MESS IN IRAQ
From Day One of the invasion of Iraq, I predicted that it cannot end with an organized democracy and/or stable government. Most people with any background knowledge of the area knew this. Iraq was never a true nation; it had been cobbled together by European colonialists, primarily Great Britain.
However the problem was greatly enhanced by the fact that the invasion was of a sovereign nation. And the war that we started was never officially declared by the U.S. Congress as is required by law. We were lied to by the Bush administration henchmen. The old excuse that we thought they had Weapons of Mass Destruction is beside the point. We had them boxed in in Iraq, and the embargo was working. But I repeat again: the U.S. Congress did not declare war, and that makes it illegal. Besides, Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorism of 9-11.
While we are celebrating the "relative" calm in Iraq since the U.S. turned over its military control in the cities, we ignore many facts in the process. For one, the terrorists are waiting for the U.S. military to leave before it unleashes its major offensive. More importantly, nothing has changed. The nation of Iraq is still disasterously splintered into three parts, and many more minor parts. And it has been for hundreds of years. The Sunni Iraqis see the current government as being a Shiite government. And Iraq's Shiite government is very cozy with Iran. It is a real mess.
Meanwhile there is an election to take place in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. We will soon afterwards hear cries of the unfairness of the election. The Kurds are not ready to join the Iraqi government in Baghdad. They look for the day when there will be a separate nation of Kurdistan, representing Kurds from Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. This is a brewing, serious problem. And the Kurds no longer have U.S. protection. Unrest in Kurdistan is a certainty.
We proudly pointed to the "coalition" of nations that joined us in the invasion of Iraq. Some coalition. Nations in this "coalition" began jumping ship almost from the beginning. And though the Bush administration begged some of the nations to stay on, their disregard for Bush aided them in their decision to walk away. Even the British left Basra early...yes, even the British!
We have little idea what happened in Iraq. The Bush administration hid many, many things. The prison torturing was only the tip of the ice berg. The neocon henchmen have left their brutality all over the world, as they used whomever and whatever to practice the most undemocratic and uncivilized actions. Now mass graves of dead Taliban people have been discovered. Who massacred those people? Probably one of our "allies" in the north of Afghanistan, one of the sub-national tribal groups. This is just more grist for the mill for the terrorists in recruiting new fighters. As it becomes clear that our own CIA covered this up, it will be more trouble. The people who are responsible for these atrocities should be put on trial! Now!
The Bush administration left the U.S. in a mess. We are aware of the financial mess in the U.S. We are not as aware of the mess in the Middle East which will take generations to mediate and settle. The image and reputation of the United States has been soiled terribly by the neocons. Let us hope that these American terrorists never return to power in Washington.
