Bush War I: The Gulf War The most ridiculous concept that led us into Bush War II was that our troops would be welcomed as liberators by the Iraqi people. Dick Cheney was a major proponent of this. I never believed it. I knew that thousands of widows and orphans, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends of Bush War I battle and civilian casualties would not welcome us with arms open. They are probably the core of the insurgency soliciting help from foreigners. We also had completely destroyed the infrastructure of the country and then implied sanctions that caused many deaths due to lack of medical care (some say over one million). To get an international perspective on Bush War I (known as the Gulf War), go to: http://www.geocities.com/iraqinfo/gulfwar/overview.html. Make sure you read the seven (7) link articles to the main article (Brief Overview of Persian Gulf War). I believe that Bush War I could have been prevented. We were the major ally of Iraq. We downplayed Saddams attacks on the Kurds with lethal gas. It was our official policy that we would not interfere if the squabble between Iraq and Kuwait escalated. When we did attack Iraq, we did it with irrational exuberance. The media was focused on how wonderful our weapons were rather than on the destruction they were causing. Did we really have to turn off the lights so that hospitals, schools, homes, factories, and streets were left in the dark? Bush War I was swift but not merciful. Finally, the Coalition was being accused of unnecessary roughness. There was talks of the Geneva Conventions not being adhered to, a factor in Bush War II. Bush War II: The Second Gulf War One of the sorriest days in my life was when Collin Powel was required to stand before the United Nations and present what I thought (as an engineer) was utterly flimsy evidence for Weapons of Mass Destruction. It was obvious that Saddam did not want another war. He knew exactly what would happen. Iraq would be clobbered again. His efforts to prevent the war were viewed as being too weak by the administration. They expected an Arab to go to his knees and say, Forgive me for being bad. Come on in and look for WMDs all you want. Instead, Saddam simply said the he had no WMDs. It was too little, too late. The Current Situation and What We Should Do Im not interested in the CIAs flimsy evidence and how it was manipulated to suck us into the war. If the Congress was hoodwinked by the intelligence, it wouldnt surprise me. Politicians love war. It boosts the economy. It lets us test are military. We might come up with more oil, a strategic military position, improved commerce and other such benefits. The debt generated might be reclaimed in goodies. I would expect them not to do a thorough job once they have caught the war fever. The problem in Iraq is that we were not able to secure the borders so foreign freedom fighters poured in. We could have but didnt disarm the population. We destroyed much weaponry and explosives but not enough. We have allowed the free use of vehicles rather than restrict their use. Our forces have continually been used as social workers to get everyone to love America rather than as soldiers controlling anti-invasion forces. The administration is right when they say that we mustnt chicken out of Iraq now. It does no good to make statements that encourage the terrorist when we should be holding our tongues. Why does the Congress want to spend there precious time looking back when they should be helping the administration resolve problems. The reason, of course, is that this administration has been the most callous in history, hardly unifying the country but rather drawing a saber whenever anyone says anything that opposes them. More important is the fact that the Republicans in Congress have completely failed to give serious thought to their actions, kissing the White House butt whenever offered. As they have complete control of the congress, they must realize that they have a responsibility to the fundamentals of sound government. They need to realize that everything that the minority says is not stupid. They are pathetically immature. We have a stronghold in Iraq where we can maintain a military presence and protect our oil interest. We can keep pressure on a belligerent Iran who we helped Saddam fight before the Gulf War. We can fight the terrorist there instead of in the United States. I know the above sounds horrific, but its the truth, isnt it? What the insurgency doesnt seem to understand is that if they would stop bombing for three months, we would pull most of our troops out of Iraq. Then President Bush could hop in that aircraft, land on the deck of one of our carriers and say, Now the Mission is really accomplished! Wouldnt that be nice! copyrightJohn T. Jones, Ph.D.2005 |
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