|
|
October 3, 2003/Tishri 7 5764, Vol. 56, No.2
Bush in over his head
BARRY COHEN
Editor
I still believe that the United States should have overthrown the Saddam Hussein-led Iraqi government. He created a Stalinist state and ruled through fear and torture. Hussein also financially supported Palestinian terrorists' efforts to attack Israel.
But as American casualties continue to mount, I question both Bush's original argument for war and his ability to refashion Iraq's government.
Bush described Iraq as an imminent threat to American security. He claimed Hussein possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. He argued that Hussein attempted to obtain uranium from Niger and was possibly one year away from developing a nuclear weapon.
We now know that the Niger argument is pure fantasy. And to date, no weapons of mass destruction have been found.
None.
When Joseph C. Wilson IV, former U.S. envoy to Iraq, voiced skepticism about Bush's claims that Iraq had a fully functioning weapons program, the administration allegedly retaliated by leaking the information that his wife was an undercover CIA operative in Africa. Federal law makes such disclosures illegal.
As another argument to invade Iraq, Bush claimed that a link exists between Hussein and the Sept. 11 attacks. Absolutely no hard evidence has been found to substantiate this claim.
I resent how Bush used misleading arguments to convince the American people to support the invasion of Iraq. And I am angry that he may have leaked information to put a CIA operative's life - and the lives of those she works with - in danger, allegedly to punish a man who dared to speak out against his policies.
I am also frustrated that Bush and his advisers greatly underestimated the complexity of the Iraqi people and their reaction to our occupying forces.
Hussein had kept ethnic and religious tensions in check through fear and force. The arrival of American troops released the valve of this pressure cooker, leading to intra-religious conflict and inter-ethnic violence.
Bush seems to lack an efficient plan to transform Iraq into a democratic state. Our troops not only have to fight a protracted war against Hussein loyalists and terrorists streaming into Iraq from Iran, Syria and elsewhere, but also have to act as a police force. Why has it taken so long for the Iraqis to police themselves? Where are the trained civil servants to ensure that garbage is collected, lights are on and air conditioning is running?
Now, Bush has requested an additional $87 billion from American taxpayers to rebuild Iraq. Having burned his U.N. bridges, Bush knows that he will receive little if any financial backing from other nations. And Bush's reassurances that Iraqi oil money would pay for the rebuilding have proven to be false.
I am far from convinced that our president has a plan to finish what he started or knows how to convince the American people that U.S. casualties and an increased financial burden are worth the cost to rebuild Iraq.
Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.
|
