::::::::
How did our Nation go to war in Iraq? It troubles me deeply, and it should trouble you. If we want to avoid future unnecessary wars, we need to give serious thought to how we went to war in Iraq. Many questions need to be asked and answered. With the Neo-cons and some in government still beating the war drum for Iran, we need to understand how we went to war in Iraq.
As I listen to the (so called) dialog between those supporting the war in Iraq and those who oppose the war, I realize that critical thinking and honesty seem absent. The arguments for the war are tired and absurd. And, when someone opposes the war, they are accused of being unpatriotic or accused of not supporting the troops.
It is clear to me, as someone who supports the troops and respects their courage, that people can oppose the policy and justifications for the war and also be patriotic. The argument that “we need to fight terrorism over there or we will have to fight it here” doesn’t make any sense. Not when a chief component of that misguided spin is neglect in our overall domestic securities.
The question of how and why we went to war in Iraq is a question with many answers and failures by the Congress, intelligence community, and the media. How did it all come together? I am deeply concerned over the many failures in leadership that enabled our country to go to war preemptively.
A strong surge of nationalism after 911 was used to rally the country in support of the war. While failing to make an effort to understand the history of century old hatreds among the Sunni, Shiites and Kurds, the Neo-cons in government were convinced that Iraq was an opportunity to get a democratic foot hold in the Middle East.
I believe some of our hawks in government and the oil companies also saw an opportunity to have a strong influence in a country with the second largest oil reserve in the world—oil profits.
The hawks in the military complex saw an opportunity for profits—the very warning expressed by President Eisenhower over resisting the temptation of using our military might for war profiteering.
The Congress neglected their responsibility to ask the tough questions leading up to the war. The Senate Intelligence Committee and the senators failed the American people by not having a serious debate on the justification for war. The Republican Members of the House of Representatives blindly supported their party. And, I believe the Democrats were too cautious to vote against authorization to declare war because they didn’t want to be seen as weak on the war on terrorism.
We know now that the intelligence was seriously flawed and cherry picked by those wanting to make the case for war. Many good and conscientious representatives trusted that intelligence, and later regretted voting to authorize the President to declare war at his discretion.
I am saddened by the lack of courage in Congress on both sides of the isle. I also see a lack of courage by those who simply are unwilling to admit they made a mistake in trusting intelligence too quickly, and without demanding more proof.
The Democrats can’t have it both ways. The Democrats in Congress who voted for authorization to declare war without serious debate are guilty of neglecting their responsibility to the American people. It isn’t good enough for House Members and Senators to say, “They were sold a bill of goods to get their vote.”
The news media had a major hand in making the case to the American people. The media sold the case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the connection by Sadam Hussein to the attacks on 911. We now know that there was no connection between Sadam Hussein and the attacks against America on 911.
Fear tactics and the American sense of nationalism and patriotism were used to sell the need for war to the American people. The war in Iraq should cause all of us great concern over the leadership in the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
We may never get the full truth on how it all developed, but the American people deserve answers from the men and women they elected to office. We have to take time to understand how this nation went to war so; we can avoid future unnecessary, preemptive war.
We have a crisis in leadership that must be addressed if our democracy is to survive.
Fred Flanagan
