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Bush's "Decisive Moments" - Both in Iraq and Back Home in D.C.
By Dave Lindorff
Created Apr 1 2008 - 8:49am
Bush may not be the greatest of wordsmiths, but he certainly nailed it when
he said that the battle in Basra, in which the puppet governent of Nuri
al-Maliki and the Iraqi military were attacking the entrenched Mahdi
Brigades of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for control of Iraq's crucial port city,
was a "defining moment" in the five-years-and-running Iraq conflict.
That battle, which saw al-Maliki fly down to the presidential palace in the
country's second largest city to direct the army's fight, only to be
spirited away by an American air rescue team when he was in danger of being
captured or killed, is indeed a defining moment.
It defines the utter failure of the Bush/Cheney administration's year-long
"surge" scam, which was supposed to "give the Iraqi government time" to get
on its feet, pass a law on sharing the country's oil wealth among the
various regions and tribes, and resolve the issues of power sharing between
Sunnis, Shias and Kurds.
A year, a thousand American deaths, uncounted tens of thousands of Iraqi
deaths, $150 billion in US taxpayer money and countless repetitions of the
phrase "the surge is working" by administration hacks and by Republican
presidential candidate John McCain later, it's clear that the extra 30,000
troops the US shipped over or held over in Iraq accomplished nothing.
The country is still a basket case.
The battle of Basra ended--at least for now--with Moqtada al-Sadr stronger
than ever, his fighters still armed and in control of the city, and of their
stronghold in the slums of Sadr City, Baghdad. It concluded with a
cease-fire agreement--negotiated by Iraqi governmet offials who,
embarrassingly, had to go hat in hand to meet al-Sadr in his headquarters in
Iran--under which the Iraqi army and police must stop attacking al-Sadr's
forces, as they have been doing for months, and must release members of his
forces currently being held captive.
As a "defining moment," this battle, in which US forces played a significant
role in directing Iraqi military actions, provided air support, and injected
special forces, was the definition of a defeat.
As in 2004, the last time al-Sadr frontally attacked US forces, his Mahdi
Brigades showed that they are committed, fearless, and able, despite being
outgunned, to outfight even the world's mightiest army on their home turf.
If anyone wanted a sign that it was time for the US to pack it up and go
home, this was it.
Had the US not plucked al-Maliki from his embattled fortress in Basra, he
would have ended up being paraded through the streets of Basra with a plaque
on his chest saying "American puppet" (that's if he were lucky). Instead, he
has survived to serve his American masters another day.
John McCain has to be privately ruing the day he decided to hitch his star
to the "surge" and to General David Petraeus, it's author and defender.
As defining moments go, the battles in Basra and Sadr City should also serve
as fair warning to those advocating a war against Iran that things might not
go so well for American forces. The Mahdi forces, after all, have gotten
their inspiration and some training from Iranian forces, and are showing
themselves to be skilled urban fighters. US forces, even stretched as thinly
as they are in Iraq, might be able to handle a conventional attack by
Iranian forces on open desert terrain in Iraq, but they would be up against
something entirely different were they to enter Iranian terroritory, and try
to conquer Iranian cities.
The real lesson to be taken from this latest fiasco in the running disaster
that is Bush's and Cheney's war in Iraq is that it is time for it to end.
Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton are both still playing it cautious, afraid
to say what really needs to be said--that the US needs to get its troops out
not over the course of a year or nine months, but yesterday.
They should pack up and go, blow up what military equipment they can't bring
with them, and leave the porta-potties and dining halls for the locals to
enjoy.
They should take heart from another defining moment that occurred yesterday.
