May 25th, 2006 will be remembered as the day America acknowledged defeat in Iraq. In a press conference at the White House President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair signaled a humiliating end of the American and British intervention in Iraq that began on March 20, 2003. The pair were a picture of weariness as they repeated over and over again that, in spite of the setbacks, invading Iraq was the right thing to do and that we must "complete the mission." The phrase "complete the mission" has become code for "orderly withdrawal". The American and British mission is no longer about "winning" in Iraq, it is about not "losing" in Iraq.
This is a tragic day for the United States. American military might has been thwarted by a band of determined insurgents and a cabal of shrewd politicians. America has been used by the Islamists in Iraq to do their bidding and now the time has come to be shown the door. A tired Bush and Blair are quoted in The Washington Post as two defeated men:
"Despite setbacks and missteps, I strongly believe we did and are doing the right thing," Bush said Thursday evening in a White House news conference with Blair. "Not everything has turned out the way we hoped."
For his part, Blair declared that after a meeting earlier this week with Iraq’s new prime minister, "I came away thinking the challenge is still immense, but I also came away thinking more certain than ever that we should rise to it."
Bush and Blair were asked about mistakes they might have made that they regret now. President Bush acknowledged what the rest of the world has known ever since Bush came into office – that you should "walk softly and carry a big stick" and not the other way around:
In unusually introspective comments, Bush said he regrets his cowboy rhetoric the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks such as his "wanted dead or alive" description of Osama bin Laden and his taunting "bring ’em on" challenge to Iraqi insurgents.
"In certain pa[r]ts of the world, it was misinterpreted."
Mr. Blair for his part acknowledged what was obvious before the invasion:
Blair regretted the way in which Saddam Hussein’s political allies were purged from the Iraqi military and government soon after the fall of Baghdad. Critics have said the sudden purge left a security vacuum in Iraq and encouraged former regime loyalists to take up arms against the newly installed government.
Blair also said allies seriously underestimated the insurgency.
"It should have been very obvious to us" from the beginning, Blair said. [Emphasis added by me.]
Respectfully, Prime Minister, it was obvious from the beginning but the Administration chose to ignore the advice of its own experts in favor of wildly optimistic scenarios painted by Vice President Cheney and his merry band of neo-conservatives. Here is Vice President Cheney speaking 4 days before the Iraq invasion on March 16, 2003:
Now, I think things have gotten so bad inside Iraq, from the standpoint of the Iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.
From those carefree comments from Mr. Cheney to the confessions at today’s press conference, we have descended step by each humiliating step into defeat.
Today in Iraq sectarian violence claims the lives of about 30 innocent civilians every day. Bodies with drill holes in their heads are left on street corners like garbage to be picked up by the grim reaper. The islamist Dawa party slowly but steadily tightens its grip on the reigns of power in Iraq while their masters in Tehran rejoice in their good fortune. Ordinary Iraqis live in fear where the most mundane tasks of everyday life have become acts of fear and courage. Militias roam the streets and don the uniform of the Iraqi Police. Insurgents strike with impunity as their IEDs and suicide attacks continue to end lives and replenish the morgues. American soldiers retreat further into their barracks as it becomes increasingly more difficult to discern friend from foe.
There is nothing good in today’s news. The President of the most powerful nation in the world stood in front of the cameras today and looked for all the world to see to be a muddled schoolboy. Perhaps we have reached the bottom of the bucket of humiliation that is the American engagement in Iraq. Tomorrow promises to be the beginning of the American disengagement from Iraq. Tomorrow promises to also be the beginning of American abandonment of Iraq. American self-preservation will mean that Iraq will be left to suffer on its own for years to come.
Today is a milestone in an American and Global tragedy brought about by a President who fancied himself a cowboy. May the world see better days than this.
Unfortunately, this day should never have had to happen. I do believe though, that you`re absolutely correct. I`ll be emailing this to other concerned terrans. I`ll also be looking for more of your writing.
I thought Bush looked like he was eating dust and poo when he said that “Bring it on” was not the ‘most sophistocated’ thing to say..
And given that no Bush Utterance is wholly unscripted (if generally poorly delivered, and in butchered syntax, a boon for those seeking the ‘authenticity’) are we seeing a desperation play on the part of Unka Karl Rove? The whole plan up to now has been ‘never admit error, it’ll make you look weak.” This joint press conferance was pathetic..
And some freeper heads have to have exploded…
I listened to POTUS this morning giving his mea culpas. I noticed he was quite specific in his regrets. He regrets the STYLE of his statements, not the underlying hubris it was based upon. He and his cohorts still miss the point. They still believe they can impose their will on others, they just have to couch the phrasing more carefully or as he said “…in a more sofisticated way.”
The lumps we take as a nation damage the world as a whole. They are, however, nessessary. We as a people need to understand that our place is to lead by example, not compulsion. When the world has witnessed our best, they have responded positively – our responce to the tsunami comes to mind. When we act like the Ugly American, the world responds in kind.
A lit mirror can be a mean place to see oneself. Bushco may just be getting a peek at themselves.
Mr. Bill, David Gregory was on MSNBC last night and he said that after Bush got done “soul searching” he looked to the front row of reporters and flashed them a grin as if to say “how did you like my acting?” :d
What was that about Rome burning while the Emporer fiddled? :(|)
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