By Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers
Iraq is, will be, and should be, at the heart of the chasm between the two battling presidential hopefuls as we approach the November election. One candidate sees that war and occupation as part of a larger, permanent crusade, the other as a terrible error that needs to be corrected.
But before analyzing the distinctly different visions of McCain and Obama, it's important to remind ourselves how the U.S. got into this no-win situation and thus have a better idea how to get out. An abbreviated primer, then:
The U.S., taking over from the French colonialists, wound up effectively occupying South Vietnam and, after years of stalemated war, had to leave devoid of20victory. Nearly three decades later, the U.S. invaded and occupied another country it had little real knowledge of, Iraq, and is having to prepare itself for leaving that nation in the same manner.
And then there is Afghanistan, another place where a war won't go away. Indeed, it's revving up for another major go; a subtext is whether a much-delayed oil/gas pipeline will be built in that country (or maybe in Iran) to bring energy westward.
To make the discussion even more complex and absurd, there is serious talk in CheneyBush Washington of initiating yet another war, this=2 0one against Iran. ( http://crisispapers.org/essays8w/madness.htm )
LESSONS AND WARNINGS UNHEEDED
One would think that the earlier disastrous experiences of colonialists/occupiers might have provided U.S. leaders with some cautionary warnings: the French in Indochina, the Brits and Russians in Afghanistan. But those geopolitical lessons, time after time, are simply ignored.
In his powerful memoir "Secrets," (www.crisispapers.org/essays/ellsberg.htm ) Daniel Ellsberg, he of "Pentagon Papers" fame, relates how five separate U.S. Presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon) were warned by their closest foreign polic y and military advisors that Western countries could never prevail in Vietnam, given the strength and tenacity of post-colonial Vietnamese nationalism and the guerrilla war being waged in its name. The most that could be hoped for, these "best and brightest" presidential advisors said, was an endless stalemate.
Still, Truman and Eisenhower supported the French and, once the French departed in defeat and the U.S. got involved directly, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon continued on anyway, each feeling he could create the conditions for victory where others had failed. The result of this hubris was an absolu te FUBAR catastrophe, with more than 58,000 U.S. troops killed, along with an estimated million and a half Vietnamese.
IRAQ: "WAR ON THE CHEAP"
Which, of course, brings us back to Iraq. There was no good reason for bombing, invading and occupying Iraq, but the CheneyBush Administration, powered by an exceptionalist ideology that believed that the U.S. of A, beloved of God and the lone superpower on the planet, could do whatever it wanted and pay little price.
Remember? Iraq was supposed to be a war on the cheap: a quick invasion, happy natives welcoming their liberators, U.S. corporations helping set up the post-war reconstruction for the good of Iraqi society, all that oil in safe Western hands, a U.S.-friendly Iraq serving as a role-model for all the other Muslim countries in the region, etc. etc. Rumsfeld had said it all would be over within20six weeks or maybe six months at the outside. Wolfowitz said the limited costs of the war would be paid for by Iraqi oil revenues. Bush celebrated "Mission Accomplished."
Well, we all quickly learned that the scenario didn't unfold the way the Cheney-Rumsfeld neo-cons said it would. The initial invasion itself was quick and successful enough, but Saddam's soldiers melted away into the civilian population, waiting to see if or when they would be required to take up arms against the new bosses.
Here was a proud, highly civilized people under the thumb of culturally-ignorant conq uerors who didn't have a clue what was really happening or how to proceed. (See Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone.") (www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/emerald.htm) The occupying authority, looking out for U.S. corporations, made sure to freeze out all Iraqi businesses and workers. In addition, hundreds of thousands of former soldiers were turned away from any role in post-war reconstruction, and this army of unemployed young men melded with the anti-occupation resistance force and were joined in this anti-American campaign by a number of jihadists from all over the Greater Middle East. Ouch.
OIL, TORTURE & CORRUPTION
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
