There were many people who saw the debacle in Iraq coming. I include myself in that group, although no one in the government listens to my counsel. Al Gore opposed attacking Iraq. Of course Al probably knew the WMD charges were bogus.
George H. W. Bush, our 41st Pres was curiously silent during the run up to the war in 2002. I guess he didn’t want to second guess Junior, but he had some pretty strong ideas about invading and occupying Iraq. He had his chance to conquer Iraq and declined. He pretty accurately predicted everything that has happened since his son decided he wanted to be a war president.
Excerpt from "Why We Didn't Remove Saddam" by George Bush [Sr.] and Brent Scowcroft, Time (2 March 1998):
While we hoped that popular revolt or coup would topple Saddam, neither the U.S. nor the countries of the region wished to see the breakup of the Iraqi state. We were concerned about the long-term balance of power at the head of the Gulf. Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under those circumstances, furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome.
In other words, invade Iraq and you will be wading hip deep into a vat of shit, and taking the whole country with you.
It’s not surprising to me that Junior didn’t read Daddy’s article, and I guess Poppy Bush couldn’t bring himself to dope slap a sitting president, even if he was his idiot son. And it’s fairly easy to see Poppy’s fingerprints all over the Iraq Study Group headed by Bush family hatchet man, James Baker, but it appears that Junior is dismissing any suggestion of pulling American troops out, probably just to spite Daddy and his friends. “Nah, nah, I don’t have to do what you say ‘cause I’m president now. Nah, nah!”
George H.W. must be getting pretty embarrassed about how Junior is turning out as pres. While speaking in Abu Dhabi last month he was heckled by the audience, who basically told him that while they thought he was okay, they thought his son was a total and dangerous fuck up. On November 7 two thirds of the voters in this country basically said the same thing.
4 comments:
Kids. You raise 'em up and they break your heart.
I liked the part about mission creep. It has a nice pejorative ring to it.
Yeah, who knew at the time that Junior would become the original mission creep
I've always sensed that what really drives George W. is a wierd sort of Oedipal thing, in which he's desperately trying to outperform old dad. Pretty poor reason to become president, if you ask me.
Keep blogging. It's more fun the more you do it. And your audience will gradually find you.
Thanks Mystic
The Oedipal thing pretty well sums it up, although the idea of what he wants to do with his Mom makes me shudder.
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