In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Iraq
What the fuck are we doing?
On March 16, 2003, three days before the start of the war, The Times reported:
"In recent weeks, officials in the United States, Europe and Africa say they had seen evidence that militants within Muslim communities are seeking to identify and groom a new generation of terrorist operatives. An invasion of Iraq, the officials worry, is almost certain to produce a groundswell of recruitment for groups committed to attacks in the United States, Europe and Israel."
We now have nearly 140,000 troops in Iraq, with more on the way, and we'll be bogged down there for years to come. The tremendous costs in personnel and money have drained resources needed to combat terror groups around the world and shore up defenses against terror here at home.
Now the public is tiring of the war. A majority of the respondents in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal polls said the war was not worth its cost in American lives.
But there is no sign of the war ending. The so-called hand-off of sovereignty this week was a furtive ritual that was far more symbolic than substantive. Three marines were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad on Tuesday, a day after the transfer, and another was killed yesterday in Al Anbar, west of Baghdad.
We're holding a terrible hand. There is no exit strategy for American troops in Iraq. There is no plan in our insane tax-cut environment for paying for the war. The situation in Afghanistan, which is part of the real war against terror, has deteriorated. The U.S. military is stretched dangerously thin, lacking sufficient troops to meet its obligations around the world. Homeland security is deeply underfunded. And with the terror networks energized, the feeling among intelligence experts with regard to a strike in the U.S. is not if, but when.
Happy Fourth of July.
- Michael 11:37 AM - [PermaLink] -
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