The Watch

The Watch is concerned about the increasing pressure towards feudalism in the United States from corporations, social regressives, warmongers, and the media. We also are concerned with future history concerning our current times, as non-truths which are “widely reported” become the basis for completely false narratives.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Time to Go

It's time to go. It's time to say goodbye. It's time to start a gradual withdrawal from Iraq. We have screwed up to a staggering degree in Iraq. Iraq is a huge mess and we are responsible for it. Scratch that. More correctly, Iraq is a huge mess and the Bush Administration is responsible for it.

To be fair, a quasi-majority of the American public is also responsible for the mess, since they voted for Bush.

I, however, NEVER supported the war; I never linked 9/11 and Iraq; I never linked Iraq and Al Queda; I never linked Iraq and the safety of the US, and I never voted for Bush. To be honest, I did buy the Bush administration's lies about weapons of mass destruction, but I did not view that as a reason to invade a sovereign country. Yes, I know that Iraq HAD weapons of mass destruction at one point -- we sold them to them, for cripes' sake. Yes, I know that Iraq had invaded other countries before -- we gave them permission. Yes, I know that Saddam was an evil dictator, but I had the sense to know that invading Iraq would be a very very bad idea. I was right.

Nowadays, Iraq is in the middle of a civil war -- that we started. We created a power-vacuum and the insurgents took advantage of it. Our troops are both the targets and the catalyst that fuels the insurgency.

Iraq is messed up, but I don't see an easy way out. The Bush Administration has failed to win international support for this war; mostly by thumbing our noses at our allies. Of the 2,307 "coalition" casualties, 2108 are Americans. That's over 91% of the casualties. Not so much of a coalition is it? And let's not forget the approximately 16,000 Americans who have been wounded.

On May 1, 2003, Bush declared the end of major combat and a HUGE sign over his head declared "Mission Accomplished". Since then, nearly all of our casualties have occurred. So, that leads me to question what "winning" actually means.

Remember when we were told that after we ousted Saddam, we would be greeted as liberators and welcomed into Iraq? Didn't happen.

Remember when we were told that after we placed a puppet regime in power, that we would see an end to the insurgency? Didn't happen.

Remember when we were told that after the Iraqi constitution was adopted, that we would see an end to the insurgency? Didn't happen.

Remember when we were told that the insurgency was in its last "throws" and that it would soon be over. Didn't happen.

Lieberman on Wednesday said failure in Iraq would be "catastrophic" for the United States and the entire Middle East. In my opinion, Lieberman is using the wrong tense. Our failure has been and continues to be catastrophic and we have lost.

It's time to gradually withdraw. Hopefully, the Iraqis can pull it together and see past their greed and differences and build their own country. The fact that the country will probably eventually end up as an Islamic Fundamentalist state, similar to Iran, is something that the Bush Administration should have known going into this war, and is now too late to do anything about. The seeds of hate and war have already been sown.

Of course, to withdraw means that the Bush Administration would have to admit defeat and realize that the ultimate/hidden goals of the war will not be achieved. We will not have a jumping-off point to attack other countries in the Middle East. We have not secured a virtually unlimited supply of oil (though the cost of oil being what it is, Cheney's and Bush's friends in the oil industry must be mighty pleased). We have however, guaranteed a "bumper-crop" of the next generation of terrorists - people who hate us because we came in, f#cked up their country, and killed their friends and family.

I find it ironic that we refuse to count the number of Iraqi civilians that we have injured or killed in this war, yet we somehow seem to believe that other people (i.e. insurgents) injuring or killing civilians is wrong. Until we wake up and smell the sh#t we've been shoveling, the world is going to remain a dangerous place, because the rest of the world sees through our lies and hates us for our actions.

-John Locke

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