 |
Fri Dec 05 2008 | |||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Departments War in Iraq Staying a wrong course by Stephen Crockett October 17, 2005 If you are hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, using heroin or having unprotected sex with a HIV positive person, my guess is that you, the reader, would believe that staying the course regarding these self-destructive behaviors would be wrong. The same basic argument holds true for our approach to the Iraq War. The Bush White House and his Republican supporters are urging American citizens to “stay the course” in Iraq. Unfortunately, the course they are advocating is self-destructive to the American nation. The invasion of Iraq was bad policy from day one. The reasons for the invasion advocated by Bush were mistakes at best, deliberate lies at worst. Iraq had no significant stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq played no significant role in Islamic terrorism aimed at the United States. Iraq was not a serious threat to neighboring countries when the invasion was launched. Saddam Hussein was certainly not behind the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Larry Beinhart has documented all these assertions in his new book, Fog Facts. The only logical reason that might justify an invasion in an unbalanced mind was the fact that Iraq had massive amounts of untapped crude oil. Of course, it is against international law to invade another nation to gain control of their natural resources. A basic principle of international law is that wars that are not defensive in nature are illegal. By international law, attacking militarily a nation that has not attacked you first is illegal. If oil was the reason for attacking Iraq, it was not helpful to American consumers. Sadly, Iraq is currently producing 1.9 million barrels of oil a day. Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq was producing 2.6 million barrels of oil daily. Additionally, the war is consuming huge quantities of oil by our military further tightening world oil supplies and driving up prices for American consumers. Iraq oil production does not even come close to funding the war or Iraq reconstruction efforts as the war backers once claimed it would. American taxpayers got stuck with a huge, completely unnecessary bill from Bush’s Iraq misadventure. It is difficult by international law to justify the invasion of Iraq by the United States. I do not see how “oops, we made a mistake” concerning weapons of mass destruction is a legal justification for a military attack. It is not legal under international law to attack another nation just to depose a leader who does not like our government. It seems possible that leaders of our government responsible for launching the invasion could in theory be charged as war criminals. Bush could use his pardon powers domestically to shield his Administration and supporters from criminal prosecution over breaking American laws. The federal judges appointed by Bush might protect Bush from personal domestic prosecutions (which might help explain some appointment choices) for crimes he might commit in office. However, international war crime prosecution is not under the control of the Bush White House or American courts. Certainly, the United States should not be “staying the course” concerning policies that could potentially cause a sitting or former American President to be charged with international war crimes. The reputation of the American nation is important enough for us to admit our mistakes and withdraw from Iraq. On the practical side (excluding international law considerations), the current Iraq policy is a failure. Our reputation worldwide is in serious decline because of Iraq. The Bin Laden organization is using our actions in Iraq to recruit terrorists and undermine pro-American Arab governments. The damage to American interests was recently demonstrated by a Pew global public opinion poll in Indonesia. Indonesia is the predominantly Moslem nation with the largest population in the world. It is not an Arab nation. Before the Iraq invasion, the majority of Indonesians held favorable opinions of America. Currently, only 15% of the Indonesian population holds a favorable view of the United States. Fully 80% of Indonesians believe that the United States might attack their nation. Despite the often repeated claims of the Bush Administration, there is no evidence that our policies will ever establish a stable, democratic, pro-American government in Iraq. Despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars and losing the lives of nearly 2,000 brave American soldiers, Iraq is not safe or stable. Ethnic violence is on the rise. Civil war seems more and more likely. Basic services like electricity and running water are often still not available. There is no reasonable end in sight to the costs in taxpayer dollars and lives if we continue “staying the course” advocated by the Bush Republicans. It is time for Bush to admit his mistake in launching his Iraq War. It is time for Bush to admit that his course in Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion has been a dismal failure. We cannot find our way as a nation out of this mess until we admit our mistakes and seek a new course. We do not need to keep whacking ourselves in the head with the hammer of a failed Iraq policy! --- Written by Stephen Crockett (co-host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
"White phosphorous: the U.S. used it; the U.S. says it's illegal"
December 28, 2005
David Swanson
"Behind the steel curtain: the real face of the occupation"
December 20, 2005
Sabah Ali
"Waiting is the hardest part"
December 20, 2005
Greg Rollins, CPT
"Scotland: stop the war!"
December 10, 2005
David Swanson
"Not even to save our lives"
December 9, 2005
Mike Ferner
"Inconvenient journalists"
December 1, 2005
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"How pre-war Iraq intel was cooked"
November 24, 2005
Jason Leopold
"Chalabi pushes Iran card in last ditch self-promotion offensive"
November 16, 2005
The Insitute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution
"Staying a wrong course"
October 17, 2005
Stephen Crockett
"US war photos"
October 16, 2005
Richard S. Ehrlich
"Banging at the gates of empire -- Washington, DC; September 24-26"
October 6, 2005
Peter Chabarek
"What Else Shall We Do?"
October 2, 2005
Mike Ferner
"Will we use the power we have on September 24?"
September 21, 2005
Mike Ferner
"The war in Iraq is increasingly unpopular and must end -- An interview with Dennis Kucinich"
September 8, 2005
Kevin Zeese, DemocracyRising.US
"What eating Cindy Sheehan?"
September 8, 2005
Jason Leopold
"Waiting for the outside world"
September 4, 2005
Mike Ferner
"Families ask that fallen soldiers be honored Sunday by a tolling of bells"
August 27, 2005
Faithful America, National Council of Churches
"Making the Iraq War and Occupation Personal"
August 25, 2005
Ralph Nader
"President Bush Knows the True Reasons He Started A War in Iraq, But He's Not Going to Tell"
August 25, 2005
Jason Leopold
"Armstrong bikes with president over Sheehan grave"
August 25, 2005
Greg Palast
"Sheehan breakthroughs, unbridgeable divides, and taboos unbroken"
August 22, 2005
David Swanson
"The people must demand peace: An interview with Tom Hayden"
August 22, 2005
Kevin Zeese
"Will celebrity-addicted America miss the point? "
August 18, 2005
Mike Ferner
"Jefferson would have stood with Cindy Sheehan "
August 16, 2005
Thom Hartmann
"Why is violence escalating in Iraq?"
August 1, 2005
Eric Straatsma, Peace Think Tank
"How the United States Marked the 3rd Anniversary of the Downing Street Memo"
July 23, 2005
David Swanson, www.afterdowningstreet.org
"Someone Tell Bush That Iraq Wasn’t Responsible for 9/11 Before another War Breaks Out"
June 21, 2005
Jason Leopold
"More damning than Downing Street"
June 21, 2005
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Messengers of Truth: Untangling a Knot of Lies"
June 18, 2005
Kevin Zeese
"How Much Proof Needed Before the Truth Comes Out? "
June 17, 2005
Kevin Zeese
"Silent Death in Iraq "
June 13, 2005
Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar
"Media Black Out Downing Street Minutes"
June 8, 2005
David Swanson, www.afterdowningstreet.org
"Getting Out of Iraq Will Be Tougher than Getting Out of Vietnam"
May 3, 2005
Kevin Zeese and Linda Schade
"No Troops, No Wars"
March 24, 2005
Yoshie Furuhashi
"Iraq’s Election Will Not Guarantee Democracy"
February 5, 2005
Gene C. Gerard
"The U.S. Supreme Court is AWOL on Iraq"
January 29, 2005
Gene C. Gerard
Read Articles by Year:
2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001 2000
All content © 1970-2008
The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer