George Bush's
Twisted War Logic
by James Kroeger
September 2nd, 2005
I had originally included the following
Iraq War analogy in my previous blog entry. I think it captures the
ultimate foolishness of George Bush’s reasons for ‘staying the
course’ in Iraq.
Imagine that you and a friend are
walking with George Bush on his ranch. After the three of
you have stopped to take in the view and chat for a while, you
suddenly realize that you are being bitten by ants. George has
led you to a place where the ants have been living for quite a
while. You shout out, “Ants!” but George quickly intervenes when
he sees that you are about to jump away from the ant hill.
He insists that you must hold your
ground and try to kill all of the ants that are daring to try to
bite you because you wouldn’t want them to think that they
succeeded in forcing you to move away from their land through
their fierce attacks.
George cautions that even daring to
discuss with your friend the option of leaving the ants’ land
would encourage the ants to continue to attack you. He
explains that the only thing that will convince them to stop
their attacks is if they believe that nothing they can do will
ever make you move. They need to understand that RESISTANCE IS
FUTILE.
All we’re saying in the peace movement,
George, is that we want to get off the anthill, now. Let the ants do
what they want with their land. We don’t care if they have disputes
with other ant colonies. Getting ourselves involved in the disputes
of ants has caused a lot of pain while doing nothing to improve the
security or well-being of the American people. Besides, we live
over here, dammit. Why do you have our sons and daughters
standing in an ant hill way over there?
George Bush’s ultimate reason for
staying the course in Iraq has nothing to do with any concerns he
might have for the lives of Americans and Iraqi civilians. Of much
greater concern to him is the possibility that The Enemy might
think about us in a certain way if we were to leave. He is
afraid they might think that they had forced a great defeat on us,
that they had kicked our butts.
He leads us to the Land of Ants and then
worries that if we step off of their ant hill, they might think that
they had conquered a Great Giant. What kind of insanity is that? He
finds the prospect of insurrectionist gloating so horrifying, he
doesn’t care how many more American soldiers might have to die in
order to put off that moment of ‘humiliation’, of denied boasting
opportunities.
What pro-Bush soldiers and military
families need to understand is that there is no shame in retreating
from a battle that you were incompetently led into. We’re talking
about a war that was never necessary to begin with. Bush loyalists
in the military are angry at Cindy Sheehan for using words that seem
to “threaten the honor” that they see in their actions. What they
don’t understand is that it is their Commander-in-Chief who has
dishonored them.
George Bush has dishonored America’s
soldiers through association. The soldiers have not
dishonored themselves. It was George Bush who ‘rushed us into war’
when there was no legitimate reason to be in a hurry. It was George
Bush who misread the resistance to America’s occupation that was
waiting to happen. It was George Bush who believed that ‘shock and
awe’ would put the Iraqi’s in a compliant frame of mind, eager to
follow our direction.
This kind of incompetence dishonors
America’s soldiers because they are acting at his direction. If your
Commander-in-Chief has ruined your country’s reputation throughout
the world through his reckless guesses and simplistic reasoning,
then you-as-a-soldier are being deprived of an opportunity to be
proud of your country, because your leader represents your country
to the world. He is an embarrassment to you.
The anger that many members of military
families have felt toward Cindy Sheehan has been misdirected. If
you’re a good soldier who has been a victim of incompetent
leadership, then you have a right to be angry. But your anger should
be properly directed at the one person who is primarily responsible
for having brought shame upon your country.
George Bush.
More trenchant
political analysis by James Kroeger:
Hillary, Bill, & the DLC
Reclaim the Moral High Ground
Democrat Image Makeover
When
the
Republicans steal an election
Our Soldiers Are Victims
Are You Proud To Be An American?
Economic Analysis...
Unemployment: Our Greatest Enemy
Trade Policy
and Jobs
Universal
Health Care
Government
Bureaucratic Waste vs. Private Sector Efficiency
The Relationship Between Savings &
Investment
Do Tax Cuts Stimulate The Economy?
