come on. The jury is most assuredly not "still out" on this one - Bush failed.

When it became evident that 1) there were no WMD in Iraq (certainly not the huge stockpiles of chem and bio weapons that justified war) and 2) the link between Saddam and Shi'a terrorists was fantasy, Bush began casting about for another political end. He would not have changed the end toward which he claimed the war was fought if the original end had been successful. You follow me? We wouldn't even be talking about nation building in Iraq if Bush had not failed politically on the WMD mission.

So now, after the initial failure, we are working on Political End #2 in the hopes that we can lay some claim to a political success. I grant you that the jury is, technically, still out on this one. But it don't look too good for the home team. I returned from Iraq several months ago, and I strongly dispute the military claim that "the news only reports the bad stuff". The news doesn't report most of the bad stuff, or any of the worst stuff. Political End #2 is an abject failure so far.

Maybe when the "jury comes in" (what event, exactly, would mark that?) we'll all see what a glorious success Bush pulled off. But 1,900 soldiers, dead for no reason that anyone in the administration could explain right now, will disagree.

As an aside, could I ask when you, as a "LOVER OF FREEDOM", plan to enlist and go fight in Iraq? I'll send you all my Army stuff I won't be needing anymore. Maybe after a tour there, you could more clearly explain to dense folks like me how the nature of Iraq's government effects our freedom in the US. Maybe you could also explain why people who took an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic" are dying in a fight against Iraqi insurgents over the nature of the Iraqi government. Once the WMD argument is gone, I just don't get what Iraq has to do with American security or freedom any more.

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