To hear George W. Bush tell it, the Iraqis attacking American troops are either remnant supporters of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime or maniacal Islamic militants, bent on destruction of all things Western. “They hate us for our freedom,” Mr. Bush says. Do you think that’s really the case? Whenever Mr. Bush gives that line, he reminds me of my mother, many years ago, trying to explain why other children picked on me. “They’re just jealous,” she’d say. She meant well, but her words never seemed to ring true. Mr. Bush’s words don’t ring true either, and I don’t think he means well.
There’s the official line, which flows from the White House or the barricaded Green Zone headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. There are plenty of other points of view, widely disseminated. Freedom of speech looms large among those freedoms we are allegedly hated for and yet – it feels as if there are topics we’re not discussing, ideas we’re keeping to ourselves. It sometimes feels our national debate is only so large and if George Bush pulls his end of the spectrum further into unreality, the rest of us get tugged in that direction, too.
So let’s talk about things that are not discussed, like Iraq, the international community and the presidential election. All over the world people – and their leaders – want George Bush out of office. Nations that for any other administration would send troops to help stabilize Iraq – France, Germany, Canada, Russia – are holding back. They don’t want their soldiers killed under the bumbling direction of Don Rumsfeld’s Pentagon and while everyone hates to see Iraq spin further out of control, no one wants to reward Mr. Bush’s ill-informed, unilateral action by bailing him out of a jam. Mr. Bush makes the notion of help even more remote with his baldly political support for Ariel Sharon’s ill-informed, unilateral moves in Gaza and the West Bank.
Months ago, France and Germany did offer substantial rebuilding aid for Iraq, on the condition that the UN have a greater say in calling the shots. Mr. Bush turned them down flat. The UN and NATO are caught in the middle; their diplomats forced to make pleasant noises to all sides while they cool their heels. Around the world, people who love peace cannot wait for November second to arrive and are fervently wishing for a John Kerry victory. While Mr. Kerry will keep American troops in Iraq if elected, he will also make the effort truly international and the Iraqi people may decide they have an American who will work with, not against them.
Perhaps the UN and Europe will decide to play a larger role in Iraq after the June 30th handover, but don’t count on it. Iraqi civil war is more likely. A second thing we’re not supposed to talk about is the shell game the Bushies are playing with the various factions in Iraqi society. Even an honest broker would have difficulty balancing the interests and mediating the feuds between the Shi’ites, Kurds and Sunnis, but the Bush administration decided to make a teacher’s pet out of Ahmed Chalabi, the author of so much bogus intelligence and the most despised man in Iraq. The U.S. gave Mr. Chalabi all Saddam’s old secret police files, put him in charge of the “de-Baathification” program (so he could pick from among the old regime’s thugs) and while the U.S. Army is fighting the Madhi Army, the Badr Brigade, Chalabi’s militia, totes its weapons with impunity.
If Mr. Chalabi is the favorite son, the Sunnis are the bastard stepchildren. They were Saddam’s people and benefited inordinately from his regime, but until recently the U.S. plan seemed aimed at making the Kurds and Shi’ites happy by short-changing the Sunnis. As that was the case, can it be a surprise that Fallujah erupted in insurrection? Why should the Sunnis wait until they’ve lost everything? Their strategy seems to be working. In the U.S., pundits are admitting that the Sunnis needs will have to be better acknowledged in the new government and in Iraq, a new nationalism – based on anti-Americanism – seems to be growing, at least for now. At long last, George Bush is a uniter, not a divider.
While this is a diverting intellectual exercise, it doesn’t make the Iraq situation any better. Much as we might yearn for a Kerry administration, we may be too far deep into the widening gyre by the time it arrives. If we are to find a path out of this mess, we’ll have to change course. To change course, we’ll have to admit our current course is wrong and although the Washington press corps gave Mr. Bush plenty of chances to admit error Tuesday, he refused to do it.
That’s the third and final thing we haven’t talked about. Win or lose in November, George Bush might be going down and taking us with him.
