Bush: Immoral Surge of U.S. Soldiers?

Okay, all those who don't believe Bush's Iraq decisions have been dimwitted, visit a GOP loyalist site, this one won't make you happy. Everyone else should be asking if Pres. Bush is immoral to build up 20,000 more troops in Iraq, sacrificing even more American limbs and lives? For what? For the sake of his belief that one day he will be vindicated in invading Iraq? That appears to be what's coming.

Iraq: More Quagmire

The Congressionally commissioned Iraq study group headed by Baker (R) and Hamilton (D), produced nothing new. They confirm that Iraq is out of control; we have insufficient resources to get it under control on our own; and given that our presence is exacerbating the widening war in Iraq in some ways, they advise we should look to withdraw most of our forces by 2008.

Here is the quagmire in a nutshell. The best outcome America can hope for now, and the vital goals the President cannot, and will not, yield on are; preventing the Iraqi Government from dissolving, and preventing Iraqi oil revenues from being funneled or, otherwise falling, into terrorist group hands. These are interdependent goals. If either fails, the other follows.

Saddam Hussein: Death by Hanging

The U.S. supported and designed Iraqi Court system has just sentenced Saddam Hussein to death by hanging. He has 10 days to appeal. If his appeal fails, his sentence is to be carried out within 30 days hence. At least one other, Hussein's half brother, who signed the order for the deaths of over 140 villagers from a place where an assassination attempt was hatched aimed at Iraq's leader. Others standing trial were handed lesser sentences, and more are still coming forth.

Those are the facts at the time of this writing. What do they mean? Proponents of the court and trials, will hail this as a victory for the Iraqi people and its new government. Critics will cite this event as an extension of U.S. occupation in Iraq, and contrary to the best interests of the Iraqi people and stability in Iraq, fueling sectarian hostilities.

Victory Not An Option

The Baker/Hamilton Commission will be providing a report on the options available to the administration regarding Iraq after the midterm elections. Of the options, victory is not one of them in the foreseeable future. Neither is stay the course. The report will outline at least two major options, draw down and redeploy, or, stability first in Baghdad.

Iraq: Republican Confusion

Sen. John Warner (R) held a press conference Thursday, Oct. 5, on Iraq, having just returned from there. The Sen. was full of contradictions reflecting the situation in Iraq and the absence of a strategy by the Bush administration and Congressional Republicans.

Sen. Warner is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a key member of the Senate's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Iraq: American Options

The following article presents information offered to the House Government Reform Committee on National Security just a few days ago, as aired on C-Span and recalled by this writer. The Panel of witnesses were expert in the study of Iraq and its people with decades of experience focusing on Iraq. (See end of article for participants.)

Rep. Christopher Shays (R) who chaired these hearings asked Thomas Friedman's question on Washington Journal, "Are we baby-sitting a civil war in Iraq?" (Link note: click on title: Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), National Security Subcmte. Chair). It is a most pertinent question in light of the hearing discussed below.

Feeling Bush's Pain

The NY Times reports July was the bloodiest yet for Iraqi civilians, with the body count at 3,438. That is a 9% increase over the previous month. And in another story the NYT reports Bush expressed frustration Monday "that the new Iraqi government - and the Iraqi people - had not shown greater public support for the American mission...". If one has any heart at all, President Bush's self made Catch-22, called the Iraq occupation, must elicit a large dose of empathy if not sympathy.

Droves of politicians from the Right and Left are distancing themselves, as best they can, from having had anything to do with the decision to invade Iraq as election day approaches. Conservative politicians are doing a real Texas 3 step away from the President in hopes of salvaging their political careers. When I take a moment to consider how I would feel if I were in President Bush's shoes this week, it makes me immensely sad. Simultaneously however, the thought comes to mind PDQ that I would never, in his shoes, have made that decision to invade Iraq. War is one of the gravest decisions any people can ever commit themselves to.

