The Workday Liberal

The report released by the Senate today detailing in small part the deception and failings of this administration leading into the Iraq war is a very instructive primer regarding the war in Iraq in the context of the war on terror. First lets cover what the report says and then I'll give a bit of a rant about it all...

Once again, we see it proven that far from being allied with Al Qaida, Saddam considered Islamic extremists a threat. Furthermore the administrations continued use of al-Zarqawi's presence in Iraq prior to the invasion as proof of Iraqi complicity with Al Qaida is positively destroyed. In fact Saddam "attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and that the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi."

This intelligence ought to be well known by the administration, yet as late a August 21, 2006 Bush was using Zarqawi to paint Saddam as being in league with terrorism.

The report notes that CIA Director George Tenet changed his assessment of Iraqi involvement with terrorism before the war at the behest of administration policy makers.

What of the use of intelligence by the Iraqi National Congress? Despite CIA and Department of Defense warnings that the I.N.C. was a tool of foreign governments hostile to the United States, most notably the Iranians, the NSA (who brings us domestic spying) continued funding them. The administration used intelligence ginned up by the I.N.C. despite numerous red flags by various intelligence agents that the sources were unreliable.

Lets just put it this way. The report says that Bushco got it wrong in just about every way they could do so as far as the report is concerned. So onto my rant.

The damage done to this nation by this administration in carrying forth retribution for what amounts to a personal grudge by President Bush against Saddam Hussein can not be underestimated. The men around the President who helped lead us into this pit based upon misbegotten ideological fantasies bear responsibility as well. They must... MUST... be held to account for this criminal enterprise that has so damaged this nation.

You may say, "golly frik, you're going a bit off kilter with this aren't you?" Here is why I feel the need to scream this from the rooftops. I am full well aware of the absolutely deadly struggle we are engaged in against Islamic extremists. This is a war that we must win. And our leaders acting like willful idiots in the face of this threat is costing us blood, treasure, and the international good will so important in winning this struggle.

I am reminded of the unification of America in our national purpose, and how the rest of the world joined us after the horrible events of 9/11 in stamping out the Taliban. That was America responding to the terrorists who hit us as the rest of the world cheered us on. It is our obligation to the dead of 9/11, and the well being of America to get this right!

But this administration had to use the platform provided by the horror of 9/11 in order to promulgate a needless war in Iraq. Osama Bin Laden united America and the world, and George Bush has been the cause of calamitous division. He has accomplished this division in possibly the most idiotic, boneheaded fashion possible. How are we to win the real war on terror when, with very few exceptions, the rest of the world views us as the heavy handed cowboys that George Bush personifies? Battle for hearts and minds? Let us bomb them into submission, and threaten them... and make them love us!

I agree whole heartedly with the President in that we are indeed in a struggle which we must win. Yet we are witness to the meltdown of Iraq, and lately of Afghanistan, which is the real war on terror. If you follow the news you have to be simply shocked at the state of affairs in Afghanistan. The area of control by the Taliban now encompasses the southern half of that nation, and the Nato commanders are calling for more troops. THAT is the war we should be fighting. You would not hear a peep of dissent from this liberal if only we fought that war intelligently and let that be the major front in the war on terror.

Invading Iraq is like Roosevelt invading Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor. The Axis probably would have loved to have Mexico be the central front in WWII but our leadership wasn't idiotic enough to do something like invade a nation of no consequence in the war we were fighting. The war in Iraq being foisted on us as part of the war on terror will go down as the biggest strategic blunder in American military history. It has strengthened our enemies, weakened our military force and lost the support of most of the world for our cause.

Now it is clear (for anyone who doesn't drink the koolaid) that we were played like a fiddle by the Iranians. How is it that the nation with millions of loyalists in Iraq embedded all around our occupation forces, and intent on expanding their influence and power was the major winner of the Bush Iraqi blunder? And the other major winner is Al Qaida! Good one Mr. President.

Yet the President is now in full fevered get out the wingnut vote campaign mode, trying to make us think it is because of his enlightened policies that America is winning the war on terror. If this is winning imagine how well someone with a bit of reasoning and intellectual curiosity could do in the Whitehouse.

I'm waiting for the October surprise. My money is on killing or capturing Osama... because the political mileage from that coup needs to be realized right now from the administrations perspective.