It must be an exciting prospect, leading your country into a war. It puts you up there with Henry V, Napoleon and Bismark. Not to mention Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini - no, definitely not to mention them!
But there is a downside. You need to win, and these days it helps if you can at least give the appearance of justification. When you lose, then the questions about justification become more searching, even accusatory.
George started a war. He wanted to do it as part of the Project for a New American Century. His only justification was that the other side was led by a real Bad Guy. He didn't think he needed any more than that, and for quite a while, while it looked as though he was winning, he didn't. The American public lapped up all the images of their brave boys putting Iraq to rights. Until it became clear that they weren't. Six months ago George's party took a real beating in the midtern elections, and now the Congress are trying to get him to pull out of Iraq altogether. 50% of voters are now registered Democrats against only 35% Republicans - and it used to be that the Republicans had the edge. George is seen as a rotten President, and it looks highly improbable that his successor will be a member of the GOP. Bad luck, George, looks like you picked the wrong century - the 12th might have been more appropriate than the 21st for a war of conquest.
Tony started a war. It was the same war, but he needed more justification than George did, so he pretended the Bad Guy had WMDs, he sexed up dossiers, twisted the Attorney-General's arm and managed to pull the wool over the eyes of just enough MPs to get his war. He didn't fool everybody, though - 2 million of us marched to tell him not to do it. When you start a war with that amount of opposition, you've really got to win big. He didn't. Now he's stumbling out of office, worrying about his legacy, which he must know in his heart of hearts will consist of one word: Iraq.
Ehud started a war too. Like George and Tony's war, his troops had the firepower to mow down anything that stood in their way - Hezbollah fighters, civilians, ambulances, whatever - and they used it. But they didn't really win, either. Now Ehud's approval rating is down to 3% - even George and Tony do better than that - and his own Foreign Minister is calling on him to resign.
War is hell.
Ha, you amuse me. Lets blame Bush and Blair for all our problems, shall we? I remind you that the invasion of Iraq was supported by almost all of the US congress, and members of the entire international community were convinced that Iraq had WMD's. Although things don't seem to be going very well in Iraq, admit it: If the US and the UK pull out of Iraq immediately, a bunch of crazed Islamic militants will simply rape and kill everybody and turn Iraq into the hellhole that Iran is. We can change that future. The last thing the EU and the US need is another enemy. Get over yourself and face reality.
Posted by: Jesse | May 04, 2007 at 11:45 PM
Members of the international community believed there were WMDs partly because Bush and Blair faked the evidence. The House of Commons would not have voted to support the war if they had been told the unvarnished truth; maybe the US Congress is more easily led.
"If the US and the UK pull out of Iraq immediately, a bunch of crazed Islamic militants will simply rape and kill everybody and turn Iraq into the hellhole that Iran is". Hmmm, strange statement - exactly what do you think is going on in Iraq right now? If we pull out it is certainly possible that things will initially get even worse, but there will then be at least a chance for improvement, like lancing a boil - it hurts even more for a while then gets better. And Iran is in a darn sight better shape than Iraq ever was. It may not be a country you or I would choose to live in, and there are certainly deficiencies in human rights (as there are in the US and to a lesser extent the UK) and the rights of women, but it's still a fairly civilised place. Nobody much gets shot or bombed there.
If you are getting your information from Fox News, I suggest you try a more reliable news medium.
Posted by: Bill | May 05, 2007 at 12:06 AM
A Canadian friend of mine just came back from a holiday in Iran. His take on the 'hellhole'? The people were friendly and very hospitable, the country was beautiful, and all in all he had a wonderful time. The only complaint was that the whiskey was a bit pricey.
Posted by: Gordon | May 27, 2007 at 12:45 PM