When interviewed by George Stephanopoulos, President Bush answered a question about a newspaper column comparing Iraq to the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, might be accurate. Specifically, he was asked if he agreed with the opinion of columnist Tom Friedman, of The New York Times that the two may be equilivent and answered,
“He could be right. There’s certainly a stepped-up level of violence, and we’re heading into an election.”
continued
Bush has his Vietnam: The Herald:
American commentators are looking increasingly to Vietnam for lessons on how to proceed in Iraq. In Vietnam, the Americans went in on one side in an ongoing civil war, whereas they imposed war on Iraq. At least one US diplomat, however, has argued that they are similar in producing a “quagmire effect” on US troops, who have become stuck fast as a result of policies of arrogance, applied in ignorance of the culture and history of the countries.
That is essentially what has come to pass from George W Bush’s intention to bring democracy to Iraq. He has nowdefined his vision of democracy as “whether schools were being built, hospitals being opened”. The truth, however, is that, while there are pockets of progress, most people have electricity for only a few hours a day and are struggling to get enough water.
In the midst of this, many average Iraqis say they are frightened and are increasingly looking to militias for protection.
Kamal Hussein, a Shiite contractor, says he doesn’t go to a job site without at least six armed bodyguards, and that his work is drying up. “I’ve never seen a situation like this. We have killings, people fleeing our neighborhoods, joblessness and the government has no control. They’re completely failing.”
Washington would add insult to injury if it claims all those attacks are carried out by extremist groups like Al Qaeda. A huge chunk of Iraqi population hasn’t still accepted the foreign occupation and continues to resist it. Besides, Iraq continues to attract fighters from near and far. In fact, it is, coupled with the war on terror, radicalising young people in the Muslim world. As the UK Army chief, General Danatt has rightly pointed out, the coalition forces are not part of the solution in Iraq but part of the problem. The sooner Washington realises this, the better for it and the rest of the world.
Everyone knows the ‘official numbers’ about Iraqi deaths as a direct result of the war and occupation are far less than reality (yes- even you war hawks know this, in your minuscule heart of hearts). This latest report is probably closer to the truth than anything that’s been published yet. And what about American military deaths? When will someone do a study on the actual number of those? If the Bush administration is lying so vehemently about the number of dead Iraqis, one can only imagine the extent of lying about dead Americans…
That howling chaos will reverberate throughout America for years, whether US troops stay in Iraq or not. This reality is here and now, in the USA; it is not a bad dream that can be left behind in the crowded, stinking morgues of Baghdad. Despite the stress it will incur, Americans must face the nightmarish reality that their government has created, and acknowledge that it was forged with their tacit complicity and silent assent.
A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from…
We have been here when President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the Espionage Act was necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use that Act to prosecute 2,000 Americans, especially those he disparaged as “Hyphenated Americans,” most of whom were guilty only of advocating peace in a time of war.
American public speakers, in American jails, for things they said about America…
Many of the very people Wilson silenced survived him, and one of them even ran to succeed him, and got 900,000 votes, though his presidential campaign was conducted entirely from his jail cell.
We have listened to the little voice inside that has said, “the wolf is at the door; this will be temporary; this will be precise; this too shall pass.”
We have accepted that the only way to stop the terrorists is to let the government become just a little bit like the terrorists.
The Invasion of Iraq is nothing more than a war for oil!
As a result, social programs that many in this country who live at or below the Federal poverty level are dependent upon for survival have been drastically reduced, in the name of short-term greed.
And for everyone, civilian or military, regardless of nationality or religious belief, the price is too high.