Knowing What We Know Now....

Knowing What We Know Now….I suspect we all would have cashed a Trifecta ticket for the Derby and Preakness.  I suspect many professional athletes would have avoided injuries by making other cuts, pulling up for a jumper instead of driving to the basket, or avoiding some other type of collision.   How many current divorcees would not have shown up at church on that fateful day?  I suspect John F. Kennedy may have played his “Bay of Pigs” cards a bit differently and who knows, we might not even have Fidel to worry about today.  The list goes on and on, but let’s cut to the chase.

Saddam had committed genocide on the Kurds in northern Iraq.  Not just your “run of the mill” genocide, but perhaps the most heinous type of murder possible with the use of chemical weapons.  He had invaded a neighboring country and was no doubt entertaining thoughts of other border excursions.  He was actively promoting and harboring extreme terrorists and, once again, showed no signs whatsoever of backing off that enterprise.  He had announced to the whole world that he hated Israel, was developing a nuclear capability, and was going to continue his prominent role as chief agitator in the Middle East.  World-wide intelligence was convinced that he had significant stockpiles of chemical weapons; and very damn few doubted his inclination to use them.  If any leader in history needed to be disposed of to improve the prospects of international peace, Saddam was the one.  The United Nations, the Congress of the United States, and the majority of the public all supported President Bush when he took careful, transparent, and deliberate steps to lead the invasion of Iraq.   History will show that not only did this invasion have broad and deep support both domestically and internationally, it also exhibited one of the most diverse coalitions in military history.

Following the lightening-quick victory that developed sooner than any person anticipated, the Iraq war bogged down.  Fighting and winning proved to be much simpler than occupying and administrating.  Just as America experienced post-Civil War turmoil, Iraq had many historical factions that were yearning to settle old debts and they were all dragged out of the closets.  Faced with the prospect of frittering away a costly and significant military victory, Bush went along with his military advisors and, in spite of significant opposition, authorized the Iraq War surge.  The surge was an unqualified success and a great testament to the abilities of American military forces when they are supported and unleashed to do what they do best.  They largely tamed the post-war anarchy in Iraq and were prepared to hand the country back to the Iraqi people, with a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) all but settled on to ensure a reasonable environment for a government to be born.  Enter the One.

Our sniveling president Obama, having remained passive about the war while serving in government and turning voraciously anti-war while campaigning for President, took a hard-fought American military victory and based on his own self-serving motivations, pissed away the prospects of a SOFA that would give the Iraqi people a chance at real government for the people.  Damn the cost, damn the victory, damn the Iraqi people; he wanted out of Iraq as soon as possible and he did not care who closed the door behind him.  Making this supreme miscalculation even more damning was his eventual effort at a military surge in Afghanistan, a war that history must show belongs to him and not to President Bush.  The reality is that much of the “chaotic cauldron of crisis” that exists in the Middle East today can be traced back to Obama’s failure to effectively negotiate that Iraqi SOFA and to help foster an Iraqi transition to a more stable government and country.

President George W. Bush was not my favorite President; maybe not even top five.  But it is pathetic to see the Democrats, the Republicans, the media, and our miserable excuse for a Chief Executive pile on his Iraq War decisions with the benefit of hindsight and the assurance of majority-opinion status.  President Bush was a good man who made hard decisions in tumultuous times.  He was clear about what he was doing, he was honest about the possible risks, he was transparent about his approach to the invasion, and he was an admirable leader of the American military effort that ensued.  He was clearly motivated by noble causes and paid in personal sacrifice for his selfless decisions.

This nation paid a heavy price with many men and women coming home from the Iraq war either in a coffin, with physical wounds, or with emotional baggage.  Mistakes in strategy were clearly made when the speed of the victory was not anticipated and a plan was not in place for the transition to a new Iraqi government.  But Obama was handed a military victory on a platter with only a SOFA to negotiate and a reasonable troop withdrawal to manage.  He failed not only our nation and the soldiers who paid the terrible price for the military victory; he failed the futures of the Iraqi people and the future security of the Middle East.  He took the cowardly way out and then was asinine enough to claim credit for doing it.

So if people are going to play this “what if” game, start playing it on both sides of the political aisle and start playing it at all levels.  Who amongst us wouldn’t make better decisions given a mulligan or two?

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