 By Joseph Prows October 26, 2005
The invasion of Iraq played perfectly into the strategy of Al Qaeda. According to the Lancet medical journal, well over 100,000 Iraqis have died as a direct result of the U.S. invasion. How much hatred is that going to spawn? How bad do we look following the sexual torture at Abu Ghraib, or the abuse of prisoners at Guantanimo? How do you think a fundamentalist Muslim will view these facts? Will it make him more or less sympathetic to our cause? The fact that we are in Iraq has strengthened the resolve of the terrorists. Additionally, there is now a huge power vacuum in Iraq, and the country may very well become a haven for terrorists as a result. If this administration actually cared about spreading democracy or humanity around the world, we would have gotten a lot more bang for our buck by putting together some sort of public health infrastructure in Africa. But Iraq? What does Iraq have to do with anything except for oil and no-bid contracts for Halliburton? When it suits the politicians, they call us a Christian nation. Unfortunately, our actions have been anything but charitable. By their fruits shall ye know them. We want democracy in Iraq more than the Iraqis want democracy. Until we can change this, we will never get democracy in Iraq. If we could have gone in there with the United Nations in pursuit of an objective that didn't change with the wind, I think we could have undermined the morale of the terrorists and won over the Iraqis. But by acting like a low-class international thug, we have shot ourselves in the foot. If we leave, Iraq falls apart, and if we stay, Iraq falls apart. What solution is there? Now that we have destroyed their country's infrastructure, do we owe it to the Iraqis to see this through to the end? It's a difficult question. I think that the answer is yes, but on the condition that we do absolutely everything possible to bring about a successful end for them. This means admitting to the criminal behavior of our President and Vice President, impeaching them both, and sending them to prison. This would help atone for the 2000 American soldiers who died as well as the 100,000+ Iraqis. This might make Iraqis believe that we actually care about them and about doing what's right for them, and it would redirect the hatred of Muslim fundamentalists to the criminals in the White House (where it belongs). Our country is a democracy. We have the right to hold our leaders accountable. This is the only moral outcome that I can think of. Let us not be foolish enough to believe that this administration cares about democracy. Let us not forget that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which was the only reason we went to war there in the first place. Let us not forget that the only evidence supporting the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was knowingly fabricated by this administration. Let us not forget that there was never any link whatsoever between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Let us not blindly believe whatever this administration tells us to believe, and let us not blindly forget when they tell us to forget. Let us not be so easily led by cunning, wicked men. Help us to be more compassionate and smarter about strategy and human nature in order that we may better understand what is going on and work for good. I invite everyone to respond. We are at a turning point in history. It is time to make some sense out of this chaos. Sincerely, Joseph Prows
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