Soapbox

An American Citizen Responds to President Bush’s national address

Mr. Bush:

Last night you spoke to America about your “New Way Forwardâ€? in Iraq and asked us for our support. The war in Iraq troubles all of us, and nothing would make us happier, democrat and republican alike, than for your proposed military strategy to bring a resolution to the conflict that protects American security and offers hope of peace and prosperity returning to Iraq. Forgive us if many of us don’t believe what you propose will do any of that. Here are a few reasons why.

You spoke of sacrifices that will be made to continue the war. I wonder, what sacrifices are you thinking of, and made by whom? Will there be a tax increase on your wealthy friends to help pay for the war and reconstruction efforts that are bankrupting this country? Will there finally be strict oversight of the contracts given to the companies owned by your friends who are making obscene profits in Iraq at the expense of US taxpayers and the Iraqi people? Will you stop sending inexperienced political hacks to do vitally important jobs? Or will there be a military draft, so that the sacrifice of lives doesn’t fall predominantly on the poor, rural and undereducated but is finally shared by the children of wealth and privilege?
I thought not.

The media is giving you credit for finally admitting mistakes after 3 years and 3,000 American lives and countless thousand Iraqi dead. Yet you merely said “Where mistakes have been made”. You could be talking about mistakenly ordering a pastrami sandwich instead of roast beef last week, for all you seem to have learned from your mistakes

Indeed, you tried to make us think that plan was wisely crafted by referring to the generals, senators, veterans and the Iraq study group whom you say you consulted with. But you omit the fact that most, if not all of them advised against this very course of action. I’m not sure it really counts as a consultation when you ignore everything they say.

You warned of the collapse of the Iraqi government and mass killings should the U.S. begin withdrawing from Iraq now. Please turn on the television, Mr. Bush. This is already happening. No one wants to see it continue, but you have not demonstrated any reason to believe that your proposed action will be able to stop it.

In fact, you don’t even expect it to! You assure us that your plan plan will strengthen Iraq and bring peace, and then you tell us that even if everything goes exactly as planned, the violence and bloodshed will continue. So every time another market or mosque blows up, you can claim that your plan is working perfectly? If our success will look exactly like our failure, sir, what’s the use of dieing to succeed?

Frankly, Mr. President, it seems to me that, in a nation the size of Iraq and with the scale of the violence there, 20,000 troops is not a surge- it is a squirt. It is significant to the people being sent over there for a third, and soon perhaps a 4th tour, but on a national scale, I’m not sure what 20,000 troops can accomplish.

Last night you clearly threatened war against, rather than promised dialogue with, Syria and Iran. And in case any of us misunderstood that threat, the Iranian consulate in northern Iraq was raided last night. Since the United States has been unable to handle the fighting in Iraq, what makes you think we are prepared for yet another war?

You say we must send these troops in now because it probably should have been done before. But “better late than never” isn’t always true, Mr. Bush. Your generals and advisors were calling for higher troop strength 3 years ago, to prevent looting, to prevent the blowing up of mosques and police stations, to prevent the interruption of commerce and education and the dragging of people into the street at night to torture and murder them, and the reprisal killings, and the reprisal of the reprisals. It is far too late to prevent any of that!

It is odd that you seem to think that Prime Minister Maliki has it in his power to really crack down and end this violence once and for all. And what, you just forgot to tell him that’s what you want him to do, so that’s why he didn’t do it before? How does saying “And we really mean it this time!” suddenly give him the ability to settle a country that has spun out of control?

Mr. President, last night you told America that we should follow your “New Way Forward” (that doesn’t seem new at all), even if the violence continues unabated and spreads to Iran and Syria. Trust me, you said.
But so far, Sir, you have been proven wrong in absolutely everything you have said and done in Iraq. The WMD’s, the terrorism threat, troop levels, “the war will last 6 weeks”, the “greeted with flowers” thing, “Mission Accomplished”, the “last throes”, the “not a civil war” assertions. You told us that capturing Sadaam would end the violence… that holding elections and ratifying a constitution would bring peace, that trying Sadaam would reunite the country.Let’s not forget “the war will pay for itself” and “the war will cost America only 100 million dollars”.

You have been spectacularly and bloodily wrong in all of it, and your response to this disaster is to insist that a few mistakes may have been made but now, this time, you’ve got it right. Mr. President, for the last 3 years you haven’t had a clue, and you gave every indication last night of ignoring all the advice of all the experts and going ahead with exactly what you wanted to do all along. What possible reason would we have to think that you suddenly know what you’re doing?
A new speech does not a new direction make. This “New Way Forward” seems to be nothing more than the same old way you’ve been headed all along, with a fresh coat of lipstick on the pig.

I wish it would work; I really do. The nation, the middle east and the world needs for you to get this right. But I just don’t believe that you have.