Lies and deceit
As I was watching Secretary of State General Colin Powell explain the US position to the United Nations I had the strong impression that his mind was not agreeing with his words. Bogus aerial photos of false WMD and other evidence provided by two unproven witnesses sent us to war. UN weapons inspectors and other credible US sources provided no ground truthing for WMD. It seems that General Powell saw this but was overwhelmed by President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. The latter two have been particularly influential in driving us to war. Conservative and liberal politicians and pundits all bought the highly stretched truth and into Iraq we went.
Our politicians would have had second, third, and fourth thoughts if only they cared to remember or study history of the middle-east. No foreign invader has been successful there due to vast differences in culture, religion, traditions, and world view. Our political leaders live relatively insulated lives and fail to understand the viewpoints of others not like them. A good way to say it is "they do not think the way we do." Rumsfeld and his yes-men (former ambassador Paul Wolfowitz leaps to mind) dreamed up unrealistic scenarios whereby Iraqis would welcome an invading force with open arms and thankfulness and WMDs would be immediately discovered. The first two scenarios were ephemeral (thanks, now please leave) and the last was never there (Saddam Hussein is credited with a great hoax reminiscent of British deceit during WWII)., Rumsfeld and Cheney were wrong, imagine that.
After I returned from one and one-half years in Vietnam serving as an infantry platoon leader and Military Assistance Command Vietnam advisor I had a great deal of anger and resentment for the great loss of life and failure to win. As a soldier I wanted to win. After I read several history books detailing Vietnamese history from 1946 on and US involvement during WWII and later, I discovered that our leaders from President Truman to President Nixon were clueless about regional history and people’s culture and tradition and failed to listen to those who did not present what they wanted to hear. We initially supported the French in Indochina primarily to appease a wartime ally and, secondly, to make democracy safe from communism according to the unproven and highly cerebral “domino theory” devised by Truman’s Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Vietnam fought the Chinese for 1000 years and were more than willing to fight a little longer. Fighting the US invaders for ten years was like a second tick from a watch. Imagine Russia invading the US and the fight our nation would put up against the invaders. Bomb us and the resistance would be insurmountable.
Is the situation in Iraq similar to Vietnam? You bet it is. Both wars star the US as invaders, both were begun for less than rational reasons, and both were born of clueless leaders.
If any readers take my opinion as less than patriotic (the “my country right or wrong” type of mantra) then please note that my grandfather fought Bolsheviks and Germans, my father and uncle fought Nazis, my father was captured and spent two years as a slave laborer, I served 9-years in two US armed services as an infantry officer and aviation crewmember, and my son is on active duty and in transit to Iraq.
War stinks and involvement in any war must be undeniably justified and not based on lies and deceit.