Iraq War Escalation
President Bush’s planned escalation of the war as outlined in Wednesday (Jan 10, 2007) night’s presidential address is in contrast to all advice he has received on the subject. President Bush has ignored what the majority of Americans want, bucked the advice of political figures (Iraq Study Group was the one chance Mr. Bush had to save face, in this dreadful war) and reassigned military leaders who disagree (outgoing US Commanding General in Iraq, General Casey called for a reduction in troops). Bush’s plan will increase the violence in Iraq, bolster the insurgency by increasing opposition to the US, all the while create more terrorists and terrorist sympathy.
When one looks closely, President Bush’s escalation looks strikingly similar to former President Nixon’s exponential blunder in Vietnam. But even President Bush has admitted the similarities between Iraq and Vietnam. An even closer look shows that the proposed “new way forward” brings the troop level in Iraq to last years total, with a promise of increased US causalties.
The question that lies before us is: Now that American and Iraqi citizens share a majority opinion that the US needs to leave Iraq, and now that Congress has some hope of congressional oversight, will the US remain the occupying force as Iraqis currently see it? Will President Bush be able to continue fueling the flames of sectarian violence?
If there is any hope for a long term peace, the Democratic congressional leadership needs to step up and refuse support for Bush’s plan. The President must be stopped before more American lives are lost and the situation in Iraq worsens.
For an interesting article covering the implications of President Bush’s address and increase in confrontational actions that have already taken place, check out Juan Cole’s article on Salon.com
Posted at Sunday, January 14, 2007
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