"The war was based on two lies. The first was we were in danger of weapons of mass destruction and the second was that Iraq was somehow to blame for September 11th. It has been a tragedy for all the families that have lost members. As many as 100,000 people have died, half of them women and children. If that is not a war crime, what is?"
~ Stephen Hawking
I missed yet another important anniversary that just happened.
Just a few days ago was the 15th anniversary of a real tragedy, and not just an American one. It wound up being one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in American history, and possibly, even world history. THe United States has never been the same since we took the plunge into starting that "preemptive" war, and the rest of the world has never really viewed us in the same way, either.
Yes, on March 19, 2003, the United States went ahead with an invasion of Iraq under false pretenses. As mentioned in the quote above by Stephen Hawking, Americans (and mostly only Americans) were sold on the idea of the Iraq invasion based on the premise that there was a huge arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) that Saddam Hussein's Iraq possessed, and also that there was some kind of a connection with the September 11th attacks.
Despite the fact that no WMD's were found in Iraq, and despite the fact that there was absolutely no link between Iraq and the September 11th attacks, not only did the invasion of Iraq happen, but a majority of Americans were in favor of it, too.
That was bad enough, but what is worse, is that we Americans collectively have not learned our lessons from this clear mistake (if it was indeed a mistake).
A new poll shows that Americans are largely still very divided about the Iraq invasion and the war that last a very long time as a result. Despite the fact that the premises of the invasion were proven to be false to begin with, an alarming percentage of Americans still feel that the Iraq invasion was justified!
Indeed, while the United States was not the only nation to invade Iraq, it was clearly the driving force behind the effort, and the obvious main and essential powerhouse behind the so-called "Coalition of the Willing." But most citizens of the other countries were not so enthusiastic in their support of the war effort, which is to say, they did not buy it hook, line, and sinker, like Americans did. And frankly, Americans back then rejected facts and, even more frankly, simple logic, that suggested that it was impossible for Saddam to have such an incredible military capability and "45-minute response time" and all of those other things that were used to justify the invasion, but billed Iraq as a virtual superpower of the world which it most certainly was not.
Then, like now, it seemed that facts simply do not matter. The United Nations, and indeed almost all of the world community, warned Americans that an invasion would be a huge mistake, that Saddam did not have the WMD's that the Bush administration insisted he had, and that the concerns over a lack of any exit strategy should be a serious concern, as we would possibly, even probably, get ourselves involved in a quagmire. Indeed, that is exactly what happened, as many people including conservatives, criticized the handling of the war effort by the White House, who had promised Americans leading up to war that it would be won quickly, easily, and decisively.
Obviously, that did not happen, and the reasons for the war were proven false, as well. So, what does it say that even after a decade and a half, tens of millions of Americans still feel that it was a good idea, that it was necessary? Frankly, this, and the election of Donald Trump to the White House, has painted Americans in a very suspect light, and the whole world is watching, scratching their heads in bafflement, and wondering just what is wrong with us.
Frankly, a growing number of Americans feel the same way, including yours truly. That might have been happening for many years, even decades, in the lead-up to the 21st century. But the election "wins" of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, as well as the dangers of scrapping facts and common sense logic in favor of conspiracy theories, has already gotten this country in trouble and seriously weakened it's credibility and sense of invulnerability the world over. Think about it: in 1999, the United States might have had problems, but it was still far and away the leading superpower of the world. But then the strange election where the guy who got less votes "won," followed by the September 11th attacks, which then were followed by the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and I have already mentioned that Iraq was justified by false claims), the abuses of power in Iraq (such as Abu Graib) as well as the acceptance of some forms of torture for interrogation, then the general buffoonery of the Bush White House years, and then the election of Donald Trump, which of course has been followed by the idiocy of the Trump White House, has left a sour taste in the mouths of the rest of the world towards Americans. During that time, the mishandling of the Iraq war highlighted the weaknesses and limitations of American military might, and now, because of complete blind allegiance to the idea of corporate supremacy, we saw an almost total financial meltdown that the United States has never seemingly fully recovered from. Now, China seems right on the heels of the United States, about to bypass it as the leading economy, and thus superpower, of the world.
Despite the fact that no WMD's were found in Iraq, and despite the fact that there was absolutely no link between Iraq and the September 11th attacks, not only did the invasion of Iraq happen, but a majority of Americans were in favor of it, too.
