Letter in today's "Stripes:" Bush misleading Americans

[lebkuchen]

Url available at estripes.com on Sunday

President Bush is misleading Americans about the reasons for invading Iraq. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers are dead and many more wounded. Our soldiers are fighting to defend each other, but not truly fighting to defend America, and America is what they signed up to defend. Why then are our soldiers dying, if not to protect America?

On Sept. 15, 2001, our presidnet met with his cabinet at Camp David. Neoconservatives led by Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and Vice President Dick Cheney lobbied for their special interest groups instead of the American people. They told the president that now was the time to go after Saddam Hussein. They said that American forces may get bogged down in Afghanistan just as the British and Soviets had, and America needed early successes to maintain domestic support. Iraq, they claimed, would be easy pickings. This had nothing to do with Sept. 11, 2001, weapons of mass destruction or threats to America.

Bush decided that Afghanistan would be first. But Iraq would be next. Who on Sept. 15, 2001 was thinking about liberating Iraq? I think most Americans wanted to get Osama bin Laden. If that's true, then Bush and Rumsfeld have failed us.

In the first Gulf War, Iraq had the fourth-largest army in the world. It was backed by WMDs and a strong air force. In the years since, every U.S. weapons system has been improved tenfold. Meanwhile, Iraqi's forces had been degraded by more than 80 percent. Yet we've lost more soldiers in the latest Gulf War than we did in the first. Why? Leadership. Not Gen. Tommy Franks'. He did his job. It's Rumsfeld and his boss who refused to listen to the generals about the number of troops needed after taking Baghdad. Do we really want Rumsfeld transforming the Army?

Saddam and bin Laden hated each other. Saddam kept al-Qaida out of Iraq and kept the Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq under control. But Bush removed Saddam from Iraq, and now al-Qaida and other terrorists are pouring into Iraq to kill Americans. The Islamic fundamentalists are also rising up and talking about kicking the Americans out and taking over the country. All Bush could do was say, "Bring it on." Yet he chose to fly over Baghdad in the safety of Air Force One.

Bush insulted the UN, and now he's begging it to help clean up his mess. Do we really want to give these guys a second term?

Heidelberg, Germany

[Red_Viking]

1. I can answer that "second term" question

No.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. * kick *

n/t