That was when President Bush went out on the field in RFK Stadium to throw
the opening pitch [1] for the first game of the season for the Nationals. As
he walked out onto the field, loud booing could be heard from the stands. It
subsided until he threw his pitch to the Nationals' manager (it was way
high). Then it became a roar again when Bush waved a last time to the crowd
before disappearing from the field.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Dave Lindorff
Created Apr 1 2008 - 8:49am
Bush may not be the greatest of wordsmiths, but he certainly nailed it when
he said that the battle in Basra, in which the puppet governent of Nuri
al-Maliki and the Iraqi military were attacking the entrenched Mahdi
Brigades of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for control of Iraq's crucial port city,
was a "defining moment" in the five-years-and-running Iraq conflict.
That battle, which saw al-Maliki fly down to the presidential palace in the
country's second largest city to direct the army's fight, only to be
spirited away by an American air rescue team when he was in danger of being
captured or killed, is indeed a defining moment.
It defines the utter failure of the Bush/Cheney administration's year-long
"surge" scam, which was supposed to "give the Iraqi government time" to get
on its feet, pass a law on sharing the country's oil wealth among the
various regions and tribes, and resolve the issues of power sharing between
Sunnis, Shias and Kurds.
A year, a thousand American deaths, uncounted tens of thousands of Iraqi
deaths, $150 billion in US taxpayer money and countless repetitions of the
phrase "the surge is working" by administration hacks and by Republican
presidential candidate John McCain later, it's clear that the extra 30,000
troops the US shipped over or held over in Iraq accomplished nothing.
The country is still a basket case.
The battle of Basra ended--at least for now--with Moqtada al-Sadr stronger
than ever, his fighters still armed and in control of the city, and of their
stronghold in the slums of Sadr City, Baghdad. It concluded with a
cease-fire agreement--negotiated by Iraqi governmet offials who,
embarrassingly, had to go hat in hand to meet al-Sadr in his headquarters in
Iran--under which the Iraqi army and police must stop attacking al-Sadr's
forces, as they have been doing for months, and must release members of his
forces currently being held captive.
As a "defining moment," this battle, in which US forces played a significant
role in directing Iraqi military actions, provided air support, and injected
special forces, was the definition of a defeat.
As in 2004, the last time al-Sadr frontally attacked US forces, his Mahdi
Brigades showed that they are committed, fearless, and able, despite being
outgunned, to outfight even the world's mightiest army on their home turf.
If anyone wanted a sign that it was time for the US to pack it up and go
home, this was it.
Had the US not plucked al-Maliki from his embattled fortress in Basra, he
would have ended up being paraded through the streets of Basra with a plaque
on his chest saying "American puppet" (that's if he were lucky). Instead, he
has survived to serve his American masters another day.
John McCain has to be privately ruing the day he decided to hitch his star
to the "surge" and to General David Petraeus, it's author and defender.
As defining moments go, the battles in Basra and Sadr City should also serve
as fair warning to those advocating a war against Iran that things might not
go so well for American forces. The Mahdi forces, after all, have gotten
their inspiration and some training from Iranian forces, and are showing
themselves to be skilled urban fighters. US forces, even stretched as thinly
as they are in Iraq, might be able to handle a conventional attack by
Iranian forces on open desert terrain in Iraq, but they would be up against
something entirely different were they to enter Iranian terroritory, and try
to conquer Iranian cities.
The real lesson to be taken from this latest fiasco in the running disaster
that is Bush's and Cheney's war in Iraq is that it is time for it to end.
Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton are both still playing it cautious, afraid
to say what really needs to be said--that the US needs to get its troops out
not over the course of a year or nine months, but yesterday.
They should pack up and go, blow up what military equipment they can't bring
with them, and leave the porta-potties and dining halls for the locals to
enjoy.
They should take heart from another defining moment that occurred yesterday.
That was when President Bush went out on the field in RFK Stadium to throw
the opening pitch [1] for the first game of the season for the Nationals. As
he walked out onto the field, loud booing could be heard from the stands. It
subsided until he threw his pitch to the Nationals' manager (it was way
high). Then it became a roar again when Bush waved a last time to the crowd
before disappearing from the field.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
