| April
22, 2003:
Now
that the war is "over," our wonderful American Attention
Span will drift away to some other trivial distraction. As long
as we "won," everything is fine. Right?
Will
we truly do the right thing by the 25 million Iraqis that we've
adopted? Will we really devote the energy and time necessary to
secure their country and assure a better tomorrow? Or will Mr. Bush
and his administration merely reward politically-connected friends,
and look the other way as the country slides into chaos? I honestly
don't know; I'm not hopeful about this White House's intentions.
The reasons for going to war were fraudulent; and unless some WMD
magically appear, those lies will cost America in world credibility
and stature.
Bechtel,
Halliburton, the looting of Baghdad while the Ministry of Oil is
secured, future military bases, threats to Syria, handpicked "leaders,"
staged toppling of statues, massive crowds demanding our withdrawl,
the continued lack of water and power. This only serves to justify
the skepticism of those of us who felt this war to be immoral and
unjust.
I
once mentioned the word "quagmire" in passing once, but
I didn't mean the actual war. I mean now, the war for the hearts
and minds of the Iraqi people. If the crucial needs of that country
are not addressed, if we only serve to control Iraq's resources,
we will find ourselves in a situation we cannot easily escape from.
It's
perfectly fine to expect a liberated country to be thankful, but
how do you respond when they don't trust you? Or don't even like
you? The West's history in the Middle East is not a pretty one;
the people who live there have a reason to be skeptical, especially
when the reasons for waging this war have changed so many times.
Will
Iraq descend into chaos (okay, more chaos)? Will long-repressed
ethnic hostilities enflame into full-blown civil war? Will the Iraqis,
if truly given the power over their future, embrace a Fundamentalist
Islamic state, ala Iran? What if the growing humanitarian crisis,
looting and lawlessness is ignored or overlooked?
I'm
not even going into what could happen if the Pentagon presses for
the use of Iraq's miltary bases for a permament US presence, or
if (or, really, when) the White House hawks press for yet another
war in the region (Syria, Iran, North Korea.)
There
is no moral justification for this war, never forget that. The people
of Iraq deserve far better than the treatment the Bush administration
handed to Afghanistan. They deserve better than cluster bombs and
endless lies. |
