U.S. mired in a mess of its own making

[Sticky]

by Eric Margolis

SCHONRIED, Switzerland -- Misled and misread. That pretty well sums up America's growing disaster in Iraq.

First, President George W. Bush, VP Dick Cheney and a coterie of neo-conservatives led by Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle misled Americans into an unprovoked, unnecessary war by claiming Iraq was about to attack the U.S. with nuclear and biowarfare weapons. This was a grotesque lie that anyone with knowledge of strategic weapons knew was arrant nonsense, but few had the courage or honesty to refute.

Next, the White House gravely misread the strategic situation by swallowing neo-con assurances the "liberation" of Iraq would be a cakewalk and oil bonanza. Last week, Iraqis responded to Bush's foolish challenge, "Bring 'em on," by blowing up UN headquarters in Baghdad and inflicting serious sabotage on Iraq's oil infrastructure.

These attacks show the U.S. has got itself into a truly awesome mess in Iraq. Far from easily plundering Iraq's oil wealth, U.S. occupation troops - almost half the U.S. Army's combat forces - are now under siege, at a cost of $1 billion US weekly.
Bush has literally stuck his head in a hornet's nest in Iraq and is now getting royally stung. He, his scandalously inept national security advisers, and the media's so-called "Iraqi experts" failed to comprehend that a U.S. occupation would be a frightful, expensive, bloody mess - a disaster that was totally predictable.

http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/margolis_aug24.html

[ixion]

1. but few had the courage or honesty to refute

that's not really true. millions of us refuted this farcical claim by the bush gang. the problem was that no one listened. they were too busy listening to the war drums or being a cheerleader for the Mad Chimp.

[Sticky]

4. few had courage to refute

I interpreted that to mean few in the administration with 'knowledge of strategic weapons'.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. And how many Americans will even read this article?

Since I see the link is to Canoe, that fine Canadian publication, I doubt if many Americans will read it. They'll just go watch Faux News and swallow whatever swill is dished up today.....

[SodoffBush]

6. e-mail it to your friends and relatives

I did.

It will expand exponentially from there.

[glarius]

7. Perhaps it is worthwhile noting that Margolis is an American living in

Toronto and writing for the Toronto Sun....He is a mid-east expert and has many contacts in that area....I have emailed him and he has answered me in the past....He has been against this war and warning of it's consequences from the beginning! :)

[teryang]

3. Good characterization of the Iraqi debacle

The men running the country are completely incompetent in a national security sense and are just looting the national treasury while fighting a ridiculous colonial war for plunder.

The war is a potent distraction to divert the people from their usurpation of power, pilferage of the treasury, and destruction of the Constitutional rule of law.

[pansypoo53219]

5. no, not america

but Bushit and the nut-cons pulling his strings.

[bemildred]

8. Nice piece, thanks.

When the U.S. finds itself unable to crush Iraqi resistance, it will blame
neighbouring Iran and Syria for "fueling terrorism," and may attack them.
Tehran and Damascus thus have every reason to stir the pot in Iraq to
tie down American forces and make it less likely the U.S. will next invade
them, as neo-cons are urging.

Just a score of Syrian or Iranian-supplied snipers, for example, could
inflict punishing losses on the U.S. garrison in Iraq. A few truck bombs
causing heavy U.S. casualties might well convince hitherto trusting
Americans that Bush's Iraq adventure is a bloody fiasco.

Bet on it.
And there is nothing they can do at this point.

[Gloria]

10. I just posted an story from the Turkish Daily News that says that

there are a couple of more trucks loaded with bombs on the streets of Baghdad. It's unconfirmed, but sounds highly plausible.....

[0007]

9. A Must Read!!

Things are didn't know about Sharon.

[RedEarth]

11. Very Good....

He is right on target. We just need more of these articles, so perhaps "joe public" will finally realize b... is totally incompetent. Thanks for the post.