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by Dave Lindorff
Well, so much for Iraqi “sovereignty.” So much too for "staying the
course" and for "fighting the terrorists there so we won’t have to
fight them here." And while we're at it, so much for all the young
Americans who've tragically given their lives or their bodies and
health in the interest of advancing President Bush’s criminal political
agenda.
 We
saw the true nature of Iraqi "sovereignty" when it was disclosed that a
worried Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this week made an
anxious phone call to Bush to ask whether rumors he had been hearing
were true that Bush was planning on replacing him. The call made it
clear that Maliki knows he serves in his role solely at the pleasure of
the American president. In saner, more honest times, the media would
refer to such a situation as colonial, but our lapdog media just plays
the game and talks about Iraq as if it were a sovereign nation.
Maliki
also asked the president if it was true that the U.S. was planning on
pulling the plug on the Iraq occupation. The president reportedly
reassured his worried puppet that he was not going to undercut him, and
was not about to withdraw US troops, but if I were Maliki, I'd heed the
lesson of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was assured of
US backing even as the CIA was making arrangements to have him
assassinated and replaced by another thug.
As for "staying the course," this president who has spent the last four
years accusing congressional opponents of the war and advocates of a
quick withdrawal of treason and cowardice, of being "cut-and-run"
Democrats, is being advised by Republican fixer James Baker that he
should either cut and run, withdrawing US forces from Iraq and
recognizing the obvious failure of his grand imperialist scheme, or he
should invite those two Axes of Evil, Iran and Syria, to come in and
pacify the place.
Imagine that! Weren't we just hearing about how those two countries were terrorist states, and how Iran is such a threat
to America that it should be attacked and massively bombed?
With luck, Baker may force this crazed president, who is so spooked at
the prospect of a Democratic takeover of Congress in November that he
appears to be gearing up to invade Iran before Election Day, to call
off the dogs of war and instead start making nice to the imams.
It may just be that Republicans, and the corporate elite to whom they
answer, all of whom have been giving Bush, Rove and Cheney everything
those power-made fascist wannabes have asked for two long terms, are
realizing that they are now at risk of losing it all. The Iraq War is
moving inexorably to a point where the U.S. will either have to
voluntarily retreat or be driven out. Meanwhile, it is clear that an
attack on Iran, while it might possibly lead to a quick jingoistic
boost in support for the president that could save him from a
Democratic Congress, would cause such a global economic disaster and
such a military catastrophe for the U.S. over the longer run that
Republicans could be destroyed as a political party for years to come.
There really are no good answers for Republicans at this point--only less bad ones.
Any possible outcome of the Iraq situation is going to leave most
sentient Americans asking why 3000 young Americans had to die there,
and for those who don't get it right away, the 25,000 maimed survivors,
along with the tens of thousands more who bear the psychological scars
of that pointless criminal venture, will be around for a long time to
remind us of how we were deceived. So too will Osama Bin Laden, whom
Bush never really seriously went after at all, despite his feigned
Texas posse rhetoric.
If
Democrats succeed in winning control of Congress, as appears
increasingly likely, Republicans will have to begin thinking about how
to survive the fallout of this historic fiasco. It seems
inevitable--and we are starting to see the signs of this--that the
strategy will be to blame Bush and Cheney. This offers us the
entertaining prospect of the lamest of lame ducks, or perhaps goats,
for the next two years.
Of course, a large number of cowardly Democrats share the blame for
Bush administration crimes. They too need to pay for their complicity.
Unfortunately, there is no good way to punish these quislings and
cowards on Election Day, since abstaining or voting against them just
benefits Republicans, and ousting Republicans from control of Congress
is critical. But the next two years, following Nov. 7, must be a time
of political payback. Not only do we need to impeach the president. As
well, challenges need to be organized against every sell-out Democrat
who does not make amends by fighting hard over the next two years to
restore respect for constitutional government and the Bill of Rights,
as well as for international law.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Connecticut have a unique opportunity to fire a
warning shot in that battle by supporting Democratic Senate candidate
Ned Lamont and ousting incumbent faux-Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman, who
for Bush's two terms has served as a Republican Trojan Horse inside the
Democratic caucus. Democrats around the country can help in this effort
by sending money to the Lamont campaign, and by volunteering to make calls on his behalf.
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