Uzbekistan RPCV John Smart writes: Will we end up fighting in Iran as well?



George W. Bush has set us up again. He had us all waiting breathlessly for a report from General David Petraeus that will give us the "real skinny" on where we stand in Iraq, whether or not "The Surge" is working, or has worked. I suspect that we'll be told that there have been some expected reverses but — for the most part — "The Surge" is working as planned, and we just have to hold out a little longer. Will the congress fall for this again? Good question. This is a tricky business If the Democrats, who were supposedly elected to their slim majority for this very purpose, do not pull the plug on Bush's War, will they be accused of not fulfilling their obligation to the voters? But, if they do pull the plug, will they be charged with throwing in the towel, with defeatism, with making meaningless the sacrifice of those who have given their all for their country? Haven't we been through all of this before? Isn't that exactly what was said about Vietnam? Are we never to learn from history?

Uzbekistan RPCV John Smart writes: Will we end up fighting in Iran as well?

Will we end up fighting in Iran as well?
A Commentary
The Daily Press
Last updated: Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 09:22:29 AM

George W. Bush has set us up again. He had us all waiting breathlessly for a report from General David Petraeus that will give us the "real skinny" on where we stand in Iraq, whether or not "The Surge" is working, or has worked.

But aren't we forgetting something? David Petraeus may well be a bright military mind, maybe even brilliant, but he is a four-star general in the U.S. Army. People don't reach that rank by disobeying their superior officers, and George W. Bush is the military's Commander-in-Chief, whatever we may think of that ugly reality.

Incidentally, a caller on Jean Feraca's September 6 show on WPR with John Nichols reminded us all that while the president is, according to the Constitution, Commander-in-Chief of U.S. military forces, he is a co-equal branch of the civilian government with the elected congress and the judiciary, and he is not our commander unless we are serving in uniform.

Anyway, under the circumstances, are we really to assume that General Petraeus is going to say something shockingly different from the stuff that we've been force-fed already? Not too likely, do you think?

In Paul Krugman's article in The New York Times on September 9, he quotes an op-ed article that David Petraeus published just before the 2004 general election [when his Commander-in-Chief was coincidentally re-elected] in which he claimed "tangible progress" in Iraq. He said that "Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt ... Iraqi leaders are stepping forward ... there has been more progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security." Well that didn't happen! Not very prescient, was he?

No, I suspect that we'll be told that there have been some expected reverses but — for the most part — "The Surge" is working as planned, and we just have to hold out a little longer.

Will the congress fall for this again? Good question. This is a tricky business If the Democrats, who were supposedly elected to their slim majority for this very purpose, do not pull the plug on Bush's War, will they be accused of not fulfilling their obligation to the voters? But, if they do pull the plug, will they be charged with throwing in the towel, with defeatism, with making meaningless the sacrifice of those who have given their all for their country?

Haven't we been through all of this before? Isn't that exactly what was said about Vietnam? Are we never to learn from history?

Senator Feingold is, as usual, speaking up on the issue: in his latest letter to constituents, he says, "We all know that it is far past time to begin redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq. However, the spin from the White House has already begun... They’re saying that ‘we just need a little more time... President Bush’s reckless drive to war, his botched handling of the reconstruction, his mismanagement of the occupation, and his escalation of U.S. troops in Iraq has been a complete disaster... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and I have introduced a bill that uses Congress’s 'power of the purse' to begin safely redeploying our troops out of Iraq in 2008. The Feingold-Reid bill requires the President to begin to safely redeploy troops from Iraq within 120 days from enactment. Our legislation would end funding for the war and establish a set of very specific restrictions upon which President Bush could spend any money in Iraq."

Go for it, Senator Feingold. I'm with you!

Oh, and another thing: there seems to be a distraction brewing on the periphery of this issue: are we in the planning stages of another pre-emptive war? General Wesley Clark says that we'd better be keeping an eye out for another attack, this time on Iran. Yes, he's another brilliant general, but a retired one. Maybe we can trust retired generals.They no longer have to take orders from the C-in-C, after all! General Clark has a website that deserves our attention: stopiranwar.com.

Of course, anyone looking at the situation would undoubtedly say that we're in no position to begin a venture like that anyway. Iran's size and power dwarf what Saddam's Iraq was, plus our military and our budget are stretched about as thin as they can get, but ...

It is terrible to even suggest such a thing, but is this president capable of starting another war to justify or cover up for the failed one he has already involved us in? I wish I could say that this is unthinkable, but I can't.

John Smart lives in Park Falls, is a member of the Wisconsin Governor's Commission on the United Nations, the UN Association of the USA and Citizens for Global Solutions. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Uzbekistan from 1995 through 1998, serves on the Park Falls School Board and chairs the Democratic Party of Price County.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: September, 2007; Peace Corps Uzbekistan; Directory of Uzbekistan RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Uzbekistan RPCVs; Speaking Out; Peace Corps Iran; Directory of Iran RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Iran RPCVs; Iraq

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