“It’s the Iraq war, stupid”

[babylonsister]

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2047.shtml

“It’s the Iraq war, stupid”
By Tony Zurlo
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Jun 5, 2007, 01:07



"If I had known then what I know now . . .” is a lame apology for the October 2002 vote giving George W. Bush the go-ahead to invade Iraq.

Forget the missing WMD and the fact that Saddam had no connection to al Qaeda. Consider instead the thousands of American lives lost in this war and tens of thousands of wounded. Consider instead the 650,000 dead Iraqis and the 2 million Iraqi refugees, many of whom held important business and government jobs before the invasion. Consider instead the social programs and infrastructure that did not get funded by Congress, victims of the war budget: unprotected ports, health care expenses, Katrina relief, gas prices, and education reform just to name a few.

To paraphrase Democratic strategist James Carville: “It’s the Iraq war, stupid.” American taxes are enriching administration-friendly corporations who play dangerous mercenary games in Iraq. Billions of dollars have been wasted on contracts that leave no paper trail. The pockets of corrupt Iraqi builders and politicos are stuffed with American tax money. The money is also fueling an occupation that turns Iraqis against Americans. Hundreds of millions of these dollars have supplied weapons and ammunition covertly turned over to “insurgents.”

So the message to the Democratic candidates for president is this: For millions of Americans, Democrats and Independents alike, it has always been “the Iraq war, stupid.” Millions of Americans were embarrassed in 2002 by the vote to support Bush’s war in the first place. Most of the current presidential candidates supported Bush's plan to invade, including Edwards, Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Richardson. Among today’s aspirants only Gravel, Kucinich, and Obama had the insight and courage to oppose the invasion.

But that was then and this is now, as the worn-out cliché goes. The next president will not have to worry about convincing the public that the war was a disastrous mistake. The American public, as usual, is ahead of the curve on this issue and issues that relate to the debacle in Iraq. The person-who-would-be-president must offer a reasonable plan to begin immediately withdrawing from Iraq. The successful candidate will acknowledge that other nations in the Middle East will have a major voice in the direction of politics in the region.

snip//

Two terms with Bush in command says something disturbing about who shall rule. The administration’s cynical approach to politics appeals to emotions, preferably to fear, survival, and perceived self-interest; and gift-wraps the emotions with cronyism and jingoism.

The upcoming presidential election presents the nation a rare opportunity to rally together a president and Congress who will govern in an atmosphere of reason and respect. Americans are ready for leaders who support the rule of law, not the rule of emotion.
Tony Zurlo is a writer/educator teaching at Tarrant County College in Arlington, Texas. His commentaries, poetry, and fiction have appeared in more than 100 print and online journals and newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Online Journal, Dissident Voice, Peace Corps Writers, Democrats.US, Democracy Means You, Writers Against the War, and OpEdNews. He has also published non fiction books on China, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, Algeria, West Africa, Syria, Japanese Americans, and the US Congress.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. It's actually It's the Iraq war #2 stupid

PS. So why didn't Bush Sr remove Saddam in the first place. Why did we have to go twice to Iraq?