How do I view the situation we are in, in Iraq?
SlackerInc's rather inflammatory
post contains a dramatization of two people talking in a "hard-'left' antiwar abode". These two fictitious individuals express their joy over more Americans and our foreign allies being killed in Iraq because it means that the tide of public sentiment will be more likely to turn against the war.
As I read that, this thought entered my mind: is that the kind if image that I am putting forward? Is that the kind of image that my fellow progressives are putting forward? So, I sat back and contemplated my opinions regarding this war, and now I put down, on electronic slate, my analysis thereof. This post (as with any post on here or anywhere) reflects only my opinion. Agree or disagree with this opinion as you will. That is the beauty of America, and the paramount reason why I love this country.
I will begin with saying that I did not support this war, but I did support the notion of ending Saddam Hussein's rule over Iraq. The reason I did not support this war was because I felt that ridding Iraq of Saddam Hussein was not the primary goal, but rather a beneficial side-effect. I place my belief in that upon the fact that the Bush Administration, both prior to the start of the war, during the war, and now that the war has turned into an occupation, kept shifting its stated primary objective. First it was Weapons of Mass Destruction. Next it was the generalized threat that Saddam posed. Then it became liberation of the Iraqi people. And so on.
Furthermore, the manner in which the Bush Administration went about selling this war was atrocious, to say the least. The capitlization upon public sentiment regarding the tragedy of 9/11, while certainly not stated overtly, was so implicitly obvious that I felt the country had marched straight into the den of the Wonderful Wizard and chosen to ignore the man behind the curtain. Slogans like, "You're either for us or against us," are more in place in an authoritarian regime, but they were being spoken here, in my own country.
But I digress. There are a whole slew of other things the Bush Administration did which I feel undermined its credibility in building a case for war: marginalizing the UN and the Democrats in Congress; stirring public opinion in a manner that evoked terror at another attack; not listening to anyone with a dissenting view; not finishing the job in Afghanistan...the list goes on.
Most of all, I am appalled at how the Bush Administration (to borrow a word from our British allies) bollocksed up the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. It is, however, difficult to bollocks up something which it's clear was never fully planned in the first place. All of the reports, both journalistic and governmental, coming out of Iraq, paint a clear picture that things are bad and getting worse. The blame for that I lay squarely upon the head of the Bush Administration.
I blame them for not leveling with the American public about the reality we could face in Iraq. Instead, they painted a sweetness-and-light kind of picture about the post-war occupation. We all heard the reports about how the Iraqis would welcome us with open arms and flowers, and how we would find stockpiles of WMD which would prove Saddam was a threat to the world, and how we would usher in a new era of Democracy, and Iraq would become some kind of shining beacon to which the sentiments of all other Middle Eastern countries would flow. Democracy would then spread to the rest of the region, and peace would reign for 1000 years.
Or something like that. But oh, how quickly that idea fell apart. There turned out to be factions in Iraq which were much more organized than we thought. They immediately began to call for the creation of an Islamic regime. The Iraqis did reach out to hug our troops...but as they did they grabbed as much loot as they could carry. Our troops stood by as the museums were looted and the library was burned...priceless treasures either destroyed or lost. Our hunt for WMD came up empty-handed. It's still empty-handed! Bush landed that publicity stunt on the aircraft carrier and declared major combat over, and now more of our troops have died than before.
Which brings me to my thoughts about our troops dying.
There is a term which has been bandied about a lot, lately. That term is hubris. The idea is derived from Greek culture, and most especially from Greek tragedy. Someone who has succumbed to hubris is arrogant, prideful, and generally asserts that he or she is invincible and/or correct without having any facts to back up that assertion. Forgive the rhetorical question, but does that sound like anyone we know?
Oedipus Rex is the most famous Greek tragic play built around the idea of hubris. It is because of his own arrogance, pride, and presumptuousness that Oedipus is brought down. As a result of viewing such tragedies onstage, Aristotle postulated that the audience would feel a sense of catharsis, or "purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear". In other words, the audience would come to feel better about their own problems by witnessing the hubris of a fictitious character, onstage.
The problem is, in the situation in Iraq, there is no catharsis, and the greater tragedy will occur if our troops are withdrawn prior to the restoration of security. But, if our troops stay, they will continue to die. Bush's hubris has trapped all of us between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
So, much like an ancient Greek watching a play unfold, I weep at the loss of life in Iraq. I weep at the loss of potential, the families deprived of a loved one, the men and women who will never see this country again. And I weep for America because it is the hubris of a small set of individuals which has gotten us into this untenable situation.
I yearn for catharsis. Each soldier who dies is a strike against the Bush Administration, a strike for depriving America of the cathartic moment which will restore our faith in ourselves and the world around us. Ancient playwrights, if their plays did not please or provide that catharsis, could find themselves...dealt with, in a rather permanent manner.
Come 2004, I will vote to remove Bush from power. If I have anything to say about it, and, as a citizen of these 50 states, I do, he will no longer be the author of the American play.