Rah-rah rhetoric fading as reality of Iraq sets in

[kskiska]

By Georgie Ann Geyer

WASHINGTON — Last year at this time, as one of the stranger years for our nation came to a close, America was poised at the edge of uncertainty. The administration was consumed with thoughts of war, but the confused American people were being drawn into something they little understood.

We know now the first results of the Bush administration's "great adventure" and the war in Iraq. The relatively easy military victory was crowned by confusion and lack of planning for the reconstruction; a virtual civil war, unguessed-at here in our confident inner sanctums, began bloodying American troops. Finally, Saddam Hussein was captured and became the new reason for the war.

But what is the reality of Iraq, as opposed to the consistent unreality, so like Vietnam, that our administration imposes upon us? Let us review some of the recent articles on the war, which paint a quite different picture from the White House's sketches of "democratization" and "freedom":

# The Washington Post reported on Dec. 28 in great detail how the United States, rather than pushing forward, is actually backing away from its ambitious initiatives to transform the Iraqi economy, political system and security forces, because of both attacks on American troops and an accelerated timetable for getting out. Privatization of state-owned businesses, the demand that the Iraqis write a constitution before transfer of sovereignty, and the dismantling of militias in favor of a national army have all been scrapped.

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