At long last, the plan is revealed

Amid the mistakes (calling Donald Rumsfeld the Secretary of State) and lies (referring to Saddam Hussein as an "ally" of Al Qaida) in last night's press conference, George W. Bush let a little bit of truth slip out. He finally revealed his rationale for including an invasion of Iraq in his Global War on Terror™:

A secure and free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world and make America more secure. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have incredible change.

Apparently Bush's plan is to establish a democracy in Iraq, which will, he assumes, be friendly to the United States. The existence of a free society in Iraq will, according to this plan, inspire others in the Middle East to overthrow autocratic regimes that oppose the US and sponsor or provide haven for terrorists. This is not news to those of us who have been paying attention. It is the same plan put forth several years ago by the Project for the New American Century, a small think tank whose members are the principal architects of the Bush administration's foreign policy. But this ambitious plan was not discussed by the Bush gang before the Iraq war started, even when they were providing reasons for the war. Why might that be? One reason is the unprecedented arrogance of the Bush administration. They do not feel they have to explain their reasoning to anyone, least of all the American people they are supposed to be working for. Secondly, public debate would reveal that this is a pretty stupid plan. The idea that a foreign nation can bring democratic government to Iraq through force of arms shows profound ignorance of the social, religious, and political situation in Iraq. To assume that a democratically elected Iraqi government would be friendly to the United States requires a virtually total misunderstanding of the Arab world. Further, the plan does not speak to what will happen to the Arab autocracies that are friendly to the United States, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. On top of that, the activities of the United States in Iraq belie Bush's claim that we are there to bring democracy. Closing newspapers is not democracy. Shutting down labor unions is not democracy. Using schools as military bases is not democracy. Refusing to hold elections is not democracy. The fact that Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force examined maps of Iraqi oil fields during at least one of their secret meetings suggests that there might be other motives involved. Certainly it is arrogant of Bush to assume that the new Iraqi government will invite US troops to stay in the country after June 30 and that they will host a US ambassador in the giant embassy complex we are building in Baghdad. I am reminded of the foreign policy code words used during the Reagan era, when a "democracy" was a dictatorship friendly towards the United States. Whether or not the pipe dream of triggering a democratic revolution throughout the Middle East was the real reason Bush started this war, it is clear now that the entire enterprise in Iraq has been a failure. They don't want us there, we have no business being there, and it is time to leave.
- posted by truthspeaker    Comments