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THE MO'KELLY REPORT: Saddam's Dead...And? Your Point?
Dear Iraq war supporter(s):
*Mo’Kelly knows you’re out there, although fewer and further in between than when the U.S. originally invaded Iraq in March of 2003. Mo’Kelly needs to talk to you and any of your like-minded cronies to see if some greater clarity can be achieved now in 2007. Hopefully, we can move beyond the convenient and ill-informed “sloganeering” such as “tax – n – spend,” or “cut – n – run”…you know, intellectual dietary substitutes used in place of well-informed and reasoned discourse.
It’s a new year…and with all new years, new milestones are attained, goals are reset and accomplishments reassessed. Let’s take an honest look at where we are, where we’ve been and the road ahead, my dear Iraq war supporter(s).
Iraq is “free”…but then again, so is Osama Bin Laden. And surely both of the aforementioned are unstable on their best days. Saddam Hussein is dead…but then again, so are 3,000+ military servicemen and women. Afghanistan is not the picture of stability either and anti-American sentiment is at an all-time high around the globe. These aren’t subjective assertions, simple objective truths. 5.5 years into this supposed “War on Terror,” we’ve “fought” longer than the duration of WWI and by next Christmas will be longer than WWII.
Dear Iraq war supporter(s)…what exactly have we achieved?
In March of 2003, President George W. Bush appealed to the nation, alleging not only did Saddam Hussein have WMDs…but also that Hussein was an “imminent threat” and an aid to terrorism worldwide. Iraq war supporter(s) argued these supposed truths, reciting the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation talking points chapter and verse.
Meanwhile, Osama Bin Laden the architect of 9/11 was nowhere to be found, producing audio and videotapes at his leisure in his state of the art mountainside cave studio. You might have seen and heard some of those tapes, broadcast all over the world. Why Al Jazeera TV had no problem making repeated contact with Osama Bin Laden and we couldn’t get a sniff of him…Mo’Kelly is not exactly sure.
This would be the same Osama Bin Laden who created Al Qaeda in 1988, specifically for resistance against Soviet Union forces in Afghanistan. This would be the same Bin Laden who the U.S. helped finance while he represented our Cold War interests against said Soviet Union.
War on terror? It seems we put terrorism in its current formulation into business.
Iraq war supporter(s) will argue that the recent hanging of Saddam Hussein was justice for a Middle-eastern dictator and tyrant responsible for the deaths of untold civilians through the use of WMDs…and they would be absolutely correct. You would get no argument from Mo’Kelly on those points. Iraq war supporter(s) will also likely argue that Saddam Hussein was a destabilizing force in the Middle East and a threat to a number of neighboring countries. Again, you’d get no argument from Mo’Kelly.
But…here’s some food poisoning for thought...
• The US Department of Commerce licensed 70 biological exports to Iraq between May of 1985 and 1989, including at least 21 batches of lethal strains of anthrax – To Iraq…y’all.
• April, 1988 - US Department of Commerce approved shipment of chemicals used in manufacture of mustard gas - To Iraq…y’all.
• September, 1988 - US Department of Commerce approved shipment of weapons grade anthrax and botulinum – To Iraq…y’all.
• September, 1988 - Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State: "The US-Iraqi relationship is important to our long-term political and economic objectives."
The only “economic objective” Iraq has ever had is in relation to oil. The ‘other’ Iraqi ‘exports’ of sand and dirt were likely not on the “economic objectives” list.
Don’t quote me, but Mo’Kelly suspects that the sand and dirt commodities markets were stable and U.S. reserves were at all-time highs in the 1980s.
The “political objective” in the 1980s was opposing Iran in the Iran-Iraq war.
Saddam Hussein had been president of Iraq since June of 1979. If he ever had WMDs…it was because we gave them to him first.
Dear Iraq war supporter(s)…if Saddam Hussein was a dictator, murderer and tyrant and we can agree he was…was he such, before or after he received our Christmas gifts of anthrax, mustard gas and botulinum?
With all of that as a preface to the discussion, let’s be frank about the war in Iraq.
Some battles aren't worth fighting...even if you win and some battles must be fought...even if you lose. Iraq would fall in the first category.