Iraq - US Widening The Civil War

The U.S. is paving the way for widening civil war in Iraq. The U.S. government is setting up house in Iraq with permanent bases and facilities for itself. The Iraqi people are quite aware of this and oppose it in a huge majority. The new Iraqi government is dependent upon the resources of the U.S., especially financial and infrastructure rebuilding, and as a dependent of the U.S. government, the new Iraq government cannot send the U.S. home.

Top Al-Queda in Iraq Killed. Good, but so what?

Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead. Others have waited and trained in line to take his place. The only good news about this is: 1) Bush gets to spin it as more 'progress' and 2) our troops get a morale boost since Zarqawi was a primary target in Iraq, and God knows, they needed some some good news.

But, other than this, it changes nothing. Al-Queda is not set up like a snake; cut off the head and the body dies. Not like that at all. And besides, al-Queda is only a very, very small part of the violence taking place in Iraq today. The sectarian violence has a life of its own and the civil war is wosening by the month, whether al-Queda is there or not. They are not interdependent. So, the civil unrest and sectarian violence and al-Queda presence continues on without, the now martyred, Zarqawi.

Bush v. The World, The Cost of Iraq

David Jackson of USA Today covers Pres. Bush's new Iraq war strategy. Not the strategy in Iraq, which is just more of the same. But, the strategy to P.T. Barnum the war to the rest of the world, especially the American public. Jackson states: "President Bush sought Monday to emphasize progress over disillusionment after three years in Iraq." Oh, yes, in 10 or 15 years, Iraq may become stable and somewhat peacefully Democratic while remaining a nation intact. But, at what cost to us and them, Mr. President?

Rumsfeld takes our troops for Dummies.

When questioned by an Army specialist about why our troops are being observed searching through Iraqi dumps for armor for their vehicles, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said "you go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want". That is an outrageous statement under the circumstances. If Iraq had attacked American soil or one of our allies, or posed an imminent threat which Bush denies he ever claimed, then a nation must go to war with the Army it has. But, this was an entirely elective war. Pres. Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld decided on the date to invade and they chose to invade before our troops and equipment were ready.

Investigations show No WMD

A Senate Intelligence Investigation Committee issued a bipartisan report indicating the U.N. and Europeans who opposed Bush’s invasion of Iraq based on WMD were proved right as the report states clearly and bi-partisanly, that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior during the buildup of American forces to invade, and the intelligence basis for invading Iraq was false. Democrats and Republicans are split on whether the Whitehouse played a role in pressuring the intelligence agencies to produce the erroneous results they led to war.

Two facts are clear. The U.S. did not have in-country intelligence which could have confirmed whether WMD existed and to do so would have taken more time before invading. The President refused appeals to delay invasion by critics both domestic and foreign such as France, Germany, Russia, and domestic critics who warned against unilateral invasion like presidential candidates Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean. As I have written here before, Hussein was not a self-destructive leader and it would have been foolish of him to keep evidence of WMD in his country to be discovered and used as a pretext for invasion and deposing him as leader of Iraq. That contention has now been vindicated by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

There are no Scapegoats!

Let us not beat around the 'Bush'. Our President said, "Bring 'em on", and "we will do whatever it takes", and his reelection hangs upon a much greater degree of success and much fewer losses than the U.S. has experienced to date. Generals and Colonels are on the news nightly stating the Iraq war is being almost completely mismanaged, and even without management. The news shows like Chris Matthew's HardBall for example, are asking how Americans can be responsible for such acts against defenseless prisoners in a military prison in Iraq. They are asking, who is responsible. Isn't it obvious?

Elect Bush -Reinstate the Draft

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) of the Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday and today has announced it is time for the American people to consider whether the U.S. should reinstate the draft. He gives reasons for this ranging from equity of rich and famous being forced to serve as the middle class and poor are now serving, and the fact that the National Guard and Reserves are simply insufficient additions to our needs for a larger military force. Hagel deserves a medal whatever his reasons, for bringing Bush’s view of decades of war in defense of God’s gift to all people - freedom, to the forefront.