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Even Republicans Flee Bush's Failed Middle
East Policy
Loveless
Among the Ruins
By DAVE LINDORFF
Well, so much for Iraqi "sovereignty."
So much too for "staying the course" and for "fighting
the terrorists there so we won't have to fight them here."
And while we're at it, so much for all the young Americans who've
tragically given their lives or their bodies and health in the
interest of advancing President Bush's criminal political agenda.
We saw the true nature of Iraqi
"sovereignty" when it was disclosed that a worried
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this week made an anxious
phone call to Bush to ask whether rumors he had been hearing
were true that Bush was planning on replacing him. The call made
it clear that Maliki knows he serves in his role solely at the
pleasure of the American president. In saner, more honest times,
the media would refer to such a situation as colonial, but our
lapdog media just plays the game and talks about Iraq as if it
were a sovereign nation.
Maliki also asked the president
if it was true that the U.S. was planning on pulling the plug
on the Iraq occupation. The president reportedly reassured his
worried puppet that he was not going to undercut him, and was
not about to withdraw US troops, but if I were Maliki, I'd heed
the lesson of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was
assured of US backing even as the CIA was making arrangements
to have him assassinated and replaced by another thug.
As for "staying the course,"
this president who has spent the last four years accusing congressional
opponents of the war and advocates of a quick withdrawal of treason
and cowardice, of being "cut-and-run" Democrats, is
being advised by Republican fixer James Baker that he should
either cut and run, withdrawing US forces from Iraq and recognizing
the obvious failure of his grand imperialist scheme, or he should
invite those two Axes of Evil, Iran and Syria, to come in and
pacify the place.
Imagine that! Weren't we just
hearing about how those two countries were terrorist states,
and how Iran is such a threat to America that it should be attacked
and massively bombed?
With luck, Baker may force
this crazed president, who is so spooked at the prospect of a
Democratic takeover of Congress in November that he appears to
be gearing up to invade Iran before Election Day, to call off
the dogs of war and instead start making nice to the imams.
It may just be that Republicans,
and the corporate elite to whom they answer, all of whom have
been giving Bush, Rove and Cheney everything those power-made
fascist wannabes have asked for two long terms, are realizing
that they are now at risk of losing it all. The Iraq War is moving
inexorably to a point where the U.S. will either have to voluntarily
retreat or be driven out. Meanwhile, it is clear that an attack
on Iran, while it might possibly lead to a quick jingoistic boost
in support for the president that could save him from a Democratic
Congress, would cause such a global economic disaster and such
a military catastrophe for the U.S. over the longer run that
Republicans could be destroyed as a political party for years
to come.
There really are no good answers
for Republicans at this point--only less bad ones.
Any possible outcome of the
Iraq situation is going to leave most sentient Americans asking
why 3000 young Americans had to die there, and for those who
don't get it right away, the 25,000 maimed survivors, along with
the tens of thousands more who bear the psychological scars of
that pointless criminal venture, will be around for a long time
to remind us of how we were deceived. So too will Osama Bin Laden,
whom Bush never really seriously went after at all, despite his
feigned Texas posse rhetoric.
If Democrats succeed in winning
control of Congress, as appears increasingly likely, Republicans
will have to begin thinking about how to survive the fallout
of this historic fiasco. It seems inevitable--and we are starting
to see the signs of this--that the strategy will be to blame
Bush and Cheney. This offers us the entertaining prospect of
the lamest of lame ducks, or perhaps goats, for the next two
years.
Of course, a large number of
cowardly Democrats share the blame for Bush administration crimes.
They too need to pay for their complicity. Unfortunately, there
is no good way to punish these quislings and cowards on Election
Day, since abstaining or voting against them just benefits Republicans,
and ousting Republicans from control of Congress is critical.
But the next two years, following Nov. 7, must be a time of political
payback. Not only do we need to impeach the president. As well,
challenges need to be organized against every sell-out Democrat
who does not make amends by fighting hard over the next two years
to restore respect for constitutional government and the Bill
of Rights, as well as for international law.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Connecticut
have a unique opportunity to fire a warning shot in that battle
by supporting Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont and ousting
incumbent pseudo-Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman, who for Bush's
two terms has served as a Republican Trojan Horse inside the
Democratic caucus. Democrats around the country can help in this
effort by sending money to the Lamont campaign, and by volunteering
to make calls on his behalf.
CounterPunch
Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid?
CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues,
as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call
CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.