Things We’re Not Supposed to Say
To hear George W. Bush tell it, the Iraqis attacking American troops are either remnant supporters of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime or maniacal Islamic militants, bent on destruction of all things Western. “They hate us for our freedom,” Mr. Bush says. Do you think that’s really the case? Whenever Mr. Bush gives that line, he reminds me of my mother, many years ago, trying to explain why other children picked on me. “They’re just jealous,” she’d say. She meant well, but her words never seemed to ring true. Mr. Bush’s words don’t ring true either, and I don’t think he means well.
There’s the official line, which flows from the White House or the barricaded Green Zone headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. There are plenty of other points of view, widely disseminated. Freedom of speech looms large among those freedoms we are allegedly hated for and yet – it feels as if there are topics we’re not discussing, ideas we’re keeping to ourselves. It sometimes feels our national debate is only so large and if George Bush pulls his end of the spectrum further into unreality, the rest of us get tugged in that direction, too.
So let’s talk about things that are not discussed, like Iraq, the international community and the presidential election. All over the world people – and their leaders – want George Bush out of office. Nations that for any other administration would send troops to help stabilize Iraq – France, Germany, Canada, Russia – are holding back. They don’t want their soldiers killed under the bumbling direction of Don Rumsfeld’s Pentagon and while everyone hates to see Iraq spin further out of control, no one wants to reward Mr. Bush’s ill-informed, unilateral action by bailing him out of a jam. Mr. Bush makes the notion of help even more remote with his baldly political support for Ariel Sharon’s ill-informed, unilateral moves in Gaza and the West Bank.
Months ago, France and Germany did offer substantial rebuilding aid for Iraq, on the condition that the UN have a greater say in calling the shots. Mr. Bush turned them down flat. The UN and NATO are caught in the middle; their diplomats forced to make pleasant noises to all sides while they cool their heels. Around the world, people who love peace cannot wait for November second to arrive and are fervently wishing for a John Kerry victory. While Mr. Kerry will keep American troops in Iraq if elected, he will also make the effort truly international and the Iraqi people may decide they have an American who will work with, not against them.
Perhaps the UN and Europe will decide to play a larger role in Iraq after the June 30th handover, but don’t count on it. Iraqi civil war is more likely. A second thing we’re not supposed to talk about is the shell game the Bushies are playing with the various factions in Iraqi society. Even an honest broker would have difficulty balancing the interests and mediating the feuds between the Shi’ites, Kurds and Sunnis, but the Bush administration decided to make a teacher’s pet out of Ahmed Chalabi, the author of so much bogus intelligence and the most despised man in Iraq. The U.S. gave Mr. Chalabi all Saddam’s old secret police files, put him in charge of the “de-Baathification” program (so he could pick from among the old regime’s thugs) and while the U.S. Army is fighting the Madhi Army, the Badr Brigade, Chalabi’s militia, totes its weapons with impunity.
If Mr. Chalabi is the favorite son, the Sunnis are the bastard stepchildren. They were Saddam’s people and benefited inordinately from his regime, but until recently the U.S. plan seemed aimed at making the Kurds and Shi’ites happy by short-changing the Sunnis. As that was the case, can it be a surprise that Fallujah erupted in insurrection? Why should the Sunnis wait until they’ve lost everything? Their strategy seems to be working. In the U.S., pundits are admitting that the Sunnis needs will have to be better acknowledged in the new government and in Iraq, a new nationalism – based on anti-Americanism – seems to be growing, at least for now. At long last, George Bush is a uniter, not a divider.
While this is a diverting intellectual exercise, it doesn’t make the Iraq situation any better. Much as we might yearn for a Kerry administration, we may be too far deep into the widening gyre by the time it arrives. If we are to find a path out of this mess, we’ll have to change course. To change course, we’ll have to admit our current course is wrong and although the Washington press corps gave Mr. Bush plenty of chances to admit error Tuesday, he refused to do it.
That’s the third and final thing we haven’t talked about. Win or lose in November, George Bush might be going down and taking us with him.
(c) Mark Floegel, 2004