Progressive World Review

The rationalizations for the Iraq war have been a moving target from its inception.  First Bush claimed a connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, next, they were a threat to national security with their weapons of mass destruction and “mushroom clouds over New York City,” and when those justifications were shown to be without merit it became bringing democracy to the Iraqi people.

As time went by each rational for war fell by the wayside and more and more Americans turned against the war until being anti-war was no longer a “fringe” position, a clear majority of Americans turned against the war and wanted the U.S. to extricate itself from Iraq.  So why then do we remain?  The answer is, in part, because admitting failure is not in Bush’s playbook.  In some people denial is so strong that the more the evidence turns against them, the stronger their resolve becomes.  Bush, as well as Cheney who was likely the driving factor behind the war, are just such men.  But what was even more important than the denial however, is that the stakes are so high.  It’s important to understand that to men like Bush, the lies that were told and the manipulation of public opinion were just tools to be utilized to achieve the intended goal, and that goal was to gain a foothold in the Middle East.

Aside from all the talk of bringing peace to the region, the reality was that it was always about the oil.  According to the foreign policy “experts” of the neocon think tank, Project for a New American Century (PNAC), Iraq was the key.  Topple Hussein and bring “democracy” (read: pro American government), to Iraq and it would blossom throughout the Middle East thus guaranteeing the U.S. of a reliable source of oil to fuel its money making capitalist machine.  They can’t come out and say that because that would be to admit that thousands of young Americans will have died in order to line the pocket of the wealthy so the rationalizations continue even though, by now, we all know they’re false.

Which is why the latest from the McCain camp was so revealing.  The final rationalization for staying in Iraq was that we’ll go when they want us to go, a sentiment that McCain has agreed with.  From the Think Progress website,

QUESTION: Let me give you a hypothetical, senator. What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there? I understand it’s a hypothetical, but it’s at least possible.

McCAIN: Well, if that scenario evolves, then I think it’s obvious that we would have to leave because - if it was an elected government of Iraq - and we’ve been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government, then I think we would have other challenges, but I don’t see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people. (emphasis original)

Well, they want us to go.  In an unambiguous statement, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has come out in favor of Barack Obama’s 16 month plan to withdraw from Iraq.  From another Think Progress post,

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” [...] (emphasis original)

But just as all of the other rationalizations have proven to be false, so it would appear is the last one.  This is what a senior McCain official had to say,

In response to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s clear statement in support of a 16-month redeployment from Iraq, a senior McCain official tells Marc Ambinder “[V]oters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders.”

So it wasn’t about 9/11, it wasn’t about national security and it certainly wasn’t about the Iraqi people.  It’s time to end the charade and get out of Iraq as soon as is practicably possible.

–Paul Wilden

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