Stockman, Newt has finally broken the brotherhood of silence that's reigned in conservative circles for far too long. He's absolutely correct and the points he's making about the almost certain failure of the post-invasion Iraqi policies could have been made BEFORE THE INVASION. The problem is an intractable one that has been severely compounded by Pentagon and Defense Dept. thinking that overvalues the power of conventional military might in policing a nation of people who, no matter whether you agree with them, certainly have the power of their convictions. I guess what I'm saying is that if our goal of invading Iraq was anything more than taking Saddam out of power, FAILURE was the most likely outcome from the start.
The second question is how much mid term and long term damage have we done, and how much more will we do before we leave. Our influence in that region will certainly be markedly reduced, Iraq will no longer be a nation that does not support Islamic Fundamentalism and the splinter groups of terrorists that arise from it, and the number and vehemence of those that would be terrorist recruits is growing exponentially. In addition, the Arab world will be emboldened by the losses we are taking, just as Bin Ladin's ilk were emboldened by the "defeat" of the mighty Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Their methods and skills in attacking conventional American forces as they eat, sleep, move and operate, using easily procured weapons, will be developed and refined. Those things are virtually guaranteed but we seemingly are not content with accepting those costs; we are guaranteeing that the costs will escalate.
The latest military tactic of "show of force" is about the most insane tactic we could employ. The reality is that the local population is "keeping secrets" concerning the identity, plans and locations of the guerrillas. In order to make the locals pay a price and work our "shock and awe," we are now using bigger and stronger weapons against them and our making bigger and more intrusive sweeps through their neighborhoods. How much sense does that make?
We can't even identify the bad guys so what are we mortaring, rocketing and bombing? We have been so stupid as to bomb the palace of one of the old regimes "most wanteds." Of course the palace was under our control and available for our use and was totally unavailable for his use or the use of the insurgents but, what the hey, we showed them, didn't we? We are bragging up the rule of law and democratic principles AT THE SAME TIME we are rounding up Irqis by the hundreds and thousands, holding them without charges and without counsel, and refusing to allow them to communicate with their families or to even confirm that we hold them in some instances. We are knocking on doors in the middle of the night and rousting out, and roughing up, frightened men, women and children. How does that make a father feel?
We are a realistically scared and trigger-happy force in an alien environment that poses a deadly threat to every enlisted man and woman there. Those people will shoot first and often, and ask questions later. Some of them are so scared they are enraged and they are itching to kill someone, even if it's only those that they think applaud the killing of Americans. That's a whole lot of Iraqis and they know it.
We've walked into an ambush that only the Iraqi people can pull us out of, and they're not inclined to do it. It's a killing ground and the question is how many of us get out, how do we do it, and how soon. The Iraqis will have to find their own equilibrium. If they screw up and harm us later, we will have to attack them AS A COUNTRY, not as policemen trying to "purge" them of "evil doers." It's that simple.
In short, we have made the ingredients for a foul broth that will poison American and Iraqi alike, and we are heating it slowly and stirring it often.
I will vote for anyone but Bush. He has made a series of BAD JUDGEMENTS. When a man has been as wrong as often as he has, regardless of how pure their motives or ideals are, the fact is inescapable; the man is a blunderer and cannot be given more years to prove that he cannot do the job. Too many lives, too much of our economic future and too much of our children's future well-being are being squandered with each passing month. Kerry was right, the man has f-ed up far too often and the negative consequences are astronomical. |
