War Is Far From Over

Make no mistake: this war could have been avoided. Diplomacy wasn't given a chance to work and at least 1000 Iraqi civilians (60% of which are children) have died. Thousands more are flooding hospitals, and damage to their already fragile infrastructure is keeping thousands more without adequate food or water. Though the violence is ending soon this is only the beginning of the civilian casualties.

I will raise a glass tonight to the survivors of Hussein's regime. Despite the horrors, deceit and illegality of this war one good thing is going to come of it-- freedom from a brutal tyrant. It is up to us to make sure that the price paid was not too high and that we don't subject them to the US brand of tyranny all too familiar to other nations of the world. Unfortunately for the Iraqis the slate of administrators and corporations hand picked by the Bush administration to run and rebuild Iraq appear to be as rapacious as Hussein, if not as bloody.

Furthermore, until the US cedes authority to the UN this occupation will have no legitimacy in the global community, particularly among Muslims. Despite scattered images of jubilant Iraqis most of Iraq is still quite bitter at the US for its illegal invasion. Not just that, but they are bitter over our US betrayal during their uprisings in 1991 and our previous support for Hussein. By far the majority of Iraqis that support this war are among the ranks of the privileged exiles that managed to flee Iraq. The people of Iraq and the entire Muslim world suspect the US's motives, and understandably so.

No matter how smoothly the closing days of the war go the coming years promise much blood, hate and misery. The US's occupying forces will face an increasingly restless and resentful people. Regardless of the White House talking points, the people of Iraq view us as occupying invaders. There hasn't been a single nation in the history of the planet that has welcomed an occupying force. Guerilla warfare and suicide bombings will be daily occurrences that will take a daily, bloody toll.

There is little hope that the interim government, whose members are of questionable integrity and have been hand-picked by the White House, will have the best interests of the Iraqi people at heart. Nor is it likely their reign will be short-lived. As long as guerilla warfare (expect it to be officially labeled as terrorism) continues the US will have ample justification for occupying Iraq and controlling the interim government for the foreseeable future.

Such a government, while better than Hussein's brutality, seems hardly worth the cost of a war. The people of Iraq are still reeling from sanctions imposed after the last war and now we are inflicting upon them a terrible new trauma. Adding further insult to injury, this is a war for which they didn't ask. Nor is it legal. Nor has the US told the truth about its motives or the rush to end diplomacy and begin the destruction and killing.

While debate about the reasons for going to war are moot at this point, the importance of understanding the gravity of the situation remains. This war is a terrible human tragedy. Considerable damage has been done to relations with the international community and our reputation has been severely blemished, perhaps for decades. Worse still, severe harm has been inflicted on our own democracy and its institutions. This war is already increasing tensions, suspicions, hatred and will likely continue to do so for years. The threat of terrorism, to which we are still quite vulnerable, will increase commensurately. Cooperation with foreign nations in the war on terrorism will decrease, as will our ability to predict and prevent future tragedies like 9/11.

It is critical to understand how this turn of events came about and who is responsible. We must at all costs prevent another such tragedy and elect politicians that will earnestly repair the horrendous damage caused by this reckless, dishonest and cavalier administration.

Not a single truth was uttered by our so-called "President" Bush in his argument for war. At the start of the war Iraq was less of a threat to us and its neighbors than it was at the end of the war in 1991. Weapons inspectors, after we pulled them out in 1998, were certain that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction had been almost entirely accounted for and destroyed. They concluded that he was not a credible serious threat to peace. The more recent weapons inspection team was in the process of ascertaining as much before we began our attack. They have already concluded that Hussein is not a nuclear threat. Every offer of evidence by the US on this count has been refuted. The UK tried to argue their case using a plagiarized paper from a university student.

The truth is that Iraq was a modest threat to the region. Hussein clearly has some offensive capability and desires to acquire weapons of mass destruction. He's clearly shown a willingness to use them, particularly during the time we supported and armed him. However, we knew that his was a very modest threat, particularly when compared to the dangers posed by terrorism and an increasingly belligerent North Korea. Osama Bin Laden, the murderer of 3000 Americans, is still at large, planning and executing new terrorist attacks. There is not a shred of evidence that Hussein is involved with al-Qaeda, Bin Laden or 9/11. Nor does any reputable scholar or intelligence analyst believe Hussein would be involved with Bin Laden, who is his enemy.

