Comments on: The “Other War” Already? http://atlanticsentinel.com/2009/12/the-other-war-already/ Transatlantic Perspective Thu, 17 May 2012 16:11:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Nick Ottens http://atlanticsentinel.com/2009/12/the-other-war-already/comment-page-1/#comment-219 Nick Ottens Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:19 +0000 http://atlanticsentinel.com/?p=596#comment-219 I suppose that when we say the surge was successful, we mean in <i>military</i> terms. The purpose of the surge was never to fix everything that's still wrong in Iraq. In hindsight, I think it's safe to say that invading the country, certainly invading it at the time the US did, was a big mistake. There were no weapons of mass destruction and Iraq wasn't financing terrorism (at least, I don't believe any proof for that has ever been shared). There were worse dictators in the world than Saddam Hussein which leaves very little reason for instigating a war and toppling the Hussein regime. In the end though, Iraq might well be better off. It's well underway to become something of a stable democracy. Security has improved considerably, as have, and will, peoples' rights and freedoms. I suppose that when we say the surge was successful, we mean in military terms. The purpose of the surge was never to fix everything that’s still wrong in Iraq.

In hindsight, I think it’s safe to say that invading the country, certainly invading it at the time the US did, was a big mistake. There were no weapons of mass destruction and Iraq wasn’t financing terrorism (at least, I don’t believe any proof for that has ever been shared). There were worse dictators in the world than Saddam Hussein which leaves very little reason for instigating a war and toppling the Hussein regime.

In the end though, Iraq might well be better off. It’s well underway to become something of a stable democracy. Security has improved considerably, as have, and will, peoples’ rights and freedoms.

]]> By: james van looy http://atlanticsentinel.com/2009/12/the-other-war-already/comment-page-1/#comment-218 james van looy Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:11:53 +0000 http://atlanticsentinel.com/?p=596#comment-218 Dear all: I am so sick of the 'surge' was a success narrative (which predictably has now being used to sell another surge in Afghanistan). Fareed Zakaria was one of the "liberal hawks" who sold the Iraq invasion in 2002-early 03 and therefore has a vested interest in the narrative that Iraq "will be an estraordinary model for the Arab world" as in the next breath he admits that the "costs have been indefenseable". Those costs have not been just the better part of a trillion dollars and over 4 thousand U.S. dead soldiers, tens of thousands of causalties, and over a hundred thousand with PTSD but over a hundred thousand dead Iraqis (at least) 4 or 5 million refugees and a totally devastated infrastructure. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers no longer flow to the Persian Gulf because Iraq is helpless to stop its neighbors from diverting its head waters and the fertile crescent which once was the biblical "Garden of Eden" is now a polluted desert. When the U.S. invaded Iraq could feed itself. Now it imports 80% of its food. Meanwhile the nearly 7 year occupation costs more than ever, still has 120,000 U.S.troops pinned down, and there are more private contractors going into Iraq than U.S.troops leaving. Guess who gets paid more --- private contractors. Because the Turks did not allow the U.S. to invade Kurdistan/ N. Iraq in '03 it has been virtually indpendent since our invasion. Horrific bombings directed at the government and Shiites continue to exacerbate the Shiite/ Sunni divide and most Iraqis detest the U.S./Maliki government effort to privatize the oil fields. Both the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations and indeed the Bush/Cheney regime "war on terrorism" have proven conclusively to be diastrous strategic failures which antagonize the whole Islamic world of over 1 billion people. Their only benefit is to war profiteers and the corrupt generals who went along with these corrupt, privatized occupations and the Bush/Cheney regime war crimes. No country would want to go through such an endless occupation voluntarily. Sincerely, James Van Looy Dear all:
I am so sick of the ‘surge’ was a success narrative (which predictably has now being used to sell another surge in Afghanistan).
Fareed Zakaria was one of the “liberal hawks” who sold the Iraq
invasion in 2002-early 03 and therefore has a vested interest in
the narrative that Iraq “will be an estraordinary model for the
Arab world” as in the next breath he admits that the “costs have
been indefenseable”. Those costs have not been just the better
part of a trillion dollars and over 4 thousand U.S. dead soldiers,
tens of thousands of causalties, and over a hundred thousand with
PTSD but over a hundred thousand dead Iraqis (at least) 4 or 5
million refugees and a totally devastated infrastructure. The Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers no longer flow to the Persian Gulf because
Iraq is helpless to stop its neighbors from diverting its head waters
and the fertile crescent which once was the biblical “Garden of Eden”
is now a polluted desert. When the U.S. invaded Iraq could feed itself.
Now it imports 80% of its food. Meanwhile the nearly 7 year occupation costs more than ever, still has 120,000 U.S.troops pinned down, and there
are more private contractors going into Iraq than U.S.troops leaving. Guess who gets paid more — private contractors. Because the Turks did
not allow the U.S. to invade Kurdistan/ N. Iraq in ’03 it has been virtually indpendent since our invasion. Horrific bombings directed at the government and Shiites continue to exacerbate the Shiite/ Sunni divide and most Iraqis detest the U.S./Maliki government effort to privatize the oil fields. Both the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations and indeed the Bush/Cheney regime “war on terrorism” have proven conclusively to be diastrous strategic failures which antagonize the whole Islamic world of over 1 billion people. Their only benefit is to war profiteers and the corrupt generals who went along with these corrupt, privatized occupations and the Bush/Cheney regime war crimes. No country would want to go through such an endless occupation voluntarily.

Sincerely,
James Van Looy

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