The myth of troop withdrawal
September 19th, 2006 by Wil Robinson
No U.S. troop cuts in Iraq before spring 2007? Is anyone really surprised?
It is September, after all. That lovely month when everyone returns from their summer vacations, television networks begin their new season of programming, the newest Toyota Camry model is released and the U.S. government announces that troops in Iraq “won’t be drawn down next year,†but maybe 2008…
It’s repeated every year, yet no one really says what everyone is thinking.
The U.S. is never going to leave.
The U.S. didn’t illegally invade an oil-rich country unilaterally with virtually no international support so they could pull out after installing “democracy.†The U.S. doesn’t invade any country with the intent of leaving…unless they are forced out by a popular insurgency. Just ask Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Israel. (Oops, forget Israel…technically we aren’t in Israel – just our best weaponry and billions of dollars each year in foreign aid.)
The invasion of Iraq had a purpose, to be sure. The powers that be in Washington wanted to provide a target for anti-American “terrorists†other than American cities. And what better place to do that than an oil-rich country with a tyrant leader that the U.S. supported with chemical weapons in the 1980s?
Now with a foothold in the Middle East, the U.S. is poised to launch attacks on other countries that don’t follow the capitalist format verbatim – countries like Iran and Syria. Why else would you construct 14 permanent military bases in Iraq?
The fact is no one in Congress really thought we would leave Iraq when they voted to give President Bush authorization to invade without a declaration of war. Any Democrats in the House or Senate that claim otherwise are lying – or stupid.
Sometimes the truth comes from the least likely sources. Writing for a small newspaper last spring, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with the much-maligned Congressman John Doolittle (R-CA). His public speech was laced with happy thoughts about building dams, making money and “moral values.â€
But in private, he told me that he believed the U.S. would be in Iraq for decades. In our discussion, he agreed that a comparison to U.S. presence in South Korea was analogous to U.S. policy in Iraq.
These were not the words of a Republican seeking reelection, were they? Republicans were supposed to be talking about how “well the Iraqi troops were doing,†and that “as they stand up, we stand down.â€
The community that the newspaper served made nary a peep. The headline on the front page told them their future generations would still be in Iraq…instead a story about possibly bringing a light-rail train line to their little bubble town generated angry emails and letters to the editor.
Yet when Democrats and Republicans alike speak about an “exit strategy†in Iraq everyone listens. The American public is all too eager to buy into a “debate†about when they can begin bringing the troops home – and unwilling to acknowledge the truth.
And the “liberal media†plays along. When General John Abizaid tells the press that troops aren’t coming home next year, either, headlines read “Number of U.S. troops in Iraq likely to remain stable,†very neatly inserting the calming word “stable†into a discussion about a chaotic, deadly and violent civil war.
Ironically, the same word “stable†also appeared in the headline for the Air Force Times story. When the media is imitating headlines and story leads of the military news outlets, it’s hardly liberal.
It’s time for the American public to stand up and demand the truth – or ignore the lies. Engaging our political leaders in discussions about mythical “troop withdrawals†only strengthens the propaganda.
The American public knows better. The U.S. doesn’t plan to leave Iraq. But for how many years will they continue to buy the “maybe next year†excuse?
Tags: War of Misinformation
I suppose it’s easier for the general public to accept words of comfort, like a “stable” troop presence in Iraq, then to actually put their minds to a discussion about the possibilities of withdrawal, of mistakes made, of the real path America seems to be on, which is of course, imperialism. America is on that path, and couldn’t be unless the public was either A)fully supportive in the aggressive nature of its leaders, or B)ignorant and preoccupied with their own well-being.
The US public has alot to learn. Have you found any sites where there is healthy discussion going on between alot of people about this? Yours would be a great contribution.
The world’s top nation for decades seems falling down in few years. If America remained home they would have better position and no one can threat there national security.
But with the lie of Iraq mass destruction weapons and the lie of human rights America lost its position in heart of all nations of the world. It is not only Muslims but Asian people also have been suffering.
America is a huge and strong nation, but seems like ants are biting America so fast.