Shock and Awe was Wrong!

Ten years ago I was dragged into some kind of reluctant support for the war in Iraq by a pack of lies foisted on us by the George W. Bush administration.
by Charlie Leck

Ten years ago, on the night that the terrible war in Iraq began, I was in a very nice hotel room in Manhattan. It was a marvelous night. I could look out over Central Park and take in the wonder of life in America. I was struggling to get myself into white-tail for an evening dinner and meeting at the Knickerbocker Club, just up the road on Fifth Avenue. The television was on and I watched the CNN live coverage of the beginning of the frightening American attack on Bagdad. It is a horrible memory that will not go away. I supported our invasion that evening because of what Secretary of State Colin Powell had said a few days prior at the United Nations. He convinced me, as President Bush could not, that Iraq really did have a significant number of dangerous “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD).

It turned out to be a lie. Not a mistake, mind you, but an out-and-out lie. The lie made that evening’s attack one of the most disastrous events in the history of the United States. It ended up costing us trillions of dollars and thousands of human lives.

And, it was a lesson for me. I would not be led easily into such things again. I would be a doubter forever when it came to things the government told me. I would forever demand significant evidence and irrefutable proof.

The War in Iraq was a mistake and it was wrong. It was a huge blemish on the reputation and character of our nation. It was as wrong as that war in Vietnam, from which I thought we had learned a significant lesson about believing the government. Iraq was clear testimony that we had not.

As the awful war in Iraq dragged on and the truth began to seep out, there was no way for the administration to explain or defend its actions there. Support melted away quickly

George Bush was never able to make a convincing argument that satisfied the American public. After we realized that WMD was a myth, the President and his administration lacked motive and reason. It became an empty war without goals and purpose. America was thrashing around and could not find direction.

At our gathering that evening, I sat at the dinner table very near John Seabrook, one of the wisest and most successful men I’ve ever known. We were all somber, chatting about what we had seen on television as the war began.

“I’m very afraid,” Mr. Seabrook said, “that we have started something we may not be able to finish. I think this will all work out to be something like a Greek tragedy.”

The moment I got back to the hotel, I wrote those words down in a journal that traveled with me. Only quite by accident, I came upon the journal a couple of days ago when I was searching my file draws for something totally unrelated to the historic event whose 10^th anniversary we observe this week.

Year after year, mistake piled on top of mistake in Vietnam. We had gotten involved in an unnecessary war and it cost us terrible losses of lives and fortunes. So many of us thought that we had, at the very least, certainly learned a valuable lesson from that debacle. Now we realize that we had not.

Someone, perhaps the Spanish philosopher, George Santayana, said: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Indeed!

It is, I am certain, why President Obama refused to take the lead and put “boots of the ground” in Libya and why he is so reluctant to get involved in the current problems in Syria. Who can blame him?

_________________________

Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Listening to the Military

I, uh, think I heard you. What’d you say again?
by Charlie Leck

Two days ago the President of the United States used his veto power for only the second time of his nearly 7 years in office. That may be a record.

He vetoed the bill passed by the Senate and the House that would have set a time-table on bringing our troops home from Iraq. In doing so, the President said that it was important to listen to the recommendation of the commanders in the field rather than imposing the will of politicians on those leaders.

The President is not much of a listener and he has a lousy memory. It was not so long ago that President Bush was advised by his military commanders that his “surge” policy would not work; so, the President got rid of those guys and installed new commanders.

Just who do we listen to, Mr. President?

I wish you’d listen to me, sir. Let’s end this debacle – this war begun with untruths and half-truths – this war that should never have begun – this war that has killed untold thousands of innocent victims and thousands of our own soldiers – this war of utter stupidity – and bring home our troops. That, sir, is the way to support the troops. Get them home! You told us four years ago that you had accomplished your mission, sir. Since then we’ve lost over 3,000 American military personnel.

Appended on 4 May 2007:
A Newshouse News Service column today by David Sarasohn was of the same theme as what I wrote above and also posed the same argument that "the surge" is a plan of a civilian administration and not a military strategy. Sarasohn wrote: "Yet the surge plan was devised in Washington... by civilians, guided not by military necessity but by calculations of how many additional troops could possibly be available... Petraeus was then brought in to try to make it work."

I've had a few responses to this post, claiming I am not supportive of the troops. Actually, that's not true. I support them more than most when I say let's get them out of harm's way. I don't buy the claim that it would be a disaster to pull them out -- a disaster to the troops and to the Iraqui people. I'm old enough to remember the same claim about Vietnam. It didn't prove true and Vietnam quickly settled into a productive peace time. So, will Iraq. They'll have some serious civil squabbles, but the whole situation will settle down and that nation will be better off without our interference.

War Decisions Loom

Coming week will highlight direction of Iraq war
by Charlie Leck [20 April 2007]

One senses the build up! Senator Harry Reid made some very strong statements today about the futility of the war in Iraq. He sees it getting far worse as long as there is an American presence in that nation. The President is vowing to veto any bill that puts an end-date on the war. The Congress is threatening not to give him a funding bill without such a date.

This, of course, is the wonder of a divided government. Such circumstances lead to real debate and consideration of possibilities. Try to ignore the high winds next week and concentrate instead on the calmer breezes where real deliberation and give and take will happen -- where compromise is likely to happen if the President has an ounce of diplomacy in him (something he hasn't shown to date).

The Republican Senators will be worth watching also -- especially those who will be up for reelection in 2008. They clearly recognize how unpopular this war is and how low the President's approval rating is. They will need to cast their votes carefully.

The President will bellow a great deal, but he knows the handwriting is on the wall. Believe me, he knows! This war can not go on much longer. The violence builds everyday. So do the exhibitions of hate for America all over the world. We have lost our position as world leader and we probably need to regain enough respect to assume that role again.