The Iraq War
I'm a strong supporter of our troops, having spent 20 years in the Infantry, but fighting for oil and fighting for our freedom are two different things. Bush's invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with our freedom, weapons of mass destruction, or terrorism.
Why did the US go to war in Iraq? We know that there were no WMDs, (perhaps that shows the sanctions and inspections were working). We know that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact secular Hussein and radical Islamist Bin Laden were enemies. Bin Laden had wanted to overthrow Hussein. We were then presented with the reason of liberating the Iraqi people. Hussein was still a brutal dictator, but his genocide and many of his killings ended 10 years ago, when sanctions and inspectors started doing their work. In ‘liberating the Iraqi people’ we have bombed innocent civilians and destroyed infrastructure.
Colin Powell had argued that no troops should be committed without specific objectives, a clear and achievable definition of victory, a clear exit strategy, and open-ended commitments should not be used. He has pointed out that none of these are present in this war.
So Bush went to the UN Security Council with false information and asked for their help, but he knew that the US would go to war whether they had support or not. While he sought help from other countries, he refused to relinquish control over the shaping of Iraq’s military, political and economic future. This was the main reason the UN Security Council decided not to participate. His refusal to relinquish control made other countries believe that the US was invading Iraq not for any of the reasons given, but for what the US would gain after the war. By the US keeping sole control of Iraq meant that the Iraqi economy would be controlled by US corporations, the US would control the political structure to suit economic and strategic interests, there would be US military bases in Iraq to enhance US power in the Middle East, an enemy of Israel would be eliminated, reconstruction profits would go to US corporations, like Halliburton, the US would have control over the second largest oil supply in the world, with refining and marketing profits to go to US & British corporations. This is not a war of liberation, or against Al Queada.
Hunting down and killing every single terrorist on the planet is not a feasible argument. What is Bush saying: that one day, because of him, there will never, ever be another terrorist? While the world was behind the US after 9/11, and believed that invading Afghanistan was just, invading Iraq was not a just war and has bred even more terrorists, and they are not all in Iraq.
Islam is the largest and fastest growing religion in the world. And a growing number of Islamists are becoming fundamentalist and radical. Hunting them down and killing them once they have already become terrorists will be a never ending battle, expensive and inefficient. The way to deal with terrorism is to deal with it on all levels. Yes we need to hunt them down, we also need to infiltrate their organizations, and we need to work with moderate nonviolent Islam clerics, leaders and teachers. We need to help Islam change the mindset of the mostly young men from mostly poor and hopeless situations who become terrorists.
I’m retired from military service now but If I were still in the military today, and knowing what we know now, I would refuse to fight.
Why did the US go to war in Iraq? We know that there were no WMDs, (perhaps that shows the sanctions and inspections were working). We know that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact secular Hussein and radical Islamist Bin Laden were enemies. Bin Laden had wanted to overthrow Hussein. We were then presented with the reason of liberating the Iraqi people. Hussein was still a brutal dictator, but his genocide and many of his killings ended 10 years ago, when sanctions and inspectors started doing their work. In ‘liberating the Iraqi people’ we have bombed innocent civilians and destroyed infrastructure.
Colin Powell had argued that no troops should be committed without specific objectives, a clear and achievable definition of victory, a clear exit strategy, and open-ended commitments should not be used. He has pointed out that none of these are present in this war.
So Bush went to the UN Security Council with false information and asked for their help, but he knew that the US would go to war whether they had support or not. While he sought help from other countries, he refused to relinquish control over the shaping of Iraq’s military, political and economic future. This was the main reason the UN Security Council decided not to participate. His refusal to relinquish control made other countries believe that the US was invading Iraq not for any of the reasons given, but for what the US would gain after the war. By the US keeping sole control of Iraq meant that the Iraqi economy would be controlled by US corporations, the US would control the political structure to suit economic and strategic interests, there would be US military bases in Iraq to enhance US power in the Middle East, an enemy of Israel would be eliminated, reconstruction profits would go to US corporations, like Halliburton, the US would have control over the second largest oil supply in the world, with refining and marketing profits to go to US & British corporations. This is not a war of liberation, or against Al Queada.
Hunting down and killing every single terrorist on the planet is not a feasible argument. What is Bush saying: that one day, because of him, there will never, ever be another terrorist? While the world was behind the US after 9/11, and believed that invading Afghanistan was just, invading Iraq was not a just war and has bred even more terrorists, and they are not all in Iraq.
Islam is the largest and fastest growing religion in the world. And a growing number of Islamists are becoming fundamentalist and radical. Hunting them down and killing them once they have already become terrorists will be a never ending battle, expensive and inefficient. The way to deal with terrorism is to deal with it on all levels. Yes we need to hunt them down, we also need to infiltrate their organizations, and we need to work with moderate nonviolent Islam clerics, leaders and teachers. We need to help Islam change the mindset of the mostly young men from mostly poor and hopeless situations who become terrorists.
I’m retired from military service now but If I were still in the military today, and knowing what we know now, I would refuse to fight.
