What we don't know when we don't know history

Tonight the President outlined his plan for Iraq. His plan has many tenants, most notably an increase in troop strength (by keeping troops longer and deploying troops on deck earlier), a change in tactics away from search and destroy style operations toward clear and hold tactics, and an increased reliance on the Iraqi military and government to police and govern their own country. The latter point he stressed often, and the implication was clear that his own patience in waiting for the Iraqi people to take over their own affairs was wearing thin. While Bush made a point early in the speech to take responsibility for the debacle in Iraq, he also made it clear that at some point the Iraqis themselves had to be held responsible for the ongoing disaster that is their country.

I am now convinced that there has never been a Presidential administration so ignorant of history (both distant and recent) in my lifetime. I am also convinced that if Congress does not move forward and impeach this man, then our entire system of government has failed.

Let's forget about the fact that the entire invasion of Iraq was based on questionable intelligence concerning weapons of mass destruction that many key members of the administration have gone on record as saying they didn't believe and expressed reservations about, but felt pressured to publically agree with (most notably Collin Powell). Forget that. Put it out of your head. Let's instead start by taking a look at the key presumption of the administration that after the invasion we would be able to bring democracy to Iraq and create a model country in the middle east that would serve as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the region.

This assumption ignores not only the current global situation, but the entire history of mankind. No country on Earth, with the exception of the United States, has been able to accomodate an ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse population without oppressing and/or marginalizing the minorities. None. Zero. The United States is the great experiment and it only barely works. Even the enlightened souls of Western Europe are incapable of tolerating any widespread diversity (witness the treatment of immigrants in France and Germany or the complete dissolution of Yugoslavia). The nations of the world are, for the most part, homogenous, and those that aren't are in a state of constant war or totalitarianism. For all our faults as a nation, we have finally, after nearly two hundred and fifty years, established a system that treats most everyone fairly. This cannot be said for the rest of the globe, and it seems like an extremely obvious miscalculation to think that we could create such a place in Iraq. Like most of the middle east, Iraq is filled with people whose divisions are rooted in conflicts traced back to the Bible. Short of God his or herself, plopping down on mountain somewhere and clearing this whole mess up, it is unlikely that any of these faith based arguments will be settled any time soon. The most disturbing part of this is that this was painfully obvious to me - an average nobody in middle America - and yet completely lost on the White House brain trust. We should all be very afraid.

And Bush's complete disregard for, or ignorance of, history is not limited just to this unbelievable miscalculation. Even something as basic as the military tactics used to fight the insurgents displays a mind-boggling lack of knowledge. The search and destroy type tactics that our troops were using up until a few hours ago were discounted over thirty years ago in Vietnam. Commanders learned then that this type of engagement does not work with an insurgent enemy. In fact, it is commonly agreed that no insurgency has ever been defeated using these tactics. The enemy will always return once the soldiers have left and then kill those who went against them. It is a doomed method that Bush may have been privy to if he hadn't spent his military career AWOL or had actually listened to military commanders. Instead we are faced with thousands of dead Americans and Iraqis, an insurgency that seems to operate at will, widespread hostility toward our occupying force, and a country steeped in anarchy.

Finally, it should not be forgotten the brief history of this war and our role in the creation of the chaos we are now demanding the Iraqis step up and take control over. The United States invaded Iraq. The people of Iraq did not ask us to invade their country. We invaded the country, destroyed the infrastructure, and then stood by (in violation of International Law) and allowed the country to be looted and pillaged. We invaded this country with almost no support from the rest of the world and under pretenses that were flimsy at best. It is sort of like the old saying "you break it - you buy it." We broke it and now it's ours. We must fix it and for Bush to imply in his address to the nation that his patience with the Iraqi government is wearing thin is almost offensive. He has no right to demand anything of them. As he said, the mistakes are his. It is clear that this entire operation was a mistake and if he is responsible then he must pay. If he were a manager at Starbucks and displayed this kind of incompetence he would be fired.

The only people who I find nearly as offensive as the President are the people who voted for him to be re-elected. Bush is, if nothing else, a man of his word. He maintained during the election that he would stay the course in Iraq. That is what he did up until today. You former Bush supporters have no right to be upset with him now. The opposition told you that staying the course was a mistake but you refused to listen. Now you don't like it? Too bad. Kerry may not have been the best alternative but he was not going to continue with the same flawed policies. Maybe next time you should just leave the voting to the people who actually educate themselves to the issues. You are a mindless blob that allows yourself to be whipped into hysterics by fear mongering and patriotic pandering. You equate supporting the troops with sending them off to be slaughtered, and call those who actually want to protect the lives of our fighting men and women traitors. You are the reason that Hitler was the democratically elected leader of his country. You are the reason there is a Wal-Mart on every corner and Jim Belushi on the television. You are the reason that there are men locked up in cages without access to an attorney or basic human rights, and so you are the reason the rest of the world will continue to hate us. You are to blame. Moreso than Bush himself - because you put him there. Without you there is no him. Shame on you.

President Bush, and those who insisted on putting him back in power even though it was clear he had misled us and had no plan, hope that by admitting they made mistakes they will then be forgiven by the rest of us. It's a front page headline that Bush actually admitted he made a mistake, as if this act somehow makes the whole thing easier to take. I am reminded of what I say to my son sometimes when he does something after I have warned him not to do it. He is three years old and so his usual plan of action is to simply say he's sorry after misbehaving, assuming that will make it all better.
"Sometimes sorry doesn't cut it," I tell him. "Now go to timeout."

It's time we put this administration in time out and move forward with the impeachment of President Bush.