Washington in Wonderland: Down the Iraqi Rabbit Hole (Again)

[JEB]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/washington_in_wonderland_the_theology_of_american_national_20150618

By Andrew J. Bacevich, TomDispatch

snip>

In a fundamental respect, the purpose of the national security establishment, including the establishment media, is to shield that tripartite consensus from critical examination. This requires narrowing the aperture of analysis so as to exclude anything apart from the here-and-now. The discussion in which I participated provided a vehicle for doing just that. It was an exercise aimed at fostering collective amnesia.

So what the former secretary of defense, think tank CEO, and retired general chose not to say in fretting about ISIS is as revealing as what they did say. Here are some of the things they chose to overlook:

* ISIS would not exist were it not for the folly of the United States in invading—and breaking—Iraq in the first place; we created the vacuum that ISIS is now attempting to fill.

* U.S. military efforts to pacify occupied Iraq from 2003 to 2011 succeeded only in creating a decent interval for the United States to withdraw without having to admit to outright defeat; in no sense did “our” Iraq War end in anything remotely approximating victory, despite the already forgotten loss of thousands of American lives and the expenditure of trillions of dollars.

* For more than a decade and at very considerable expense, the United States has been attempting to create an Iraqi government that governs and an Iraqi army that fights; the results of those efforts speak for themselves: they have failed abysmally.

Now, these are facts. Acknowledging them might suggest a further conclusion: that anyone proposing ways for Washington to put things right in Iraq ought to display a certain sense of humility. The implications of those facts—behind which lies a policy failure of epic proportions—might even provide the basis for an interesting discussion on national television. But that would assume a willingness to engage in serious self-reflection. This, the culture of Washington does not encourage, especially on matters related to basic national security policy.

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Well worth a thoughtful read.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/washington_in_wonderland_the_theology_of_american_national_20150618

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Remember my childhood friend

talking about his role in the 1991 Iraq-Kuwait debacle,we were just cleaning up loose ends. And he mentioned that we would have to finish the job in about ten years. Seems we as a Nation with a wink and a nod,as well as selling Poison Gas to Saddam,needed to go back and clean up what Poppy Bush failed to do. But the Military Industrial Complex loved those new Republican War Machine Contracts,and they needed to do inventory control so they got Stupid George and Dicky to help. Remember what Biden said,Iraq needs to be broken into three distinct countries.

[JEB]

2. We tumble our own dominoes

and react to the unintended consequences, causing more. And of course as you say, the MIC just keeps grinning as we turn over our treasure.

[gratuitous]

3. Gee, 12 years into relentless war, and according to some, Iraq is more dangerous than ever

The proffered solution? More of the same! Harder. Longer. More.

"Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

"But that trick never works."

"This time for sure!"

Foreign policy by Bullwinkle.