Volume III. No. 21
 12-23-04
 George Bush's Admirable Effort In Iraq
 { Not Really... }
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2004
 

 The inevitable happened in Iraq the other day. The insurgents put one in the
 win column. This time a suicide bomber apparently walked into the middle of
 a mess tent in Mosul, and as the result of his desire to spend enternity in the
 company of 72 beautiful virgins in some exotic Muslim paradise, 22 US soldiers 
 are now dead and scores other are injured. And in case there is any doubt as to 
 what the word, "injured" means in this kind of circumstance, bombing injuries 
 usually entail serious burns, or shrapnel wounds resulting in significant damage 
 to internal organs, or loss of limbs, or blindness, and perhaps, partial or complete 
 loss of hearing resulting from the noise of the explosion. 

 There is also the likelihood of severe psychological problems for some bombing
 victims. They'll have plenty of work at Walter Reed Army Medical Center { and 
 other military facilities  } for months if not years to come, just as the result of 
 just this one suicide bombing. 

 Our brave young men must pay this terrible cost to secure democracy and 
 freedom for a culture in which those attributes are decidely foreign. Our 
 troops are despised and hated and looked upon as occupiers. Not as liberators. 
 These young men and women are plain worn out, and besides each other, 
 can they ever really trust any Iraqi?

 What was the reason Bush gave for starting this war? "To root out the terr'ists."
 { forget about the non-existent WMD's...} Someone remind him there weren't 
 any terrorists in significant numbers in Iraq before the war. Now this desert 
 nation is a hornet's nest of Muslim fanatics who want nothing more than to 
 kill Americans wherever they can find them -- and be rewarded, should they 
 themselves die, with all those delectable virgins.

 This idea of paradise is obviously irresistible, because the insurgents have 
 absolutely no fear of dying, or any apparent guilt as regards the taking of the 
 life of anyone who stands in the way of their objectives. The so-called "rules
 of engagment " have been abandoned wholesale in the name of Allah.

 Wasn't there an enemy in some other war not so very long ago over in the
 jungles of Southeast Asia who carried a similar outlaw mentality?

 Indescriminate killing means nothing to fanatics because life means nothing 
 to them. It is all never-ending jihad or revolution. Didn't we learn anything in 
 Vietnam? Such as letting people fight their own wars. Freedom is just a word,
 and valueless if someone else dies for your cause. -- If the Iraqis want to be 
 a free people let them put their own lives on the line.

 This war is wrong. And was always wrong. And finally the polls are beginning 
 to reveal that the American public on the whole realizes the truth of the matter.
 Freedom and democracy for Iraq is not worth the loss of so many American lives.

 It should also be noted with horror that the sons and daughters of the rich, 
 and the well-educated, are not dying in Iraq. It is the poor who toil in America's
 voluntary military. Thus, the most vulnerable of our citizens pay the hightest 
 toll.

 Would not it be wondrous if the President and our dismissive Secretary of Defense 
 could admit the error of their ways and at the very least, begin making things 
 right for those "voluntary" American soldiers who have to worry 24/7 about 
 the disguised enemy who walks in their midst. But, if Colin Powell couldn't get 
 through to these war hawks. Who could?

 And now he's had enough and won't be around through Bush's second term 
 to ensure that a little sanity remains at the White House.

 Bush and Rumsfeld don't believe in accountabilty, least of all for themselves. 
 If Iraq is already falling apart now, what is going to be their response in a couple 
 of months when it becomes obvious that this hopelessly fractured country 
 is heading down the path to civil war? 

 Welcome to the quagmire you've designed G.W. It is your war, on your watch.
 You are responsible.

 It won't be long now before the pretense is all over. At last, when all those 
 Iraqis who are desperate for democracy { yeah, right... } line up to vote next 
 month, they will need a lot more than useless rhetoric to guard them against 
 fanatics dreaming of paradise.

 That and an American president freshly reintegrated with reality.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2004