2008 Woodie Awards
Bush's Escalating War
Nick Christiansen
Issue date: 1/23/07 Section: Commentary
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What began as an endeavor to root out weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has become a war to moderate peace among the Iraqi people. Yet, despite the dramatically changed mission, the Bush strategy for victory has hardly adapted to accommodate new circumstances we encountered along the way.
Just four days before the U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, Tim Russert asked Vice President Dick Cheney on Meet the Press, "Do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?" The vice president responded, "Well, I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators." President George W. Bush and his administration concurred with this na've and poorly-informed vision.
The Bush administration was wrong from the beginning; it has not adjusted policy to try to make it right three-and-a-half years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars later. The policy that the president embarked on was to stretch our military beyond its limits while hoping and waiting for the situation to miraculously get better tomorrow.
Two weeks ago, President Bush had his most recent chance to rectify this disastrous disconnect between the current U.S. policy and the realities in Iraq. Instead, the president announced to the nation that he wants to escalate the war with a "surge" in troop strength. The approach is the very same that has mired the United States in an Iraqi chaos: a reliance on military force, neglect of the regional and international community and ignorance of the political disagreements at the heart of the Iraqi civil war.
What was obvious to many at the time of the invasion has become clear to the rest of us as the war has trudged on -- we did not have enough troops to keep the peace after we won the initial battle. We should have used overwhelming force and international diplomacy from the outset. The Bush surge comes three-and-a-half years too late and is likely to be counterproductive to the mission of stability and a cessation of violence in Iraq.
Just four days before the U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, Tim Russert asked Vice President Dick Cheney on Meet the Press, "Do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?" The vice president responded, "Well, I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators." President George W. Bush and his administration concurred with this na've and poorly-informed vision.
The Bush administration was wrong from the beginning; it has not adjusted policy to try to make it right three-and-a-half years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars later. The policy that the president embarked on was to stretch our military beyond its limits while hoping and waiting for the situation to miraculously get better tomorrow.
Two weeks ago, President Bush had his most recent chance to rectify this disastrous disconnect between the current U.S. policy and the realities in Iraq. Instead, the president announced to the nation that he wants to escalate the war with a "surge" in troop strength. The approach is the very same that has mired the United States in an Iraqi chaos: a reliance on military force, neglect of the regional and international community and ignorance of the political disagreements at the heart of the Iraqi civil war.
What was obvious to many at the time of the invasion has become clear to the rest of us as the war has trudged on -- we did not have enough troops to keep the peace after we won the initial battle. We should have used overwhelming force and international diplomacy from the outset. The Bush surge comes three-and-a-half years too late and is likely to be counterproductive to the mission of stability and a cessation of violence in Iraq.
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