Trapped in a quagmire, again (Andrew Greeley)

[chiburb]

Today's Chicago Sun-Times:

Snip:

Human nature seems doomed to underestimate the consequences of war, to take for granted that it will be easy and short when in fact it often is not.

It is now reasonably clear that the American government had inadequate intelligence not only about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but about what would happen after the war was won. Although there were warnings about the number of troops necessary for occupation, the costs of the occupation and the reactions of the Iraqi people, these warnings were dismissed. The brilliant ''neocons'' in the Defense Department did not foresee the looting, the sabotage, the hostility to Americans. They did not anticipate the power of Shiite clerics. They did not expect that the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime would be able to mount a guerrilla war. They did not expect the Iraqis to cheer when American soldiers were killed. Apparently, they had never heard about the guerrilla war that ancestors of the Iraqis had fought against the British in the 1920s. In those days the Arabs were glad to be rid of the Turks, whom the British had driven out, but they didn't feel enough gratitude to enter quietly the British Empire. Yet men like Paul Wolfowitz thought the Iraqis, Arabs and Muslims would let the hated Americans set up a democratic--and pro-Israel--state.

Snip:

So now the United States has trapped itself in a quagmire in Iraq, and the end game is not clear. When Arabs in Lebanon blew up a Marine barracks, President Ronald Reagan withdrew our forces. But Texans don't run away, so that option is not available. We might finally decide to turn the whole game over to the United Nations, but that would involve national humiliation.

So we will be trapped in the quagmire indefinitely as the president's approval rating plummets. What will the administration do? My guess is that it will turn mean--though that will only make matters worse. The soldiers from the 3rd Division who complained to ABC News are under threat of punishment. The ABC reporter is dismissed as a homosexual Canadian. These punitive actions are likely to be only the beginning. The ultimate unintended consequences could be a police state.


On edit, link added:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel25.html

[Rainbowreflect]

1. I see a new Dylan song.

Stuck inside of Iraq with the Quagmire Blues Again.

[Crux]

2. Over the top?

Andrew's voice in my head is a little high pitched.

Comparing 15 to 20 million dead in WW1 to the causualties in Iraq is more than a little far fetched. His shrill logic cannot help the situation.

Maybe he just can't resist using the 'Q' word.

[chiburb]

3. I don't think he did that...

His point was that WW1, the Civil War, etc. were supposed to be romps and over quickly. The "unintended" results were quite different than those planned for, hence the comparison/question re Iraq. Who knows where this one will go?
So, not over the top the way I read it.

[Logansquare]

4. Love the mention of Reagan

That kicks the neocons where it hurts!