I was watching Aljazeera news last few days, and what I saw repeatedly was the shoe throwing incident at US President George Bush, by an Iraqi journalist during a press conference in Iraq. It was suppose to be a ‘farewell speech’ to the Iraqi media, but what Bush got was a pair of dirty Iraqi shoes being thrown at him. This shoe throwing is the first incident to have occurred to a US President, and to the Iraqis (I am told), it openly demonstrates defiance and utter hatred for Bush, who ordered the war on Saddam Hussein in 2003. We now know too that Bush is an ‘expert dodger’. Imagine, two shoes being thrown at him, and he managed to dodged both.
Now 5 years on, US troops are still in Iraq fighting an insurgency war without an end in sight. The total cost to Iraqi lives will probably not be known, and with the war still raging, more lives will be lost, both for the US troops and its allies, as well as innocent Iraqi lives. Bush should have realized by now that claiming ‘mission accomplished’ over the insurgents is never possible. In fact, it is the insurgents that is now bringing the war to the US troops, and as the result US troops have remained bunkered, out of fear for their lives. The ‘green zone’ that is supposedly the most secure area for US troops is no longer secure, and has been breached before. Even rockets have fallen into the zone.
Aljazeera news presented some startling facts and figures concerning US troops involvement in Iraq. The 5 years of war had cost the US government 3 Trillion, and the beneficiaries are the US defence equipment manufactures. 4,200 US troops have fallen, and the US government had to compensate the next of kin of each dead soldier a sum of 500,000 dollars. Thousands are maim and incapacitated for life, and I am quite sure more death is forthcoming, both of the US soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. Presently, there are 150,000 US troops still in Iraq, fighting for a cause only Bush knows best, and the burden now lies with Obama when he becomes President in January 2009.
Many now believe that the war that Bush ordered on Iraq in 2003, aimed at fighting terror by eliminating Saddam has brought more miseries than joy to the American people. The mighty Uncle Sam has been taught a bloody and bitter lesson, that might alone does not guarantee victory in war. Obviously, the war in Vietnam has not been learnt, and a similar fate now awaits the US soldier in the war in Iraq.
CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION
Posted at 4.15pm on Dec 18, 2008
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Not really clear whether fighting terrorism was the only reason for the US invasion of Iraq.
Other reasons quoted by analyts are: Iraq's perceived possession of weapons of mass destruction, American strategy to control the vast oil reserve in Iraq and US retaliation against 9/11.
My hunch lean more towards 9/11.I think Pres Bush was pushed by the hawks in his cabinet to take the decision in order raise the morale of American people after the 9/11 attack and to demonstrate to the world that the US will not hesitate to use its military might to punish its enemies as Saddam was perceived to have a hand in the 9/11 attack.
Let's us wait for Pres Bush to write his autobiography to know the real reason.
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