This week marks the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, another dreary reminder that the Army is bogged in quagmire and there seems to be no way out. George Bush, when asked about this will grip the presidential podium on both sides, assume that misty, far-off gaze and say, “At least the Iraqi people have their freedom.”
How do you think the Iraqis would define that? Saddam Hussein tortured and imprisoned Iraqis for the slightest of reasons, or no reasons at all. Americans have crammed the jails full of people, many of who are innocent, but have been turned in by someone they’re feuding with. The U.S. State Department, patting itself on the back for scrupulous honesty, says Iraqi police are still torturing people. (It doesn’t mention U.S. forces torturing Iraqis.) American forces randomly throw up checkpoints with secret rules, and then shoot carloads of Iraqi families – or Italian secret service and journalists. The papers this week detail an incident in which U.S. troops threw three Iraqis into the Tigris River. One man drowned, for which a West Pointer will serve six weeks in jail. How is that better than Saddam’s regime?
In the last two years, over 100,000 Iraqis have died. Did they die happier knowing that Saddam was out of power? Was it worth it to them to die by ethnic or religious violence, rather than a tyrant’s power? The quality of life, by any standard, was better in Saddam’s Iraq than George Bush’s Iraq. There was more electricity, more fresh water, more working sewer systems. The city of Fallujah was still there.
Iraqis did get to vote in January, from a list of candidates picked by the U.S.; most were completely unknown to the voters prior to the election. So, people voted for a religious or ethnic group and now those groups are settling down to a grudging coalition. We’ll see how long it lasts.
It is good to have Saddam gone, we all wish the Iraqi people the best for the future, but two years on, the question is: was it worth it? Not yet, at least for the folks in Iraq. For the folks in America, the answer may be: not ever.
So far, the U.S. has lost over 1,500 sons and daughters in Iraq. Another 15,000 have been maimed for life, physically, mentally or both. The U.S. military, the globe’s most potent weapon 24 months ago, is now described by its leaders as “a broken force.” Reserve soldiers, who volunteered for one weekend a month, are being sent on two-year deployments. The average age of reserves is 35 years old. Some are grandparents in their 50s, but they strap on the gear and head off to the desert. Small town America is torn apart by the absences of police, firefighters and small businesspeople. Last week the Republicans in the U.S. Senate refused to make allowances for soldiers who are forced into bankruptcy by unexpected deployments.
As of last night, American taxpayers had spent $156 billion on the war in Iraq. That same money would have funded global anti-hunger efforts for six years. It could have funded a global AIDS program for 15 years. The money we’re spent in Iraq could have provided basic immunization to every child on the planet for 52 years, or paid for 7.5 million four-year scholarships to public universities, or paid a year’s salary to 2.7 million teachers. In the time it takes you to read this commentary, the United States will have spent another $300,000 in Iraq. (If you want to see how much more we’ve spent since I typed this, visit www.costofwar.org.)
This second anniversary is being toasted with champagne by defense contractors. Congressional Democrats this week revealed that Dick Cheney’s outfit Halliburton overcharged the government $108 million for gas in Iraq. In one instance, Halliburton bought $82,000 worth of gas and charged the government $27 million to deliver it. A subcontractor says Halliburton executives demand kickbacks before letting any subcontracts. Earlier, Halliburton was found to have $1.8 billion in bogus charges in a $10.5 billion contract. (A no-bid contract, by the way.) Even though our government’s bean counters catch Halliburton ripping us off, they continue to pay their fees, plus performance bonuses.
The president announced yesterday that he’s nominating Paul Wolfowitz, designer of the Iraq debacle, to be president of the World Bank. From his new perch, Mr. Wolfowitz can stick his thumb in the eye of almost every poor person on earth simultaneously, while enriching his corporate cronies. Like Colin Powell, Tommy Franks, Jay Garner (remember him?), Douglas Feith, L. Paul “Jerry” Bremer and John Negroponte, Mr. Wolfowitz can move along to new adventures, leaving his mess behind him.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
This week marks the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, another dreary reminder that the Army is bogged in quagmire and there seems to be no way out. George Bush, when asked about this will grip the presidential podium on both sides, assume that misty, far-off gaze and say, “At least the Iraqi people have their freedom.”
