Iraq: a solution to nothing By Scott Ritter

[Guest guest]

A

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 00:24:31 -0500

Iraq: a solution to nothing By Scott Ritter - Special to The

Times

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq: a solution to nothing By Scott Ritter - Special to The Times

http://www.progressiveexchange.com/content/blogsection/41/394/

 

 

Sunday, 05 March 2006

Iraq: a solution to nothing

By Scott Ritter - Special to The Times

Saturday, 04 March 2006

 

 

As the United States and Iraq approach the third anniversary of the

invasion and occupation of Iraq, it might do all Americans well to

take some time out and reflect on how we got where we are, as well as

where we are going in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.

 

Gone forever is any talk of song and flowers, economic recoveries paid

for by Iraqi oil, or a blooming democracy in the cradle of

civilization. The state of affairs between the Bush administration and

the newly elected government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari is

strained, to say the least, with the United States threatening to cut

off aid to Iraq, and Iraq telling the United States to " butt out. "

 

Nearly three months have passed since the " historic " elections of

December 2005, and the Iraqis have just now selected a prime minister

(Jafari, a Shiite Islamic fundamentalist closely allied with Iran),

and seemed hopelessly deadlocked on the issue of forming a government

that will not promote an immediate outbreak of sectarian violence once

formed.

 

The Sunni insurgency is stronger than ever, and Shiite death squads

roam the street in the guise of government police and soldiers.

Torture, rape and murder are rampant as official tools of government

suppression. And American troops appear to be powerless to stop this

mindless slide into the abyss, all the while being killed and maimed

for a cause that has always been nebulous.

 

" Duty, " " honor " and " country " mean little when the majority of the

American citizens supposedly being served by the ongoing occupation of

Iraq are more interested in " American Idol " than the process of

bringing peace and stability to ancient Babylon, or when American

politicians seem content to continue to allow the men and women who

honor our nation through their service to die while those in power

grasp for a politically face-saving way to " solve the Iraqi problem. "

And herein lies the problem: We continue to try to solve a problem we

have yet to define, meaning we are seeking a solution to nothing.

 

America continues to pretend that we are building something of value

in Iraq. And yet, common sense dictates that when one seeks to build

on a corrupt foundation, whatever it is that is being constructed is

doomed eventually to collapse. Our nation's involvement in Iraq is

based on as corrupt a foundation as imaginable. We didn't go to war

for sound national-security reasons (i.e., a threat that manifested

itself in a form solvable only through military intervention), but

rather for domestic political reasons based on ideology that exploited

the fear and ignorance of the American people in the post-Sept. 11,

2001, world.

 

In the topsy-turvy world of domestic American politics, this reality

continues to fail to resonate. Those who opposed the invasion of Iraq

continue to be demonized and marginalized, while those who supported

it are embraced and applauded.

 

This " through the looking glass " quality in the American body politic

not only hamstrings the nation collectively on the issue of solving

the Iraq problem, but also continues to distort reality when dealing

with other emerging problems confronting our country and the world,

such as the looming crisis with Iran over its nuclear programs.

 

Even as we fail to grasp the lessons of our unraveling failure in

Iraq, we seem to be moving full steam ahead into a similar catastrophe

in Iran, making the same mistakes by embracing a threat model (nuclear

weapons) void of any hard evidence, and promoting a solution

(democracy) that is undefined.

 

If the upcoming leather anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq

tells us anything as a nation, it is that we are in desperate need of

a national " time out " when it comes to the issue of Iraq, Iran and the

global war on terror. We need to learn the lesson that every soldier,

sailor, airman and Marine serving oversees knows only too well — you

don't reinforce failure.

 

If our politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, are unable or

unwilling to engage in a rancor-free discussion about where we as a

nation are heading when it comes to issues of war and peace, then

perhaps we the people should engage in one of our own, and in the

process establish agreed-upon principles and standards that not only

would serve as a solid foundation upon which to build any future

endeavors in the Middle East and elsewhere, but also set forward

values and ideals that could be used to hold to account those whom we

elect to represent us in higher office.

 

Scott Ritter is a former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq (1991-1998)

and Marine Corps intelligence officer. He is the author of " Iraq

Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to

Undermine the U.N. and Overthrow Saddam Hussein, " published by Nation

Books. He is speaking at Town Hall, Eighth Avenue and Seneca Street in

Seattle, at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 March 2006 )