What the Hell Are We Waiting For?

Congress must act, before it's too late, if it isn't already!


The Taliban is reclaiming the still failed state of Afghanistan. Iraq is becoming a failed state and has spun out of control. Bush is showing every sign of dragging the US into another fruitless and unjustifiable war with Iran and/or Syria. American troops are now fighting in Somalia to help make East Africa safe for Exxon and Chevron. Civil rights and human rights are evaporating like dew on a summer morning. This isn’t a war on terrorism. It is naked terrorism itself.

In an eerie imitation of the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Bush has deployed US warships to the Persian Gulf and has arranged to arm “friendly” (client?) nations in the region with Patriot Missiles. (Per usual, Bush’s friends stand to make a packet even if the missiles don’t work as well as advertised.) Rumor has it that black ops, aimed at creating political unrest and destabilizing the Iranian government, have been ongoing for some time. This past week Bush ordered US troops to trash the Iranian Embassy in Iraq and take prisoners; a clear provocation. War skeptics should remember that they have lost every bet when it comes to this president behaving sensibly.

George Bush’s latest attempt to achieve an as yet unknown goal in Iraq, ‘Le Surge,’ promises to be a blood bath that will dwarf anything we have seen to date.

Lieutenant General David Petraeus, who is taking over the coalition command in the wake of the latest Bush purge, claims to be a student of asymmetrical warfare. He has a plan.
US troops are now to leave their lairs and regularly engage with Iraqis in the streets. No more crouching in their heavily fortified bases between forays to hot spots. No more radicalizing the Iraqis by kicking in the the occasional wrong door. (I’m not criticizing the troops as much as the command that can’t seem to get the intelligence thing straight and who seem to think that speaking the local language and understanding the culture are optional.)
Petraeus goes on to say that by staying in their compounds, US soldiers lose touch with the Iraqi people and give the appearance of being fearful. He also doesn’t think US soldiers should engage in the indiscriminate use of force.

It sounds an awful lot like the Roman entertainment of throwing Christians to the lions. Toss some US soldiers into a hornet’s nest of angry Iraqis, tell them to hold their fire and look brave. Then kick back and see what happens. Rinse and repeat.

It’s easy to see why Bush selected Petraeus. They share the same character flaws; a tenuous grasp on reality and no ability to engage in critical thought.

Bush’s ex-commanders kept our soldiers in heavily fortified bases for good reason; to prevent unnecessary loss of life and to minimize the risks of deadly, urban warfare. Unlike Petraeus, they got the message that Iraqis strongly object to being killed in large numbers and having their country ripped out from under them. The last people the Iraqis want to stay in touch with are US soldiers.

All this isn’t going to end with fat and happy US and British multinationals milking the world of its wealth with its foot on the throat of billions of miserable but willing slaves. It’s going to end like a Shakespearian tragedy with everyone on stage dead.

With all due respect, Congress has no more important job than to rapidly and effectively remove Bush and Cheney’s collective hands from the levers of power. They need to tie Bush/Cheney up in knots before a probable attack on Iran becomes an accomplished fact. They need to put them back in their cages before they put any more US lives needlessly at risk and begin any more illegal wars anywhere else.

Congress has a number of powerful tools at its disposal; the power of the purse, impeachment, confirmation authority, subpoena power and special House Rules. Congress cannot stop at inquiry. It must block Bush’s ability to continue as he has begun.

The world has enough sorrow, injustice and misery without the US government manufacturing and exporting it in record quantities.

Carol Davidek-Waller Kirkland, WA