Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 4. Juli 2007 / Time Line July 4, 2007
Version 3.507/04/2007
Iraq Remains Bush's Failed Project
By Don Monkerud
This Fourth of July holiday time, when Americans celebrate their
freedom, is a good time to re-evaluate the state of the major US
project in the world today, the effort to bring "freedom" to
Iraq.
Rather than beginning at the beginning of the discredited "save the
world from WMD" invasion of Iraq, step back one year ago, when Bush
went on the offensive to help Republicans win midterm elections.
Back then, Bush claimed the capture of al-Zarqawi (remember him?)
was "the turning point" in Iraq and the tide was turning in favor
of the US. Not the first time for a tidal change since the infamous
aircraft carrier "victory speech," but a starting point for an
evaluation.
Described to be in "high spirits," Bush said the US wouldn't "cut
and run," but would "complete the mission," to make Iraq a stable,
functioning democracy. Despite horrifically bad news pouring in
from Iraq, the president and the GOP declared the US would be
"victorious" because the troops knew "their cause was noble." GOP
House Speaker Hastert declared, Democrats lacked "the will to win,"
suggested they were unpatriotic, and guaranteed that 2006 was "a
year of significant transition" in Iraq.
At the time he declared this turning of the tide, Bush ignored
advice from 100 leading American foreign policy and military
experts who judged the "War on Terrorism" a failure. Eighty-six
percent said the world has grown more dangerous after Bush's
invasion of Iraq. They gave his diplomatic efforts to combat
terrorism 1.8 out of 10; rated the effectiveness of the Department
of Homeland Security 2.9 out of 10; and judged US intelligence
changes "poor to fair." Iraq was "a perfect training ground" for
Islamic terrorists and they predicted "future repercussions" for
the US. Despite the loss of the midterm elections, considered "a
referendum" on the war, Bush continues to replay the same victory
speech.
After four years, the loss of almost nearly 4,300 American dead and
30,000 wounded, including military "contractors," and $500 billion
dollars, the promised victory remains elusive. Bush's approval
rating has reached an all-time low, reflecting discontent with his
handling of the war. An AP-Apsos poll in June reported 32 percent
of Americans satisfied with his overall job performance, down from
67 percent in January. A mere 21 percent believe the US is headed
in the right direction. A more recent CBS poll found that 77
percent of Americans believe the war is going badly, 66 percent
want to decrease the number of troops in Iraq and 40 percent want
all troops removed. Undeterred, Bush declares that history will be
his judge.
Meanwhile, a June Pew Global Attitudes poll discovered that
anti-Americanism since 2002 has increased around the world,
"worsened among America's European allies, and is very, very bad in
the Muslim world." A majority of the citizens of 43 out of the 47
countries polled believe the US should withdraw from Iraq "as soon
as possible." In the past year, support for the war against
terrorism has dropped, even in countries with recent terrorist
attacks, and majorities around the world believe that the US only
supports democracy in places where it will further American
interests.
Conditions in Iraq continue to grow worse. Foreign Policy
magazine's 2007 Failed States Index found that Iraq deteriorated
for the third year in a row in "a range of social, economic,
political and military indicators." In April, Amnesty International
warned of a new humanitarian crisis due to the 3 million Iraqis
displaced by the war. In May, Chatham House, a British foreign
policy think tank, found the Iraqi government "largely powerless
and irrelevant" and facing the "distinct possibility of collapse
and fragmentation." The former "coalition of the willing" appears
to agree with these assessments, for in the past year foreign
troops helping the US occupy Iraq have declined from 20,000 to
12,000, almost half what it was in 2003 and 40 percent fewer than
last year.
The once lofty goal of training the Iraqi Security Forces, which
increased from 266,000 to 349,000 in the past year, hasn't helped
US troops, who continue to bear 90 percent of the burden of
combating terrorists. Monthly attacks surged from 3,500 in 2006 to
4,200 in 2007. Civilian deaths declined slightly from a year ago
but Iraqi lives didn't improve. Oil production remained static,
electricity production fell slightly, unemployment remained at 33
percent and the annual GNP growth rate hasn't budged over the past
three years.
Even Retired Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander
of the US invasion force during it's first year of occupying Iraq,
recently said the US can forget about "winning the war," and can
now only hope to salvage a stalemate to "starve off defeat."
Only Bush, Cheney and hard core Republicans now believe the US can
salvage anything from Iraq. The vast majority recognizes that it
will take years for the US to dig out of the hole Bush has dug. Can
the US afford another year of false promises? Or is it time for
Congress to get serious about impeachment?
Copyright by Don Monkerud 2007
Don Monkerud is an California-based writer who follows cultural,
social and political issues.
He can be reached at monkerud@cruzio.com.
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