How do you think the Iraqis would define that? Saddam Hussein tortured and imprisoned Iraqis for the slightest of reasons, or no reasons at all. Americans have crammed the jails full of people, many of who are innocent, but have been turned in by someone they’re feuding with. The U.S. State Department, patting itself on the back for scrupulous honesty, says Iraqi police are still torturing people. (It doesn’t mention U.S. forces torturing Iraqis.) American forces randomly throw up checkpoints with secret rules, and then shoot carloads of Iraqi families – or Italian secret service and journalists. The papers this week detail an incident in which U.S. troops threw three Iraqis into the Tigris River. One man drowned, for which a West Pointer will serve six weeks in jail. How is that better than Saddam’s regime?
In the last two years, over 100,000 Iraqis have died. Did they die happier knowing that Saddam was out of power? Was it worth it to them to die by ethnic or religious violence, rather than a tyrant’s power? The quality of life, by any standard, was better in Saddam’s Iraq than George Bush’s Iraq. There was more electricity, more fresh water, more working sewer systems. The city of Fallujah was still there.
Iraqis did get to vote in January, from a list of candidates picked by the U.S.; most were completely unknown to the voters prior to the election. So, people voted for a religious or ethnic group and now those groups are settling down to a grudging coalition. We’ll see how long it lasts.
It is good to have Saddam gone, we all wish the Iraqi people the best for the future, but two years on, the question is: was it worth it? Not yet, at least for the folks in Iraq. For the folks in America, the answer may be: not ever.
So far, the U.S. has lost over 1,500 sons and daughters in Iraq. Another 15,000 have been maimed for life, physically, mentally or both. The U.S. military, the globe’s most potent weapon 24 months ago, is now described by its leaders as “a broken force.” Reserve soldiers, who volunteered for one weekend a month, are being sent on two-year deployments. The average age of reserves is 35 years old. Some are grandparents in their 50s, but they strap on the gear and head off to the desert. Small town America is torn apart by the absences of police, firefighters and small businesspeople. Last week the Republicans in the U.S. Senate refused to make allowances for soldiers who are forced into bankruptcy by unexpected deployments.
As of last night, American taxpayers had spent $156 billion on the war in Iraq. That same money would have funded global anti-hunger efforts for six years. It could have funded a global AIDS program for 15 years. The money we’re spent in Iraq could have provided basic immunization to every child on the planet for 52 years, or paid for 7.5 million four-year scholarships to public universities, or paid a year’s salary to 2.7 million teachers. In the time it takes you to read this commentary, the United States will have spent another $300,000 in Iraq. (If you want to see how much more we’ve spent since I typed this, visit www.costofwar.org.)
This second anniversary is being toasted with champagne by defense contractors. Congressional Democrats this week revealed that Dick Cheney’s outfit Halliburton overcharged the government $108 million for gas in Iraq. In one instance, Halliburton bought $82,000 worth of gas and charged the government $27 million to deliver it. A subcontractor says Halliburton executives demand kickbacks before letting any subcontracts. Earlier, Halliburton was found to have $1.8 billion in bogus charges in a $10.5 billion contract. (A no-bid contract, by the way.) Even though our government’s bean counters catch Halliburton ripping us off, they continue to pay their fees, plus performance bonuses.
The president announced yesterday that he’s nominating Paul Wolfowitz, designer of the Iraq debacle, to be president of the World Bank. From his new perch, Mr. Wolfowitz can stick his thumb in the eye of almost every poor person on earth simultaneously, while enriching his corporate cronies. Like Colin Powell, Tommy Franks, Jay Garner (remember him?), Douglas Feith, L. Paul “Jerry” Bremer and John Negroponte, Mr. Wolfowitz can move along to new adventures, leaving his mess behind him.
As the poet said, nothing gold can stay.
© Mark Floegel, 2005