Yet Bush continues to conflate the two issues. He has stated lie after lie in an attempt to link the two. He is using the tragedy of 9/11 to redirect American fears and anger toward Iraq to serve an end that will undermine our fight against terrorism. Further, our actions against Iraq are only serving to strengthen Bin Laden and his fanatics because we are increasing animosity towards ourselves among most muslims. Every dead Iraqi child on television inspires more enraged men to fight perceived US imperialism. The blustering religious tones set by the Bush administration also fuel belief among Muslims that this is a holy war against yet another Christian crusade from the west. I would be hard pressed to find an argument against this perception.

The Bush administration has deceived and manipulated the public into supporting this war. The media is loathe to upset their gravy train by arousing government ire over critical questions. They are beholden to the government for access to officials, cheap airwaves and favorable media regulations. Further, they're unlikely to threaten advertising revenues by to alienating a misguided public that's been whipped into a jingoistic fervor by the trauma of 9/11 and judgments on patriotism by the right.

Bush is also using our distraction with the images of glory, shock and awe on CNN to distract us from its regressive domestic agenda. With the economy still suffering and the people suffering through some of the worst social spending cuts in a decade the rich are getting even more tax cuts.

We still don't know what caused Gulf War Syndrome, something suffered by two hundred thousand veterans, and we're about to generate another two hundred thousand. Over the background chant of "support our troops" Congress is cutting veterans benefits to make room for elimination of the tax on dividends. A millionaire might save nearly $30,000, but a typical American will only save $40. Apparently we only support the troops that we haven't finished using.

Bush is trying to push through more ideological judges that support the rich and powerful. He's trying to make it harder for victims to sue and cap the penalties the criminal corporations have to pay. He isn't doing enough to regulate the crooked corporations that have been fleecing investors and consumers. He proposes that polluters should regulate themselves. He believes taxpayers should pay for toxic cleanups, not the polluters. He's letting corporations setup offshore and dodge billions in taxes. He's letting his corporate chums line up at the trough for post-war reconstruction contracts in Iraq. He's trying to make permanent many of the controversial and unnecessary provisions of the so-called "Patriot Act" and further erode our civil liberties. The new "Patriot Act II" draft even proposes that the government be able to revoke the citizenship of suspects and conduct secret arrests. I would laugh and make jokes about George Orwell's book "1984" if it weren't so scary.

Lastly, though I don't have the time to detail it here, everyone must admit that something was pretty fishy about the 2000 Presidential election. The shenanigans in Florida were downright crooked. By all rights Al Gore should have won the election. We're submitting to a man that was obviously not elected by a majority of the people. It doesn't even appear that a majority of Floridians voted for him. But through some clever legal wrangling, a biased Supreme Court (which gave a legally indefensible decision in the recount case) and a compliant media Bush managed to lasso a victory of sorts.

Despite all the questions surrounding his legitimacy and proof of wrongdoing we've accepted him as our President. He's hardly been acting like it. He's been acting like the President of the rich and powerful. He's certainly not looking out for our best interests now. He's killing hundreds and risking hundreds of thousands of troops to achieve his own hidden agenda. He's killing and maiming thousands of Iraqis. He's upsetting global stability and threatening war with Syria, Iran and North Korea. We still haven't even finished the one in Afghanistan.

This man must go, and the sooner the better. Individually these facts are shocking but as a whole the picture they paint is horrific. The depths of corruption in this administration are like none I have ever seen or read. The deceit, secrecy and manipulation is even worse than under the Reagan administration (unsurprising, since Bush has chosen to rehire many of the dishonest and corrupt men that brought us the Iran-Contra scandal.) This is government by rich, for the rich. The people of our nation and Iraq's are mere pawns in their power plays. Important protections like the Constitution and institutions of peace like the UN are merely obstacles. The bloodshed, secret detentions, tribunals, and blows to democracy and free speech are merely collateral damage to these people.

It's time to take our country back and dump the despicable people that stole it from us.