Straight Talk
In Trudi Rubin’s column in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer (Worldview: A disturbing lack of Mideast realism ), there is a wonderfully clear description of delusion. In her article, Trudi points out that John McCain has cited (what the Bushies before had done) the future vision for Iraq. This is apparently also the answer to the question “how long must our troops remain?”
McCain cites 4 criteria for a success in Iraq… (1) generally peaceful, stable, prosperous, democratic state, (2) doesn’t threaten its neighbors, (3) helps defeat terrorists, and (4) is a strong ally against an aggressive and radical Iran. The is vintage George W Bush who does not know a Sunni from a Shiite. As Rubin asks, how long do you expect our troops to stay there if these are reasonable expectations?
The question is not now, nor has it ever been, are these goals desirable or would we welcome them if they occured. Rather, these goals are simply unachievable in any reasonable time frame, if ever, in the Middle East with the Middle East history. (If you left out the criteria that Iraq must be “democratic” and we could reinstalled a despot, and there would be a chance to achieve everything else.)
McCain’s statements are important to note. He has frequently accused Iran of helping “al Qaeda in Iraq” only to be reminded each time that Iran is Shiite and does not help a Sunni organization “al Qaeda”. McCain’s words are well received by the Israel lobby and by the world of neoconservatives (who launched this foolish war through Cheney, Rumsfeld, Pearl, Wolfowitz, Libby, and Feith). Can we afford to have a Bush III? I think not.
