The American War on Iraq: Two Realities

News! News! News!!! No change in our Iraq Policy! The Congressional Hearings on Iraq or the Charade of Congressional Hearings on Iraq?

A note at the onset about my use of terminology. Readers of my blog have commented on the fact that I do not use the words, “Iraq War.” That’s true, because it is not an Iraq War; it is the American War against Iraq.

We have been attacked only once in our history that resulted in a real war: Pearl Harbor. Yet, our citizens have been fed a constant lie about wars: The Mexican-American War was America’s War on Mexico, but we through a psychological need for war and an enemy, labeled it the Mexican-American War. The same for the Spanish-American War, we also started that war. By the time we get around to really dominating the world, we are so dishonest about our psychological need to commit aggression against other countries, some country, any country—just so long as we can call them the enemy—we no longer even consider our wars as having anything to do with us, e.g. Americans, just the other folks, the enemy: Like the Korean War, though the Koreans never attacked us; like the Viet Nam War, though the Vietnamese never attacked us, and now; like the Iraq War; we must hold our nose for the biggest fairy tale of all: the Iraq War, though the Iraqi never attacked us—we invaded them, remember?!

So, stop giving me grief about calling, excuse me, a spade a spade.

Supporters of America’s War on Iraq say, predictably, the following:

· The surge is working;
· Violence is down, meaning our boys are not dying as much as before (and frankly, we don’t give a damn about the Iraqis dying); and
· To pull out of Iraq would be irresponsible because we can’t leave Iraq as a failed state. Apparently they can’t govern themselves, which leaves any thinking person to ask, “how in the hell did the Iraqis govern themselves before we came to their “rescue”?
Anybody who has ever followed this debate will recognize the above as the “republican position."

Now, the “democats.”

· The surge has not worked as envisioned because it has not achieved it’s political objective; (Whose political objectives—ours or the Iraqis?)
· Iraqi troops have not stood up, so we can’t stand down. (Well, why should they? At least they seem to have enough sense to realize that they don’t have to run the risk of getting blown to bits by IED’s or sniper fire as long as they have the dumb, but aggressive, Americans to die for them! After all, they did not ask to be invaded, did they?)
· Political goals of the surge have not and will not be met as long as we are there—time to get out!
Anybody who has ever followed this debate will recognize the above as the “democratic position.”

The democrats say they can do nothing—they need 60 senators to cut off debate to enable them to get a law through to end the war. This is the lowest form of political blather because the democrats are playing games, just like the republicans, with American’s lives. The democrats don’t need 60 votes to cut off the funding. Yet, they are asking the American people to give them 60 senators so they will have the votes to end the American War in Iraq.

Of course, we Americans don’t have enough sense to ask the democrats this:
“If you and yours don’t have enough courage to cut off the funding and most assuredly thereby end our war, why should we believe that if we give you 60 senators, you would then (magically!) have the courage to end the American War in Iraq?

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Reproduction is permitted provided credit is given.
Lenton Aikins, Ph.D., J.D.
Dr. Aikins has traveled widely, lived abroad in Europe and Latin America, recently spending three years in Costa Rica as Director of a Spanish Language school. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from University of Southern California, a Juris Doctor in Law from Western State University, College of Law. He is the author of many articles and of While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites, now available at: http://lentonaikins.com, and available in all bookstores July 1, 2008. You can read his daily blog: Go to: http://lentonaikins.com and click on blog.