"No End In Sight," Despair, and Electoral Cynicism

Today I saw the remarkable documentary film, "No End In Sight."  I left the theater in a state of near-despair.  The film goes into painful detail about the mismanagement of the Iraq invasion.  It boggles my mind that the whole endeavor, as misguided as it was in the first place, was allowed to get so badly out of hand.  The thought that these criminals are walking around free, with no threat of having to answer for what they have done, just kills me.  So, after the jump, please read the letter that I sent to several democratic campaigns.

Dear Democratic Candidates,
My mother, my husband, and I have just returned from a screening of "No End In Sight," a documentary about the massive failure of the Department of Defense and the the American Security establishment to prepare for and respond to the circumstances of the Iraq insurgency.  Given that so many Americans and Iraqis have died in the conflict, we remain amazed and discouraged that Democrats have done so little to speak up against the current government policy, and have done so little to ameliorate the sufferings of American veterans and Iraqi citizens.  We have heard so much about Democratic plans to whistle past the graveyard on these issues in hope of great gains in 2008.  We write today to assure you that while we will not vote for the Republican candidates of 2008, you gains will not be made with the help of our money or labor unless Democrats make a stand to end the chaos of this war and bring its perpetrators to some kind of justice.  You have a historical opportunity to free the American people from despair, cynicism, and guilt, and I hope that you will take it.
 Sincerely,
Pedant

Is it just me, or do the present candidates seem to lack conviction about ending the war?  Please tell me that I am falling for some Republican switcheroo, and that I can step into next year's campaign feeling good about the changes that are going to soon take place.   Please, I beg you, tell me that I am wrong about this, and how.

•  It's not so much the candidates as it is

  the Congressional Dems.  They're too afraid to be called names by the Publicans if they do anything to stop W.  Without a credible chance to threaten the funding, there's not much the candidates can do (other than maybe LEAD?).

  A very sad state of affairs.

  by beemerr90s on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:01:35 PM PDT

  •  No, it's the candidates

    It's like 1968 with a choice of Nixon, Nixon, Nixon or Wallace.  I'll probably die before I ever get to vote FOR someone who would make a damn fine POTUS and they actually win.  

    Congress is a separate issue.  Equally depressing, but separate.

    by Marie on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 06:25:45 PM PDT

•  All of them will get us out of the conflict. All

  of them. All of them will eventually get all of the troops out of the mideast but that's going to be a tougher journey for a lot of reasons. But whoever is the next president is going to be the recipient of tremendous goodwill from the rest of the world which is going to be tremendously happy Bush is gone. We'll be able to get UN troops in there. Things will calm down. We'll pull out. The Dems will put a lot of pressure on the Palestinians and the Israelis to sign the Geneva Initiative - that'll get that situation cleaned up. it will get better.

  We;re going to be paying for it though for a long, long time.

  by lorelynn on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:03:37 PM PDT

  •  I think that you speak the truth

    I think that what you say is very accurate and shows the reality of just how complex the situation is.

    by Yoshi En Son on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:29:10 PM PDT

•  sorry, I don't think you are wrong.

  As a matter of fact, things are going to get worse, in my opinion. Reckoning coming, one that our political system is just not capable of taking on. Much easier to destroy than to create.

  Anyway, many (myself included) share your despair, for what it's worth. (Not much). I have faith that things will get better - I just think there's going to be a lot more suffering first, and there's nothing the election cycle can really do about it.

  by Son of Beale on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:05:11 PM PDT

•  They're going to give Bush everything he ask for,

  because they're afraid the right-wing spin-machine will say "Democrats caused us to lose in Iraq" if they don't.
  It reminds me of the "afraid of being called unpatriotic" excuse they gave for voting for this war. And the "Afraid of looking like we don't support the troops" excuse they gave for voting for the surge. And the "Afraid we'll get the blame for the next terrorist attack" excuse they gave for giving Bush his new FISA rules.
  If our "representatives" stay this scared, the right-wing will take everything away from the people. It's pathetic
  Instead of contributing to the presidential candidates, I think people should contribute to the DNC to help support challengers to these "democratic" incumbents who are so "afraid".

  by Mike Taylor on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:09:10 PM PDT

  •  I wonder which gene they're missing

    that prevents them from seeing what's plain to everybody else: if you carry water for the bush mob, you're no better than the bush mob.

    Even if you "don't have the votes" to do what your constituents demand, at least make a good-faith show of it.

    by Executive Odor on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:21:57 PM PDT

    •  Jack Cafferty offered his opinion on how Dem's

      could force an end to the war.  His opinion was that the Dem's in Congress should stop pandering to the GOP and Bush Administration and not submit any funding bill to President Bush.  Only when the WH and GOP in Congress agree to a firm withdrawal timetable should the Dem's sponsor any funding bill.  The Dem's in Congress are attempting to secure the support of a few GOP's in Congress for a bill that the majority of Americans do not want.  It is the GOP and WH who need to solicit the Dem's support and not the other way around.

      by Fallon on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:37:29 PM PDT

•  The Democrats think we have nowhere else

  to go.  And unfortunately, they are right.  Flawed and hapless as they are acting, they are the only alternative to the vastly more evil (or incompetent) Republicans.  Thank you for writing that letter.  With luck, by the time we have to vote for any of them, they'll have earned some enthusiasm from us, rather than despair.  I hope so.

  by ajbrown on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:22:22 PM PDT

•  We have means, opportunity, and now motive!

  Last night it was disclosed on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 that Hunt Oil Company's CEO Ray L. Hunt just signed an agreement with the Kurds in Iraq to begin the processing and distribution of their oil. Hunt also serves on the board of directors of Halliburton and is President Bush's largest single political campaign contributor having donated an estimated $38 million over the years.

  by Fallon on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 05:31:24 PM PDT

  •  Hunt is also on some Imtelligence Committee

    which allows him insider information. What he has done should be illegal. What he is actually doing is betting that Maliki will fail and then he can deal directly with the Kurds. He works for us, but wants us to lose.

    by OneCrankyDom on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 06:08:34 PM PDT

    •  Excellent points. No conflict of interest here

      for GW and Dick is there?  Oil is thicker than blood!

      by Fallon on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 07:08:50 PM PDT

•  Trailer, to said film

  It looks like one not to miss.

  Snippet:

  Based on more than 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials [...] Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts. "No End in Sight" dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration's decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war. The film examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy--the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military--largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.

  by Orj ozeppi on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 06:09:32 PM PDT

  •  Clicky click

    on the orange, in the blockquote above, to watch the trailer...

    by Orj ozeppi on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 06:16:31 PM PDT

•  Saw No End In Sight...

  in early August, at the Traverse City Film Festival (Michael Moore is the founder and one of the key organizers of this festival...this was its 3rd year, and it keeps getting better and better...w/ 65+ outstanding movies...).

  It is a great documentary, and I would recommend it...(unfortunately, the people who most need to see this, the repugs, probably won't...)

  I share your despair with the situation...

  by kimberlyweldon on Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 09:06:48 PM PDT