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Thursday, December 01, 2005

The wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time

American Security is undermined thanks to Bush's liberal idealism and Republican hypocrisy


In 1999, one Republican Congressman after another lined up in denouncing President Clinton's multilateral war against the biggest butcher of our time, Slobodan Milosevic as a war that was not in America's National Security interest. These Republicans stated that fighting a war on the European continent alongside our Western European allies in the same region where World War I began was undermining the American military. These Republicans felt that the interests of the United Kingdom and German were disperate from that of the United States, despite a century of shared foreign policy concerns and interaction. Yet, six and a half years later, many of these same Congressman are supporting a war that has lasted over two and a half years which at its outset had little geopolitical security impact and seemed more about settling old scores than protecting America's vital interest in the Middle East and around the world. If the President were serious about protecting American interests in the Middle East and fighting terrorism, he would have taken a much more proactive posture, with broad International support towards Iran and Syria in 2002 and 2003 rather than mobilize for a war against a boxed-in, weak Iraq run by Saddam Hussien.

In May 2003, George W. Bush staged a landing on the USS Lincoln to declare "Mission Accomplished in Iraq," and that major combat was over. Bush did state in his speech that day two and a half years ago that American troops would oversee the transition to a Democracy in Iraq. Yet two and a half years later, the mission and focus keeps shifting and while a Democracy which is contrary to American security interests has been put in place, American soldiers are fighting and dying against an enemy who will never meet them in the traditional field of battle- an enemy which is coalition of disparate factions and interests resorting to hit and run tactics. Like in Vietnam, the American military cannot win against an enemy who resorts to urban warfare and tradtional tactics used in civil wars around the globe.

A continued American military presence in Iraq is working to strengthen not only Al Qaeda, but more importantly Iran who possesses Weapons of Mass Destruction, and also has exported its form of radical Islamic fundamentalism to neighboring nations. This Islamic fundamentalism at its very core detests the existence of the United States and any Western nation with a Christian majority, like our own, whose secularism and diversity threatens the religious zeolotary emanating from Tehran. Yet Bush, the idealistic liberal is less concerned about reigning in terror and winning a war on radical Islam, but more concerned about using the American military to safeguard a fledgling Democracy in a nation which is not in itself very meaningful on the geopolitical scene. The only meaning Iraq has globally has been created by two and a half years of war between the United States and the local population.

Through the years, Presidents both Republican and Democrat have not used the American military in the fashion Bush has with regards to Iraq. Creating a Pluralistic Democracy in Iraq is always a noble goal, but simply has no bearing on the larger interest of the American nation. For Bush to continue to keep over 150,000 American troops in Iraq while threats globally are increasing and our military is spread thin because the political will to reinstitution the draft is not prevalent is itself a compromise of American security unknown in contemporary times. George W. Bush's presidency and misguided priorities have been the best thing for Kim Jong-Il and the rogue North Korean state as well as Iran, Syria and other nations whose leaders use the American bogeyman to maintain autocratic control over their nations.

Bush's key allies in this fight- hypocritical Republican Congressman who fail to understand history and America' global interest, as well as liberal idealistists who are advising this President are terribly misguided and are sinking America deeper and deeper into a hole that will make Vietnam look like a blip on the American military radar screen. If we do not solve our situation in Iraq, the United States will lose whatever credibility remains for us in the International Community and make our nation its most isolated since before world War I.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good blog Kartik. You hit the nail on the head about Bush's failed, idealistic foreign policy. As your past blog pointed out, Bush's foreign policy attempts to be classic liberalism. But unfortunately, we are learning that you don't send a Republican to do a liberal's job. There's a reason why Clinton's campaign in Bosnia and Kosovo was so successful and Bush's Iraq War has been such a failure. Liberals are better at fighting and winning wars. Just ask Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and Harry Truman!

George Bush has been a great friend of the terrorists. Osama bin Ladin has no greater ally than President Bush. First, the Bush Republicans fell asleep at the wheel and allowed 9/11 to occur. Now, they have engaged us in a war that has empowered the terrorists and weakened our national security. What a disaster these Bush Republicans have turned out to be.

Shame on the treasonous Republicans who have sold out this country's security.

Anonymous said...

Kartik, your attacks on the troops, our mission and the GOP is the most partisan you have ever sounded on this blog. How does it feel to be grouped with Michael Moore, Nancy Pelosi and the other left wing cooks? Clearly you are demonstrating that you are driven by partisan considerations, not the safety of American lives and the fight against terrorists. It is not for you to determine who is the biggest terrorist threat. We are dealing with North Korea and Iran while we fight in Iraq.....the three are not mutually exclusive like you claim. Look at Libya......they gave up a WMD program after seeing how we smashed Iraq. If we control this insurgency, Kim Jong Il who you sladerously portray as an ally of Bush and Iran will back down. Trust me, they don't want shock and awe to happen to them also.

Anonymous said...

Jeb in 2008:

You are reading too much from the GOP talking points memo the RNC sends out every morning. I already got the same points this morning on Fox and Friends.

Kartik, you are as usual right on. Obviously you'll soon be attacked in O'Reiley's talking points memo.

Anonymous said...

The right-wingers on this site can ramble on with their RNC talking points. Frankly, I wish the Jeb in 2008-types would join the Michael Moore-types and leave this country.

George Bush and the Republicans have made this country weaker, because their arrogance overpowered their weak abilities. Now the GOP is weaker than it has ever been.

The anti-war lefties are pretty pitiful too! What the hell do you people stand for?

I wish the right-wingers that hate America, like Jeb in 2008, and the liberal wackos that post here from time to time would just go away. America is a great nation, and you looneys are trying to destroy it. Love it or leave it!!!!

I don't care if you're a right-wing extremist or a left-wing wacko, you are both guilty of choosing against the best interests of the United States. Shame on you all!

Anonymous said...

O'Reilly would sell out this country if the price was right. Guaranteed. He is a whore. He doesn't believe in anything except making money for himself.

Bill O'Reilly is is modern-day Judas. I am confident that unless he changes his ways, he will not spend eternity with God.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

You and Kartik are obviously part of the John Murtha, cit and run wing of the Democratic Party, a wing that markets itself as centrists but in reality are cowards that aren't concerned about America, but only selfishness and political posturing.

Anonymous said...

The Hate America crowd finds a new, unlikely ally. I'm shocked Karti, who prides himself on being a conservative democrat is involved with the michael moore's of the world. Then again, so is John Murtha.

Anonymous said...

A gradual redeployment over the next year is not cut and run. Ronald Reagan running from Beirut after 241 U.S. servicemen were murdered while Nancy held his hand was an example of cut and run. Get your stories straight.

Republicans need to stop honoring two draft-dodging cowards (Reagan and Bush II) and start honoring our troops. This means focusing on winning the war on terror, creating a stable environment in Iraq, and bringing our troops home with honor. Republicans don't want this - Democrats do, because Democrats put America first.

Republicans do not want to win the war on terror. They simply want to continue with the same failed Bush policy until a new president can come in to clean up his mess.

Kanye West was wrong when he said Bush doesn't care about black people. Bush doesn't care about the American people, especially our troops.

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I am the host of the Major League Soccer Talk and EPL Talk Podcasts and am frequent guest on other (world) football shows. I am also the publisher of various other websites including this one. I work in public/government relations in addition to my soccer work and have a keen interest in history, politics, aviation, travel,and the world around us.

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