Beyond The Shadow Of A Doubt

 
It is my belief as a soldier and an American that when the president of the United States takes the country to war the reasons must be of a most serious, urgent, and grievous nature.   It is also my belief that there is no more important or solemn act than the act of defending our nation.  In this not so simple act everything is at stake.   Everything is at stake from the blood of our sons and daughters to the future of our country, our children, and our moral standing in the world.  Bearing this in mind it is my belief that the American people must always know beyond a shadow of a doubt that any time the nation goes to war the reasons for the action must be completely justified and absolutely beyond question.   The threat must be so real that it can be tasted.  To put this in context one must ask this simple and profound question.   Is this act worth the life of my son or daughter?  Am I willing to sacrifice my child for this cause?  And if the reasons for going to war do not justify your answering yes to those questions then it is not worth going to war, period.
 
Now let's talk very plainly about two separate and very different and important issues.  The first issue is why we invaded Iraq and the second issue is what is best for Iraq and the United States now that we are there.   It is apparent by his last four speeches that the president would have us believe that we are in a war in Iraq to establish a Jeffersonian democracy.   He would also have us believe that the reason he took the nation to war in Iraq was to establish a Jeffersonian democracy in Iraq.  I would put it to you that the first point would be and is misguided and that the second point is a lie.
 
Let's address the issue of why the president took the nation to war in Iraq first.  As I stated in yesterdays post, the very clearly stated reasons this administration gave for invading Iraq were one, that Sadam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.   And two, that Sadam Hussein had close ties to Al Qaeda and was directly or indirectly responsible for the attacks of 9/11.  And of course three that Sadam Hussein was very near to developing a deliverable nuclear and or chemical or biological weapon and posed an imminent threat to the United States.   I beg you to please go back and review television news clips and magazine and newspaper articles published prior to the invasion of Iraq and attempt to find one single item that did not reflect one of or all of these three primary reasons for invasion.   And if democracy is mentioned at all it is a foot note and not a reason.  Democracy in Iraq was never a stated reason for going to war in Iraq by this administration.   There is another very good reason I know that establishing democracy in Iraq was not a stated reason for going to war by this administration.   That reason is simply that if the president of the United States had said we are going to war with Iraq to establish a democratic government there because Sadam Hussein is a villainous character who tortures his people, we would never have invaded.   It's as simple as that.  Ask yourself this question, would you have supported going to war in Iraq to establish a democracy there.   I believe your answer would be a resounding NO.  Now ask yourself this question, would you go to war in Iraq because Sadam Hussein was a villainous character who had weapons of mass destruction and was an imminent threat to the United States and was responsible for the attacks of 9/11.   Okay now it's a different story.  Would I sacrifice my son or daughter to defend our nation against a villainous character who had the capability and would instigate a nuclear or chemical attack against the United States?   Yes.  The answer is of course yes.
 
Now our president says "I am responsible", I had "bad intelligence".  It's two and a half years later and you know what.   That's not good enough.  And you know what else, that is disingenuous if not patently dishonest.  Remember what I said before?   Beyond a shadow of a doubt.  It wasn't beyond a shadow of a doubt.   It wasn't even beyond doubt.  We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this president knew that his intelligence was faulty.   We now know that this president refused to listen to any counter information and you know what.  That is absolutely inexcusable and you know why it's inexcusable.   It's inexcusable because 2,151 American soldiers have died and because over 15,500 American soldiers have left blood and body parts in Iraq.  Blood and body parts in Iraq .  Blood and body parts of American soldiers and civilians have been left in Iraq.  Blood!   American blood!  Get the point?
 
Now the second issue of what is best for Iraq and the United States.  Unfortunately there is no simple clear cut and clean answer.   There is one fact that we must deal with and that is that we must pull out of Iraq as soon as possible.  This is a fact because first and foremost we are draining our nation of its blood and wealth with each passing day and exposing ourselves to further attack without having developed and implemented the security systems needed at home.   The second reason is that with each passing day we are becoming more and more an army of occupation and this is creating even more enemies and more real terrorist by disaffecting the Islamic world and providing a training ground for Al Qaeda.   Now, it is my firm belief that once the current elections are over we must begin a quick, but not precipitous, phased withdrawal from Iraq.  We must leave the Iraqi people to determine their own fate and future with consistent diplomatic support and real allied military support when necessary.  Unfortunately this administration has supported the Shiite majority in Iraq, which happens to be the same religious sect that rules Iran, and they have done this at the expense of the Sunni minority population.   Coincidentally it was reported yesterday that a truck was intercepted crossing the border from Iran to Iraq and it was filled with ballots for today's election.   This would be further proof that Iran is actively engaged in attempting to determine Iraq's future.  The simple truth is that it is most likely and unfortunate that Iraq if not carefully monitored and supported will  probably move toward one, becoming an Islamo-Fascist state run by the Shiite majority with close ties to Iran and two, embroiled in a bloody civil war between the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority.   I believe however that we must remain steadfast in pulling our troops out of Iraq and simultaneously develop a strong allied presence which must include both our traditional allies as well as new and old Islamic allies.  It is only through the careful development of close ties to the Islamic nations of the world that we can really fight international terrorism.
 
My last thoughts for this post are this.  George W. Bush is not a credible president.   And in my opinion he is not a credible human being.  From his handling of the economy to his handling of terrorism he has not been honest with the American people.   Those who continue to put faith in this president I believe are sorely misguided.  I believe we need a Congress, Senate, and Executive branch with strong ethics, moral courage and real vision.   The leadership of these bodies today is a wasteland of corruption and moral turpitude and possesses only tunnel vision capable of focusing only on their own greedy interest.
 
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.