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USA: A Winner?
Posted 5-11-2004
If someone out there can tell me how the USA is going to come out of
Iraq a "winner," I want to hear it. Or better yet, other than removing
former US ally and undisputed thug Saddam Hussein, tell me how we've made
the world a safer place with Bush's invasion of Iraq.
No administration has done
such damage to our reputation across the world than the Bush, Rove, Cheney,
and Rumsfeld team. Yet, I'm puzzled why this invasion was so widely
supported. Was it again the cultural arrogance we've experienced in every
military adventure in the post World War II era? By cultural arrogance, I
mean the belief that our political and economic system, our culture, and our
values are so superior to anyone else's that the Iraqis would just welcome
us with open arms? Was it that after September 11, 2001, the simplistic Mr.
Bush had to find a simplistic boogeyman for the USA to punish since
terrorists are not stationary targets? Who better than Saddam, the former
ally of Reagan and Bush Sr. in the Iran-Iraq War that had run amok? Or was
it as the delusional Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said, "Iraq
is swimming on a sea of oil?"
Whatever the reason, we are
now stuck in a situation that is getting worse instead of better and simply
did not have to happen. After the recent disclosure of the torture of
Iraqis, it is apparent that, at a minimum, Wolfowitz, if not Rumsfeld must
go. There was never a doubt we could whip Iraq's military. We had done it in
the Gulf War in a few days, and they had been under United Nations scrutiny
for the last decade. But did anyone at the Defense Department ever have a
contingent plan in case the post invasion period didn't go as Rummy and
Wolfie promised?
Did anyone even consider the
Iraqi people would not want an occupying army? Was it considered that the
Iraqi people wouldn't welcome a government we called "democratic," yet we
wouldn't let them elect? Were the religious and cultural differences between
the Iraqis and the invading forces ever examined so to better prepare for
some form of a peaceful, productive reshaping of Iraq? The answers are all
clearly no, as each day we see a growing number of US and Iraqi deaths.
Many of us saw this coming,
but as usual, when dealing with the loud-mouthed, right-wing extremists that
try to control the dialogue in this country, we were called unpatriotic for
not supporting the military adventurism of the Bush crowd. When are some
people in this country ever going to learn? A simple rule of foreign policy
should be: put yourself in the shoes of the people you are dealing with, and
you'll get a pretty good indication of how they'll react to what you intend
to do. Would we want an occupying army here? Would we want someone else's
values imposed on us because they believe those values are superior? Of
course, we would not. So why would so many Americans buy into this invasion?
It can only be a combination of arrogance and ignorance. And, isn't that
pretty much the same as Osama Bin Laden who thinks his Islamic extremism is
superior to Western culture?
Even though we are the only
remaining super power in the world, the Bush crowd has effectively turned
most of the world against us. Rather than being a benevolent leader in the
global community, they've taken the approach that the Bush way is the only
way. When the Soviet Union fell, we had such a great opportunity to be the
constructive leaders that could take an even-handed position of strength to
work out global challenges. Instead Bush and Cheney chose to be the
neighborhood bully, and it is needlessly costing the lives of Americans and
Iraqis.
Our country's zenith in
global popularity was at the end of World War II, and, whether we'll admit
it or not, it has been heading downhill since. Sure, there were some blips
of increased goodwill when we actually tried to help other countries through
organizations like the Peace Corps and the Agency for International
Development. But, wars like Vietnam and this unprovoked invasion do nothing
to enhance our reputation or our role as the only remaining super power.
Though Bush has delivered on one campaign promise. He said he'd be a
"uniter" not a "divider." That he has done. He's united Democrats in America
like they have not been united before, and he's united most of the world in
their disdain for our unilateral, military aggression. |
