"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
-- Eve Merriam
American poet (1916-1992)
DETROIT -- The adults must take control. The Busheviks babies have created so much havoc in the world, thoughtful mature people must plea for reason and restraint. Sadly, it's probably too late.
The Bush policies in the Middle East are blood-soaked failures and the violence will only escalate without a dramatic change in direction. Gen. John Abizaid, the U.S. commander in the region, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, "Iraq could move toward civil war." You think? The general may be a little slow in recognizing the obvious, but at least he's bowing to reality -- a rare act in the Bush administration.
Of course, Abizaid's boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, still lives in his own world of delusion and denial. Hillary, the hypocrite, Rodham Clinton tried to show how tough she is when she bashed Rummy at the same committee hearing.
The junior senator from New York is now distancing herself from the war she voted for -- a decision she still refuses to admit was a horrible mistake. Such mea culpas reflect maturity and honesty -- virtues that elude Mrs. Clinton. She's more into opportunism and grandstanding. She also wants to avoid Sen. Joseph Lieberman's fate.
Mrs. Clinton lashed out at Rumsfeld, accusing him of failing to have a plan to maintain stability in Iraq after ousting Saddam. "You underestimated the nature and strength of the insurgency, the sectarian violence and spread of Iranian influence," Mrs. Clinton read to Rumsfeld. It always amazes me that she and so many others in high office can't just say those things from the heart and extemporaneously.
Mrs. Clinton is careful to only question the how of the war. She avoids the prior question of the why of the war she voted to authorize. The Clintons' New York home is not too far down the road from the place old Rip Van Winkle took his legendary snooze.
It must be something in the upstate air, since Sen. Clinton took a three-year nap and remained silent on the Iraq war until she was suddenly awakened. The alarm clock was the polls showing most American now believe the war is a mistake.
During the afterglow of "Mission Accomplished," Mrs. Clinton said nothing of significance about the war. She did enjoy the photo-ops snuggling up with the troops and positioning her as a supporter of force-induced democracy for Iraq.
"The occupation of Iraq is a mess and the murder and mayhem will only get worse." I made that observation in this space while Hillary was a war cheerleader. I also noted: "The arrogant, doctrinaire, post-Saddam assumptions of George W. Bush and his neocon nation-builders are so self-evidently flawed that any reasonable person, including those who supported the war must conclude the planning and policies developed for the creation of a 'democratic' Iraq are catastrophically wrong."
I wrote that in August 2003. Mrs. Clinton could look at the same information I did, and considerably more. She chose to ignore it and remained silent until public opinion turned against the war.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, has Mrs. Clinton's number and sees right through her phony repositioning. He told The New York Times, "The notion that 'I supported the war but unfortunately it wasn't carried out effectively and therefore we should go on but I won't say how to carry it out' isn't helpful."
Brzezinski cut to the heart of Mrs. Clinton's calculating makeover on the war -- the most important issue of our times: "It's not really the exercise of leadership."
Hillary's barbs did get Rummy to bristle, wince and claim he never promised us a rose garden in Iraq. Only the most incompetent commander-in-chief in U.S. history would allow the most incompetent defense secretary in U.S. history to remain in office.
While Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Rumsfeld still try to sell the "stay the course" line and assure us "progress is being made," Gen. Abizaid departed from the standard script, telling the senators, "I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I have seen it."
The administration's solution is to send more U.S. troops into Baghdad in a futile attempt to quell the violence that is the direct consequence of shattering a nation and trying to figure out what to do afterwards. The occupation itself fosters the insurrection.
Lebanon is being destroyed and innocents are being slaughtered on both sides. The Israeli military operations have done little to stop Hezbollah's rocket attacks. The U.S. is using Israel as our proxy battering ram against Syria and Iran.
Toronto Star columnist Eric Margolis views the world with maturity and a good memory. He covered Israel's invasion and occupation of Lebanon in the 1980s. "I am appalled it is again getting sucked into another bloody, dirty, pointless war there," Margolis wrote. "Hezbollah, which represents as much as a third of Lebanon's population, won't be defeated by bombing or limited ground attacks: It fought Israel for 18 years and won."
Margolis understands Hezbollah's determination and the final military solution required for "victory" over Hezbollah. "Only the ethnic cleansing of southern Lebanon's Shias will push in back," he wrote. But Bush will sit back and watch Israel attempt that.
Another voice of mature reason who knows that Hezbollah is not the source of the problem. "It is a derivative of the cause which is the tragic conflict over Palestine that began in 1948," argues Brent Scowcroft, the former national security advisor to presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
Scowcroft wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post calling for "a comprehensive resolution of the entire 58-year-old tragedy." Scowcroft is one of those wise old men who served Bush the Elder so well and Bush the Younger ignores because they tell him things he doesn't want to hear. He opposed the invasion of Iraq, warning of dire consequences. Scowcroft was spot on.
He outlined a plan to create "a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with minor rectifications agreed upon between Palestine and Israel." Scowcroft wants the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to organize the process to achieve that goal.
Scowcroft is a creative visionary with a broad strategy to end "a seemingly endless series of conflagrations in the region." He wants a NATO-led security force in southern Lebanon and Gaza that will "have the mandate and capability to deal firmly with acts of violence."
Scowcroft knows the establishment of a viable Palestinian state is the most essential act needed to bring any hope of peace in the region. "The benefits of reaching a comprehensive settlement of the root cause of today's turmoil would likely ripple beyond the Israelis and Palestinians," he wrote.
Doing this requires maturity, patience and painstaking devotion to detail. George W. Bush's childish behavior at the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg again showed us how incapable he is of any real diplomacy.
Bush invariably turns to force in dealing with the problems in the Middle East. He refuses to even listen to the wise counsel of seasoned experienced people Brent Scowcroft.
Poet Eve Merriam wrote, "I dream of giving birth to child who will ask, 'Mother, what was war?'" Tragically, we're stuck with baby Bush and the nightmares he has brought the world.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 8 2006 |