That was bad enough, but what is worse, is that we Americans collectively have not learned our lessons from this clear mistake (if it was indeed a mistake).
A new poll shows that Americans are largely still very divided about the Iraq invasion and the war that last a very long time as a result. Despite the fact that the premises of the invasion were proven to be false to begin with, an alarming percentage of Americans still feel that the Iraq invasion was justified!
Indeed, while the United States was not the only nation to invade Iraq, it was clearly the driving force behind the effort, and the obvious main and essential powerhouse behind the so-called "Coalition of the Willing." But most citizens of the other countries were not so enthusiastic in their support of the war effort, which is to say, they did not buy it hook, line, and sinker, like Americans did. And frankly, Americans back then rejected facts and, even more frankly, simple logic, that suggested that it was impossible for Saddam to have such an incredible military capability and "45-minute response time" and all of those other things that were used to justify the invasion, but billed Iraq as a virtual superpower of the world which it most certainly was not.
Then, like now, it seemed that facts simply do not matter. The United Nations, and indeed almost all of the world community, warned Americans that an invasion would be a huge mistake, that Saddam did not have the WMD's that the Bush administration insisted he had, and that the concerns over a lack of any exit strategy should be a serious concern, as we would possibly, even probably, get ourselves involved in a quagmire. Indeed, that is exactly what happened, as many people including conservatives, criticized the handling of the war effort by the White House, who had promised Americans leading up to war that it would be won quickly, easily, and decisively.
Obviously, that did not happen, and the reasons for the war were proven false, as well. So, what does it say that even after a decade and a half, tens of millions of Americans still feel that it was a good idea, that it was necessary? Frankly, this, and the election of Donald Trump to the White House, has painted Americans in a very suspect light, and the whole world is watching, scratching their heads in bafflement, and wondering just what is wrong with us.
Frankly, a growing number of Americans feel the same way, including yours truly. That might have been happening for many years, even decades, in the lead-up to the 21st century. But the election "wins" of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, as well as the dangers of scrapping facts and common sense logic in favor of conspiracy theories, has already gotten this country in trouble and seriously weakened it's credibility and sense of invulnerability the world over. Think about it: in 1999, the United States might have had problems, but it was still far and away the leading superpower of the world. But then the strange election where the guy who got less votes "won," followed by the September 11th attacks, which then were followed by the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and I have already mentioned that Iraq was justified by false claims), the abuses of power in Iraq (such as Abu Graib) as well as the acceptance of some forms of torture for interrogation, then the general buffoonery of the Bush White House years, and then the election of Donald Trump, which of course has been followed by the idiocy of the Trump White House, has left a sour taste in the mouths of the rest of the world towards Americans. During that time, the mishandling of the Iraq war highlighted the weaknesses and limitations of American military might, and now, because of complete blind allegiance to the idea of corporate supremacy, we saw an almost total financial meltdown that the United States has never seemingly fully recovered from. Now, China seems right on the heels of the United States, about to bypass it as the leading economy, and thus superpower, of the world.
Let's be honest: we have compromised ourselves in this regard, collectively. Selecting Donald Trump as the voice and the face of the nation for four years was, under the circumstances, exactly the wrong message to send. So, why do I get the feeling that we as a nation are not done making some huge, glaringly obvious mistakes that we will be paying for many years, if not decades, to come?
We should be able to admit as a nation when we are wrong. Before I was born, Vietnam was a mistake, and it clearly shook the credibility of the American government, both here and abroad. The Iraq war was, frankly, even more blatantly a mistake, and the election of Donald Trump plunged us even deeper. We are a nation on the decline, and it matters little, if at all, how much we now are grabbing at efforts to make us appear united and strong as a nation, if we are not even strong enough, and honest enough, to be critical of ourselves.
The invasion of Iraq was a mistake, period. It was wrong in 2003, and it completely destabilized that nation and, indeed, the whole region. That was our doing, and the reasons stated to justify it were clearly wrong. When are we going to grow the hell up and be adults enough to take responsibility for our actions, when they have caused so much damage to the world, and to our own standing within it?
Below are the links to the news articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry, and the top one is where I got the quote from Stephen Hawking, which is found on the very top of this blog.
Stephen Hawking says Iraq war was based on 'lies' Associated Press Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, November 3, 2004:
15 years later, Americans remain split over Iraq War Jennifer Hansler By Jennifer Hansler, CNN, March 20, 2018:
No comments:
Post a Comment