There is no mandate left from the original Iraq War Resolution which Bush assumed gave him unlimited power in Iraq. There are no WMD's in Iraq, and Saddam has been deposed and killed. That mis-direction from Congress is now moot. There are no provisions in that document for nation-building or the 'spreading of democracy' that Bush has unilaterally chosen as the new mission for our forces.
It's a dishonest argument to make, as Bush has tried this week, that his re-election in 2004 was a mandate to continue his militarism in Iraq indefinitely. He has no more of a mandate from the American people to continue his bloody occupation, than does the new Iraqi regime from elections held years ago under an increased U.S. military occupation.
Bush, Tuesday, explained why he's decided to escalate his occupation in Iraq instead of bring it to an end as voters demanded:
But, Bush made clear which voices he valued the most as he 'decided' to continue his occupation beyond the expressed will of a majority of Americans.
"The opinions that matter a lot to me are what our military folks think," Bush said. "After all, this is a military operation, and as the Commander-in-Chief, you must listen to your military and trust their judgment on military matters. And that's what I did."
Bush also listened to al-Qaeda, who he says convinced him that Iraq was the "center" of an "ideological war."
"It's important that we listen to the enemy," Bush declared yesterday in a speech at before the American Legion. He warned that the "al-Qaeda in Iraq" (which his occupation was given credit by his intelligence agencies for fueling and increasing), "wants to turn that country into a terrorist base from which to launch an ideological war in the Middle East and attacks on the United States of America."
If Bush and his generals were listening to the American people, they'd find them more concerned about the original terror suspects who've enjoyed five years of 'safe haven' from the U.S. pursuit in Afghanistan -- taunting the U.S. and encouraging others who would do our nation and our interests harm by the mere example of their freedom from prosecution since Bush turned his back on the "hunt" and diverted the bulk of our nation's defenses to Iraq -- than they are about splinter groups who Bush, himself yesterday, described as a "minorities" in Iraq.
If Bush and his generals were listening to the American people, instead of al-Qaeda, they wouldn't have been so quick to escalate the troops in Iraq ahead of the inevitable congressional action in opposition. They wouldn't be demanding another "blank-check" from Congress and rejecting all entreaties from legislators to pull back from their disastrous mission. If they were listening to the American people, the administration wouldn't be stealing from our defense resources allocated to address basic needs in support of the troops already in harm's way and those here at home in reserve positions, just to feed his unsupported fiasco.
General John Abizaid, the former leader of the US Central Command had reportedly resisted the introduction of new troops, but his exit made way for Gen. Petraeus' new command; on board with the growing consensus in the Bush regime to push forward to "win" the occupation. The list of generals willing to lead Bush's suicide mission in Iraq, however, is dwindling along with the evaporation of support from the majority everywhere else in America.
It was reported today that there doesn't seem to be any ready takers for a new White House position which would have them "overseeing" the U.S. occupations of both Afghanistan and Iraq. The job was offered to at least three retired four-star generals. All of them turned it down.
It looks like there will soon be another measure of support for Bush's militarism falling away as his unilateral position on Iraq continues to disintegrate in the face of public opposition. Bush's generals may not be as sanguine in the face of the cannibalism of their military institutions to continue his Iraq folly, no matter how much he insists. Bush says he's "listening" to them. We can only hope that he's having more of a conversation with them than he's seemingly willing to tolerate from our nation's representatives, senators, and governors.
Bush is immured against the timbre of the slaughter he's helping orchestrate in Iraq by the toady prater of his handpicked cabal. He's enamored with his own voice; and that of al-Qaeda. He won't hear anything out of tune with his determination to push forward in Iraq behind the sacrifices of our military. He has drowned out the sound of our dissent by animating his war machinery. Bush is angling to become the sole tailor of the Iraq straitjacket he intends America to wear into eternity . . .
"Oh, busy weaver! unseen weaver!-pause-one word!-whither flows the fabric? what palace may it deck? wherefore all these ceaseless toilings? Speak weaver!-stay thy hand!-but one single word with thee! Nay-the shuttle flies-the figures float forth from the loom; the freshet-rushing carpet forever slides away. The weaver-god, he weaves; and by that humming, we, too, who look on the loom are deafened; and only when we escape it shall we hear the thousand voices that speak through it." --Melville
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