Progressive Ponderings: Robert Gates
By Joe Mayer
"But as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come." — Robert Gates in his acceptance speech as he was sworn in as the new Secretary of Defense. In other words, "more of the same" as the president wants.
Most telling in this statement is the concern for America – our credibility. Iraq is embroiled in a civil war that includes ethnic cleansing which spawns terrorists to recruit and train; the economy is in shambles with unemployment at forty percent and even higher in some places; refugees are flooding neighboring countries, the infrastructure is devastated and we continue to bomb; utilities are unreliable and seldom available while other infrastructure remains unfixed; education and health care are at best spotty; and the lives of women and children are sacrificed to indiscriminating ammunition. That Gates is concerned about our credibility and our endangerment in the midst of all this trauma in Iraq indicates that our whole reason for this preemptive devastation has to do with our own agenda rather than for any other suggested reason.
Gates' background includes involvement in the Iran/Contra Affair. Our attitude is the same toward Iraq as it was in Nicaragua – we assume the right to determine the fate of other countries and peoples. As long as this attitude remains, the American effort at seeking an Iraq exit is a myth related to the myths that were sold as reasons for entering Iraq. A close examination of the Iraq Study Report also indicates that this group was trying to solve a United States problem, not an Iraqi problem. Regarding credibility – we lost that when we dropped the first bombs in spite of world opinion.
Neither the Iraq Study Group, nor Gates, will address another type of devastation that the Iraqi people are suffering. This is the harm perpetrated by Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority. It consisted of selling off Iraq's infrastructure to foreign investors (privatization), opening Iraq's economy to the free market forces without Iraqi input or approval, attempting to place Iraqi oil under the control of multinational oil companies, and inviting the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and The World Trade Organization to do business in Iraq. Under Bremer Iraq was an occupied dictatorship. Those laws remain in effect. Most Americans have never heard of them while most Iraqis live with them every day.
None of the current plans for Iraq consider the above. Nor do they address our responsibility for causing this mess, for the United States' need to cooperate with international law, for respecting the sovereignty of Iraq and all of the Middle East as we attempt to "democratize," or for the human rights violations we continue to cause and allow.
As the U.S. media consider our "exit strategy" they listen and echo the same talking heads that got us into Iraq in the first place. Neither Gates nor members of the Iraq Study Group were anti-war in 2002 and 2003. All of these people are over 60 years of age and have served during the militarization of our government and foreign policy. All look to change the world in our image and refuse to examine that image.
During the last election the electorate overwhelmingly directed that we should leave Iraq soon. Current discussion is about increasing our troop numbers rather than bringing them home. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a sign of insanity.
I once saw a bumper sticker stating, "If elections counted they wouldn't be allowed."
"But as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come." — Robert Gates in his acceptance speech as he was sworn in as the new Secretary of Defense. In other words, "more of the same" as the president wants.
Most telling in this statement is the concern for America – our credibility. Iraq is embroiled in a civil war that includes ethnic cleansing which spawns terrorists to recruit and train; the economy is in shambles with unemployment at forty percent and even higher in some places; refugees are flooding neighboring countries, the infrastructure is devastated and we continue to bomb; utilities are unreliable and seldom available while other infrastructure remains unfixed; education and health care are at best spotty; and the lives of women and children are sacrificed to indiscriminating ammunition. That Gates is concerned about our credibility and our endangerment in the midst of all this trauma in Iraq indicates that our whole reason for this preemptive devastation has to do with our own agenda rather than for any other suggested reason.
Gates' background includes involvement in the Iran/Contra Affair. Our attitude is the same toward Iraq as it was in Nicaragua – we assume the right to determine the fate of other countries and peoples. As long as this attitude remains, the American effort at seeking an Iraq exit is a myth related to the myths that were sold as reasons for entering Iraq. A close examination of the Iraq Study Report also indicates that this group was trying to solve a United States problem, not an Iraqi problem. Regarding credibility – we lost that when we dropped the first bombs in spite of world opinion.
Neither the Iraq Study Group, nor Gates, will address another type of devastation that the Iraqi people are suffering. This is the harm perpetrated by Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority. It consisted of selling off Iraq's infrastructure to foreign investors (privatization), opening Iraq's economy to the free market forces without Iraqi input or approval, attempting to place Iraqi oil under the control of multinational oil companies, and inviting the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and The World Trade Organization to do business in Iraq. Under Bremer Iraq was an occupied dictatorship. Those laws remain in effect. Most Americans have never heard of them while most Iraqis live with them every day.
None of the current plans for Iraq consider the above. Nor do they address our responsibility for causing this mess, for the United States' need to cooperate with international law, for respecting the sovereignty of Iraq and all of the Middle East as we attempt to "democratize," or for the human rights violations we continue to cause and allow.
As the U.S. media consider our "exit strategy" they listen and echo the same talking heads that got us into Iraq in the first place. Neither Gates nor members of the Iraq Study Group were anti-war in 2002 and 2003. All of these people are over 60 years of age and have served during the militarization of our government and foreign policy. All look to change the world in our image and refuse to examine that image.
During the last election the electorate overwhelmingly directed that we should leave Iraq soon. Current discussion is about increasing our troop numbers rather than bringing them home. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a sign of insanity.
I once saw a bumper sticker stating, "If elections counted they wouldn't be allowed."
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