Who is Losing Iraq?

“He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana’s oft stated observation is as reviled as it is relevant.

Who lost China? When the Cold War was ramping up and China’s civil war ended badly for our side, scapegoats had to be dredged up to satisfy the mob’s need for blood. In that case, a generation of `Old China Hands’ was condemned to take the fall for something that was inevitable given the nature of the corrupt regime we were backing. Great Americans, including President Harry Truman, General George C. Marshall and General Joseph Stilwell, were badly tarnished because ardent anticommunists such as Senator Joseph McCarthy could not accept the reality of the situation.

When great ventures end badly, someone must pay. That World War I ended badly for Germany could not possibly have been the fault of the Kaiser’s great military machine. It had to have been because of `the stab in the back’ of politicians back in Berlin. The leader of the American Expeditionary Force, General John J. Pershing, was against the Armistice in 1918. Pershing argued that if the German army was perceived by the German people not to have lost, the conflict would have to be reopened and fought to the finish. He was overruled and a quarter of a century and sixty million deaths later, it was settled.

Who is to blame for the situation in Iraq? Already as the adventure proceeds to a bad outcome, those who led us into it thrash about for scapegoats. Liberals, the media, France, a few bad apples in abu Ghraib – were it not for them, democracy and freedom would be flourishing among the Iraqi people.

Unfortunately for the small group of leaders who made this war, scapegoats while under slight temporary pressure as the situation deteriorated will not have to take the fall for this debacle. President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, their immediate aids and small number of advisors in and out of government together with those who beat the drums for them are responsible for this failed mission. The focus will not change.

We’ve learned that our military can beat any foe that stands up to it. Of this there was no doubt before we attacked Iraq.

We’ve learned that the administration cooked the books on the mission. We know, for instance, that internal debate among intelligence analysts over the potential uses of aluminum tubes was not brought to the attention of the Congress, the media or the public. We realize that the dazzling display put on for the U.N. Security Council by Secretary of State Colin Powell was vastly overstated. We’ve learned that charges that Saddam’s government conspired with terrorists have yet to be shown to have any merit.

We’ve learned that while our military is capable of defeating any enemy, it is not sufficiently staffed to occupy even a middle sized country. We know that the Army advised the top leaders that the force proposed to pacify Iraq was insufficient to do the job. For that assessment, we know that the Army Chief of Staff lost the confidence of the top leaders in the country.

We know that the stated reasons for the war: Saddam’s weapons programs that threatened us and our allies and the conspiracy between Iraq and al Qaeda have yet to be found or proved.

We were told by the President, the Vice President, their advisors and their media drum beaters that our forces would be welcomed as liberators. Not even fools continue to hold that mad view. As the election nears, most Americans are aware that the result will not satisfy the Iraqi nation. The winners will be viewed as American puppets and only force of arms – ours now and theirs as soon as possible – will hold the country together long enough for us to retreat.

The War on Terror has almost disappeared from the media and public attention. Iraq, the terrible Tsunami, and the false crises on the domestic front have driven the focus from our true enemies, international terrorists. American lives and treasure are being spent while our defenses against terrorists on the home front are being starved for lack of funds. A deficit created by tax cuts made while the nation was, according to our president, at war limits our ability to defend our ports and cities.

What to do? Borrow two billion dollars to fix Social Security; hey, it’s a start.

Wild Bill