Bush Spoke of Freedom and Liberty

Last night in his thankfully last State of the Union address President Bush spoke once again of the freedom and liberty that the United States has brought to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush spoke once again about the “blue ink stained fingers” of Iraqis oh so happy to be able to vote.

Bush spoke of the accomplishments achieved in Afghanistan as we reconstruct villages, roads, and broken lives as we support the young Karzai government as it builds upon a foundation of freedom and democracy.

From his speech one would think that the battle is about 90% won. That soon two strong and functioning democracies would be on their way to bringing order and stability to the entire Middle Eastern and Southern Asian region.

Yet when one examines the facts one has to wonder what world is Bush living in? How well is he informed by his advisers and generals on the ground in the war theaters? How well does he listen to and understand his advisers? One might even speculate on what Bush has been smoking. And if unlike Clinton whether he actually inhales a few good drags during his working day?

Effectively the US has destroyed Iraq. While it is true that the “Bush Troop Surge” has lowered the level of violence the question is to what level? And what about the political reconciliation that the surge was supposed to buy enough time to be accomplished? Wasn’t that the stated purpose of the surge?

Iraqis are still fearful to go to market for a few fresh vegetables as they well know they may never return. Over 4,500,000 Iraqis, including many skilled professionals like doctors and teachers, have been displaced. Many have left Iraq for neighboring countries where they struggle just to survive.

The Bush administration recently crowed about 50,000 Iraqis who have recently returned to Iraq . Unfortunately, most of them returned because they had run out of money and were starving in Jordon and Syria. Without money and without jobs what can they do? Once their visas expire they really have no place to go except back to a dangerous and unstable Iraq.

How would you like to live out your life of freedom and democracy in a city, such as Baghdad, where a good day is when you have electric power for three or four hours? Where there is no safe clean drinking water. Where there is no garbage collection or any other basic services. Where danger lurks at every corner, much of it supplied by nervous young solders and marines of a foreign occupying army.

How would you like to go to bed each night fearful that ten or so heavily armed men might take a sledge hammer to your front door, than at gun point herd the men into one room, the women including your teen age daughters and wife into another, while they turn your home upside down looking for anything that they deem suspicious? If you are lucky that is all that takes place. If you are unlucky you might be taken away, handcuffed, hood over your head, and never see your wife and daughters again.

How would you like living in that kind of democratic model?

And Afghanistan? The fact that the President has ordered the deployment of 3,200 additional US Marines to Afghanistan should give you an indication as to how well things are going there. As conditions deteriorate, the US, as it always seems to do, has stepped up the use of air power with the inevitable collateral damage. It’s a great way to win all of those hearts and minds, by raining down death and destruction upon the civilian population.

But what can President Bush say? That the wars are hopeless? That after five years in Iraq and six in Afghanistan that we are no closer to a real victory, that is a political solution, than we were on day one? That so many military personnel and their families have suffered for what end?

Can the President say that we have secured the oil fields in Iraq? That we have opened additional long term military bases where American troops will be garrisoned for the next one hundred years?

No, I think not. This was a State of the Union address, The American people want to hear that the state of the union is strong. That America will prevail. That America is successful in its freedom and liberty spreading business. That all will be OK.

Besides, the America people, from their narrow point of view, have more important things to be thinking about than Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it’s the economy, stupid. Let the Iraqis and Afghans take care of themselves. When your house or the house of someone in your family is about to be foreclosed upon Iraq and Afghanistan seem oh so far away.

On domestic issues when the President of the United States, in a State of the Union address, speaks of “tax rebate” checks that need to be sent to Americans on an emergency basis to prop up the economy you know that tough times are coming and for many citizens are already here.

However, I submit that compared to the times that freedom and democracy has brought to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan at gunpoint no matter how tough things may seem to Americans at home it is a walk in the park on a beautiful Spring day.

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