http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-9-2003_pg3_3Op-ed: Don’t reinforce failure in Iraq
Brian Cloughley
Bush and Rumsfeld boast that ‘vast numbers of countries are with the US’. Good. That should be enough. The rest of the world should stay out of Iraq. Don’t reinforce failure
There are many websites opposed to the Bush war on Iraq, but I doff my hat in particular to www.buzzflash.com which on January 27 carried the prescient warning: “If we (the US) launch the war (on Iraq) over the objections of our friends, we may find none of them eager to put boots on the ground to help with reconstruction. So we could end up with 100,000 American soldiers pinned down indefinitely, undertaking the type of nation-building that Bush used to reject. But nation-building may be the least of our burdens... Post-war Iraq promises to be a magnet for Al Qaeda operatives eager to resume the fight against America. If we can’t prevent terrorist attacks in places like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, imagine what we can expect in Iraq.”
That is impressive stuff in the crystal ball department (making such as Richard Perle look very silly indeed), especially the observation about ‘friends’ being reluctant to help in reconstruction. The January-February period was when the Bush administration’s anger and frustration were at their height with grown-up world leaders who pointed out the inadvisability of war. As a result of their warnings these wise and prudent statesmen were viciously defamed by members of the Bush entourage.
In February the German ambassador to the UN, Herr Gunter Pleuger, said “We subscribe to the recent statement of the Secretary-General that (UN weapons) inspections should continue and for that reason there are no grounds for military action”. The French Foreign Minister, M de Villepin, one of the most civilised people in international public life, told the Security Council “The option of war might seem a priori to be the swiftest. But let us not forget that having won the war, one has to build peace. Let us not delude ourselves; this will be long and difficult because it will be necessary to preserve Iraq’s unity and restore stability in a lasting way in a country and region harshly affected by the intrusion of force... Would not such intervention be liable to exacerbate the divisions between societies, cultures and peoples, divisions that nurture terrorism?”
France and Germany were absolutely right, and therefore must be punished by Washington. It was evident that the UN inspection system was working, but this was brushed aside with contempt by Bush although it was obvious there was a way ahead without bombing, invasion, destruction and death. These nations were then grossly insulted by a bunch of boobies determined to go to war.
more................
more great writings....GREAT OP/ED !!!!.....
be sure and read it all !!!!!
EEEECH ! WOW !
read this excerpt from the end...
...In his novel Men at Arms, Evelyn Waugh, that delightfully non-politically-correct master of his craft, conceived a character called Brigadier Ritchie-Hook whose approach to the art of war was direct and effective. One his pronouncements was “The rule of attack is ‘never reinforce failure’. In plain English that means: if you see some silly asses getting into a mess, don’t get mixed up with ‘em.” And this is exactly what is being pondered by the Old Europeans and other countries disturbed about the shambles that has been made by Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz and the rest. Silly asses, all of them, to the last plaintive bray.
Bush and Rumsfeld boast that ‘vast numbers of countries are with the US’. Good. That should be enough. The rest of the world should stay out of Iraq. Don’t reinforce failure.
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