Iraq was never a variable in the terrorism equation prior to our invasion. That's a fact conveniently omitted in discussions with Iraq war supporter(s). The invasion has emboldened terrorism rhetoric and anti-American sentiment; thus fueling its own existence. In short, the War on Terror has self-perpetuated itself.
Granted; an untimely withdrawal from Iraq in 2007 sends the wrong message to terrorists worldwide, but it's disingenuous and dishonest to disregard the fact that this quagmire was unnecessary and avoidable in the first place. Of course we are at a point of no return in Iraq, but Iraq war supporter(s) can't have it both ways. You have to acknowledge that we shouldn't have been there in the first place and thus there would be no need for discussing a "timely" exit strategy. No unnecessary war…no need for an exit strategy.
Analogy:
A man can spend the night with the wife of his best friend and have nothing adulterous occur. Yet and still, this man had no business being there in the first place and shouldn't be surprised when he’s accused of adultery and shunned accordingly. We had no business in Iraq and now are justifiably forced to wear our scarlet letter of “I” for imperialist.
Analogy #2:
The Money Pit - Iraq is some old house we bought that needs a lot of fixing. We keep pumping money in it and the cost of walking away is greater than finishing the job...if finishing is even possible. Or you can look at it through the eye of that old retail axiom goes – “you break it, you bought it.” We broke it and we’re continuing to pay for it. Dear Iraq war supporter(s)…for what reason exactly? What do we stand to gain from paying the exorbitant price tag attached? America…safer?
Hardly.
Some things are simply what they are, not what we would wish them to be so they can remain consistent with our favorite party's political ideology.
The United States is NOT a “safer place” because we’ve invaded Iraq. Arguably we’ve helped recruit more terrorists than we’ve managed to kill. Terrorism is an ideology…not a religion, a nation-state or nationality. If you don’t believe Mo’Kelly, take a look at the “war on drugs,” or the “war on crime.” Those wars seem to be going well too.
Iraq war supporter(s) will likely argue that since there hasn’t been a terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11, it is proof that we’re “safer” and that fighting “terrorism” in Iraq precludes fighting “terrorism” in the U.S.
Mo’Kelly hates to resort to refuting illogical arguments like these with common sense, but it was eight years between World Trade Center attacks. Terrorists seem to be a pretty patient as well as hateful bunch. Mo’Kelly doesn’t know any terrorists personally and doesn’t appreciate the wiretaps on his phone and email but it’s safe to assume these traits to be true. Plots against the U.S. have been shown to evolve over the course of years. Color Mo’Kelly cynical, but the death of Saddam Hussein didn’t exactly make Mo’Kelly sleep easier. Mo’Kelly is more likely to die at the hands of Crips or Bloods or in a random act of urban violence than at the hands of a terrorist. (read: success of War on Drugs)
America…safer?
Hardly.
The fall or Iraq likely won’t deter those who hate us. Individual terrorists who walk into pizza parlors and self-detonate can’t be anticipated or prevented any more than a Columbine-style killing in our high schools. Last Mo’Kelly checked, kids were shooting up schools at an ever-increasing rate (read: success of War on Crime). It’s time to view terrorism with common sense. If 3,000 deaths aren’t enough to whip Iraq into shape, one can only imagine what the cost will be to “fight terrorism” in Iran and Syria too.
And that’s having nothing to do with North Korea which flaunts a dictator/tyrant with NUCLEAR weapons of mass destruction.
America…safer?
Hardly. And from whom, from what?
Dear Iraq war supporter(s),
It’s 2007, Saddam Hussein is dead and Osama Bin Laden is still a multi-media star for Al Jazeera. We’ve accomplished what exactly since 2003? We’re on the verge of accomplishing what exactly in 2007? Anarchy and civil war with daily mass murders in Iraq is better than a dictatorship and genocide how exactly? Death is death.
Dear Iraq war supporter(s),
Mo’Kelly knows you’re out there, although fewer and further in between than March of 2003. Wherever you are, when you have a moment…please feel free to explain how the war in Iraq has made the U.S. a safer place.
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mokellyreport.blogspot.com. Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.
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