The Editorials of E. Desiderius
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Monday, March 20, 2006
On War and The Power Of Words
The Bush administration has long abused the power of words. The press and the public have maintained enough respect for the dignity of the office (although Nixon and Clinton did their share of tarnishing it) and too-often accepts the administration’s word at face value.
Yet it continues. Over the weekend, the Bush Administration has gone on the offense concerning the War in Iraq. The President and the Vice President took to the air, and denied that the country is sinking into a civil war, denied that we are on the verge of defeat, and promised the American people “victory.” “Turning our backs on postwar Iraq today,” intoned Secretary Rumsfeld, “would be the modern equivalent of handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis," [1]. The power of words once again, and the press reports dutifully.
Any sort of hollow chance at ‘victory” that remains will require more diplomatic tact, more military resolve and more political capital than this administration is willing or able to spend. And it’s truly unfortunate that American troops will be caught in the crossfire of a long-brewing civil struggle. Its truly unfortunate that a failed state in Iraq will cause more animosity across the entire Muslim world towards the United States than had we left our military home. And it’s unfortunate that innocent Iraqis will die in a needless war because of the wretched incompetence, the reckless arrogance and the strategic shortsightedness of the United States, with the Bush Administration at her helm.
It should not be too much to ask that our leaders be humble in their actions, and honest in their words. It should not be too much to ask that our leaders speak candidly with the citizens that elect them, and it certainly should not be too much to ask that the President, and the rest of his administration accept responsibility for their errors and transgressions, and present the American people with a solid, realistic strategy for either accepting the responsibility of stabilizing post-war Iraq, or for a hasty strategic withdrawal. And while this author has and still does strongly advocate not allowing Iraq to degenerate into chaos, he does not support the fantasy world that the President and the rest of the Administration find themselves in.
The war is not going well, Iraq is not moving towards a stable democratic future (never mind secular, that adjective has long been dropped in administration rhetoric), and American troops face mounting peril every day. It is time for Mr. Bush to either get serious about victory, or spare the lives of the brave men and women who are so dutifully serving our nation. More words will simply not suffice.
-E. Desiderius
Relevant links:
The Washington Post: Bush Explains Confidence in Iraq Progress
The Washington Post: Good News From Iraq Is real But Elusive
Posted by George Gordon | Monday, March 20, 2006 | E-mail this post 
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