Commentary: You Break It, You Can't Leave It Behind

After the Downing Street Memo story started to take hold in the mainstream media, and a recent poll suggested 59% of Americans opposed the decision to invade Iraq, the Bush administration went into full damage-control mode during the past couple of days. Ranking members of Bush’s inner circle appeared on national TV and traveled across the globe in an attempt to pacify dissenting voices. This worked for a little while until the top decision makers couldn’t keep their stories straighter than those teenage kids and their parents in Aruba.

Dick Cheney made headlines last month, and again last week, during an interview with CNN’s Larry King. He announced that the insurgency in Iraq was “in the last throes”, but since then we’ve seen evidence to the contrary.

Sunday afternoon, Donald Rumsfeld shocked and awed a London audience when he announced that it could take as long as twelve years to establish security in Iraq. Rumsfeld’s disclosure contradicted the ambitious two-year timeline established by Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari Monday afternoon.

Tuesday evening, George Bush celebrated one year of Iraqi sovereignty by holding a nationally televised pep rally at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Rows of men and women in uniform served as a backdrop for his speech to rally the wingnuts around his agenda. However, poor George heard nothing but silence from the crowd in attendance except for one time midway through when his own entourage clapped in approval.

During his speech, Bush reiterated he would neither set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops nor increase the number of troops stationed in Iraq. Instead, he chose the moment to ask for patience, insisting his strategy to allow the Iraqis to build up their own security forces would allow U.S. forces to stand down and eventually withdraw from the region.
Bush also stated that the continued military operations in Iraq were “vital to the future security of our country,” and also linked the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to them.

Funny thing he milked the 9/11 terrorist attacks because half the people who responded to a recent USA Today poll said they didn’t believe there was a link between the invasion of Iraq and the war on terrorism.

Many people were critical of Bush Tuesday night for not setting a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. However, I’m in the minority here because I realize the successful implementation of a timeline depends on how long it takes to adequately train Iraqi security forces as well as making further progress to establish a democracy.

Since the Bush administration hasn't disclosed the actual number of fully trained security forces in the region, and violence in Iraq has escalated since al-Jaafari took office two months ago, we're no closer to an end of the occupation of Iraq than we were two years ago. Until these events occur, establishing a timeline is pointless unless we’re going to send in the helicopters for an immediate evacuation of Iraq.

I don’t think Bush is stupid enough to believe the general public will hang onto every word of Tuesday night’s speech, but it’s safe to say his administration just doesn’t get it. One day soon, possibly as early as next month, someone in Congress will open impeachment proceedings against President Bush. When that happens, the ranking members of the Bush administration will have to stop spreading their lies in the media and be forced under oath to come forward and tell the truth about the Downing Street Memos, the invasion of Iraq, and violation of the Geneva Convention.

I can tell you that day is coming soon because both Democrats and Republicans are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the invasion of Iraq as well as the monetary and psychological costs. Not only is this military conflict taking longer than expected, but both sides also realize the only way to replenish current troop levels is by reinstituting the draft. It would not surprise me to see bipartisan support to hold hearings and possible impeachment proceedings against President Bush before a draft takes place.

The main reasons why most Americans are upset at the Bush administration are as follows:

1.) It’s been over 600 days since George Bush stood on the flight deck of the USS Lincoln and declared an end to major combat in Iraq, yet the number of casualties and car bombs are escalating.

2.) The Bush administration approached the invasion of Iraq in the same careless manner a child tries to figure out how a new toy works. They examined it, took it apart to appease their curiosity, and then once they realized they didn’t have a clue how to put it back together, they left the parts scattered all over the place for someone else to clean up after them.

3.) The Bush Administration needs to come clean and admit they are in way over theirs heads. None of the major decision makers have ever put on a uniform and served a day of active duty in their lives. If just one of them had done their military service, then they would have known firsthand from the Vietnam War that if you leave the poorly-trained natives alone to defend themselves, then the insurgents would gain the upper hand and overthrow the government.

Wingnuts, it’s time to face the facts. This invasion of Iraq was never supposed to resemble a quick trip to your local Pottery Barn. You can’t open up your wallet and make things right with the swipe of your platinum American Express card through the card reader at the register. This isn’t a piece of furniture on the showroom floor you broke. This a sovereign country you threw into chaos, and you are obligated to do the dirty work necessary to reconstruct Iraq so it resembles what it did before we invaded their soil. That means you have to create a plan: establish goals, recognize obstacles, and formulate a viable solution based on your analysis of the situation.

This is something your leader should’ve learned in the business world many years ago.